Kiri was founded after the Warring States Period by the First Mizukage. Shortly after the formation of their villages, Konoha's First Hokage sold tailed beasts to Kiri as a sign of friendship and to ensure a balance of power amongst their new villages. The goodwill this fostered was short-lived, and Kiri would become involved in different conflicts over the following decades. The Second Mizukage and Iwa's Second Tsuchikage who would clash against one another countless times eventually met in what would be their final battle and killed each other.
Over time, the village became infamously known as the "Village of the Bloody Mist" for a cruel reason — in the Kirigakure Academy, students wishing to graduate had to fight to the death, and only those who survived could advance to the ranks of the ninja. The Academy's graduation methods were discontinued after Zabuza Momochi, not yet a student himself, killed an entire year's graduating class, but by then the Bloody Mist had already tainted the Fourth's reputation.
The Fourth Mizukage's reign was a time of darkness for Kiri, with corruption plaguing those in charge and the pursuit of power becoming paramount for many. Defection became widespread amongst Kiri's ranks, with several members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and even the Six-Tails' jinchūriki abandoning the village.
In addition to foreign conflicts, Kirigakure has experienced several periods of internal unrest. The Kaguya clan once waged war against Kiri to quench their lust for battle, but were slaughtered by the village's superior forces. Those with kekkei genkai were regarded with suspicion by the people of Kiri and the wider Land of Water due to their efficiency during times of war. As such, persecution and even murder of anyone with a kekkei genkai was common; in the case of the Yuki clan, it no longer exists in an organised sense and its few surviving members live in secret, fearful of their abilities being discovered. Some time after the Third Shinobi World War, Kiri and Iwa joined forces on a mission to reclaim intel stolen by Kumo. Once the information was secured, Iwa betrayed Kiri and killed most of the ninja sent on the mission in order to take the intel for themselves, an incident that would come to be known as the Tragedy of Yosuga Pass.
Under the Fifth Mizukage, Kiri has tried to move passed the memories of the Bloody Mist by reforming internal policies and improving its image abroad as being an open-minded nation. After Akatsuki captures a number of tailed beasts, including both of those previously possessed by Kiri, the Fifth attends a Kage Summit in order to improve diplomatic relations with the other villages and disprove the rumour that Akatsuki was founded in Kiri. As a further display of this, Kiri joins the Allied Shinobi Forces to oppose Akatsuki. The war is won and the village's image is redeemed.
Several Mizukage overtook the mantle following the Fifth Mizukage's peaceful retirement and passing. Kirigakure and Mizu no Kuni experienced a long era of peace along with the majority of the world at the time, until the reign of the Thirteenth Mizukage, Hikou. Although young, his taking of the mantle was accompanied by a plethora of bright and hopeful dreams to bring Mizukage into a golden age. During his short rule, Hikou brought the land of Mizu no Kuni to the stability that it had been working toward for centuries. His time as Mizukage was cut short with the appearance of Chichiouza, namely Uchiha Hao, who turned his black flame upon both Hikou and the entirety of Kirigakure, reducing it to cinder and ash.
The fourteenth Mizukage, Juro, took over shortly after Hikou’s death. A noble attempt at reviving the village and rebuilding what was lost was made as Juro coveted the Seven Swordsmen blades. Under his rule, Kirigakure began to return to old ways, revitalizing the name “Bloody Mist” and turning the village into a mercenary state. Within a year of his rule, Juro was killed, and Kirigakure was burned once again by Hao.
Sero Osada took the reins from Juro and, once again, the process of raising Kirigakure from the ashes began anew. During this process, the plots of an organization named Schichiouza was discovered, and Hao Uchiha was learned to be spearheading the organization’s efforts. During the Gokage Summit that occured not long after, several members of Schichiouza attacked, and Sero was killed by Utau.
Following Sero’s death, the sixteenth Mizukage, Ayakashi, began to pick up the pieces left behind and continued the process of rebuilding Kirigakure. The country grew to be more militarized in response to their continued loss. The village was making large strides toward returning to their former glory until Utau was killed by a former Mizukage’s asset, who was surprised to see Kirigakure change radically and reject him. This rejection sparked the Seven Bells war. During the war, all of the major clan leaders were assassinated, marking the largest loss on Kirigakure’s side. Despite this loss, Kirigakure managed to fight back and proclaimed their victory of the conflict. Since then, Kirigakure has risen to retake its place as one of the major shinobi nation superpowers, alongside the other great villages
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