Chapter 336: Uninvited Guests
The Mist Village was certainly not so destitute that it couldn't even find an elite Jonin.
But Mei Terumī indeed lacked confidants she could trust and who were also strong.
Unlike Tsunade. The current Tsunade had her master, the previous Hokage, as her backing above, a group of united and loyal Chunin and Jonin in the middle, and many newcomers led by her personal disciple supporting her from below. Her position was extremely stable, and she rarely encountered any obstacles in whatever she wanted to do.
The newly inaugurated Fifth Mizukage was different. During the Village of the Bloody Mist period, everyone in the Mist Village was in danger, distrusting each other. Indifference and ruthlessness had become the norm in the Mist. In such an atmosphere, Mei Terumī didn't have many close friends before she came to power. Her network was shallow, and she lacked direct subordinates. As for ordinary ninja, it was hard to say whether they had been won over by the First Elder.
In this way, Haruno Sakura, a pure outsider ninja with no entanglements with the Mist, became someone Mei Terumī felt she could trust.
Coincidentally, Sakura was also a master.
"You guys are really casual about finding people," Haruno Sakura said with a shrug as she left.
"Casual?" Hagura smiled slightly and said, "Actually, I can read faces, you know? A beautiful girl like you is trustworthy. Back then, I relied on this skill to spot Lady Fifth Mizukage, and then I started following her and became her direct subordinate."
Haruno Sakura gave a fake smile and said "hehe." Just keep bluffing, not a word of it is true.
"Is that a compliment? Spare me! Also, I never believe in non-ninjutsu things like face reading," she said.
Hagura was eloquent. Sometimes when he encountered a question he couldn't answer, he would spout nonsense, making it impossible to tell if what he said was true or false.
"Not everything can be explained by ninjutsu and science, Miss Sakura!" He said with a grin, "Face reading... is a science! Do you want me to read your palm? I'm very accurate. I can help you see your marriage prospects!"
"Scram!" Sakura glared at him angrily.
Rather than believing that he could read faces, it was better to believe that he had a keen sense for chakra. A person's chakra is a mixture of spiritual and physical energy. From the texture of the chakra, one can feel the person's spirit: is it madness or calm, evil or kind? If one is sensitive enough, one should be able to vaguely sense these things.
Even after hitting a wall with Sakura, Hagura could still continue to talk eloquently, "Don't not believe me! Speaking of which, Lady Fifth Mizukage also asked me about her marriage prospects..."
The corner of Sakura's mouth twitched. "Why are you so practiced... how many girls have you read palms for!"
"Ahem," he cleared his throat and put on a serious look. "I only read palms for beautiful women and girls. So, strictly speaking, you are only the second."
"So you only read the Fifth Mizukage's palm before? Her marriage prospects... how did you answer her?"
Hagura paused.
"No, the first and only person whose palm I read was my mother. I saw that she had the appearance of an early death. Once, when she was on a mission and encountered enemies, the Anbu escorting them thought they were outnumbered and that my mother and the others would fall into enemy hands, so he killed them all and fled alone," he said calmly.
"This was a rule set by the Fourth Mizukage."
Haruno Sakura opened her mouth, suddenly not knowing what to say.
"Sorry," she could only say in the end.
"It's fine. It's in the past," Hagura said in a tone without any fluctuation, as if talking about a topic unrelated to him.
After a pause, he returned to his relaxed tone and said, "Back to the matter of reading Lady Fifth Mizukage's palm. I didn't read it for her in the end. Do you know why? Although refusing her might get me in trouble, if I told the truth, I wouldn't want to taste the feeling of being melted!"
"Eh? Why?" Sakura blinked her eyes curiously.
"You don't need to read palms to know this kind of thing. Although Lady Mei Terumī is young, beautiful, and has a sexy figure, she is also strong and has a high status. What man is worthy of her? Besides, her standards are so high. Finding a suitable husband is simply harder than climbing to the heavens!"
Hagura lowered his voice a lot here, even more nervous and secretive than the secret conversation just now. He looked left and right before whispering, "The Fifth Mizukage is almost 30. If a woman of this age isn't married yet, it's really too late! However, I've observed carefully, and there isn't a single man in the Mist Village who meets our Lady Mizukage's requirements for a spouse. Even if she relaxes the requirements a bit, Lady Mizukage still can't find a suitable man..."
"Oh ho ho..." Haruno Sakura laughed awkwardly, not knowing how to respond to him.
It seemed that when it came to gossip, both men and women were equally enthusiastic!
Hagura finally patted her shoulder. "Girl, I think you should pay attention too! If you have your eye on a boy from some family, remember to make your move early. Don't be like my Lady!"
"Get lost!" Haruno Sakura's eyes were like knives, giving him a few fierce glares.
Hagura had thick skin and wasn't afraid of the knife glares. He continued to grin, "I'm serious. It's not easy for outstanding women to get married. If you're not careful, you'll become an older leftover woman and be single for life. Isn't your master, the Fifth Hokage, an example? So you must seize the time!"
"What's wrong with being single? I have no interest in getting married... Also, Jonin Hagura, I will report what you told me today about the Fifth Mizukage's marriage prospects truthfully to Lady Mei Terumī before I go back. Please be mentally prepared!"
"Hey, hey, don't joke about this kind of thing. People will die!"
"I'm serious. Anyway, it's not me who will die!"
"Big Sister, I'm sorry! I have a loose mouth!"
"...Call me Big Brother!"
"Big Brother, Big Brother! Please spare me!"
Overall, Hagura was still quite an interesting person.
Passing through the waterfall and leaving the core area, Team Haruno Sakura returned to the small courtyard where they were staying.
After seeing Hagura off, Team Haruno Sakura began to prepare for their second night in the Mist.
After night fell, the round moon rose high, hanging in the dark blue night sky, illuminating the night of the Mist.
The three students were playing cards. Haruno Sakura was organizing the intelligence she had heard today on the side.
Was the Uchiha Madara who appeared in the Mist the same person as the Uchiha Madara she met? She was pondering when there was a sudden knock on the door outside.
The four looked at each other. They had no relatives or friends in the Mist Village. Who would come to visit them?
Haruno Sakura looked thoughtfully out the door.
Excluding those unlikely idle people, only two groups of people in the entire Mist were likely to look for her: either Mei Terumī had sent someone to notify her of something urgent, or...
She sent a clone to open the door. Behind the door stood an old man and two young men. One of them was the masked youth who had welcomed them yesterday. His eyes no longer had the previous sharpness, but had become much dimmer.
The old man at the head was wearing a white robe, his clothing style very similar to the several Mist elders Sakura had seen today. He was hale and hearty, his eyes, though old, were not cloudy, but extremely spirited.
"We are ninja from the Mist's number one clan. We have taken the liberty to visit to apologize for my grandson's behavior yesterday. Please forgive any discourtesy." The old man at the front spoke in a refined manner, very much like the Hyuga clan's speaking style.
Although the content was polite, claiming to be presumptuous, the unquestionable tone and the gaze that habitually placed himself in a superior position had a somewhat aggressive momentum.
If the clone hadn't been blocking the door, they might have walked in without waiting for the host's permission.
Haruno Sakura hesitated for a moment, but didn't hesitate for too long. She let the clone make way and welcomed the three of them in.
Let's see what they want.
After all, since entering the Mist Village, she had only heard Mei Terumī's side of the story.
As soon as they walked into the room, before sitting down, the young man behind the old man respectfully placed several scrolls on the table.
Haruno Sakura frowned slightly. "What is this...?"
The white-robed old man sat down calmly, waved his hand, pointed to the scrolls and said, "Yesterday, Tomoaki was mischievous, stole the official seal, forged documents, and pretended to welcome the noble envoys, creating a farce and causing you a lot of trouble. These Water Style secret scrolls are a small token of apology. Please forgive his youthful ignorance."
The girl's delicate brows furrowed slightly.
In the many years since she had transmigrated, this was only the second time she had heard this kind of pedantic way of speaking, apart from the time at the Hyuga's.
She was extremely unaccustomed to it.
Wasn't the ninja's straightforward way of speaking better? If you want to express politeness, then use honorifics; concise and clear is the style of doing things, which she appreciated the most.
Speaking too euphemistically, apart from artificially creating a burden for others, had little meaning.
So she also learned one of Naruto's catchphrases, "Speak frankly": "I accept the apology, but there is no need for the gift. Please take it back. If you have something to say, you can say it directly. I don't understand words that are too euphemistic. Otherwise, if the meaning is not conveyed properly, there is nothing I can do."
Haruno Sakura firmly pushed the scrolls back.
The Mist Village's Water Style scrolls might have unique insights, and Sakura was actually quite interested. However, this thing was called a gift of apology, but in fact, it far exceeded the needs of an apology for a misunderstanding; she would not take what she shouldn't take, especially this kind of gift with obvious ulterior motives.
Taking gifts makes one beholden.
"I said, this is an apology gift," the old man frowned and said displeasedly.
His tone of voice habitually carried the meaning of scolding and commanding a subordinate.
He put on the appearance of an elder, snorted, his pupils slightly shrank, and looked coldly at Haruno Sakura, wanting to use his gaze and momentum to suppress Sakura; in his opinion, the girl in front of him was just a fledgling yellow-haired girl. From her tender skin, it could be seen that she had not experienced any hardships, and a little pressure would make her submit.
And then he was glared back by Haruno Sakura's sharp gaze.
The so-called aura of a superior is nothing more than a psychological illusion produced by years of bossing people around. Only those who place themselves in a lower position will feel it clearly; in the ninja world, an old and weak ninja whose strength has declined to a negligible level wants to overwhelm others with momentum? Haruno Sakura was not an inexperienced newcomer!
"Don't refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. I told you to take it back, so take it back!"
The girl's voice, clear and cold as frost, was even more unceremonious.
Regardless of what the other party intended to say or do, their posturing had already made Haruno Sakura completely lose interest in these people. She began to regret why she hadn't decisively shut them out from the beginning.
Her killing intent was released and retracted, instantly scaring the two young men behind the old man into almost drawing the long swords on their backs.
"You two!" The old man snorted coldly, stopping their movements. He had lived for so many years after all. Haruno Sakura's little release of killing intent couldn't scare him, but that awe-inspiring posture finally made him realize that the girl in front of him was not the yellow-haired girl he had imagined.
"Konoha envoy, this is the Mist," he said, his eyes becoming cold and sinister, his hoarse and old voice stating a simple fact.
This was a threat.
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