In the ghastly pale and wan moonlight,

The newly recruited members of Seven Mist Swordsmen stands at the outer edge of the Kiri village. ​​

The group stares at the premises of a clan building from a cliff as they discuss among themselves.

"Akifumi-sama.... passed his orders to slaughter the subsidiary clans of Terumi clan. Since… we aim to weaken their power and influence… let's start with the Doku clan… this clan would prove quite troublesome… if not dealt early."

Mangetsu stares at the buildings of the Doku clan as he orders the rest of the group.

Slick…

Kisame licks his lips as he stares at the clan.

"Samehada is quite hungry these past few days… I haven't gotten an opportunity to feed it. Looks like the time for the feast has come… slick…"

Renjouro frowns as he remarks.

"Kisame… I am sure… you are aware of the abilities of the Doku clan… if not... let me remind you… Doku clan does not possess frightening fighting capability as a shinobi clan… but their Kekkei Genkai 'Poison Release' is a quite fearsome ability….

Doku clan members can manipulate their chakra and surrounding water to create a deadly poison… Even their chakra contains poison… Once it comes in contact with water or mist… the poison will quickly spread in the surroundings…

Their poison mist was feared among all other nations during previous Shinobi wars. One slight mistake… and you will be poisoned to death."

Renjouro warns Kisame.

"Don't be too reckless… Kisame."

Kisame pats Samehada as he draws it from his shoulder.

"Nah… Samehada is way too gluttonous… it won't be affected by the poison. Poison will only numb its senses for a bit of time and will make it drunk."

"Samehada may be immune to poison… but the same can't be said about you." Renjouro remarks.

"Who knows…" Kisame has a mysterious smile on his face.

"Focus on the mission… we have to do a clean job… we three will take care of the main fighting members of the Doku clan. The rest of the Anbus will take care of the remaining members."

Mangetsu silences them as he plans out their attack.

"You are the leader…" Kisame raises his hands in agreement.

"Very well…" Mangetsu signals to the rest of the Anbu members as he leaps from the cliff.

Kisame and Renjouro follows him.

-----------------

The Moonlight slowly fades away as dawn appears on the horizon.

"Huff… huff… Bad news… Fuji-sama… bad news…" Wakan breathes heavily as he rushes through the corridors of the Terumi mansion.

Fuji is sipping his morning tea with Elder Genji as they discuss various political matters.

"Bad news… Fuji-sama…"

Wakan hurriedly pushes away the door and enters the room.

Fuji and Elder Genji frown as both of them stare at Wakan.

"Calm down... Wakan…" Fuji calms him down.

"Now explain…"

Wakan takes a deep breath as he reports.

"Doku clan… Doku clan… is gone… Fuji-sama…"

"WHAT?..." Fuji exclaims as he stands from his seat.

"What's the matter… tell me every single detail of this matter." He grabs Wakan's shoulder and questions him.

Wakan narrates the entire series of events to Fuji.

Bam…

Fuji stomps his foot on the floor as various cracks appear from the ground. Steam rises from Fuji's legs.

"Those noble clans bastards… they have done it now… we can't maintain our neutral stance any longer… those bunch of lunatics murdered an entire clan of shinobis because they feared their prowess… Damnit… I can't stand them any longer. Now… only a war will calm my flames of fury."

"They have crossed the boundary with this move…" Elder Genji clutches his staff in anger.

"… First Yuki clan… now… Doku clan… they are destroying the very foundation of the village. Doku clan with their 'Poison Release' Kekkei Genkai was one of the major factors which lead to our victory in the Second Shinobi War."

Bam…

Elder Genji slams his stick on the floor.

"Immediately… summon all of our forces and the leaders of our ally clans… we have to counterattack against the tyranny of Noble faction."

Elder Genji orders his subordinates.

---------------------

Later in the afternoon…

Izuna is sitting beside Mei as he listens to the conversation of various clan leaders happening in the emergency meeting.

Hmm…

He looks around and is unable to locate Utakata.

'So… they sealed the Six-tails inside him. I guess… it will take some time for the seal to stabilize… the sealing formulas of Kirigakure aren't as efficient as the Uzumaki clan.'

Izuna muses over the conversation of various clan leaders.

'So… the noble faction made their move and directly massacred the Doku clan.'

Izuna folds his hands below his chin as he ponders.

'Doku clan members possess the 'Poison Release' Kekkei Genkai… I have met and done some missions with their members during these few previous months… Last night… just happened to be the night… where I returned to Konohagakure… But I never expected such a thing from Noble faction.'

Mei listens to the conversation as anger seethe in her eyes.

"Unforgivable… this act is unforgivable. Those noble faction members are a bunch of animals… they even massacred the innocent children and even civilians residing near the Doku clan."

Izuna tries to calm her down.

"Lady Mei… we won't let them get away scot-free from this incident. All of them will pay for their crimes."

Mei calms down a little as anger is still blazing in her eyes.

"We will hunt down their anbu members… one by one… I will make them repay this debt of blood."

She turns to Izuna and the group and discusses a plan with them.

"Let's go and investigate the clan district of the Doku clan."

The group departs for the Doku clan district.

------------------------

Inside the Kiri village….

The information of the wipeout of the Doku clan spreads like a wildfire across the village. Various rumors and hoaxes spread among various civilians.

Many civilian shinobi starts to have second thoughts about the village.

"We don't want to get embroiled in this power struggle of shinobi clans. It is better to leave this bloody village as soon as possible." One of the civilian shinobi talks with his friend.

"Yes… I have similar thoughts… I don't want to die an untimely death. We civilians have no backing, and the higher-ups will order us to do their bidding during this war. I became a shinobi to feed my family… not to get tossed around by the whims of those higher-ups. Who knows… when will they send me on a suicide mission?" His friend nods to him.

Similar conversation occurs throughout the village as many shinobi plans to desert the village.

Mei and the group walk through the village as she listens to one such conversation.

Mei frowns, and an ugly expression appears on her face.

"If only the Fourth Mizukage could handle this matter more efficiently… then such a situation wouldn't have happened in the village. He is still yet to address the massacre of the Doku clan… when apparent involvement of Noble clan is visible."

'Hmm… Yagura is under Obito's control… and I have some doubts regarding this Akifumi of the Noble faction. I must check on him.'

Zengetsu tightly clutches his sword.

"Looks like… I will soon get the opportunity to fight him. That sword style… it was his… there is no mistake in it."

Izuna raises his head and looks at Harusame.

'He hasn't talked a single word since the meeting. I am sure he is upset about Utakata becoming a jinchuruki. I am not sure of his backstory... and I have no interest either.'

"Time to put our plan in action." Mei signals them.

The group walks towards the outskirts of Kiri and arrives in a dilapidated slum area.

The area reeks of blood, piss, and poverty. Izuna frowns and turns towards Mei.

"Do you think it will work?... your idea to negotiate with the lower caste of Kiri. Most of them hate Kiri to their core… and if they are provided with an opportunity to slaughter… then they won't hesitate to do so."

Shh…

Mei places a finger on his mouth as she lowers her voice and whispers to him.

"Exactly… these groups of people are enemies of Kirigakure… or to be exact… they are enemies of the higher caste. The Noble faction has abused them since the era of the First Mizukage… and over time their hatred turned into a deep-seated grudge." Mei smiles at him as she remarks.

"You mean to say that… you will use the people of lower caste to fight against the Noble faction." Izuna raises his eyebrow.

Mei nods her head.

"Yes… these people have enough hate inside them to annihilate the Noble faction. If I negotiate with them… then they will be able to help us deal with the Noble faction."

"Will this idea of your work? What if these people backstab you and follow the Noble clan… won't our middle-class faction fall in trouble?" Izuna questions her intention.

"No… they won't." Mei shakes her head.

"I have seen the harassment and abuse of Noble faction on these people. Never in their sane mind… will they betray us. Alright… let's talk with them."

Mei walks up to a nearby lower caste shinobi who has been scrutinizing them with a vicious gaze for a while.

"We have a deal for you. Take us to our leader." Mei cuts the chit-chat and jumps directly on point.

"Who are you?... We have nothing to talk with higher class people… get out of here… you are not welcome here." The shinobi waves his head in annoyance.

'Come on… I don't have time for this. I will do it my way.'

Izuna activates his Sharingan.

'Genjutsu: Sharingan'

He casts a genjutsu on the shinobi. The shinobi walks deeper into the slums.

"Follow him. I think he is leading the way."

Izuna follows him. Mei tilts her head in confusion but follows him nonetheless.

'How did he change his mind so suddenly?'