The journey to the Land of Water was not a diplomatic mission; it was an extraction. While the Leaf Village was still reeling from the "Night of the Stone Sage," Dan, Shisui, and Anko had already slipped past the border.
They stood on the deck of a merchant vessel disguised as tea traders. The air was thick with salt and a supernatural fog that felt heavy against the skin.
"The 'Bloody Mist' lives up to its name," Anko muttered, checking the seals on her kunai. She looked at Dan, who was wearing a heavy cloak that hid his left arm—a limb that remained as cold and hard as a mountain peak. "You sure you can fight with that thing? It looks like a dead weight."
"It's not a weight, Anko. It's a focus," Dan replied.
[System Notification: Natural Energy Concentration detected.]
[Status: The petrified arm is acting as a passive 'Lightning Rod' for Senjutsu.]
[Current Sage Mode Charge: 12% (Passive).]
Inside the Mirror Space, Dan's clone was no longer simulating fights. It was acting as a navigator, overlaying the foggy horizon with a digital grid based on the chakra signatures Dan had memorized from the Akatsuki's files.
"We're not here for a head-on war," Dan said, his 3-Tomoe Sharingan cutting through the mist. "Kirigakure is under the control of the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura. But Yagura is being controlled by Obito's Genjutsu. We break the Genjutsu, we break the Akatsuki's grip on the Land of Water."
"And if Yagura doesn't want to be 'liberated'?" Shisui asked, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade.
"Then we treat him like any other structural flaw," Dan said. "We remove him."
The Ghost of the Seven Swordsmen
As their boat neared a jagged outcrop of rock known as the 'Devil's Tooth,' the water began to churn. A massive, serrated blade burst through the hull of the ship, showering the deck in splinters.
"Incoming!" Anko yelled.
A man emerged from the mist, standing on the surface of the water. He was tall, wrapped in bandages around his neck, with sharp, shark-like teeth. He carried a blade wrapped in bandages that pulsed with a life of its own.
Zabuza Momochi.
At this point in time, Zabuza was a young, rising star of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, his heart already darkening under the brutal regime of the Mist.
"Leaf shinobi," Zabuza hissed, his voice echoing in the fog. "You've wandered into a graveyard. Leave your scrolls and your lives, and I might make it quick."
"We don't have time for local thugs, Shisui," Dan said, not even looking at the swordsman.
"On it," Shisui replied.
Shisui used his Flicker-Ghost technique. To Zabuza, it looked like Shisui had split into eight identical bodies, each one lunging from a different direction. Zabuza swung his executioner's blade in a wide arc, but the blade passed through the shadows as if they were smoke.
Zip.
The real Shisui appeared behind Zabuza, his tanto pressed against the man's throat. "The 'Demon of the Mist' is a bit slow today."
"Wait," Dan commanded. He walked to the edge of the ship and looked down at Zabuza. "You're part of the resistance, aren't you? You hate what Yagura has done to this village."
Zabuza's eyes narrowed. "What do you know of our village, Uchiha?"
"I know that your 'Bloody Mist' graduation exam—where you had to kill your friends—wasn't a Mist tradition. It was a test run for a puppet master," Dan said. "I'm here to kill the puppet master. Join us, or get out of the way."
Zabuza laughed, a cold, grating sound. "You're a brat with a stone arm. Why should I believe you can do what the Seven Swordsmen couldn't?"
"Because," Dan said, stepping off the boat. He didn't use chakra to walk on water. He used his petrified arm to strike the surface.
[Executing: Senjutsu-Impact — Earth Tremor.]
The water didn't splash; it crystallized into a pillar of salt and ice under the sheer pressure of the Natural Energy. The shockwave knocked Zabuza off his feet.
"I'm not a shinobi of the Leaf right now," Dan said, his violet Sage-eyes flaring. "I'm the Architect. And I've come to renovate your village."
The Hidden Rebellion
Zabuza led them to a sea cave hidden beneath the cliffs of the main island. Inside, a small group of Mist shinobi were huddled around a map. Among them was a woman with auburn hair and a fierce gaze—Mei Terumi.
"Leaf reinforcements?" Mei said, her eyes traveling over Dan. "Minato Namikaze must be desperate if he's sending children to fight our revolution."
"Minato-sensei doesn't know we're here," Dan said, taking a seat at the table. "This is a private acquisition. We want the Three-Tails. You want your village back. The goals are aligned."
"The Mizukage is a perfect Jinchūriki," Mei countered. "He can't be put under Genjutsu. That's why we're losing. He's too strong."
"He is under Genjutsu," Dan corrected. "A specialized Uchiha technique that bypasses the Jinchūriki's internal chakra-shield. I know, because I've seen the man who cast it."
Dan looked at Mei. "I can break the spell. But the moment I do, the Three-Tails will go berserk. I need your rebellion to keep the Mist ANBU busy while I stabilize the Mizukage."
Mei looked at the "Stone Uchiha." She saw the Mangekyō pattern in his eyes and the petrified arm that hummed with the power of the earth. "If you fail, we all die. The Mist will be wiped off the map."
"Then I suggest we don't fail," Dan said.
The Midnight Siege
The plan was set. Under the cover of a massive storm, the rebellion launched a diversionary attack on the Mist's harbor. While Mei and Zabuza led the charge, Dan, Shisui, and Anko infiltrated the Mizukage's palace.
[System Notification: High-Level Barrier Detected.]
[Task: Spatial Bypass.]
"Anko, set the dampening seals. Shisui, clear the hallways," Dan ordered.
Zip.
Dan appeared in the inner sanctum. Yagura Karatachi, the boy-like Mizukage, was sitting on a throne of coral. His eyes were glazed, a faint red glow emanating from his pupils.
"Who enters the house of the Mist?" Yagura asked, his voice monotone.
"A debt collector," Dan said.
Behind Yagura, a swirl of space began to manifest. Obito was there, his hand resting on Yagura's shoulder. "You're persistent, Dan. I should have killed you in the shrine."
"You tried," Dan said, raising his stone arm. "This time, I brought a hammer."
[System Command: Overdrive Sage Mode — 60%.]
[Ability Unlocked: 'Inorganic Animation: Coral Reef'.]
Dan slammed his stone hand into the palace floor. The coral throne itself came to life, growing jagged spikes that lunged at Obito.
"Shisui! The Eye!" Dan yelled.
Shisui appeared from the ceiling, his Mangekyō Sharingan active. "Kotoamatsukami: Fragment!"
It wasn't the full power of Shisui's ultimate Genjutsu, but it was enough to cause a "flicker" in Obito's control over Yagura. For a microsecond, the Mizukage blinked.
"Now!" Dan roared.
He lunged forward, his stone hand glowing with a blinding violet light. He didn't hit Yagura; he grabbed the air between Yagura and Obito, literally tearing the Genjutsu threads with his Sage-chakra.
"Ame-no-Uzume: Reality Restoration!"
The world turned white.