The Village Hidden in the Mist

The Land of Water is an archipelago to the east of the mainland. It has a mountainous central island surrounded by several smaller ones, and with dozens of unmapped islets scattered between them. Each island has its own traditions that their citizens stubbornly insist on preserving, creating a diverse culture reflected in the islands’ distinctive climates and terrain.

An unfortunate consequence of that diversity and the country’s distance from the rest of the continent was their countless civil wars. Natives treated those from other islands as enemies instead of fellow countrymen and hired shinobi clans to attack one another. The clans were given missions to sink ships, burn farmlands, and raze settlement in an ever-escalating feud between islands.

Where the other nations used shinobi to fight against others in their struggle for dominance, these islands all technically belonged to the same nation which only made their warring more senseless and brutal than most.

Among the clans that fought in these wars, it was the ones with kekkei genkai that were the most desired. Born with natural talent and unique powers, they fought innumerable battles against each other and other clans, causing untold devastation across every island as they carried out their missions.

The Kaguya terrified any who saw them tear out their own bones to wield as weapons and leap into battle with ecstatic bloodlust. The Terumi boiled their enemy’s flesh until there was nothing left to identify and filled the air with scalding steam. And the Yuki used the abundant waters of their nation against its own people as they transformed the land into ice and froze any living thing in their path.

These three clans were the most powerful weapons used in the wars, but the magnitude of their success had a terrible impact on their reputation.

Everyone who suffered at their hands despised them and anyone who used them learned to fear them. They spun tales of the kekkei genkai clans being bringers of misfortune responsible for the civil wars themselves, working to destabilize the country and profit from its destruction. The populace began to turn against these clans entirely as they became the scapegoats of the entire conflict, refusing their services and using “normal” ninja to attack their people and homes instead.

The Founding

Word of the two oldest and greatest ninja clans uniting, the Senju and the Uchiha, reached even the Land of Water as everyone scrambled to match this “hidden village” of allied shinobi.

The founder of the Village Hidden in the Mist was the First Mizukage Byakuren, a man who had earned a legendary reputation in his remarkably long life. He was famous for forging seven swords with unique abilities that he wielded in battle himself, and the skill and experience he had gained from living far past the average life expectancy of a ninja.

The Water Daimyo was convinced to allow the ninja clans to become the main military force of his nation and the Village Hidden in the Mist was built on its central island.

Kirigakure was immediately used to bring an end to the civil wars that had constantly plagued their country. With the daimyo’s blessing, Byakuren took the offensive against his enemies to violently quell any rebellion and bring all the islands under their control. It was a testament to the military might of a hidden village that a warring country could be brought to heel.

Naturally, the widespread resentment against the kekkei genkai clans made them prime targets as the hidden village was used to bring an end to their legacy. By the time the civil wars came to an end, the kekkei genkai clans had been all but decimated.

What remained of the Terumi and Yuki clans chose to go into hiding, disguising the truth of their origins by giving up their names and skills to blend into the rest of the population for the sake of survival. It helped to ensure the continuation of their bloodline through their descendants who inherited their power – which would unfortunately lead to many being killed out of panic and fear when their heritage is discovered – but the clans themselves had essentially come to an end.

Some, however, were captured by Kirigakure as the First Mizukage was not so short-sighted that he could overlook the potential of their abilities being used for the Land of Water’s benefit. They and their descendants would face discrimination in Kirigakure but would be much safer than those who would live elsewhere in the Land of Water, where the the people would grow up on that tales of the horrors of their kind and would react to their discovery with fear and hatred.

The Kaguya instead chose to retreat from the world without splitting apart as their pride and warlike nature made giving in anathema to them. They instead adapted by taking on whatever missions they could by those desperate enough to hire them and stealing whatever they needed from the country’s people to survive. They would continue to be a thorn in Kirigakure’s side for decades to come, albeit more as scavengers than true enemies.

Kirigakure’s role in ending the civil wars so effectively soon established it as one of the Five Great Hidden Villages as the remaining ninja clans flocked to their banner. But at the same time, their reputation, remote location and policies meant that they only had the most distant relations with other countries even in the new age.

The Wars

When Byakuren died during the First Shinobi World War and his blades were passed onto his disciples – those who would become known as the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist – he was succeeded by Hoozuki Gengetsu, the most powerful member of the clan of water shapeshifters.

The Second Mizukage’s mastery of the Hydrification Technique manifested as a mix of water and oil which paved the way to his infinite explosion ninjutsu, and he possessed genjutsu that few were capable of seeing through, let alone breaking. His nomination was almost surprising in how rapidly he gained immense popularity through his magnetic charisma and the clever tactics he utilized in the war.

Unbeknownst to everyone, including himself, Gengetsu was actually born with a kekkei genkai that remained dormant throughout his lifetime, as is sometimes the case. There is a certain irony in how his signature ninjutsu and summoning animal relied on the very element his kekkei genkai would have allowed him to control if he had ever awakened it. But, considering the discrimination that kekkei genkai users experienced even in Kirigakure, it is perhaps for the best.

After Gengetsu’s enmity towards the Second Tsuchikage culminated in a battle that killed them both, he was succeeded by the former right-hand man of the First Mizukage.

Known as the Dragon for his skill in single-handedly combining water, wind and lightning ninjutsu, and his draconic summoning animal, the Third had originally passed on becoming Mizukage in favour of Gengetsu whom he recognised as a greater leader than himself. But, he took on the mantle to lead Kirigakure through the Second Shinobi World War. His most famous act as the Third Mizukage was the successful invasion of Uzushiogakure and the Uzumaki Clan who, in spite of belonging to one of the lesser nations, had earned a impressive reputation during the first two wars.

And, then the Third Shinobi World War saw the Fourth Mizukage Yagura rise to power. He was the son of the Three-Tails’ jinchuuriki and a once-in-a-generation child prodigy with an incredible affinity for water ninjutsu and a brilliant, ruthless mind. It was believed that his father’s prisoner influenced his innate talent but, they later surmised, came at the cost of stunting his physical growth which plagued him with a child-like appearance even into adulthood. The distinctive scar on his left cheek was left by his own father when he lost control and left a wound that resisted the limited skill of his healer’s medical ninjutsu.

He was elevated to the position of Mizukage while still in his teens as his abilities made him as respected in his hidden village as he was feared by their enemies. Unfortunately, the Fourth Mizukage’s reign became known as the darkest period in the Hidden Mist’s history.

The Bloody Mist

Upon the Fourth Mizukage’s selection, he used the war to significantly increase conscription to acquire those who had been orphaned by the war and had no other prospects, who would be trained under a new academy curriculum. The training was brutal but effective, meant to rapidly create young ninja both deadly and loyal.

The most important aspect of this was the new graduation test revealed at the end of the first academic year that Yagura was in office. Every aspiring shinobi at the academy needed to kill a classmate in one-on-one combat to graduate, proving their worth by ensuring that any future mist-nin would be capable of the most ruthless acts for the sake of the village. The next generation of shinobi quickly gained a disturbing reputation and news of the ritual itself horrified the world to the extent that Kirigakure became known as the Village of the Bloody Mist.

Unfortunately, these changes also led to an increase in the number of deserters. Many of these were people who had lost family to the graduation ritual, were afraid of their children participating, or were going to be participants themselves.

In response, Yagura dedicated a regiment of Kirigakure’s Anbu to tracking and executing these individuals which he named the Hunter Corps – also called the Undertaker Squad by some – who would also destroy their bodies to protect the village’s secrets. The Hunter Corps were soon feared by rogue ninja and those considering defection themselves, but added to the village’s dark image with the collateral damage and innocent lives sometimes lost in their relentless pursuit as well.

This graduation ritual ended when Momochi Zabuza, a nine year old boy who would become known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist, killed over a hundred of his fellow students. The drastic loss in potential manpower meant that the practice needed to be discontinued to prevent further damages. Meanwhile, Zabuza was placed on a genin team with one of only students to survive his massacre after killing her own partner, Terumi Mei. Seeing a murderer like him rewarded for the deed, and then being forced to work alongside him, was what inspired her to become Mizukage herself and change Kirigakure.

The internal instability of the hidden village made it a target for Uchiha Madara.

Kirigakure’s leadership was manipulated into proposing an audacious plan to use the Three-Tailed Turtle against Konoha, like they once did to destroy Uzushiogakure. Yagura approved, leading to the capture of one of the Yellow Flash’s students, Nohara Rin, when he was on a mission. Once in Kirigakure, the beast was extracted from Yagura’s father and sealed inside her. They allowed her to escape when her teammate, Hatake Kakashi, came to rescue her and sent a contingent of shinobi to chase her back to Konohagakaure.

The plan was for Rin to return home unaware of her prisoner where the seal would automatically break, releasing the Three-Tails inside the enemy village to unleash untold destruction. It would mean the loss of one of their Tailed Beasts, but it would undoubtedly cause irreparable damage before it was sealed away or driven off that could change the war.

However, Rin learned of what had been done to her during her imprisonment and forced Kakashi to kill her. The team sent after her was massacred by an unknown assailant and the plan failed.

Fortunately, the Three-Tails soon revived and was captured by Kirigakure once more. But instead of sealing it inside a child like normal, Yagura, who was the most compatible with its chakra due to his heritage, chose to become its next jinchuuriki himself.

Confident in his strength as the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura confronted the Tailed Beast directly in a contest over its chakra and emerged victorious. He subjugated it and continued to steal the majority of its chakra for himself, allowing him to train with its power without the influence of its hateful will. He dedicated himself to perfecting his control over its chakra until he could use the full power of the Three-Tails. While he never became partners with the beast, Yagura’s mastery of its abilities meant that he was recognized worldwide as a perfect jinchuuriki.

After the war ended, Kirigakure never officially made peace with the others. This, coupled with the fear they had garnered during the war, made its diplomatic relations with other nations even worse than before.

Yagura’s relationship with his Tailed Beast was what allowed Uchiha Obito to exploit them. Obito avoided a direct contest of strength by ambushing the Fourth Mizukage and crushing his will with the hypnotic influence of his Mangekyou Sharingan as he had been taught by Uchiha Madara. With neither Yagura nor his beast protecting the other from genjutsu, both were overcome by Obito and became subject to his control.

Under Obito’s influence, Yagura appeared to slowly descend into madness. Citizens became subject to heavy surveillance, crimes rates rose as law enforcement grew increasingly mismanaged, seemingly loyal shinobi were interrogated under questionable evidence, the ninja-civilian relations deteriorated more than ever, and half of the strongest generation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen died.

Even Utakata, the Six-Tails’ jinchuuriki and son of the late Third Mizukage, was driven to become a missing-nin and lived on the run before he was captured by Akatsuki years later.

The only ninja to learn who was really in charge was Hoshigaki Kisame who Obito recognised as a kindred spirit and a powerful tool, prompting him to reveal himself as “Uchiha Madara.” Eventually, he left the village to join Akatsuki in truth but not before wreaking havoc for the government by assassinating several important nobles and even killing the daimyo of the Land of Water, which labelled him an S-rank criminal.

The enduring Kaguya Clan saw this as an opportunity and launched all-out assault on Kiri where every man, woman and child capable of fighting broke through the village’s defences and started to slaughter the entire populace with the power of their kekkei genkai. It would later be known as the Kaguya’s Kamikaze.

Even the Kaguya too old or too young to fight were hunted down and slaughtered, and the sole survivor would later die before reaching adulthood. The bloodline still lived on in those who had abandoned the clan over the generations, but the Kaguya Clan itself was extinct.

The last notable event of Yagura’s reign was an attempted coup d’etat by Zabuza and Haku. For the sake of his own ambitions, he abandoned the village with his apprentice for several years to gather money and allies to take the title of Mizukage for himself. He returned and tried to assassinate Yagura but it ended in bitter failure and forced him to spend the next year on the run until he met his death in the Land of Waves.

The New Era

Yagura’s actions had made him increasingly suspicious to certain members of the village. Terumi Mei was one of those individuals.

She had suffered great stigma for her twin kekkei genkai, Boil Release and Lava Release, yet she had risen above all that in her impressive career and had garnered the admiration and respect of many of her fellow shinobi. She was a symbol for those who had discovered that they were descendants of the kekkei genkai clans as well such as Chuukichi, with parents or grandparents who had gone into hiding after the civil wars, and many of them gathered around her.

Mei had always been against the Fourth Mizukage’s brutal policies but had believed that he had at least acted for the sake of making the village. However, his actions over those last few years had only ever caused them more harm and she couldn’t bear to see it continue.

Mei shared her suspicions with Ao of the Hunter Corps who used his Byakugan – one he had torn from a dying Hyuuga in the last war – to observe Yagura’s chakra pathway system. His careful examination revealed that Yagura was under a powerful genjutsu, one of that even he could barely perceive, and believed that someone had manipulating his actions who knows how long.

With this discovery, Mei galvanized the mist-nin to join her in a uprising against the Fourth Mizukage to free Kirigakure of his tyranny. Manipulating events to get him outside the village to avoid immense collateral damage and limit the protection of his loyal shinobi, Mei led an ambush against Yagura with the rebel fighters and together they overcame his full strength.

Upon his death, Mei was selected to become the Fifth Mizukage and she immediately worked to bring enlightenment to the hidden village and push it forward from its bloodstained history. Tired of the infighting and ruthlessness of the Bloody Mist, many ninja were actually happy with the idea of such change.

She focused on rebuilding the damage to the village’s infrastructure, reworking the academy curriculum and even granted amnesty to shinobi who went rogue during Yagura’s reign as she recognized that many of them had only left because of his extremist policies.

However, there were still some who believed in the old regime and that Mei was destroying what made their village great such as the next generation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. The only one of the Swordsmen to remain with the village was Hoozuki Mangetsu. He had a bloodthirsty personality that made him feared by many, but he was genuinely loyal to Kirigakure and believed that Mei was the best ruler they could have at the time. As he saw it, even men like him would be needed even with the direction she was planning to take the village given the world they lived in.

And as the only one who had proven capable of wielding all seven swords, hunting down the rest of the Swordsmen would allow him to monopolize the weapons for him and his brother who wished to become one as well. Unfortunately, his ambitions came to an end when an ambush ended his life and lost all but the Hiramekerai, an event that caused Suigetsu to abandon the village as well and practically ended the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

Today, despite having ruled her village during its weakest period in history, Terumi Mei has helped her hidden village come a long way from its past and she is the most loved and respected Mizukage to date.