Chapter 168: Mist After the Storm

Day 9.

Though scarred by the previous evening's uprising, the port seemed to have recovered a certain semblance of peace.Fishing boats swayed lazily between the waves, merchant vessels loaded with timber and canvas resumed their movement along the damaged docks, and among the people, there were more weary sighs than complaints.

In a teahouse overlooking the main canal, Watanabe sipped his amber-colored tea with quiet elegance.

Across from him, Gato sat in silence.Hands folded in his lap. Eyes restless.

Watanabe set the cup back onto its saucer with deliberate grace.

"In the end, Kumo's plans fell apart."He paused."The base won't be built. Their control network has collapsed. The command is dead…"

A thin smile curved his lips."…and I'm still here."

Gato remained quiet.

"Do you know what that means, Gato?"

The young man gave a slight shake of the head.

Watanabe leaned forward just a little."That I won anyway."

His eyes sharpened.

"I took advantage of their arrogance. I sold, bought, controlled the trade while they slaughtered each other. Now the village is in ruins, and who do you think has the funds to rebuild it?"

He slowly swirled the tea in his cup.

"Only me. It doesn't matter who's in charge. Doesn't matter what flag flies. I only care about… profit."

That word—"profit"—hung in the air.

Gato heard it.And he didn't forget.

After a few minutes, Gato stood up, bowing respectfully."If you'll excuse me, Watanabe-sama."

Watanabe waved a hand vaguely, not even looking at him.

As Gato stepped out of the room, the light dimmed.A cloud drifted in front of the sun beyond the wooden window frames.

Watanabe remained seated in silence, slowly savoring the last sip of tea.

Then he set the cup down.

His fingers lightly traced the edge of the handle.

One day… I may need to get rid of him too.

He knows too much. He's seen too much. And his ambition… it grows every time he stays silent.

He leaned back in his chair, gaze drifting to the gray water beyond the fogged glass.

Then—something moved.

A sudden breeze.A shadow that hadn't been there before.

Watanabe tensed, just slightly.

Behind him, silent as the mist itself… a ninja appeared.

The shadow became clearer.

Watanabe turned slowly.

Standing before him—Shōgeki.

Or at least, it looked like him.

His face partially hidden, eyes as sharp and hard as ever.The Kumo headband still engraved across his forehead.

Watanabe narrowed his eyes.

For the first time in days, he looked surprised.

"…Shōgeki."

Silence.

The ninja said nothing.

Watanabe rose slowly, letting just a hint of uncertainty enter his voice.

"I didn't expect to see you again.""I thought you were dead."

One step back.A calculating glance.

And the smile of a man who still believes he's in control.

"Or maybe… you were just being cautious. Fair enough. Things escalated faster than anyone anticipated."

Borei—**disguised as Shōgeki—**remained silent, unmoving.

Watanabe sat back down, calmly, as if preparing to conduct a business meeting.

"Sit if you want. I can offer you some tea… or perhaps something more useful. Information."

The ninja didn't move.

So Watanabe spoke again.

"I know the mission failed," Watanabe said."But failure doesn't mean the end."

He sipped his tea, his tone as casual as if explaining a market strategy.

"The base wasn't built. The village is in revolt. The chain of command is gone.""But I'm still here."

He set the cup down delicately.

"And if you really survived… if you're truly still loyal to Kumo… then we can continue."

He leaned forward slightly.

"I can reopen the channels. Rebuild. Hide the funds. Buy off the local authorities. This entire village… can become an outpost again."

A smile.Confident.Unbothered.

"Kumogakure stands to gain. And so do I."

Borei didn't respond right away.He stared.

As if he were listening.Memorizing.

Watanabe misread the silence.

"I knew you were one of the few worth talking to."

The ninja turned slightly, as if about to leave.

"Ah… already getting to work? I knew it."

Watanabe raised his cup.

"To our agreement."

But he never got the chance to drink.

The world began to tremble.Or rather… to bend.

The edges of his vision constricted, his breath grew short.A metallic taste filled his mouth.

Then—silence.

Watanabe didn't understand at first.He only felt a strange warmth in his neck.

And then the world turned upside down.Literally.

The cup slipped from his hand.The world tilted.

And finally, his head hit the table.

No sound.No scream.No witnesses.

Borei was already gone.

- - -

The village alleys were still littered with rubble and ash.Sunlight struggled to pierce through the makeshift scaffolding and torn tarps, while a handful of citizens tried to bring some order to the places where only chaos had ruled hours before.

Among the people, a figure walked slowly.Unhurried.Head down, but gaze alert.

Gato.

His face betrayed no emotion.But his eyes... watched.Learned.

High above, a silhouette stood on the slanted edge of a damaged rooftop.Still.Silent.Hood drawn over his head.

Borei.

He had been observing Gato for several minutes—without moving.

Between the two, the distance was short.But the time… was not yet right.

For now… your time hasn't come.

The thought passed through Borei like an internal whisper, sharper than a blade.

Then—in the blink of an eye—his body vanished.

No sound.No trace.

Only a faint gust of wind that stirred the dust beside Gato—who remained unaware.

- - - 

The Kumo camp was now abandoned.

Tattered tents flapped wearily in the wind.The banners had been cut down or burned.

Among the ashes and overturned crates, Kagerō and Hokujin moved in silence—like shadows weaving through the remains of a defeat.

Scrolls, maps, incomplete seals.Nothing that could change the outcome of the battle.But enough to leave a trail.

Kagerō knelt beside a damaged container, pulling out two sealed scrolls.

Hokujin, a few steps away, rummaged through the tents, whistling to himself in that cheerful tone that always felt slightly out of place.

But then the silence thickened.

Kagerō broke it.

"Which clan do you think Borei belongs to?"

Hokujin turned with a surprised, almost amused expression.

"No idea."He shrugged."And honestly… I don't really care."

Kagerō raised an eyebrow.

"Really? You're not curious?"

Hokujin stopped.

For a moment, his expression turned serious.

"To me, only two things matters."

He turned fully, the wind lifting his white hair ever so slightly.

"That he's loyal to the Mizukage.""And that he's strong."

Few words.Delivered in a flat, steady voice.

But to Kagerō, the tone didn't go unnoticed.

There was something different about him.

Something that broke the mask of the jester, the reckless free spirit.

Every time he spoke of the Mizukage—the smile vanished.The voice changed.His posture hardened.

It was like glimpsing another person beneath the surface.

Kagerō went back to gathering the last scrolls,but his thoughts remained there,floating on the image of his comrade's serious face.

"Borei should be arriving any minute now."

Kagerō's voice drifted through the shredded tents of the encampment, as the sun dipped below the horizon,casting red light across the bones of the battlefield.

But Borei—

wasn't headed there.

- - -

The warehouse was isolated, on the outskirts of the port.

From the outside, it looked abandoned—just a rotting storage shed with warped beams and a salt-stained roof.

But the inside was different.

Every wall was covered with concealment seals, drawn by hand and interwoven with chakra to block sound, sensors, and tracking.

In the center of the vacant space, Borei moved slowly.

He unrolled two sealed scrolls and placed them carefully at the center of the room.

With a controlled motion, he infused them with chakra.

Puff.

A cloud of white smoke dispersed.

The bodies of Noriaki and Shōgeki lay still—perfectly preserved.

Eyes closed.Faces frozen in the tension of their final moments.

Borei stood in silence, watching them for several seconds.

Then he knelt.

His fingers brushed the symbols carved into their skin.

Complex seals.

Good… now I can study them properly. Before I bring them back to Kirigakure.

It would've been easier if I could read their memories.

A soft sigh escaped his chest.

But this will do.

He created three clones.

"Proceed."

The clones began analyzing the bodies—studying how the seals could be adapted, replicated, integrated.

Into his arsenal.Into his own body.

Outside the warehouse, the mist remained still.Unmoving.Complicit.

And Borei, alone among corpses and seals,did not stop.

[ Sorry guys, these days were very busy, i'll recover with double releases today and tomorrow, plus another random double release as a bonus for your patience and support!

I'll not drop this novel, i'll complete it till the end, it's that sometime i don't have so much spare time because my workload is growing day by day, and to write and finish a good chapter i need at least 4 hours, sometimes even more because by doing researches continuosly, i discover i had write something wrong and i have to rewrite it ^.^

Just Sharing my thinking with you because i'm very affectionate to you, a sort of Webnovel Family ^.^

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