Chapter 12: Are You Out of Your Mind?

At Yoru’s location…

"Thank goodness it’s the Kaguya clan—those battle-crazed maniacs aren’t skilled in sensing."

"That’s why my Hidden Mist Jutsu worked so well!"

"If I were up against a sensor-type shinobi of the same level, this fight would’ve been a lot tougher."

Without the mist, his strength would only be enough for self-defense—and even then, he’d be severely injured with his chakra drained.

"Time to finish him off. Just to be safe, I’ll test the waters with a Water Clone."

As the saying goes, "A centipede dies but never falls down." Better to be cautious than gamble with his life.

"Swoosh!"

The Water Clone charged forward.

Just as it closed in, Kaguya Yanagi roared, "I won’t fall for it again! The real attack always comes from the opposite direction of the sound!"

"Did you really think I wouldn’t notice you warping the sound?!"

Then, to Yoru’s utter bewilderment, the man turned and attacked… in the complete opposite direction of the clone.

"Squelch!"

Predictably, he struck nothing but air.

Meanwhile, the Water Clone fired two water bullets from behind, piercing his heart.

"Y-You… were supposed… to attack… from the opposite… direction… Why… didn’t you… follow the pattern?!"

Kaguya Yanagi stared at Yoru with a mix of confusion and fury.

This time, Yoru had attacked head-on—the sound’s direction was the attack’s direction.

"Well… I didn’t expect you to choose like that, either."

"I was planning to feint with the clone and finish you from behind."

Yoru scratched his nose sheepishly, almost exasperated.

Then, with a swift slash, he ended Kaguya Yanagi’s life and dispelled the Hidden Mist Jutsu.

Maintaining it drained too much chakra.

"No way… Did this kid really just kill Kaguya Yanagi, a Special Jonin?!"

The surrounding mist shinobi stared in shock at the corpse at Yoru’s feet.

"Is this guy cheating or something?" Zabuza Momochi wondered silently.

"What’s more impressive is that he used the Hidden Mist Jutsu to defeat an opponent above his level."

"At his age, I wasn’t even half as strong."

The Demon of the Hidden Mist, Zabuza, watched Yoru with newfound wariness.

A new prodigy had emerged.

"The gap between us… is huge. It’s frustrating."

Ameyuri Ringo tightened her grip on her sword, feeling powerless.

"I knew he was holding back during the graduation exam!"

Hōzuki Suigetsu gritted his teeth in resentment.

Meanwhile, the remaining Kaguya clansmen glared at Yoru with pure rage.

"You damn brat—DIE!"

Several figures lunged at him.

Yoru was too dangerous to leave alive.

But many weren’t about to let that happen.

Mei Terumī led the charge.

"Water Release: Surging Waves!"

A torrential flood crashed down, sweeping away the attacking Kaguya members with crushing force.

"Splash! Splash! Splash!"

Yoru didn’t miss the chance to finish them off.

If they wanted him dead, he wouldn’t show mercy.

Across the battlefield, the Kaguya clan was losing ground.

Against the full might of Kirigakure, a single clan stood no chance.

The village had too many elite shinobi.

The Kaguya were being pushed back, their forces dwindling.

"Damn you, Yagura… I curse you with a miserable death!!!"

With one last venomous cry, the Kaguya clan met their tragic end.

"Hah… Hah… Hah…"

After the battle, Yoru collapsed, gasping for breath.

Sweat poured down his face, dripping onto the ground.

Not a drop of chakra remained.

This exhaustion was unbearable.

"Giggle… What’s wrong? Already spent, Kirigakure’s little genius?"

Mei’s teasing voice reached him, though she looked just as exhausted.

Too drained to retort, Yoru could only groan.

Once Commander Ameyuri dismissed the troops, he dragged himself home with Mei.

Stripping off his ruined clothes, he stumbled into the hot springs.

Right now, this was paradise.

Elsewhere in the Village…

If there was one thing the shinobi would remember from today, it was the rise of a monster—and Mei’s terrifyingly powerful Water Wall.

No one had ever seen such an unbreakable defense. Not even the Kaguya could breach it.

"Did her Water Wall ever get shattered during the entire battle?"

"As expected of the ANBU Commander… Her strength is terrifying." Zabuza mused.

"Mei Terumī, a candidate for the Fifth Mizukage? Heh, whatever."

"If she offers me enough benefits, I’ll serve a woman without complaint."

The brutish Kisame Hoshigaki smirked.

Others shared similar thoughts.

But one man was fixated on Yoru’s Hidden Mist Jutsu—Momochi Zabuza.

"Most of his success today came from that technique. There’s something unusual about it."

"I’ll pay him a visit later. This might be the key to improving my own skills."

In Kirigakure, no one wielded the Hidden Mist Jutsu better than Zabuza.

His reputation was built on it and his Silent Killing technique.

Yet today, he’d seen someone use it even more masterfully.

He was determined to learn from it.

Meanwhile, in the Mizukage’s Office…

"Mei Terumī and Yoru… What an impressive pair of siblings."

"In that case, let’s give Yoru some… special training."

The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, smiled dangerously.

His advisor, Genryū, stiffened.

"Is the Mizukage out of his mind?"

"Instead of rewarding a war hero, he’s assigning him more dangerous missions? This’ll only breed resentment!"

He knew exactly what "special training" meant—sending Yoru on the deadliest missions possible.

The more perilous, the more "effective" the training.

But all this would achieve was anger and rebellion.