The Land of Water.
The salty sea breeze swept across the ocean, stirring up waves that shimmered like tightly packed fish scales. By afternoon, the mist over the sea had started to thin, and through the haze, a fully loaded cargo ship slowly emerged.
Reiji, dressed in a fisherman's outfit, had his wide sleeves and pant legs tied up with rope. He was gripping the ropes tightly, adjusting the sails with practiced force.
Around him, crew members bustled about, working in unison to steer the heavily loaded vessel toward the docks.
At the bow, the dark-skinned captain barked out orders while juggling questions from the cargo owner.
Before long, the impatient captain guided the fifty-meter ship neatly into port beside a small island.
The moment they docked, the cargo owner, trailed by his hired ninjas, disembarked eagerly and headed into the nearby town—one nestled right beside Kirigakure.
As Reiji and the other crew handled the final tasks under the captain's direction, the captain's eyes remained locked on the receding figure of the cargo owner.
Once the ship was secured, the captain left a few sailors behind to guard it and dismissed the rest.
A cheer erupted as the crew broke into groups, grinning as they made their way into the lively town.
After a long voyage, nothing eased the strain like a visit to the izakaya.
Though it was Reiji's first run with this crew, he'd already bonded with many of them—thanks to his unmatched talent for lewd jokes.
With arms slung around each other's shoulders, the sailors headed off to the izakayas, hot spring inns, and pleasure houses.
Meanwhile, back on the now-empty ship, a short figure in a cat-faced mask stepped into the captain's private cabin.
Creak—
The sound of the door caught the captain's attention as he worked on a sea chart at his desk.
He looked up with a scowl—then immediately dropped the attitude and replaced it with a sycophantic smile.
"Ah, Lord Reo. Good evening."
The masked ANBU, Reo, gave a curt nod. Behind the narrow slits of the mask, his eyes locked onto the clearly nervous captain.
"The intel on those outsiders," he said coldly.
The captain hurriedly nodded and fumbled through a backpack, pulling out a scroll.
Inside was the compiled information on the cargo owner and the hired mercenaries.
Reo took the scroll and, without hesitation, unrolled it and began reading right there in front of him.
The cargo owner had no name. The mercenary ninjas referred to him simply as "Mr. Owner." He hailed from the Land of Hot Water and was involved in the charcoal and pig iron trade.
He hadn't acted suspiciously during the voyage, though he showed great interest in the Land of Water—mainly in market trends and supply conditions.
He was also notably generous and very curious about the customs across the islands of the Land of Water.
The mercenaries he employed had clean records. They were regulars from the Bounty Station, all with fairly decent reputations.
In summary, the captain had found no cause for concern.
After skimming the contents, Reo said nothing. He calmly tucked the scroll into his wide sleeve.
"Keep gathering intel."
With that, he vanished without a trace.
Staring at the still-open cabin door, the captain finally exhaled deeply, muttering under his breath,
"Running this route is getting tougher by the day. I don't get what these ninja are playing at.
There's good money to be made, but all they do is throw up walls, act paranoid, and now they've got the whole village locked down. It's insane."
...
At the izakaya, Reiji and a few of his new sailor buddies were dead drunk, slumped over the table. No matter how hard the bartender shook them, they wouldn't wake.
Eventually, the more sober sailors paid the bill and had the staff help carry the others to the inn next door.
Night fell quickly.
A heavy white fog crept over the town.
Inside a dark room, Reiji slowly opened his eyes—completely sober.
It had been a full month since he left Tsunade and Rie behind.
Over that month, he'd traveled across multiple islands in the Land of Water, studying their customs and environment.
He'd also infiltrated Kirigakure three separate times, observing the inner workings of this enigmatic village.
From it all, he came to a conclusion.
Judging by the most basic infiltration with no specific target or objective:
Kumogakure was a difficulty level of 1.
Konoha? A 2.
But Kirigakure? That was a solid 10+.
The village was about two-thirds the size of Konoha and had a relatively small population—but most of it consisted of powerful clans with Kekkei Genkai.
In Konoha, the ratio of clan ninjas to civilians was roughly 1:2.
In Kirigakure, it was more like 5:1.
In short, this place was practically overrun with Kekkei Genkai clans.
The most prominent clans in the region include the Hōzuki Clan, the Kaguya Clan, and the more elusive Yuki Clan.
Beyond them, there are countless smaller clans.
(Just to clarify—whether in the Databooks or the anime, Haku's name is always just Haku. There is no such thing as the Minazuki Clan.
Haku is a descendant of the Yuki Clan. His parents' names were never revealed.
There's also no canon mention of awakened Minazuki Clan members being absorbed into the Yuki Clan—that's purely fanfiction.
And yes, Haku is a boy!
In the original material, there is a character named Minazuki, but he was Itachi's team leader and was killed by Obito.
Also, the successor to the second-generation Lightning Blade, Ameyuri Ringo of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, is a woman—this is clearly stated in the Databook.)
The high concentration of clan shinobi in Kirigakure made infiltration extremely difficult for Reiji.
With that thought, Reiji slowly sat up, clutching his head and feigning a hangover as he staggered out of the inn.
Despite the late hour, the town was far from quiet. Likely due to its proximity to Kirigakure, commerce remained fairly active, with merchants still conducting business.
Weaving through the streets, Reiji arrived at a hot spring inn called Umi no Hana.
He stepped inside, changed into slippers, grabbed a key tag, and undressed—all in a smooth, practiced motion.
As he settled into the warm spring water, Reiji closed his eyes and began to reflect on the mission ahead.
He was already strong, but his potential enemy was none other than the legendary Madara Uchiha. He couldn't afford the slightest misstep.
And his objective wasn't as simple as just locating Madara.
What he sought... was always those eyes.
As that thought echoed in his mind, the outline of his plan became clearer.
Between the eighth and tenth year of Konoha's founding, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha fought their final battle. Madara used his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, lost his life, but secured a piece of Hashirama's flesh.
From that moment, he began fusing with it.
According to what he once told Obito, he only successfully integrated Hashirama's cells while on the brink of death, which allowed him to awaken the Rinnegan.
But Reiji didn't fully buy that story.
The things Madara told Obito before dying were riddled with lies—they were, at best, partial truths.
During the Second Great Ninja War, Jiraiya had discovered Nagato's Rinnegan and trained Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan for three years.
That meant Madara had already awakened the Rinnegan by then.
If he was truly on the verge of death at that point, kept alive only by the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path...
Then who controlled the Third Mizukage?
Who implanted the Three-Tails into Rin's body?
Who carved the seal over her heart that prevented her from committing suicide?
Black Zetsu? Possibly.
But more likely—it was Madara himself, the man who trusted no one.