Naruto: Experience Pain, Start by Copying the Entire Shinobi World

Hidden Mist Village.

It truly lives up to its name, shrouded in thick, impenetrable fog year-round.

The air was damp, the walls were damp, and even the eyes of passersby carried a chilling dampness.

On the streets, the ninjas hurried about, barely exchanging words with each other, their faces filled with vigilance and numbness.

This is the "Village of Blood Mist".

A village like a pressure cooker, where even breathing smells of blood.

Qianxuan swaggered in, followed by an old man with a bandage wrapped around his head and a gloomy aura.

He was dressed in clean, crisp clothes that seemed out of place in the village, and his leisurely stroll made him look more like a landlord inspecting his own backyard than an infiltrator.

The Hidden Mist ninjas around them noticed them, and their hostile gazes, like poisoned steel needles, were cast from all directions.

Kakuzu, who was following behind, had all his muscles tense.

He could sense that at least a dozen murderous auras had firmly locked onto them.

As long as Qian Xuan gives the order, or makes the slightest move, a bloody battle will break out instantly.

The man walking in front seemed oblivious, and even had the leisure to comment on a knife shop with a slow business on the roadside.

"This knife is no good. The steel is too poorly tempered; it's too dull even for cutting vegetables."

Kakuzu: "..."

He was now quite certain that his new boss's brain circuits were on a completely different level from those of a normal person.

Just then, a figure blocked their path.

She was a tall woman with long chestnut-brown hair in a single ponytail, wearing a vest from the Misty Shadows organization that perfectly accentuated her mature and voluptuous figure.

Terumi Mei.

She looked at the man with the lazy smile on his face, and for a moment, she didn't know how to react.

That bastard... he really came.

A year ago, this man, like an unreasonable villain, kidnapped her and whispered in her ear, in an almost declarative tone, that she was his betrothed.

She waited a long time after the war ended.

She even mentally rehearsed countless times the scene of their reunion.

Perhaps, he will descend from the sky in that purple deity, and propose to her under the watchful eyes of the entire Hidden Mist Village.

Perhaps he will bring a delegation from Konoha, with generous gifts, and fulfill his domineering promise in the most formal way.

But she never expected that he would appear in front of her in such a... almost strolling manner.

He was accompanied by an old man who didn't look like a good person.

Mei Terumi felt as if her long-awaited heart had been doused with cold water.

Joy, yes.

But more than anything, there was shame and anger.

"Hey, my future wife, long time no see."

Qianxuan was the first to greet them, his tone as familiar as if he were greeting a neighbor.

"You've become even more beautiful after a year."

Mei Terumi's cheeks flushed red instantly.

She glared at Qian Xuan fiercely, forcibly suppressing the uncontrollable flutter in her heart, and put on a cold, businesslike expression.

"Sakuya Sengen! Who's your wife?!"

"You've trespassed into my Hidden Mist Village without permission; are you trying to start a war?!"

Her voice was clear yet stern, instantly attracting the attention of all the ninjas around her.

"Shuoye Qianxuan?!"

"Is that the man... who cleaved a mountain range in two with a single stroke?"

"What is he doing in our village?!"

A suppressed commotion spread through the crowd.

Qianxuan ignored the noise and walked up to Terumi Mei. He reached out and, very naturally, tidied her temples, which were damp with mist.

"Don't get so angry, it's bad for your skin."

His fingertips, unintentionally, brushed across her soft cheek.

Mei Terumi's body froze instantly.

She tried to dodge, but her feet seemed rooted to the spot, and she couldn't move.

"Take me to see your Water Shadow."

Qianxuan withdrew his hand, his tone as casual as if he were saying, "The weather is nice today."

"I have something I'd like to talk to him about."

"Does the Mizukage-sama not appear before you as you please?"

Mei Terumi snapped out of her daze, biting her lip as she forced herself to speak.

She was in a state of utter confusion.

What exactly does this man want to do?

Wasn't he here to marry me? Why did he immediately ask to see the Water Shadow?

"I know."

Qianxuan nodded, then turned around and looked around the village shrouded in thick fog.

His gaze slowly swept over the cold buildings and the hostile faces.

Finally, he raised his head and looked at the gray sky.

"If I wanted to fight, I wouldn't have needed to come in at all."

His voice was soft, yet it struck the hearts of every Hidden Mist ninja like a heavy hammer.

"Stand here, look up. I can swing a sword above the clouds. And then, this country will become two islands."

"I didn't do that."

"I come in, stand before you, and speak to you in a calm and peaceful manner."

Qianxuan turned back to look at Terumi Mei again, a kind, even innocent smile on his face.

"This is my greatest sincerity."

"..."

"..."

The entire street was deathly silent.

Only the damp, cold wind blew past everyone's ears, carrying a mournful sound.

Mei Terumi stared at him blankly.

She looked at his harmless smile, but a chill ran down her spine.

Sincerity.

He said it was out of sincerity.

Using a force powerful enough to wipe an entire country off the map as a bargaining chip.

Use "I didn't kill you" as a friendly opening line.

Is there any "sincerity" in this world that is more unreasonable and more despairing than this?

Kakuzu, standing behind Sengen, silently lowered his head.

His heart, which had just been warmed by the saury, was now chilled to the bone by the boss's way of doing things.

So this is his negotiation style.

Simple, direct, and efficient.

Kakuzu suddenly realized that his previous plan for turning people against their leaders, which was full of scheming and intrigue, was ridiculously naive.

In the face of absolute power, any conspiracy or trickery seems so pale and powerless.

Mei Terumi's lips moved, but she couldn't utter a single word.

She knew she had no choice.

Kirigakure had no other choice.

"...Come with me."

In the end, she managed to squeeze out those three words through gritted teeth.

That voice was filled with helplessness and bitterness.

She turned around and led the way, her back view carrying a hint of desolation.

Qianxuan winked at Kakuzu and followed.

A most unequal meeting concerning the future of Kirigakure began in such an absurd way.