Chapter 182: Ghosts in the Mist (Part-4) [Ren’s Vacation Home In The Mist: Now With Women’s Bathroom]

Chapter 182 - Ghosts in the Mist (Part-4) [Ren’s Vacation Home In The Mist: Now With Women’s Bathroom] Thirteen shadows cut silently through the frigid ocean near the Land of Water's coastal waters, their passage hidden from anyone above. As Ren had expected, the Mist hadn't just stationed scouts at the outer perimeter, instead, there were countless hidden sensors and watch points along the seabed approach. But none of them came close to catching the Leaf shinobi. They moved so deep that any deeper and they'd be walking the sea floor itself. For most, even skilled shinobi, holding their breath that long under crushing water pressure would be impossible, but the medical squad moved constantly among them, using minor healing pulses to stave off damage and resupply oxygen before it turned fatal. If any mistake slipped through, Ren or Utakata were there to act immediately; both could endure these depths far longer than any normal shinobi. But even this method had its limits. Ren finally paused mid-swim, remembering something he'd refined once out of boredom. He pressed his palm to his lips and exhaled a stream of condensed chakra. A few seconds later, a bubble formed around his mouth, then spread around his head until it enclosed it completely it was a shimmering globe of oxygen-rich Wind chakra, sustained with a thread of Yang release to stabilize it. It was a trick based on his [Wind Style: Wind Ignition Field] It was a technique that was normally used to saturate an area with oxygen-rich wind before igniting it with fire chakra for a massive blast. This time, there would be no explosion, only controlled, breathable air. Ren stopped and moved to each shinobi, forming similar bubbles around their heads. One by one, the tension in their eyes eased as they could finally breathe freely. Seeing the squads steady, Ren asked flatly, "How long?" Number 4, his voice clear through the bubble, replied, "The nearest landmass is five minutes ahead at our current pace." Ren nodded. "That should be the outer boundary of the Land of Water. Let's keep moving." They pushed on in a single silent line of shinobi flowing through the dark. At one point, Kakashi suddenly angled upward, flickered out of view, then dropped back down with a limp body under his arm. He passed it wordlessly to Number 4, who pressed his hand to the shinobi's head. "It was just a routine sensor check," 4 explained quietly, his voice blank as he read. "He felt something off, so he dove deeper to investigate." Ren didn't waste a breath giving new orders as he knew 4 would handle it. The body was sealed away, the blood cloud dispersed into the sea. ~~~ Soon, a massive dark shape rose in the water ahead: the underwater defense wall that marked the true edge of the Mist's border. The Land of Water was an island nation so it naturally used the ocean itself as a moat, but a well-placed barrier jutsu made it even more impenetrable. Ren drifted to a halt, his eyes narrowing behind his mask. "Stop. There's a barrier. Too close and it'll trigger a response." Ren felt that even he would need some time just to find a weak point so this was obviously the work of a level 6 Fuinjutsu Master, so he signaled for them to ascend. Slowly, they rose through the heavy currents, careful not to close the hundred-meter perimeter that would activate the barrier's detection range. Even at high speeds, the climb alone took nearly ten minutes which was a proof of how deep they'd been traveling. Near the surface, Ren's eyes flickered. His passive space sensing hummed and it was completely undetectable to outside sensors, he picked up a presence closing in fast. It was a single Mist sensor-nin, threading the currents toward them. Worse yet, the shinobi carried an emergency trigger tag, the kind that would send a sibling seal flaring in a watch post if activated. Ren didn't hesitate for a second as he drew a kunai, overlaid it with dense Water chakra until it practically dissolved into the sea around it, then flicked it through the currents. The strike was silent and a second later, a distant cloud of red drifted through the dark. He could've used wind chakra but that might cause the sensor to sense it before he even got into his sensory field, after all wind in deep sea is weird but water in water is perfectly normal. Number 4 drifted forward, eyes closed as he placed a hand on the sensor's cooling body. "No one is holding the sibling tag directly. It's stored in a monitoring room nearby. No immediate alarm triggered." Ren nodded once. "Good. Let's move, there's no one else in this sector." ~~~ Minutes later, they reached the shallows. Ren raised a hand, halting them once more. "The barrier seal doesn't extend above water. But stay sharp and don't step on the surface within a hundred meters of the boundary." He spoke evenly, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Float up. Stand. Jump directly to land. Don't leave a trace on the water. Once you hit land, burrow into the ground immediately and keep moving." Without a word of protest, each shinobi obeyed. One after another, they surfaced in silence, crouched on the rippling ocean, then flickered forward in low arcs, landing past the barrier's range. Sand shifted as they each vanished into the earth, tunneling forward like silent moles. Fortunately there was no incompetent person among them so they all successfully crossed the barrier range and they didn't stop for nearly four hundred meters, until they finally emerged near a jagged rock formation that offered natural cover and a break from the endless ocean wind. One by one, they gathered in the shadows of the stone outcropping, the distant waves crashing behind them. Ren looked over the group, his voice calm but leaving no room for questions. "I've got a secure site. Let's go." Without waiting, he took point, moving swiftly across the beachy stretch that marked the transition from coastline to inland. The region was still part of the Mist's outer watch, but fortunately, it was only dotted with a few small monitoring outposts. With the patrols neutralized and no direct guard presence here, they advanced quickly under cover of darkness. Soon the terrain shifted. Dense mangrove trees replaced the open sand, their knotted roots dipping into shallow puddles and brackish water. The ground underfoot turned slick and treacherous with mud that threatened to suck boots under or send them sliding. While the rest of the squad carefully adjusted their chakra flow to keep from slipping, Ren, up front, simply changed pace. His run shifted to a slide, then to a smooth, near-effortless glide as if he were skating over the mud itself. Behind him, the squad stared in mixed disbelief and exasperation. Here they were, fighting to stay upright, while their mission leader skimmed along like it was a training game. Ren didn't slow down, so they grit their teeth and kept up. They pushed on until the marshland gave way to steeper ground with mist-shrouded ridges rising like stone guardians. Here, Ren finally stopped. He scanned the rock formations before stepping forward and punching straight through a jagged wall. The stone cracked with a deep echo, revealing the hidden mouth of a broad cave. He gestured them in with a quick flick of his wrist. Utakata lingered at the entrance, placing layer after layer of suppression and detection seals before sealing the entrance with an earth-style technique. Only then did he step inside, tapping the final seals into place. Within, Ren wasted no time. Hands moving in a blur of earth-style signs, he reshaped the rough cave walls, flattening the floor and smoothing the stone until the cavern resembled more a bunker than a cavern. Grooves formed along the walls at regular intervals, and Ren shot Tenzo a look over his shoulder. "Tenzo, be useful. Make torches." Tenzo twitched, suppressing a retort, but obeyed without complaint, molding wood spears that he fitted neatly into the slots. Itachi, without being asked, followed behind, igniting each torch with small, precise bursts of fire release. By the time they were done, the interior glowed with steady, flickering warmth, revealing what Ren had built. The main chamber now looked like a stone meeting hall, a broad table stood at the center, ringed by twelve sturdy seats. Five separate archways lined the far wall, each leading to side chambers carved into the rock. Above one archway, Ren had carefully engraved a single character, "Women." When Utakata finally stepped inside and surveyed the transformation, he shook his head with a quiet, tired sigh. Ren didn't wait for praise. He just raised a hand and spoke, "Rest for thirty minutes. Briefing after that." With that, he turned and stepped into the largest chamber at the back. A slab of rock slid into place behind him, sealing the entrance shut, an unmistakable sign he expected not to be disturbed. The rest of the squad stood there for a moment, trading glances that ranged from resigned to amused. Then they got moving, pairing off in groups and claiming rooms without a word. Kakashi, Itachi, and Tenzo settled into one side chamber. Hitoshi, Noi Yamanaka, and one of the medical unit's younger members took another. Utakata and Number Four claimed a third. The final chamber, marked "Women," went to Yugao and the other kunoichi, one from the sensory squad and two from the med-nin unit. ~~~ Thirty minutes later, all twelve members gathered in the stone meeting hall Ren had carved out. They took their seats around the rough-hewn table, each one instinctively falling into a quiet, alert focus as Ren appeared. He jumped up to sit cross-legged on the table itself, his mask off, sunglasses hanging from his collar and he spread a detailed map of the Land of Water before them. The flickering torchlight made sure that the map was completely visible. "Listen up," Ren began, voice calm but carrying an edge that would make people doubt he ever made those jokes in the beginning. "The Land of Water is basically a cluster of island nations. We've already bypassed the outer port islands and now we're here." He circled the largest island with a gloved fingertip, tapping it once for emphasis. "This is where Kirigakure is located. We're focusing our search here. Scouring the smaller islands would just waste time." He looked up at Number Four. "Four, spread out your squad. Find all local settlements within this main island's radius, but leave the main Kiri village out as that is the location on this island under the heaviest surveillance, so handle contact well." Four stood immediately, his squad rising with him. But before they could turn to leave, Ren reached to his belt and pulled out several neat stacks of paper slips, setting them on the table with a soft thud. "Once you've located the settlements," Ren continued, sliding the stacks across to Four, "have your squad return to this cave. You'll then enter each settlement alone and place these signs discreetly. They're coded markers used by our embedded spies in the Mist Village. I've mixed in fake ones and marked which are real, make sure those get spread where they'll do the most good." His eyes flicked to Yugao and Itachi. "Weasel and Cat, you're under Four's command for this op. Watch how he plants the signs, then spread them in other settlements. I want at least five villages covered by this time tomorrow." Yugao and Itachi rose without a word, nodding once before falling in line behind Four. Ren watched them head for the exit, then added casually, "Four, make sure your squad works well." Four paused for a heartbeat, glancing back at Ren with the briefest flicker of understanding before nodding again. His eyes shifted, landing just momentarily on one of the young women in his sensory team, the "extra" they'd always suspected. Yoru had warned him there would be a spy in his ranks; now it was clear Ren intended to flush her out and use her contact for their benefit. 'Works well,' indeed. Once the sensory unit slipped out into the jungle, Ren turned to Kakashi and Tenzo, tapping a remote corner on the map with a knuckle. "Dog, Tenzo, head here and stay hidden." Kakashi understood immediately. Without wasting breath on questions, he nodded once, grabbed Tenzo by the arm, and flickered from the cave with a quiet burst of chakra. Utakata, leaning against his seat, waited until the last echo of their movement faded, then motioned for his own med-nin to disperse. Once they were alone, he arched an eyebrow at Ren. "Diversion?" Ren shook his head. "The signs mean one thing in the Mist dialect and something else entirely in the Leaf's. Even if a Mist operative intercepts them, they'll decode the fake meaning and chase the wrong trail. Only our embedded spies will recognize the real signal. Kakashi would be at the real location, he'd be able to recognize the our agents easily so he'll lead them here. I planned to send him to the fake location earlier but it carries too much risk so I'll head there on my own." Utakata folded his arms. "So, once contact's confirmed, you'll know which cells are still loyal." "Exactly," Ren said. He didn't bother elaborating. A brief hush settled. Utakata exhaled through his nose, voice turning more serious. "Any guarantee the civil war is actually real?" Ren leaned back slightly, folding his arms. His voice was flat, eyes reflecting the dim torchlight like cold embers. "Nothing certain yet. But the village is tense. Too tense for a simple power struggle to stay buried." He continued, "If there's no civil war now," he shrugged once, the motion so casual it almost didn't match his words, "then we'll create one." Utakata watched him for a beat, weighing that answer. He'd always known his student was efficient. But sometimes, Ren's version of efficient felt like standing beside a blade that hadn't yet decided which way it would cut. Utakata knew Yoru and the third were the ones who must have ordered Ren the last command, otherwise Ren wouldn't act this way without any reason, however a civil war in the Mist would serve to the best of their interests especially with what might happen in the village in a while. Ren glanced at Utakata and spoke, "Sensei, please handle any agents that Kakashi leads to this location and hold the base, as there aren't many such nice location in the mist." With that Ren flickered away leaving Utakata to take care of their base. ~~~~~ {Wanted to clarify a few things, Ren's way of acting would be addressed in the future for sure so please keep getting concerned for Ren but don't hate him for it. Also, I won't be doing POVs in this arc since this is not suitable for it, but I might do a Ren POV which would mostly be changing He to I and that would be it, so tell me if you want one} {I don't know if you guys guessed it but I used Kinemon's plan from One Piece which he 'really' created on his own, and really wasn't an accident. Also, I've made sure to keep the pace faster but still, tell me how you think this is because any faster would become too fast.} {One more thing, the defense might feel ugh, but that was just an outer border preventing shinobi from drilling their way in, that is in no way the actual barrier of the mist.} {If you want, you can support me on pat-reon} { h t t p s : / / w w w . p a t r e o n . c o m / Z e e n o n } {You know what else} {280 Stones = Extra Chapter} {STONES!!!!}