The man cursed, "Juzo! You bastard! Our village raised you and trained you for years. The Third Mizukage even gave you that sword! Why the hell did you betray us? And why are you attacking me? Did you forget how long we fought together before you were chosen as one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist? Also, what's with that weird cloak?"

Juzo didn't answer his question and instead asked, "Mitsuru, were you the one to slaughter those two villages?"

Mitsuru frowned. He asked, "What of it? We have done the same thing so many times in the past war! Our village needs funds for defeating those fucking rebels. Don't tell me you have gone soft after betraying our village."

Suddenly, a grin appeared on Juzo's face. He said, "I don't care about that trash. I have just been asked to collect the bounty on your head."

In the next moment, Juzo disappeared from his spot. He appeared behind Mitsuru. A second later, Mitsuru's head flew from his head. He looked at Juzo hatefully as he, a Jounin from the Mizukage faction, died.

Juzo collected his head while recalling his interaction with Pain.

A few days ago, in a hidden base inside the Land of Rain, a silhouette suddenly appeared. Two pairs of eyes glanced towards the figure.

The Deva Path Pain instructed, "Juzo, go to the southern shores of the Land of Hot Water. A large number of Kiri ninjas have infiltrated there and are causing several massacres. You will collect the bounties of the Kiri ninjas that are attacking."

A frown formed on Juzo's expression. He said, "I already informed you that I have no intention of dealing with Kirigakure. You can send Kakuzu or Itachi there instead of me."

Pain shook his head and replied, "Kakuzu is finding information about the two Jinchurikis in Iwagakure. However, he had hit a dead end. Itachi will be sent there to cooperate with him. Not to mention, you are more familiar with how the Kiri shinobi operate. For that reason, I have also sent Kisame to that location."

Juzo sighed and said, "Alright."

Pain nodded and instructed, "Both of you will leave right away."

His figure disappeared from the base. Soon after, Itachi and Juzo disappeared as well. One moved towards the Land of Earth while the other moved in the opposite direction and entered the Land of Fire.

As Juzo stored Mitsuru's head, he thought, 'Though he asked me to collect the bounty, I believe his main concern was the innocent people who were dying due to the actions of the Mizukage. Being soft like that won't be of any help in fulfilling his goal.

Regardless, I need to speed up. Once the Kiri ninjas learn about Mitsuru's death, they will escape. I need to find their main base before that happens. That said, I have to admit that they have become far better at hiding. From what I remember, they should have been moving openly in a weak country like this one. I wonder what changed after I left.'

He sighed and wondered, "Why couldn't he send Kakuzu here and send me with Itachi instead? Isn't collecting bounties his job? Also, why does Akatsuki need so much money? I don't recall any operations needing money so far."

He disappeared from his spot and began looking for the remaining Kiri ninjas. Just like him, another group was searching for the Kiri ninjas near the shores.

After searching for almost half a day, Yugao and the rest had gone through every suspected base and had returned empty. With his shoulders dropped, Bunjiro complained, "This Land of Hot Water is completely useless. Not a single base they marked had anyone inside it. Forget people, we didn't even find any signs of the bases being occupied previously!"

Fumito sighed as well. Since no conflict occurred, he had to do all the work. Though Yugao and Bunjiro were sensors as well, they paled in comparison to Fumito's sensing skills. Since the opponents were suspected to be quite strong, they didn't take any unnecessary risks.

Yugao said, "It's already past midnight. Let's take a break. We will begin our investigation again tomorrow."

The three of them began looking for a decent place to rest for the night. While looking for it, they found a cave that was very well hidden from sight. They were about to walk towards it when all three suddenly stopped and hid behind trees. A moment later, 2 ninjas appeared out of the cave.

All three Konoha ninjas had a peculiar expression. They cursed in their minds, 'We searched for these bastards all day! And just when we were about to quit and take a break, they appeared in front of us by themselves?'

Of the two ninjas that appeared from the cave, one was a Jounin while the other was a Chunin. The Chunin exclaimed, "Finally, we can move out again. I can't spend any more time in that dull cave."

He looked at the Jounin and asked, "Captain, why do we stay so careful? Unless Yugakure mobilizes its entire force, they won't be able to do anything to us."

The Jounin frowned and said, "Don't get too overconfident. This isn't the first time we are doing such a mission. The last time we tried it, we suffered heavy losses. That is why we are acting so carefully this time."

The Chunin was surprised. He asked, "How could Yugakure have someone who can defeat us?"

The Jounin answered, "It wasn't Yugakure ninja. They issued the mission to Konoha who sent that cowardly swordsman. That coward cut down dozens of our dispersed ninjas one by one. If we hadn't been lucky, we might not have even understood who it was. But, by the time we realized it, our forces had already suffered a heavy loss. When we grouped together, he didn't attack us even once."

The incident that he said was before Fujin had become an Anbu Captain and the title of the Spectral Swordsman wasn't given to him yet. During one assassination during the mission, 3 Kiri Jounins suddenly appeared, forcing Fujin to retreat. It was the first instance of him being seen in action by someone who didn't end up dead.

The Chunin was shocked. He said, "I had heard rumors about the Spectral Swordsman. But I thought they were just rumors. Why would Konoha dare to attack us? We are a major village too."

The Jounin replied, "But we are embroiled in a war. At such a time, we can't afford to go to war with Konoha. Besides, we didn't know for sure if it was Konoha back then. But now we do."

The Chunin nodded. He said, "That's enough depressing talks. Let's just go and steal from those losers again."

The Jounin nodded. Both he and Chunin began moving towards a village.

Though Yugao and the others couldn't hear their words, they understood that the Kiri ninjas were moving out to attack the villages. All three exchanged glances. At the same time, all three disappeared from their spots and silently trailed the two Kiri ninjas.

After moving a sufficient distance away from the cave, they immediately sprung into action. Yugao grabbed her sword.

'Hazy Moon Night'

She flickered and moved towards the Jounin. Though he hadn't sensed the Konoha ninjas, as soon as Yugao made her move, he became alert. He grabbed a kunai and turned around while shouting, "There are enemies!"

The Chunin also became alert. The Jounin saw Yugao moving rapidly and the afterimages of her sword. A grim expression appeared on his face.

Yugao appeared in front of him and swung her sword straight at his neck while utilizing her high speed. To her surprise, the enemy Jounin blocked her sword with his kunai perfectly.

Yugao quickly followed up with several dozen high-speed sword attacks. The Kiri Jounin also moved his kunai rapidly and blocked every attack while retreating backwards.

The Kiri Chunin was shocked to see such a high-speed battle. He was about to attack Yugao when he noticed another figure from the corner of his eye.

Bunjiro appeared and threw six Shurikens at the Chunin. The Chunin blocked a couple with his kunai and dodged the rest.

The Jounin moved towards him and shouted, "Send a signal immediately. I will cover you."

The Chunin shouted, "I will!"

The Jounin couldn't take his attention off Yugao for even a second. He was having difficulty in blocking her sword. And due to her fast-paced attacks, he didn't have any time to weave hand signs.

The Jounin blocked another Yugao's sword once again and cursed, "I will make you regre Ugh!!"

In horror, he turned his head to look behind him. His subordinate had stabbed him with his kunai instead of sending a signal!

Before he could understand what was happening, Yugao took advantage of the distraction and beheaded him! He died without understanding why his loyal subordinate had betrayed him.