Next day
Early morning
In a port outside the Hidden Mist Village
300 genins were gathered in the port alongside 50 chunins and 10 jounins.
Most of the genins who were gathered in the port passed the graduation exams in recent years; however, there are some genins from the small shinobi clans and from the four noble clans among the 300 genins.
Just now, Yukina left the village with Fuguki, and they started walking toward the port together.
Yukina wore her new short purple kimono, along with fishnet armors on her thighs and her torso.
She was wearing her black shinobi sandals and had wrapped her forehead protector around her neck. She also wrapped some bandages around her ankles.
Yukina had tied her black hair in a bun using an elegant purple hairpin.
Yukina received the hairpin as a gift yesterday from Aya when she delivered the katana that her father forged to Fuguki.
After Fuguki received the new katana, he gifted it to Yukina as a gift, and right now Yukina is carrying it on her back.
While Yukina was walking to the port with Fuguki, she unsheathed her new katana from her back and looked at it with admiration.
Ever since Yukina laid her eyes on the katana, she has been in love with it because everything about it looks perfect.
The katana had a black and red handle with a dark red cross guard. The katana's sheath was very elegant; it is black in color with many small, dark red circles around it.
The katana blade was pitch black, like the night without the moons and stars.
Yukina remembered that after Fuguki gave her the katana, he asked her to name it.
Flashback
After Aya left Fuguki's house, Fuguki handed the new katana to Yukina and said to her, "This katana is yours, girl. Take care of it."
Yukina was surprised when she heard this, but she quickly recovered and said to Fuguki, "I already have a katana, sensei." I don't use two swords to fight. I don't think it is suitable for me to specialize in two swords; you should give this katana to someone else."
Fuguki chuckled when he heard this and he started explaining his reasoning to Yukina: "Girl, this katana is made from chakra metal. You can flow your chakra smoothly into it."
"In the future, you can coat the katana with wind chakra, which will increase the cutting power of your katana tremendously."
"Furthermore, you may be able to cut through metals and steels if you master your wind affinity and hone it to a very high level."
Yukina widened her eyes upon hearing this and told Fuguki, "This sounds like the pure sword style - the Sword Heart Realm."
Fuguki smirked when he heard this and said, "You are right; the only difference between them is that the sword heart realm represents pure swordsmanship, while coating a katana with wind chakra demonstrates mastery of chakra nature."
Yukina nodded her head in understanding. She unsheathed the katana, and she started swinging it elegantly in the air. She smiled widely in happiness as she continued swinging it.
"SWISH, SWISH, SWISH, SWISH."
Fuguki watched Yukina swing the katana while she was smiling, and then he said to her, "Girl, you should give a name to this katana."
Yukina stopped swinging her new katana, looked at Fuguki in confusion, and asked, "Are you serious, sensei? Katanas are weapons. Why should we name them?"
Fuguki smirked when he heard the question and he started explaining to Yukina, "It is an old samurai teaching, girl. Every sword has its own personality. To use a sword to its full potential, you will need to understand its personality."
"I didn't believe this teaching at first but after I mastered all seven swords of the mist, I started feeling the personality of any sword I touched."
Yukina widened her eyes in shock when she heard this. She then looked at her new katana and asked, "Then what is this katana's personality like, sensei?"
Fuguki shook his head and said, "If you ever want to reach the top as a kenjutsu master, you will need to figure it out by yourself."
Yukina smiled widely like a lunatic when she heard this; her gaze then landed on the pure black blade, and she exclaimed loudly, "Alright, I've decided. I will name this katana the moonless night."
End of Flashback
Fuguki and Yukina arrived at the port, which was the meeting place for all the Mist Shinobi participants in the invasion mission against the small Shinobi villages .
Many genins belonging to some of the shinobi clans looked at Yukina out of curiosity.
Not far away from Yukina, genins from the Yuki clan looked at Yukina with hostility.
A blond, middle-aged man wearing the traditional Jounin outfits of the Hidden Mist Village walked towards the Yuki clan genins and said, "Don't forget your mission. Your priority is to kill that girl. You need to do it when Fuguki is not around. Do I make myself clear?"
The blond, middle-aged man is one of the Yuki clan elders; his name is Ryu.
Ryu's blond hair was reaching his shoulder He had green eyes, fair skin, a handsome face, sharp eyebrows, and a lean, muscular physique.
The genins nodded their heads obediently when they heard Ryu's order, except for a boy with blond hair who resembled Ryu.
The blond boy was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt, black shinobi pants, black sandals, and a forehead protector that belongs to the Hidden Mist Village.
The blond boy looked at Yukina in disdain and replied to Ryu, "Don't worry, Father; she doesn't look like much. I will kill her on my own in no time."
When Ryu heard this, he became enraged and started scolding the boy, "You fool, don't underestimate her. She killed two Chunin assassins sent by the clan leader all by herself, and she recently became Fuguki senpai's apprentice. We need to kill her as soon as possible before she grows stronger."
The blond boy widened his eyes in disbelief; after a moment, he looked at Yukina with eyes full of jealousy.
_________
Not far away from the Yuki clan genins, Nangatsu walked toward the Hozuki clan genins.
He looked at his son Mangetsu with pride because Mangetsu is the Hozuki clan's number one genius.
Mangetsu had purple eyes, shoulder-length, white-colored hair, and a lean, muscular physique.
He wore a black, sleeveless shirt, light-purple-colored pants, and striped leg warmers. He carried a water bottle attached to a belt around his waist, and he wore bandages around his neck .
Mangetsu wore a standard Hidden Mist Village forehead protector on his forehead.
Nangatsu looked at his Hozuki clan's genins and said to them, "Kids, do you see the girl with Fuguki-sama?"
The genins nodded their heads to Nangatsu upon seeing Yukina.
Mangetsu looked at his father in confusion and asked, "Father, why are you mentioning this girl? Who is she?"
Nangatsu sighed in regret as he recalled the last clan meeting that took place yesterday after Zangatsu returned from his meeting with Yukina.
Flashback
Zangatsu and Hozuki clan elders were in the clan meeting room Gangatsu looked at his brother in confusion and asked, "Big brother, what's with the urgent meeting?"
Zangatsu looked at his brother with a complicated gaze, and then he said to him, "Gangatsu, I met with your daughter, and let me tell you this: she is an incredible girl."
Gangatsu was surprised when he heard this; the rest of the elders listened to Zangatsu with interest.
Zangatsu then started narrating his meeting with Yukina, and all the elders, including Gangatsu, widened their eyes in shock at what they heard
After he finished narrating his meeting with Yukina to the elders, he honestly stated, "I no longer care about using the girl to obtain the Yuki clan's bloodline, which our clan may or may not inherit from her."
"I am also no longer interested in using my little niece to further harm the Yuki clan's reputation."
"However, I am sure about one thing: if my niece eventually joins our clan, a glorious era will usher in our clan, not because of the ice release kekkei genkei and not because her existence is harming the Yuki clan's reputation."
Zangatsu took a deep breath to calm down and continued, "It is because the girl is an incredible girl. She is prideful and incredibly mature; she is not easily tempted, and she is willing to walk the hard path to reach her goal. Someone like her will earn anyone's respect."
"If she becomes a key figure of our clan in the future, I have no doubt we will enter a glorious era."
All the elders were stunned after hearing this and Zangatsu continued, "I haven't given up on her yet. I will do everything in my power to bring her to our clan no matter what. We had formed an alliance with her this time and this is an opportunity for us to prove to her we are a trustworthy and reliable ally."
Nangatsu was anxious. He then asked Zangatsu, "Clan leader, how should we prove our reliability and trustworthiness to the girl?"
Zangatsu's eyes turned cold and he answered, "First, we will stick to our alliance condition: we will not interfere with my little niece's battles; we will interfere only when she is on the verge of death."
"Second, when we interfere, we are going to kill her enemies, especially the Yuki clan members."
All the elders nodded their heads in understanding.
He then said to the elders, "I want the genins that we will send on the invasion mission to form a friendship with her. I want her to feel that we are family. We had abandoned her once; we will not abandon her again."
All the elders nodded when they heard Zangatsu's orders; they stood up and left the clan meeting room.
End of Flashback
Nangatsu then looked seriously at Mangetsu and said, "Her name is Yukina. She is a family son. The Hozuki clan blood runs in her veins. We had abandoned her once in the past. The clan leader and the elders regret their decision. We want to prove to her that we consider her family."
"We recently formed an alliance with her. The condition of the alliance is we can't interfere in her battle unless she is on the verge of death. Remember that."
________
Not far away from the Hozuki clan stood the Kaguya clan elder with his genins.
The Kaguya clan elder was draped in white beast fur; he had tanned skin, grey eyes, and two red dots on his forehead.
The elder laughed like a madman when he saw Fuguki and Yukina.
"So this is the girl who turned Kirigakure from a boring village to a very interesting village. Listen up, you brats: your job is to observe this girl carefully. The clan leader is genuinely interested in her. If the Yuki clan tries anything funny, slaughter them."
All the genins smirked widely like lunatics after hearing the elder's order and they nodded their heads.
_________
On the other side, the elder of the Terumi clan briefly looked at Yukina before looking away.
He was wearing the traditional Jounin attire of the Hidden Mist Village.
He had short black hair, blue eyes, a handsome face, sharp eyebrows, and a lean, muscular physique.
______
Around the ships that were ready for the invasion mission stood a beautiful Chunin and her fellow Chunins.
The Chunin's name is Mei Terumi; she is the genius of the Terumi clan who possessed two kekkei genkais.
She is the niece of Ema Terumi, who trained Yukina in the wartime training camp.
Mei is 14 years old. She has long, dark red hair, green eyes, an elegant face, exquisite eyelashes, elegant eyebrows, and a curvy body.
She was wearing the traditional Chunin attire of the Hidden Mist Village.
When she saw Fuguki and Yukina, her eyes shone with interest. "So this is the girl whom Aunt Ema praised." She told me her talent in ninjutsu surpasses mine. After the mission, I should meet her and get to know her."
Next to Mei stood a boy her age; his name is Kisame Hoshigaki. He looks like a humanoid fish, and he is from one of the small shinobi clans in Hidden Mist Village, the Hoshigaki clan.
He smirked upon seeing Yukina and Fuguki, then asked Mei, "Is this the girl who killed two Chunin assassins and damaged the reputation of the arrogant Yuki clan?"
Mei giggled when she heard this and replied to Kisame, "Yes, she is the one."
Kisame chuckled when he heard this and said to Mei, "I believe things will get interesting in this mission."
Mei giggled and nodded her head to Kisame.
_________
With Yukina and Fuguki
Yukina then stood next to Fuguki when they arrived in the port.
Yukina looked around in curiosity but then her eyes landed on a purple-haired girl. Her eyes widened for a brief second, then she smiled widely when she recognized the girl.
She quickly rushed to her and gave her a big hug. "Koko-chan, I can't believe it's really you!" I missed you so much."
Koko's eyes moistened when she saw Yukina and said, "Yukina-chan, I missed you too. I'm happy you are alright."
Fuguki gave an unnoticeable smile and he let the two girls have their moment.
"You have grown soft, Fuguki senpai."
Fuguki chuckled when he heard this; he turned his head and saw Juzo smirking in amusement at him.
He then grabbed a bottle of sake, and he and Juzo started drinking.
______
With Yukina
While Yukina was chatting with Koko, she heard a familiar voice not far away saying, "Well, if it isn't Yukina. Look at you; you've changed. I didn't recognize you with your new outfit."
Yukina turned her head and she saw Zabuza walking towards her while smiling widely like a lunatic.
Zabuza was bare-chested, wearing the Hidden Mist Village forehead protector, gray shinobi pants, and black sandals; he was carrying a katana around his waist.
Yukina smiled when she saw Zabuza and she greeted him, "Hey, Zabuza, good to see you again."
Zabuza scoffed when he heard Yukina greeting him and asked, "What's with the outfit, Yukina? You look so girly."
Koko and Yukina exchanged a few blinks, then Yukina burst into laughter, saying, "HAHAHA, you idiot, I am a girl after all; of course I will look girly."
Koko giggled while covering her mouth, but then she heard a cough nearby and saw her friend looking at her with disappointment. She briefly introduced her friend to Yukina.
"Yukina-chan, this is my good friend Yagura."
Yukina looked at Yagura and smiled at him. and said to him, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Yagura."
Yagura smiled back at Yukina and said to her, "I heard a lot about you from Koko chan It is a pleasure to meet you, Yukina-chan."
Yagura had short, messy, grey hair, which fell over the right side of his face and spiked up on the left. He also had pupilless pink eyes.
His attire included a grey, sleeveless shirt with the Kiri forehead protector attached to the front, as well as short-sleeved mesh armor, over which he wore a green poncho. He also wore a turquoise sash around his waist, paired with a matching green apron over his pants and a pair of brown boots. Along with it, he would carry a club with uneven-sized hooks, which bore a green flower on the larger end.
After the brief introduction, Koko, Zabuza, Yagura, and Yukina started chatting and joking with each other.
_______
10 minutes later
The Jounin commander Akane stepped on one of the ships in the port and yelled loudly; he used his chakra to make his voice heard by everyone nearby.
"Be quiet, everyone. We wasted so much time; now listen carefully."
Everyone in the port quieted down and listened carefully to what the Jounin commander was about to say.
"We will divide the genins into three regiments; each regiment will invade one of the remaining small shinobi villages." Your mission is to destroy the three villages."
"Kill everyone. If an enemy shinobi is willing to surrender and join our village, then you may spare their life."
All the Kiri Shinobi in the port nodded in understanding, and the Jounin commander continued.
"This is an A-rank mission; if a regiment was able to find valuable resources in the invasion, the mission could evolve into an S-rank mission."
When Kiri shinobi heard this, they widened their eyes in shock, while the Jounin commander continued speaking.
"Wartime commission is in full effect; your chunin leaders will give you a full explanation about it later."
"The Jounins who are accompanying the regiments are forbidden from participating in the battle; only genins and the Chunins are allowed to participate."
"Now the Chunin regiment leaders will call the names of the genin. When you hear your name, board the ship to begin sailing toward your designated village. May the mist guide you."
The Jounin commander then stepped down and the Chunins started naming the genins to their regiment list.
Koko, Yukina, Zabuza, and Yagura are parts of Regiment Three; they boarded the ship together.
Fuguki and Juzo boarded Regiment Three's ship since Yukina and Zabuza were their apprentices; their role was to accompany their apprentices and keep watch on them.
.
Mangetsu, along with several members of the Hozuki clan, was also part of Regiment Three, which included members from the Yuki clan, like the blond boy, some of the Kaguya clan, the Turimi clan, and the Hoshigaki clan.
After everyone got on board the ship, they sailed away.