The Land of Waves was a very small country.
Technically a gateway nation to the Land of Water, it had long been neglected due to the brutal isolationist "Bloody Mist" policies enforced by the Third Mizukage. The two countries had little to no diplomatic ties.
Lacking in natural resources, with no powerful nations backing them, and cut off from most major trade routes, the people of the Land of Waves were left to survive on subsistence fishing and simple livelihoods. The nation was so underdeveloped that not only did it lack a shinobi village—seeing a passing ninja on a mission was a rare event in itself.
Because of that, this region gradually became a haven for underground syndicates and rogue shinobi.
But all of that was in the past now.
After a black-market faction of rogue ninja and mobsters hijacked a trade convoy carrying goods from the Land of Water to the Land of Fire, they drew the wrath of the nation that had bested Konoha itself during the Third Great Ninja War.
The head of the Kaguya clan, Kaguya Manzoku, led an elite team from the clan, working in tandem with the Kirigakure ANBU, and completely purged the region, wiping out every last criminal and recovering the stolen cargo.
At the same time…
Responding to the overwhelming outcry from the locals—and to prevent another resurgence of rogue elements—Yoru, the Fourth Mizukage formally annexed the Land of Waves into the Land of Water.
The Land of Waves was reclassified as Wave City.
Ports were constructed. A great bridge was built. Trade routes reopened. Commerce flourished.
At first, the people of Wave City were hesitant. The Bloody Mist reputation still lingered. Given the Land of Waves' underdeveloped information network, the villagers feared Kirigakure's arrival might bring more bloodshed.
But as time passed and contact increased, they realized that Kirigakure wasn't as terrifying as the rumors had claimed.
Aside from their strength surpassing the previous rogue ninja and mafia groups, and their generally cold demeanor, they were superior to those criminals in almost every other aspect.
Most importantly:
They never harmed civilians. Never looted. Never killed without cause.
In time, the people of Wave City grew to accept the Mist ninja. And thanks to the Fourth Mizukage's reformist policies, the city slowly opened up to the world, becoming more prosperous than ever before.
Their lives transformed before their eyes. Their children had new opportunities. Their voices began to echo a new truth:
"Now that Kirigakure is here, Wave City is safe!"
"Now that the Mist has arrived, the skies have cleared!"
"Lord Yoru, the Fourth Mizukage, is the wise ruler of a new age!"
And when he heard such words, the Fourth Mizukage only smiled faintly.
This is simply what it means to be a Kage.
"W-Whoa…!"
Standing at the edge of a massive crater, the soon-to-graduate Momochi Zabuza stared up in awe along with the rest of the Kirigakure Academy students.
Before them, built into the sunken pit of the landscape, was a towering black spire. Only its pointed tip and a single, dark entrance protruded above ground.
It was a buried tower.
"This is the Kirigakure Duel Tower," their instructor Ao explained, leading the cohort of pre-genin forward. "Commissioned directly by the Mizukage and completed after a month of nonstop construction."
The inside was broad, and even with the heavy crowd traffic, it took effort to push through. Dozens of others had gathered—this was clearly a central location.
Once inside, the tower opened up into an enormous library.
Rows upon rows of scroll-filled shelves were arranged by category. Ninja sat at nearly every table, immersed in reading. It looked more like a university than a military installation.
"This… this can't be real," Zabuza whispered.
Out of curiosity, he peeked at a nearby ninja's scroll from a few meters away—sharp eyes were a gift to shinobi, after all.
And what he saw made his eyes widen in shock.
"That's... Kirigakure ninjutsu?!"
Yes. The scroll wasn't a novel or comic. It was a legit jutsu scroll.
"This library… lends out ninjutsu?!"
His classmates gasped in disbelief.
Ao just smiled and nodded to the ANBU staff nearby before turning to explain:
"Exactly. What you're seeing is the first floor of the Duel Tower—an open-access Kirigakure Shinobi Library. You can borrow scrolls here on ninjutsu, secret techniques, historical records, shinobi world intelligence… you name it."
"As long as your ID and scroll logs are properly registered, you can even take them home."
Zabuza, hands trembling, grabbed a scroll labeled "Water Release: Wild Water Wave."
Another—Water Clone Technique.
Every shelf was labeled by release: Water, Fire, Wind, Earth, Lightning…
In the academy, students were rarely taught elemental ninjutsu. Outside of elite clans, these were locked behind fees or mission contributions.
But here? They were just… available?
Better yet, the scrolls weren't just recipes. They included commentary, tips, and training methods from veteran shinobi.
No wonder the library was packed.
"Of course," Ao added, "only E-, D-, and C-rank techniques are openly accessible for now. To borrow higher-level techniques—B, A, or S-rank, or clan secrets—you'll need to apply and get approval."
Even B- and A-rank jutsu? S-rank?
Zabuza was stunned. Even his clan only had a handful of A-rank techniques, and no S-rank ones at all.
Here… they were stored in a library.
"Anyway," Ao clapped his hands. "We're not here to borrow books today. We're here to introduce you to the Kirigakure Duel Tower—your graduation exam will involve this place."
Ao led the reluctant students, who felt as if they were in paradise, out of the Kirigakure Library and began walking towards the second floor.
Zabuza and the other students could barely contain their excitement, quickly following Ao's pace.
If the first floor held so many surprises, what would the lower floors be like?
The first and second floors weren't far apart. After descending two flights of stairs, a dark black door appeared before them.
Ao didn't lead the students directly inside. Instead, he took out a special crystal pendant from his pocket and distributed one to each student.
"Before entering the second floor, please wear this Reishi Crystal Pendant. Of course, these are temporarily distributed to you and will be collected after you leave."
As they passed through the threshold, the air grew dim, bathed in a ghostly blue light.
The moment the light touched them, many students—including Zabuza—buckled under pressure. Some collapsed outright.
But Ao didn't stop them.
They were currently in the second floor, the area with the lowest pressure—it wasn't even enough to trigger the protective threshold of the Reishi Crystal Pendants.
Ao explained. After confirming that all students were wearing their Reishi Crystal Pendants, Ao pushed open the dark black door and stepped inside.
Behind him, Zabuza and the other students looked at the dark door, a feeling akin to exploration welling up in their hearts, and they followed Ao's steps with faces full of curiosity.
The light before them suddenly dimmed, followed by a faint blue glow that appeared before everyone's eyes.
But the instant this faint glow appeared, all the students present, including Zabuza, immediately changed their expressions. Many students even plopped onto the ground, their bodies trembling!
Seeing the students' reactions, Ao didn't stop them or do anything.
The area they were in was the second floor, the area with the least pressure. It wasn't even enough to trigger the Reishi Crystal Pendant's protection threshold.
This pressure wouldn't cause them any harm; even staying here for a long time would only result in a bit more sweat and muscle soreness.
"This is..."
Zabuza furrowed his brows, feeling as if his entire body was moving underwater, enveloped by a pervasive resistance.
"This is the second floor of the Kirigakure Duel Tower, and the first floor of the training area."," Ao explained, helping up a few particularly weak students. "The Duel Tower has six training area total—ranked E to S."
"Each floor has increasing levels of spiritual pressure. Just standing here will train your body, sharpen your chakra control, even your taijutsu."
"The best part? It won't stunt your growth. You kids are lucky. Spend enough time here, and you'll surpass us."
Eyes lit up. Zabuza's classmates were practically vibrating with enthusiasm.
Many were already planning to bring blankets and camp here permanently.
And Ao didn't mind. In Kirigakure, strength has always been king—whether in the Bloody Mist days or the New Mist under the Fourth Mizukage.
And in this generation, that Fourth Mizukage… was only fifteen years old.
"Lord Yoru," Ao said to himself, "has become every child's hero."
Eventually, Ao brought them down to the eighth floor—the tower's namesake:
The Duel Floor.
Zabuza pictured a grand arena. Exploding jutsu. Blades clashing. Life-or-death duels.
Instead… he saw something that made his jaw drop.
A massive crystal orb floated midair.
Below it, dozens of strange machines.
Shinobi wearing vests sat at consoles, eyes shut, as if playing a simulation.
It looked more like an arcade than a combat zone.
"Don't underestimate this," Ao said, lifting one of the devices. "This is a Combat Simulator, designed by Lord Mizukage himself."
"Rather than risk death in live combat, we built a virtual space for shinobi to fight with full immersion. Your consciousness—your soul—enters a simulated world where pain, fatigue, and chakra usage are all 100% real."
"Only death is excluded. Everything else? Totally realistic."
A scream rang out.
A Chūnin tore off his headset, drenched in sweat and shaking. His opponent removed theirs calmly, then smiled:
"I win."
"Damn it! I was so close!"
"Deaths" in the simulation didn't kill, but they drained mental stamina—recovery took a full day. Overuse could lead to refusal of access by the system itself.
Zabuza tried to jump in, only to be blocked by an ANBU.
"You're not qualified yet, kid."
"Tch!"
Ao chuckled. "Yeah… I forgot to mention: only Chūnin and above can access the Duel Floor."
Zabuza sulked.
Ao and the ANBU shared a laugh—until a calm voice interrupted them.
"Looks like you're doing a good job with these kids, Ao."
Everyone turned stiff.
A man in white and blue robes, wearing the Mizukage's hat, walked into view, smiling faintly.
"Lord Yoru!"
"Fourth Mizukage!"
The students bowed instantly, flustered and starstruck.
"You don't need to be so formal," Yoru chuckled. "I just came to check the tower's performance. Don't mind me."
He paused beside Zabuza, then nodded.
"You're from the Momochi clan, right? Not bad."
"I—I'm Momochi Zabuza! Thank you, Lord Mizukage!"
Yoru clapped his shoulder, praised his name, then disappeared into the depths of the eighth floor.
Being Mizukage really isn't bad.
It wasn't just the power or the politics. It was the feeling of being admired, respected—idolized.
No wonder Hiruzen Sarutobi took the seat back after Minato died, rather than appoint a successor.
After inspecting the eighth floor, Yoru quietly descended to the ninth and hidden floor of the tower.
It was a sealed chamber.
Only a few puppet-like figures were present, stationed around a massive machine covered in sealing tags.
This was the true purpose of the Duel Tower:
To build a Concentrated Spirit Zone centered on Kirigakure...
They couldn't just release souls into the world—not without first resolving the conflict between the Pure Land and the darker realm of the dead.
So Yoru and Hiromi had designed a chakra-powered binding engine—the Soul Binding Device—using the tower as its anchor.
And the energy source?
"How are they holding up?" Yoru asked Hiromi, glancing at four zombie-like figures bound to the machine.
"Not well," she said grimly. "Tobirama's Reanimation Jutsui isn't complete.. We lack proper sacrifices. Even as chakra batteries, they break down within a day."
Even using White Zetsu clone bodies hadn't helped.
"It's the jutsu's foundation. Sorry, Lord Yoru. I'm no expert in this area."
Yoru shook his head.
"No need to apologize. Your talent with souls is undeniable. This is beyond your scope."
Everyone had their own specialties. What each person knew and excelled at was different.
Like Yukiko, she had a great talent for researching Kekkei Genkai, but she was a bit lacking in soul research. That was normal.
There was only one man.
Except for Orochimaru.
Orochimaru was practically the greatest scientific genius in the ninja world. He had profound research into ninjutsu, human bodies, and souls.
In the original series, by the time of the Boruto era, Orochimaru was completely overpowered, a being who transcended life and death through scientific research!
Although the current Orochimaru was still far behind the "Snake Lady" of the Boruto era, talent was something that couldn't be changed. Moreover, the current Orochimaru was already researching Edo Tensei, even using it in combat.
"It seems I'll have to find some time to have a talk with that Orochimaru..."
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin