As the ice shattered, so too did what remained of Jūzō Biwa. When the fragments finally settled and the dense fog of Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu (Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique) slowly dissipated, every person inside the hall came to a halt. Weapons lowered, movements ceased, and all eyes turned toward a single figure.
Chiba.
The battle had lasted no more than ten minutes, yet within that brief span, two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist,two elite jōnin,had fallen by his hand, one after the other. The realization struck everyone present with overwhelming force.
What kind of power could accomplish something like this?
For a long moment, neither side moved. Silence hung heavy in the air, thick with disbelief. Then Chiba spoke, his voice calm, almost gentle.
"Surrender," he said.
"Or die."
The weight of those words was absolute. One by one, weapons slipped from numb fingers.
Clang.
Clang.
Clang.
Every remaining member of the Kirigakure envoy corps dropped their arms without resistance. What had been intended as a massacre,the complete extermination of the Yuki Clan,had been crushed effortlessly by a single individual.
Chiba turned toward Yuki Yoru, who stood motionless, his expression vacant, as though the world had yet to fully catch up to what had just occurred.
"Clan Head," Chiba said evenly, "detain them for now. They'll be useful later."
Yuki Yoru blinked, finally snapping back to reality.
"Y–Yes… of course."
He immediately issued orders, instructing the clan to bind and imprison the surrendered shinobi before organizing the aftermath. The wounded were carried away by medical-nin, while the rest of the clan gradually gathered around Chiba without conscious intent.
From that moment on, Yuki Yoru's authority as clan head existed in name only.
In the shinobi world, strength was absolute. And more than that, Chiba had dragged the Yuki Clan back from the brink of extinction with his own hands. Every member present understood this instinctively. Even Yuki Yoru himself offered no resistance to the shift; he had already accepted it.
Yuki Yuki stepped forward, her gaze fixed on Chiba. Her expression was complex,shaken, emotional, and filled with things left unsaid.
"Chiba… so this is who you really are."
He smiled faintly.
"I'm nothing special. In this world, I barely count."
And it was true. At his current level, he was merely a powerful elite jōnin. Whether he had truly reached Kage-class strength remained uncertain. His Ice Release,drawn from the power of the Ice-Ice Fruit,was still in its early stages. Ice blades, frozen spheres, time-sealing techniques… their lethality, range, and destructive force were all limited.
His victories over Raiga Kurosuki and Jūzō Biwa had been achieved partly through their arrogance, and partly through his elemental body, which rendered most physical attacks ineffective. Even so, as Chiba reflected on the battle, he recognized his shortcomings. He lacked experience. Had he been more seasoned, the fight would have ended faster, cleaner.
But that was only natural.
This had been his first true battle, fought against veterans who had survived countless wars.
Yuki Yoru released a long, weary sigh.
"Chiba… I was the clan head, yet when annihilation loomed, I could do nothing."
"You saved the entire clan."
He bowed his head slightly.
"So the position of clan head…"
"Belongs to you."
The surrounding clan members nodded without hesitation. Their resolve was unanimous.
Chiba let out a quiet chuckle.
"Is that really appropriate? I'm young. Hardly convincing."
Yuki Yoru shook his head.
"After what happened today, who would dare oppose you?"
"Who would even think to?"
The clan members spoke as one.
"Lord Chiba, we will obey all your orders!"
"The position of clan head belongs to you alone!"
Seeing no reason to refuse further, Chiba nodded slowly.
"Very well. I'll accept it."
From that moment onward, Chiba officially became the Clan Head of the Yuki Clan. Yuki Yoru stepped down to assume the role of elder, and soon after, Chiba began discussing future plans with the clan's senior members,plans that would determine not only their survival, but their place in the shinobi world.
Killing two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen meant one thing,
The Yondaime Mizukage and Kirigakure's upper echelon would never let this go.
And the Yuki Clan was still far too weak to confront Kirigakure head-on.
Only after assuming leadership did Chiba fully grasp the clan's reality.
Fewer than a thousand members in total.
Barely a hundred shinobi among them.
Most were genin and chūnin.
And those who had truly awakened the Hyōton kekkei genkai,
Fewer than twenty.
Among them were Yuki Yoru and four other elders,
All possessing strength on par with jōnin.
As for others like Yuki yuki, although they had awakened the Hyōton kekkei genkai, their actual combat power was only at the chūnin level.
Such strength was indeed insufficient to contend head-on with a colossal power like Kirigakure.
However,
Chiba was not particularly worried.
The Hidden Mist Village itself was already riddled with internal and external crises.
Expecting them to focus all their strength on a single task was nothing more than wishful thinking.
To say nothing else,
The Yondaime Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, was under the control of a powerful genjutsu.
The era of the Bloody Mist had grown increasingly extreme.
Rebel forces launched coups and insurrections almost daily.
And countless shinobi were defecting, abandoning the village altogether.
Under such circumstances,
How much strength could Kirigakure truly spare to deal with the Yuki Clan?
The two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen sent this time were likely the strongest force they could muster.
And even if stronger enemies were to arrive,
They still had Chiba.
In the end, after extensive discussion, the clan members gradually set their worries aside.
Chiba then issued another order.
He sent trusted clan members to secretly infiltrate Kirigakure,
To spread a single message throughout the village.
That message was,
The Yondaime Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, is being controlled by genjutsu.
The escalation of the Bloody Mist is the result of an external conspiracy.
This was not a rumor.
It was the truth.
And precisely because it was true,
It would spread.
Chiba smiled faintly.
"With this, the upper ranks of Kirigakure will be busy tearing themselves apart for a while."
Killing two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen meant only one thing: the Yondaime Mizukage and Kirigakure's upper echelon would never let this matter rest. And the Yuki Clan, as it stood now, was still far too weak to confront the Hidden Mist head-on.
Only after formally assuming leadership did Chiba fully grasp the clan's true condition.
In total, the Yuki Clan numbered fewer than a thousand people. Among them, barely a hundred were shinobi, and most of those were no more than genin or chūnin. Those who had truly awakened the Hyōton kekkei genkai (Ice Release Bloodline Limit) were even rarer,fewer than twenty in all.
Yuki Yoru and four other elders stood among that group, each possessing strength comparable to jōnin. As for others like Yuki Yuki, although they had awakened Hyōton, their actual combat ability remained at the chūnin level. Such power was, without question, insufficient to contend directly with a behemoth like Kirigakure.
Even so, Chiba was not particularly worried.
The Hidden Mist Village itself was already drowning in internal and external crises. Expecting it to concentrate all its strength on a single objective was nothing more than wishful thinking. More importantly, the Yondaime Mizukage,Yagura Karatachi,was currently under the influence of a powerful genjutsu.
The era of the Bloody Mist had grown increasingly extreme. Rebel forces launched coups and insurrections with alarming frequency, while countless shinobi defected, abandoning the village altogether. Under such circumstances, how much strength could Kirigakure truly spare to deal with a single declining clan?
The two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen dispatched this time were likely the strongest force they could reasonably deploy. And even if stronger enemies were to arrive in the future, the Yuki Clan still had Chiba.
In the end, after lengthy discussions, the elders and clan members gradually set their concerns aside.
It was then that Chiba issued his next order.
He selected several trusted clan members and instructed them to secretly infiltrate Kirigakure,not to gather intelligence, nor to assassinate anyone, but to spread a single message throughout the village.
That message was simple.
The Yondaime Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, is being controlled by genjutsu.
The escalation of the Bloody Mist is the result of an external conspiracy.
This was no fabricated rumor.
It was the truth.
And precisely because it was the truth, it would spread on its own. Suspicion would breed discussion. Discussion would turn into doubt. And doubt, once planted, would erode even the most rigid authority.
Chiba smiled faintly.
"With this," he said calmly, "the upper ranks of Kirigakure will be too busy tearing themselves apart to spare us much attention."
The elders exchanged glances, their expressions shifting from unease to realization. For the first time since the massacre had begun, they could finally see a path forward,not through brute force, but through chaos carefully guided from the shadows.
The Yuki Clan would not face Kirigakure directly.
They would let Kirigakure collapse from within.