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What was maddeningly frustrating, however, was that the Daimyo had once again gone off to the Land of Fire. His reasoning? He found the Land of Water a bit too stifling and wanted to go out and have some fun, to find some excitement.
The Daimyo's residence in the Land of Fire happened to fulfill these requirements perfectly – as long as you had money, any kind of amusement could be found. The Daimyo of the Land of Water had clearly forgotten his previous vehement denunciations of the Leaf Village. The wound had barely healed and he'd already forgotten the pain, merrily trotting off to the Land of Fire's Daimyo residence without a care in the world.
Wanting to go to the Land of Fire's Daimyo residence to request an audience with the Daimyo and secure his consent meant there was one entity that could not be circumvented: the Leaf Village! That the Daimyo of the Land of Water came to the Land of Fire's Daimyo residence for leisure was something the Leaf Village wouldn't interfere with.
As long as he was content to remain within the Daimyo's residence and amuse himself, the Leaf Village wouldn't intervene – despite the extreme unpleasantness that had previously occurred between the two sides. But while the Daimyo could enjoy such treatment, the people of the Mist Village could not. To trespass onto the territory of the Land of Fire without prior notification – now that would be your fault. Don't forget, all nations are currently in a state of war and nerves are stretched taut. Should any misunderstandings arise, your Mist Village would be held responsible.
The upper echelons of the Mist Village began laying out their plans, all while keeping Yagura completely in the dark. A contingent of elite forces stationed within the Land of Wind quietly withdrew and began the journey back to the Land of Water.
Compared to the other villages, the Leaf Village remained its usual self. The lives of its villagers were stable, barely rippled by the war's impact. Only those with aspirations of long-distance travel were troubled. With warfare raging everywhere, the moment one left the Leaf Village and the boundaries of the Land of Fire, danger could be encountered at any moment. Under such circumstances, the Mission Assignment Desk was perpetually overflowing with commissions. During periods of turmoil in the shinobi world, escort missions would multiply several times over compared to normal. Additionally, the compensation for these commissions would increase considerably.
By fortunate coincidence, the Leaf Village had relatively few ninja actively engaged in the war, leaving a large pool of idle shinobi available to accept these missions and commissions. Quite a number of Leaf ninja were indirectly reaping the benefits of wartime.
"Who goes there?!" In the dead of night, an Anbu squad was conducting patrol duties outside the village when they stumbled upon an uninvited guest. The Anbu operatives immediately moved to intercept. Fortunately, the intruder harbored no hostile intentions. The moment she was discovered, she raised her hands to signal her lack of enmity, even tossing aside the ninja tools and scrolls she carried to demonstrate her sincerity. "Mei Terumi of the Mist Village. I am here on behalf of my village with a mission of critical importance and request an audience with the Hokage's Advisor."
"Please wait a moment." Upon hearing this, the squad leader sounded a covert signal whistle, summoning numerous reinforcements. A group of them proceeded to surround and watch Mei Terumi as they awaited a response from the village. Mei Terumi waited calmly, encircled by the Anbu. Needing to enter the Leaf Village covertly, this method of infiltrating to get close was her only option. She couldn't openly walk through the main gate, nor could she attract too much attention, as this concerned the village's subsequent operations.
The entire Leaf Village was shrouded in darkness, including the Hokage building. Within the rest chamber, Kazuki, who had been peacefully sleeping, raised his head. "What is it?"
"Lord Advisor, Mei Terumi, a jonin of the Mist Village, has infiltrated covertly. She carries a mission of great importance and wishes to see you." It seemed the Mist Village's higher-ups were preparing to move against Yagura. Otherwise, they wouldn't have sent Mei Terumi to sneak into the Land of Fire like a thief and make her way to the Leaf Village. Her mission was likely to persuade Kazuki, and subsequently, proceed smoothly to the Daimyo's residence to obtain the Daimyo's support. But would these Mist Village higher-ups opt to request assistance? The likelihood was low. After all, no matter how strong Yagura might be, he was merely a manipulated puppet. As long as they prepared an elite unit, supplemented by a Sealing Squad, they could subdue Yagura. That their village's Mizukage had been controlled was already shameful enough. If cleaning their own house required requesting other villages to exert effort, the Mist Village probably wouldn't be able to hold its head up for a very long time.
"Have Kisame and Itachi bring her in to see me."
"Yes, my lord." The Anbu who had come to report vanished like a ghost.
"Kazuki, let me help you..." Izumi sat up, intending to help Kazuki dress and fetch water for him to wash up, but Kazuki stopped her. Pressing his index and middle fingers together, he tapped them lightly against Izumi's forehead and gently pushed her back down. Kazuki smiled, "No need. Keep sleeping."
"Mm." Izumi pulled the blanket tighter, burying herself within it and leaving only her little head peeking out.
Throwing on a loose-fitting robe and slipping into his sandals, Kazuki stepped out of the rest chamber and into the Hokage's office, waiting for Mei Terumi's arrival.
"Hoshigaki Kisame!!" Mei Terumi didn't have to wait long. However, among the people the Leaf Village dispatched to receive her, there was one individual whose presence made her grind her teeth in fury. The instant she laid eyes on Kisame, a ferocious light flared in Mei Terumi's beautiful eyes. She looked as though she wanted to leap forward and bite him to death. Faced with the enraged Mei Terumi, Kisame merely cracked a grin. "The Advisor has instructed us to escort you inside."
Mei Terumi's expression remained stony as she followed Kisame and Itachi, entering the Leaf Village through the Anbu's exclusive passageways. Once Kisame and Itachi took charge of Mei Terumi, the surrounding Anbu operatives immediately dispersed to continue their respective duties.
"Kisame, why?" Kisame's strength was formidable and his potential immense. He could be considered one of the standout elites of the village's younger generation – at least, Mei Terumi had held high hopes for him. Yet by the time she, stationed on the battlefield, received word of it, Kisame had already defected, becoming an S-rank rogue ninja of the village. Later, the next news she heard of him was that he had joined the Akatsuki, and ultimately, defected to the Leaf Village. It seemed he was doing quite well for himself here.
"Because I didn't want to die," Kisame replied with utter frankness, unconcerned with how Mei Terumi viewed him. "If it were to sacrifice myself for the village, I wouldn't have batted an eye. Unfortunately, my superior discovered that my potential was too great – and my threat, too significant. He schemed to eliminate me in the shadows. Additionally, the Akatsuki was pulling the strings behind the scenes. Unwilling to die in such a wretched, suffocating manner, my only choice was to rebel. Joining the Akatsuki was my sole path forward at the time. Naturally, joining the Leaf Village was also my only path forward." Kisame's words left Mei Terumi with a dark expression and nothing to say. She knew all too well what kind of man Kisame's superior, Fuguki Suikazan of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, truly was.
Perhaps out of consideration for whatever remnants of their past connection remained, Kisame fell silent for a moment. It was only when the three of them reached the exterior of the Hokage building that he finally added one last remark: "My superior had, for personal profit, sold the village's intelligence to other nations and organizations. That... was also one of the reasons I took the initiative to strike."
"Mm." Upon hearing this, Mei Terumi's expression softened considerably. But it was a shame – there was no turning back. Regardless of what foolish and treacherous deeds Fuguki Suikazan had committed, by killing his own superior without first reporting it to the village, the only path left for Kisame was that of a rogue ninja. It was far too late for anything now. He had gone full circle – from village rogue ninja, to Akatsuki member, to defector pledged to the Leaf Village. There was absolutely no way back anymore.