Fugaku has gone mad; he's going to create a new Uchiha clan in Kirigakure.

The layout of Kirigakure is different from other places.

Because of the Blood Mist Policy, members of the Bloodline Clan and non-Bloodline Clan do not drink together; one group is in the south, and the other is in the north.

In the middle, there was a long platform separating the two.

Hot water is kept in the cabinet so you can warm the wine at any time.

The ninjas of Kirigakure, regardless of gender, all love to drink, especially strong liquor, because Kirigakure is humid, and a sip of strong liquor can dispel the dampness.

Ninjas returning from missions would spend four taels of silver to buy a bowl of wine—this was over twenty years ago; now each bowl costs four hundred taels—and stand by the counter to drink it hot and rest.

If one were willing to spend an extra ten taels, one could buy a dish of vinegared kelp as an appetizer, but most of these customers were low-ranking ninjas and did not have such extravagance. Only middle-ranking ninjas or high-ranking ninjas would stroll into the tavern, order hot wine and grilled meat, and sit and drink slowly.

"Boss, a bowl of strong liquor and a plate of marinated shark meat."

At the shop entrance stood a female ninja with long, reddish-brown hair, an apple-shaped face, sharp fangs common in Kirigakure, and a hint of fierceness between her brows. The only pity was her height; she was only about 1.45 meters tall, which made her fierceness look rather cute.

It was Ringo Ameyuri, a sixteen-year-old genius girl from Kirigakure, who possessed formidable lightning-attribute chakra talent.

She walked in from the non-bloodline faction side and laid out nine banknotes, nine hundred taels, on the counter.

The owner was a hunched middle-aged man with wrinkles on his face from years of smiling obsequiously. He deftly placed a bowl of steaming hot liquor and a plate of thinly sliced, glistening, marinated shark meat on the counter, and even wiped the countertop with a rag.

Ringo Yuri picked up her wine bowl and plate and walked to a table against the wall deep inside the tavern.

There were already two people sitting there.

One was tall with indigo skin and shark gill-like markings on his cheeks—it was Kisame Hoshigaki. The other had bandages wrapped around half his face and neck, revealing only a pair of cold eyes—it was Zabuza Momochi, the "Demon."

Both of them are members of the Hidden Mist Assassination Squad and colleagues of Ringo Ameyuri.

With a "thump," Ringo Ameyuri plopped down in the empty seat next to the two of them, the movement so large that the table shook.

Without saying a word, she picked up the bowl of still-hot liquor and gulped down half of it. Instantly, her apple-shaped face turned as red as a ripe fruit, and even the roots of her ears turned crimson.

"What's wrong, Little Apple? You don't look very happy."

Kisame Hoshigaki leaned back in his chair, his gaze originally fixed on the noisy crowd in the tavern. He turned his head when he heard the commotion, saw Ringo Ameyuri drinking heavily, grinned to reveal his sharp teeth, and asked with a smile.

His voice was deep and husky, with a unique rhythm.

"Nothing much."

Ringo Amori took a deep breath, as if to inhale all the pent-up emotions in her chest, then picked up the remaining half bowl of wine, tilted her head back, and gulped it down without leaving a drop.

She slammed the empty bowl down on the table with a loud thud, then looked at the bar and shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Boss! Another bowl! No—three bowls!"

Soon, the boss brought over three bowls of freshly warmed strong liquor, jogging over, and then carefully took away the empty bowls, keeping his head down the whole time, not daring to look too closely.

"Ton ton ton, ton ton ton..."

As if she had a grudge against alcohol, Ringo Yuri downed three large bowls of strong liquor in a row. Her eyes began to glaze over, and a hazy mist settled between her originally fierce brows.

"Kirigakure, this shouldn't be happening, you bastard!"

Her voice wasn't loud, and the buzzing in the tavern quickly subsided.

the reason is simple.

Ringo Ameyuri is recognized as one of Kirigakure's top young combatants in recent years. Most people present, even Kisame Hoshigaki (Note 1: referring to the author's words) or Zabuza Momochi, might not be her match in terms of strength alone. When she complains, others are naturally willing to listen, and even if they listen as gossip, they find it particularly interesting.

"What triggered this?"

Zabuza Momochi turned his head, his eyes beneath the bandages showing no emotion, and his voice was flat and emotionless.

Ringo Yuyu wiped the wine stains from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, her eyes somewhat glazed over.

"On my way back, I bumped into a little guy and spilled his flour. He cried loudly. I asked him and found out that a pound of flour had risen to 450 taels. Ordinary people in those villages work hard all day and can barely feed their families. If there are more children in the family, they don't even have enough to eat."

"besides!"

Ringo Yuri's voice suddenly rose, and she slammed her hand on the table, making the dishes jump around.

"Yesterday, the bloodline faction disappeared; today, the non-bloodline faction disappeared; tomorrow, the day after... even Hozuki Mangetsu's younger brother has disappeared! Damn it, Kirigakure is going to be in complete chaos!"

"indeed."

Kisame Hoshigaki casually agreed and reached out to grab the almost untouched pickled shark meat in front of Ringo Ameyuri. His hand was only halfway there when he was met by two burning gazes.

Lin Yuyu looked at him sideways.

"You have shark blood, yet you eat your own kind?"

"ha."

Kisame withdrew his hand, not embarrassed at all, but instead laughed, revealing even more of his sharp fangs.

"I am Kisame, a shark that can devour chakra. This is a white shark, and it's on Kisame's menu."

"Tsk tsk."

Ringo Amuri shook her head and let out an exaggerated exclamation.

"It's hard to imagine what your ancestors did to Kisame a long time ago."

After she finished speaking, she burst into laughter, breaking the tense atmosphere in the tavern. Many people laughed along with her, and even the Bloodline Faction members let out a few suppressed chuckles.

"Our Bloodline Faction leader, Terumi Mei, has stated across the sea that she will not return, will not organize the Bloodline Faction, and will not increase the possibility of war, proving that this matter has nothing to do with the Bloodline Faction."

Across from the bar, in the bloodline faction area, a middle-aged man dressed in family attire held a wine glass and said something in a voice that was neither loud nor soft, as if he were responding to something, or as if he were talking to himself.

"snort!"

Immediately, someone from the non-bloodline faction slammed their fist on the table in rebuttal.

"The Fourth Hokage also said it! The claim that he was controlled is pure nonsense! The Blood Mist Project was aimed at clans with bloodline limits, and commoner ninjas received ample benefits! Of the four current members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, three are of commoner origin—that's the proof!"

"And now, these three people have actually betrayed the non-bloodline faction!"

"The Fourth Hokage said that it must be the evil Uchiha clan that controlled them! They are the ones who are truly being controlled! The so-called reason why Mei Terumi didn't return was just to lower people's guard so that they could take the opportunity to cut off the core members of the non-bloodline faction and thus strike at them!"

"That's the damn problem, you bastard!"

Ringo Yuri suddenly grabbed her long, reddish-brown hair. She looked up, her hazy eyes sweeping over the two distinct groups of people in the tavern.

"Who are we supposed to believe?! Information in Kirigakure is so limited. Every piece of news we hear is told to us by others! We believe whatever they say! We hate whoever they tell us to hate! We kill whoever they tell us to kill! I feel like the Kirigakure ninjas are a bunch of idiots being led by the nose!"

silence.

As her relentless rant rained down, the tavern fell silent once more.

All that remained was the bubbling sound of the wine jug on the stove behind the counter and the faint sound of damp wind coming from outside.

"Hey, boss!"

With her legs crossed and one pink toe dangling, Ringo Amori's gaze suddenly fell on the shopkeeper behind the counter, who was trying to keep a low profile but whose obese body was still very noticeable, trembling like a quail.

The boss kept his head down, not daring to look.

As fellow ninjas, glancing at those "delicious" feet might be harmless, but if an ordinary person dared to stare like that, offending a ninja with a bad temper, it wouldn't be impossible to have their eyes gouged out.

"I remember you had a daughter or something, what happened to her?"

The boss stiffened, then quickly bowed, forcing a deeper smile onto his face, and said cautiously.

"It's been sent out; it went to Grip Town."

He didn't dare to look up, and his voice was very low.

"As you said, things have been rather chaotic in the village lately. I think we should let her stay somewhere safe for now, and she can come back after this calms down..."

"Huh?"

Upon hearing this, Ringo Ameyuri seemed to have thought of something, and stopped tapping her fingers on the table.

"You fucking shut the hell up, you bastards!!"

She suddenly roared at the entire tavern, and several tiny blue arcs of electricity crackled around her, filling the air with a faint smell of burning and the sharp aura unique to lightning-attribute chakra.

Seeing this, Kisame Hoshigaki quickly picked up his sake cup and moved it to the side.

Zabuza Momochi also leaned against the wall expressionlessly, making room for the genius girl who was clearly starting to "go on a drunken rampage".

The tavern became even quieter, with only the unconscious tapping of Ringo Ameyuri's fingers on the table.

"I've got it."

Suddenly, she spoke, her voice not loud, but clearly reaching everyone's ears.

"We have a saying in Kirigakure: 'When the tide goes out, you find out who's been swimming naked.' I don't know if Fugaku Uchiha controlled Mei Terumi, nor do I know if the Fourth Hokage was controlled, but there's one thing I know very clearly."

She paused for a moment, her gaze sweeping across the entire room.

"I abhor Project Blood Mist, and I don't want a civil war."

The tavern was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"Everyone, follow my example!"

Ringo Yuri suddenly jumped and landed on the table, spreading her arms wide.

"Whether you're a bloodline faction member or not, if you don't want to fight, then we won't fight, right? Let those bastards cause trouble. Whoever causes the most trouble is the bad guy! I'm such a genius, you bastard, hahaha!"

"Get down, get down."

Kisame Hoshigaki waved his hand dismissively and pointed to the pitiful dish of pickled shark meat that she had stepped on.

"How are we supposed to eat this perfectly good shark meat now?"

He paused, his tone becoming more serious.

"You make it sound so easy. If the Fourth Hokage orders a war now and you don't go, wouldn't you be a rogue ninja? The same goes for the other side. If Mei Terumi gives the order, do you think they'd dare not fight?"

"Based on the fundamental interests of Kirigakure, unite all those who can be united..."

Standing on the table, Ringo Amori's eyes seemed somewhat dazed again, and then she suddenly raised her voice, almost shouting.

"I don't know if Fugaku Uchiha is friend or foe, but do you guys think this makes sense? What if we all united? I mean, if those who don't want to fight united, even the Fourth Hokage couldn't do anything to us..."

"Ringo, you've had too much to drink."

Kisame quickly spoke up to stop him.

To publicly utter such words, which are tantamount to "disobedience" and "forming a faction," in this setting is tantamount to offending both the Fourth Hokage, who may issue the order, and the leader of the Bloodline Clan, which is no laughing matter.

"I'm not drunk!"

Ringo Ameyuri placed both feet on the table, glaring down at Kisame, then turned to the crowd in the tavern, her face flushed red with excitement and alcohol.

"Tell me, am I right or not?! What bloodline limit or non-bloodline limit? In the entire Hidden Mist Village, who the hell doesn't have some kind of bloodline limit, you bastards?!"

She pointed at Kisame.

"Kisame, your shark bloodline, if you really want to trace it back, is a bloodline limit!"

His finger then turned to Zabuza.

"Zabuza, you..."

"I don't have a bloodline limit."

"Your teeth don't look like ordinary teeth at all. Being able to bite through a kunai, isn't that a special talent?"

"..."

"If you ask me, Project Blood Mist is the most foolish plan ever! What we should be targeting are those who hold positions of power without doing their jobs, reaping huge profits while shirking their responsibilities, not some bullshit bloodline limit!!"

"You dare question Project Blood Mist! You traitor!!"

Suddenly, from the non-bloodline faction's side, a burly ninja with a scar on his face slammed his fist on the table and roared at Ringo Ameyuri! He was clearly a Jonin with some strength, otherwise he wouldn't have dared to jump out at this moment.

"bump!"

The next moment, Lin Yuri's whole body was filled with lightning!

He seemed to transform into a blue lightning bolt, rushing towards the scarred man at a speed too fast for the naked eye to perceive!

There were no hand seals, no charging up of power, just a kick that was incredibly fast, slamming into the opponent's chest!

"Ugh!"

Scarface grunted and flew backward like a stone thrown by a catapult, crashing into two tables before barely coming to a stop.

He clearly hadn't expected Ringo to act so suddenly and so swiftly.

He roared, plowing two furrows in the ground with his feet to steady himself, and quickly formed hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!!"

"Bloodline faction members, let's go help!!"

On the other side, in the Bloodline Cult area, a young ninja was also slamming his fist on the table.

"I think Red Apple is absolutely right! We can't let her fight this alone!"

"Water Release·Water Formation Wall!"

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

...

In an instant, the entire bar was in chaos!

The light of ninjutsu began to shine, tables and chairs were overturned, wine bowls shattered, and chakra of various attributes collided and exploded!

Especially after some clever fellow used a "Hidden Mist Technique," a thick white mist quickly filled the entire tavern, completely obscuring visibility. All that could be heard inside were the sounds of "ping-pong" and "crackling" of ping-pong balls, as well as the angry or excited shouts of the ninjas.

...

Under the table.

The instigator, Ringo Ameyuri, had somehow slipped down and was now huddled in the small space created by an overturned table.

She was still holding the half-bowl of liquor that hadn't spilled in one hand, and in the other hand she was holding the plate of pickled shark meat that, although it had been stepped on a few times, was still barely intact.

She took a small sip of wine, her face still flushed.

"Want some, Kisame, Zabuza?"

She moved the plate aside, where Kisame Hoshigaki and Zabuza Momochi were squatting side by side under a sturdier oak table.

"no thanks."

Kisame's tone was full of helplessness. He looked through the gap in the table leg at the chaotic white mist and the flashing light of ninjutsu outside, and sighed.

"You've gotten yourself into trouble, Ringo."

"snort!"

Ringo Yuri snorted nonchalantly and finished the last bit of her drink.

"At worst, they can arrest me. I'll be happy to have some peace and quiet, no more missions, and still have food to eat."

She licked her lips and casually placed the empty bowl on the ground.

"I'm off now, bye-bye~"

Before she finished speaking, a faint crackle of lightning appeared around her again, and with a "sizzle," she vanished instantly into the still chaotic white mist of the tavern.

"Then the two of us..."

Zabuza Momochi looked at Kisame, his eyes beneath the bandages seeming to ask, "What do we do?"

"Why."

Kisame sighed again and simply sat down, hugging his knees.

"Let's wait for the security team to arrive."