Hidden by the Mist

A gentle drizzle had blanketed the morning, turning mist to rain and soaking the forest in soot-grey light. Kaien trudged across wet leaves, arms folded tight under his cloak to keep warm. He paused in front of a newly erected cluster of canvas shelters—clothes flapping, pots simmering, and villagers dashing under awnings to avoid puddles.

[System Notice: Shinobi Hall Construction In Progress – 4 Days Remaining][Population: 19 · Morale: Stable – Cautiously Hopeful]

That last figure made him smirk: twenty souls, including children who had no idea why they stayed beyond a vague sense of safety. He didn't blame them. He wouldn't have left, either.

Drip. Drop. The rain fell, each bead a punctuation.

He looked over at the riverbank where Rin and a mud-smudged man named Kaito were arranging firewood. They glanced over; Rin waved awkwardly.

He raised a hand to acknowledge them.

"Morning," he called quietly.

Rin jogged over. "Kaien—did you check the tags by the east ridge?"

"Just did." He shook out his coat sleeve. "They've held good. Slow, steady. We can reinforce after the Shinobi Hall is up."

Rin frowned. She was small, but fierce—nine years old and convinced she could run faster than rain. "I'm sick of hiding."

Kaien paused. "I know."

She probed: "Are we really gonna keep building? Even when they send someone worse than Gatō?"

"Yeah." He looked into her eyes. "Because people still need hiding places. And because… I don't want this life to end in a scream."

She considered that for a long moment before breaking into a grin. "Then I'll keep bringing fish. And wood."

As noon approached, the rain let up—and Team 7 finally arrived.

Kaien had tracked them via chakra echoes after word was passed along the southern ridge by Chinoha's scouts. Near the half‑built bridge, he could hear them: Sakura snapping at Naruto for dumping mud, Sasuke's deep voice telling them to stop horsing around, and Kakashi's soft tone telling everyone to zip it.

He emerged from the trees, water dripping from his hair. They turned, startled.

Kakashi's visible eye—the Sharingan—whirled in suspicion. "You there—who are you?"

For once, Kaien swallowed all ceremony. "I'm Kaien. I… live nearby."

Naruto stared at him. "You're not from around here?"

Kakashi's one eye flicked. "Where do you live?"

He looked back at the mist‑shrouded hill. "Hidden Wave Village."

Silence. Sasuke's eyebrow raised. Sakura stared. Kakashi closed his eye and crossed his arms.

Naruto grinned. "Cool name."

Kakashi's quiet voice carried. "Interesting."

They stood in the down‑pour, stained bridge defeat and splashes underfoot.

Kakashi turned. "Tazuna?"

Tazuna emerged from behind the genin, pale, coat soaked through. He bowed. "My name is Tazuna. I asked for help in finishing the bridge."

Sakura shook his hand, her eyes wide. "We're here for the bridge, and… uh, to keep you safe."

Kaien watched for a heartbeat, then stepped aside. "I'll go back to town," he offered.

Kakashi nodded once, softly. "Helpful."

Naruto skipped forward. "Hey! Wanna teach me some jutsu when you get the chance?"

Kaien blinked. "Maybe some day."

That evening, under crude shelter lit with lanterns made from steamed glass, Kaien held a small meeting with Chinoha, Reiha, and Tensei Hiko. They needed structure beyond tents and firepits.

"How's the south tag array holding?" Kaien asked the younger sensor.

"Fine," Hiko replied, drawing his earmuffs tighter. "But traffic's picking up. I think Gatō's scouts are probing more often—less brazen, more careful."

Reiha brushed rainwater from her cloak. "And the civilians… they're restless. They're asking for walls, or at least attachments to call it something besides camp."

Kaien paused. "That's… fair."

Tensei Hiko rubbed his neck. "We can lay more tags—but we'll need ink and blanks. Supplies."

"I'll source them," Reiha said sharply. "From the docks. There's merchants who trade secret items."

"Good. Let's treat this as pre‑planning. Next day, we dig trenches to run lines."

For the first time, Kaien felt the weight of leadership settle in his bones. It was oddly exhilarating.

Rain returned the next morning—and with it, trouble.

En came running into camp, breath ragged. "They found our stash—on the west side ridge. Cloak‑tagged pebbles. Someone's snooping too close."

Kaien cursed. "Kaito! Rin! Evacuate the perimeter!"

He sprinted to the ridge's far side, boots squishing in mud. Three Gatō men crawled out of a narrow fissure—bitten by seal fragments.

They looked scared. They staggered.

Kaien stepped out from behind a tree.

"Found what you came for?"

Gatō thug squinted. "Maybe we did…"

Kaien shook his head. "This isn't war. But I'll defend."

He unleashed Storm Crescent Blade—the chakra crescent forged earlier—cutting through air with a soft roar. It wasn't fatal—but enough. By the time the third man tried to escape, he found himself restrained by a containment tag beneath his boot.

"You leave before I name you trespassers," Kaien said quietly.

They fled.

Inside the new framework of the Shinobi Hall, built atop leveled earth near the river, anxious hands carved floors and drove stakes. Lanterns hung from bamboo supporting beams. A long white cloth with the village crest—two gentle waves encased in mist—flapped in the breeze.

Kaien wandered through the structure, watching Reiha show Hiko how to tag a barrier panel, Chinoha instruct a drill on spear‑form, and Rin trailing behind a patrolling Hamuro guardian named Kezu.

A report sounded in his mind.

[System Update: Shinobi Hall Registered. Training Module Unlocked.][Unlockable: Genin Academy Track, Scout Camp Node.]

Rin noticed his look.

"Can I learn too?" she asked, voice quiet but full of hope.

He kneeled. "Yeah. One day soon. You'll test with the rest."

She grinned and whispered, "Thank you."

In the rain‑dappled courtyard, Sakura approached him alone—tent poles dripping behind her.

"You're… fighting them?" she said in a hushed tone.

Kaien looked up from adjusting a seal tag. "They'll try again."

She frowned. "You're not… part of any shinobi nation, right?"

"No headband. No allegiance."

Her green eyes flicked. "That matters."

He exhaled. "I'm doing this on the side of people who need it."

She paused, thoughtful. Then smiled lightly. "That's braver than I thought."

She stepped back and re‑joined Kakashi and Sasuke. As she approached, Sasuke nodded at Kaien—a small acknowledgment.

Night fell with greater certainty. Stars hidden by cloud. The village slept beneath stitched canvas and smoky fires.

Kaien walked the perimeter alone. Seal tags glowed faintly at his ankles, sentinel markers pulsing. He exhaled fog with each breath.

A whisper of movement.

He froze and switched into Phantom Dash—leaping toward the direction with soft speed.

Rin's voice trembled: "Kaien! Help!"

He landed just in time to see a bandit bolt from the shrubs, cloak trailing. He kicked—light, precise—knocking him off-balance. Steam hissed from his palm as he grabbed the bandit by the shoulder, spun him around gently.

"Don't ever come back," Kaien said, voice low.

The bandit scurried into darkness, unhurt but shaken.

Rin ran to him, breath short but eyes wide. "I… I didn't scream."

He knelt and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Smart move."

By dawn, rain had stopped. Damp but clear.

Kaien called a gathering beside the still‑unfinished Shinobi Hall. Hiko, Reiha, Chinoha, Rin, Kezu, En—the fighting backbone of the village.

He stood on a small raised platform—the ridge-viewing rock.

"Last night, we scared one away. Didn't hurt her. wasn't my choice."

The group waited.

He continued: "Hidden Wave Village isn't built on killing. It's built on defense, on refuge. If someone tries again, we stop them. But… no unnecessary harm."

Chinoha cleared her throat. "And Gatō's force?"

He looked toward the mist-laced forest. "They'll come. More scouts. Maybe Zabuza himself."

Kezu gripped her thorn-arm bracers. "We'll be ready."

Reiha nodded. "We'll keep the outside safe. You and Kaoru can work on the system side—the tags, the hall, the intake."

He scanned each face. "We're small now. But we're real."

In Konoha, a raven-sent scroll flew across the courtyard to Hokage Sarutobi's desk.

Gatō's men report unusual fatalities. Civilians rescued near an area now identified as Hidden Wave Village. Reports inconclusive.

Sarutobi's eyebrow rose.

"Interesting," he murmured to himself. "And potentially dangerous."

He glanced toward the tower's window, where the morning sun peeked through clouds.

"We may need to meet this village sooner than later."