They hadn't gone far before Hatake Satoru and Shisui noticed someone was following them.
Most likely Kirigakure's Anbu.
Hatake Satoru looked out at the foggy mountains ahead. Kirigakure had hidden itself deep in the wilderness.
Like some kind of reclusive hermit.
But in this so-called hidden place, everyone had gone completely crazy.
Hatake Satoru shook his head slightly to signal Shisui. Neither of them made a move against the Anbu behind them.
It wasn't smart to try anything here—this was their home turf, after all.
Wandering around too much might just get them trapped.
Still, being tailed was annoying, so the two of them quietly picked up the pace.
"No one goes in or out of the village without the Mizukage's permission."
A guard with a fierce face blocked Hatake Satoru, who was looking at the map as he tried to enter the village.......................................
Shisui froze for a moment—this really was someone else's territory.
He'd been so focused on the route just now that he didn't even notice this person coming.
"We're here to apply for teaching positions at the ninja academy."
Hatake Satoru looked up at the guard and held up a piece of paper.
"??!!"
A few heads popped out of the mist, and the fog around them started to clear a little.
The guards at the gate gathered around, taking turns looking at the paper in Hatake Satoru's hand and then at the two of them.
They all looked at them like they were seeing ghosts.
"This paper really got some teachers to show up, huh."
"These two? They don't look like they're up to the job."
"If they can't handle it, they'll run off in a few days. We'll see then."
Behind the thick mist, a hidden Anbu stared thoughtfully at the backs of Hatake Satoru and Shisui, then silently faded back into the fog.
"Here, wear these armbands for now. If you're still around after three days, go to the Mizukage and return them."
A guard handed them two dark blue cloth armbands with the Kirigakure Village symbol on them.
Hatake Satoru and Shisui glanced at each other, then tied the bands onto their arms.
These bands meant that they were outsiders who had been allowed into the village.
Back when the war had just ended, Konohagakure used similar bands too.
After getting a stamp on their application forms, the two of them were allowed to enter.
"You think those two can last more than a couple days?"
One of the guards asked once the two had disappeared from sight.
"They don't even have headbands. Might end up dead by this afternoon."
The guards were clearly used to scenes like this. They shrugged and returned to their posts.
By the time Hatake Satoru and Shisui got into the village, it was already around mid-morning.
The whole place was eerily quiet. People were clearly living in the buildings, but the streets were completely empty.
Fog, nothing but fog. The place felt like Silent Hill.
Obito's way of running a village really wasn't it.
But then again, Obito wasn't very old at this point—still going through his edgy phase, messing around with the place however he wanted.
The closer they got to the ninja academy, the heavier the atmosphere felt.
Even the mist started to carry a faint smell of blood.
"This road… it leads to the school, right?"
Shisui may be a ninja, but he still relied on his eyes to see.
Something was definitely wrong with this fog. It felt like they were heading straight into a slaughterhouse.
"Yeah, just about five hundred meters more."
"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!"
Just as Hatake Satoru finished speaking, a man with a twisted face came running out of the fog.
He was screaming and sprinted past Hatake Satoru like he was running from a demon.
"Let me go! Let me go!!"
"I won't tell anyone what I saw here—just let me go!!"
Before Hatake Satoru or Shisui could stop him to ask questions,
several water-style jutsus shot out from the fog—water balls flying straight at him.
*Splurt*. *Splurt*. A few wet sounds, and the man's screams suddenly went silent.
Blood splattered out and instantly turned the nearby mist red. The smell of blood in the air became even stronger and harder to bear.
The person who did it didn't seem to notice Hatake Satoru or Shisui at all. After killing, they disappeared without a trace.
Even though Shisui had heard about how brutal Kirigakure Village could be, he was still stunned by the murder that happened right at the school gate.
Hatake Satoru touched his chin and said thoughtfully,
"In Kirigakure, ninja have to kill all their classmates to graduate. Only the last one standing gets to pass."
"Well, it's basically raising people like raising poison bugs."
With this kind of training, the ninjas who survive grow up really strong.
But of course, it also means they've pretty much lost their humanity.
In the middle of the bloody mist, the two of them stepped through the school gates.
Inside and outside the school felt like two completely different worlds.
The thick fog that was almost choking them vanished instantly. Everything inside the school became clear—there wasn't even a trace of mist.
Still, even with the view cleared up—
The school, just like the rest of the village, gave off a tense and suffocating feeling.
Hatake Satoru could sense that the students were very spread out—there were probably only twenty or thirty of them total.
But they were all hiding as much as they could. Not a single person was standing anywhere visible.
"Are you… here to apply as teachers?"
A head suddenly popped out from a small guardhouse by the gate, asking Hatake Satoru.
To him, the application form in Hatake Satoru's hand looked more like a death sentence.
Being a teacher here meant putting your life on the line.
"Yep~ that's right, but I don't really see anyone in charge around here?"
Hatake Satoru smiled as he waved the form in his hand, tilting his head playfully.
"I'm the one in charge. You can sign up with me."
"Most of the teachers have already left, and things are pretty tense between the students inside too."
The guard's eyes shifted as he handed over a form.
Seems like he's hiding something.
Hatake Satoru studied the guard carefully and then wrote his name down for the teacher position.
As for Shisui, he signed up under the name "Mochizuki" as a teacher's assistant.
"If I decide this job isn't for me, can I just leave on my own?" Hatake Satoru asked casually while signing.
The guard suddenly went quiet, his eyes flickering like he'd just been hit in a weak spot.
When Hatake Satoru finished signing, the guard took the form back and said in a low voice,
"According to the rules… yes, you can."
"But so far, not a single teacher has made it out of here alive."
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