14 “Kirigakure”

Kirigakure is the most infamous ninja village in the shinobi world. It's a village whose primary focus is adequately subordinating the villagers rather than increasing their strength. It's a village filled with low lives and horrible people because of their policy of accepting outsiders as a trophy to demonstrate their superiority.

Kirigakure, or mist village, is now called the bloody mist because of their henious atrocities. Kirigakure is now known for its brutality and, accordingly, taken advantage of by the other shinobi villages.

On the northwest side of the land of water, Kirigakure stood tall, surrounded by towering mountains and a veil of mist. A gloomy mood surrounded the village, and the sky over it looked uncanny and silent.

At the entrance of Kirigakure, a family of three steadily approached the gate. Two ninjas guarding the gate suddenly appeared before them, noticing their advancement.

One of them took out a kunai and held it in his hands as a sign to stop them. It meant that if they approached, their head would be rolling on the ground.

"What is the purpose of your visit to Kirigakure?" One of the ninjas, who hid his face by wrapping a cloth over his mouth, spoke up. He used the cloth as mask to hide his face as well as to cover his head.

"We come in peace. We came here to seek refuge." Kazuya raised her hands as a gesture of surrender and softly relayed the information.

"Where did you guys come from?" the other shinobi beside the masked one spoke up.

"We are from the hidden grass village," Kazuya said without hesitation in her tone.

"Since you are a ninja, show me grass village's forehead protector and shinobi id."

"Here you go." Kazuya handed one of the two ninja a forehead protector and a shinobi id.

After receiving it and checking it thoroughly, the ninja nodded as if satisfied with the evidence.

"They are clear, Shino. Take them to the Mizukage's office." the shinobi said as he passed the forehead protector and the id to the masked shinobi beside him.

"Come with me. Don't try anything funny." The masked shinobi warned Kazuya and led them through the village's gate.

Kazuya looked toward Karna, who was dragging the wheelchair behind her where Kyo sat and smiled with a knowing expression. Karna returned the smile, happy that his plan had worked.

When Karna knew that they were heading toward Kirigakure, he was terrified. This village was the worst choice one could decide to take refuge. Not only was the crime rate and the living condition terrible, but this village was controlled by none other than the Obito Uchiha himself.

He immediately tried to refuse the idea of joining Kirigakure. Still, after his parents explained the situation in more detail, it seemed that throughout the shinobi world, only Kirigakure was safe enough for them to stay.

Every major village had extended data on Kyo and Kazuya, and depending on it, they chased them from the time of Uzushiogakure's destruction.

The only safe place was Konoha, but now because of their betrayal, the entire land of fire was unsafe for the Yagami family.

They could settle in a small village outside the land of fire, but there was no guarantee that a major village won't find them out and, without any protection, won't be taken prisoners or killed.

So, in the end, they decided to go with Kirigakure as it was the only village that didn't attack at the time of Uzushiogakure destruction; hence, they didn't have good data on Kazuya and Kyo.

Also, because of their policy of accepting outsiders to increase the strength of their village with relatively weak evidence, it seemed the best choice to settle in.

With Karna's pleading they forged a fake sinoni id of hidden grass village and bought a forehead protector to hide their real identity. Finally, the only problem was to dodge the eyes of Obito Uchiha.

Kirigakure's architecture comprises several cylindrical buildings, with the Mizukage's office being the most extensive. Most of the buildings have vegetation growing on their roofs.

Along the way, Karna saw many people scattered around the streets. They craved food and a ceiling over their head; their eyes seemed dead, and their spirit is long gone.

'No wonder this world encountered war after war. The disparity among the villages was always so great that war was bound to happen sooner or later. It was a perpetual cycle that can only be broken with supreme authority as it did in the original timeline. At the end of the fourth shinobi war, Konoha grew up to be so strong that the villages didn't dare to wage another war.

'If Naruto or Sasuke had died at war, if the otsutsukis stopped invading the shinobi world, the other villages would've never let go of Konoha with their resources. Only because of their mutual interest and their fear for Konoha did they refrain from another war.

'I indeed acknowledge the mindset of Madara Uchiha; only the strong can decide their fate. But with all that strength, he tried to establish peace. As a result, he was played by a disgusting goo.

'But, I would change that. Alliance is for the weak, and only with overwhelming strength and dominance can I be safe in this war-riddled world. I didn't want peace for others. I wish to recreate this entire world so that my family and I can live in this world how we are supposed to live. Peace was never an option!'

As Karna was immersed in his deadly thoughts, he overlooked that they had arrived in front of a large cylinder-shaped building. The shinobi who led them here talked with a woman, who sat at the office beside the entrance of the building.

The woman looked at the Yagami family carefully for a minute before taking them to the Mizukage's office.

Within the Mizukage's office, a young boy who looked around sixteen was lying over with his head on the desk in front of him. He was bored with the extensive work he had to do and the mess that the previous Mizukage had left for him.

Suddenly, a knock resounded from the other side of the door of the Mizukage's office, startling the young Mizukage. A man was standing beside the Mizukage as his attendant, who, after hearing the knock, asked them to come in.

The Yagami family, along with the woman, entered the room. The woman handed the details she had received from the shinobi downstairs and relayed the purpose of the Yagami family's visit to the Mizukage.

'Is that Ao? No, he seems older, and Ao would've been far younger now.' Karna speculated as he saw the tall shinobi beside a young Yagura Karatachi.

The attendant had spiky blue hair held by his forehead protector and a scar on the left side of his face. He donned the usual attire of Kirigakure jounins, a black shirt and pants with a grey jacket atop it.

"So, you wish to join our village?" Yagura asked as he crossed his arms before him.

Kazuya, who was questioned, was quite perplexed about how she should react to this. She knew the current Mizukage was young, but the reality still stunned her.

"Um...yes, Mizukage sama."

"Oh, for god's sake, act normally. I'm a mizukage, after all. Age doesn't matter!" Yagura replied annoyingly as if he was already familiar with this scene.

"Yes, yes, Mizukage same. Please, pardon my mistake." Kazuya hurriedly apologized for her reaction.

"What happened to your husband?" the attendant beside Yagura suddenly asked as he looked toward Kyo.

"A group of bandits attacked us on our way to here. I received these injuries when I faced them as there was a jounin within their team." Kyo said before Kazuya could speak for him.

"I see." the attendant stared at Kyo to look for any change in his expression, but when he found nothing, he gave up on it and temporarily believed Kyo.

Then he focused his gaze on Karna, who was holding the wheelchair, and he found nothing unusual except for the genin level chakra, which is quite extraordinary for someone his age.

'He seems to be sensing my chakra.' Karna noticed the attendant's gaze and speculated within his mind.

'Thank God I hid my chakra before coming here. Also, Yagura seems normal, meaning Obito still didn't take over him. Maybe, I could stop Obito from controlling him in the future.' Karna took a glance at Yagura and thought inwardly.

"They are clear, Mizukage same." The attendant informed Yagura, who was sitting in his chair, bored.

"Ahh, is that so? Well, it seems you are clear to join our village, but before that, you said you are seal master and chunin, right?" Yagura asked Kazuya with excitement.

Kazuya was quite confused about his change in demeanor, but she still respectfully replied, "Yes, Mizukage sama."

"Well then, prove us your worth. Show us what a seal master can do!" Yagura ordered with a grin on his face.

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Up next: "Kazuya faces another Byakugan."