Terumi Mei dragged her exhausted body back to her residence.
She was truly tired.
In truth, it was not just today. These past few years had been exhausting, because Kirigakure's situation had become far too terrible.
The changes in the village were unimaginable, and the troubles brought by those changes were just as overwhelming.
The current Kirigakure could only be described as a complete mess. Ever since the Third Mizukage began implementing the Bloody Mist policy, and the Fourth Mizukage expanded it even further, Kirigakure had walked farther and farther down a road of no return.
What was even worse was that Kirigakure had also suffered unimaginable destruction and humiliation.
Several years ago, that damned mysterious man had come to the village.
Not only had he cost Kirigakure more than a hundred shinobi, he had also killed Ao, heavily injured the Fourth Mizukage, and trampled Kirigakure's dignity into the mud.
He had destroyed the Mizukage Building.
Such a person was terrifying. Such a person inspired fear.
After he left, the Fourth Mizukage seemed to have suffered an even greater shock. He began doing things that no one could understand.
Or rather, his way of thinking had never changed. It had only become even more extreme.
Mist had always lingered around Kirigakure, but in the past, one could still occasionally see bright sunlight.
Now, this thick fog seemed to have blocked even the sun itself.
The light in the sky could no longer fall upon the Land of Water.
Nor could it shine upon the bodies of the Kirigakure shinobi, or into their hearts.
The current Kirigakure was cold and numb.
Everyone lived in pain, like walking corpses.
Mei hated all of this.
She had worked hard to change it.
But reality had cruelly told her that everything she was doing was futile.
Even her superior and teacher, Elder Genji, was equally unable to change all this.
She truly did not know why Kirigakure had reached this point. She did not know whether the Fourth Mizukage still wanted the village to develop, or whether he wanted to drag it into the abyss.
But as a shinobi, aside from obeying orders, she had no other choice.
"Did the Fourth Mizukage become like this because that man injured him so badly?"
Mei had thought about this question more than once, but she had never obtained an answer that felt reliable or satisfying.
She hated the current Mizukage, just as she hated the man who had attacked Kirigakure and killed Ao right in front of her.
But she knew she was powerless.
One of them was the Mizukage standing high above everyone else.
The other was a monster strong enough to ignore an entire village.
Neither of them was someone Mei could deal with.
And the damage they had caused Kirigakure was unimaginable.
Especially the Fourth Mizukage.
As the highest leader of Kirigakure, every one of his policies could push the village farther down the road of no return.
Mei seriously suspected whether the Fourth Mizukage still had the ability to continue leading Kirigakure.
And she was not the only one who suspected it.
Many people in Kirigakure had the same doubts, especially after the Fourth Mizukage was severely injured.
However, as if to prove himself, the Mizukage had killed countless people who opposed him.
He had even wiped out entire clans.
Everyone in Kirigakure was now in danger. Fear filled every heart.
Over the past few years, the Kaguya Clan had first been annihilated. Then clan after clan, large and small, followed in their footsteps. Even the Yuki clan had been exterminated.
No one knew what the future would become.
No one dared to guess.
Unless someone could overthrow the current Mizukage, unless someone could use the correct method to force him down from his position, Kirigakure's future would truly be bleak.
Mei sighed quietly.
What she and Elder Genji were doing now was, in truth, something along those lines.
They were people who truly loved the village. They truly did not want Kirigakure to continue like this.
They wanted to find proof that something was wrong with the Fourth Mizukage.
They wanted to uncover evidence.
This was not easy.
It was also extremely dangerous.
If they were even slightly careless and exposed themselves, they would immediately be labeled missing-nin.
They all understood this clearly.
But they had no choice but to do it.
Because they were certain that if this continued, Kirigakure would truly be finished.
"Sigh…"
Mei let out another quiet sigh.
These days were truly difficult.
Aside from the Fourth Mizukage, that mysterious man who had vanished without a trace had also remained deeply engraved in Mei's mind.
Although he had never appeared again since that time, no Kirigakure shinobi could forget the destruction he had caused.
He was the only person in Kirigakure's history who had truly brought destruction onto the mainland of the Land of Water.
And he was probably also the only person the entire village could never forget.
"Long time no see, Madam."
Just as Mei's heart was filled with emotion, she suddenly sensed a faint ripple of chakra behind her.
Immediately after, a cold voice rang out.
To her, it was both unfamiliar and terrifyingly familiar.
The moment she heard that voice, Mei turned around in alarm.
But when she saw the figure behind her, her entire body froze.
It was him.
It was this man!
In an instant, the shock on Mei's face turned into fury.
Without hesitation, she threw a punch straight at him.
"With such a bad temper, you should be careful. You might never get married."
The figure was naturally Hikaru.
He seemed to have expected Mei to react like this from the very beginning.
Facing her punch, he calmly raised a hand and blocked it.
At the same time, blue chakra light appeared on the five fingers of his other hand.
His fingers darted forward.
Before Mei could react, they had already pressed against her abdomen.
In an instant, Mei felt her chakra being sealed.
She could not mobilize even the slightest trace of it.
"You damned bastard!"
Mei cursed through gritted teeth.
She did not care that she could no longer use chakra and swung at Hikaru once again.
But Hikaru moved faster than she did.
Just as her fist began to rise, Hikaru twisted her arm, forcing her body to turn.
Then he pinned her arm behind her back and pressed his other hand against her neck.
If she made even the slightest movement, Hikaru could snap her neck in an instant.
"Whether I am a bastard or not is not important."
Hikaru spoke softly beside Mei's ear, completely unconcerned that their posture was somewhat inappropriate.
"What matters is that I seem to have kept my promise.
"And your attitude does not seem like the attitude one should have toward someone who kept his promise…"
…
Mei had never truly understood what shamelessness meant.
Now, she believed she understood.
The so-called promise this man claimed to have kept did indeed seem correct.
A promise like "I said I would kill your whole family, so I killed your whole family" had indeed been fulfilled.
Mei took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.
At the same time, she had to overcome the fear spreading through her heart.
The instant she saw Hikaru, anger had indeed overwhelmed her reason.
But after that anger came a deep and uncontrollable fear.
After all, what Hikaru had done in Kirigakure could not simply be described as the actions of a demon.
Even though she hated him, she could not suppress that fear.
"Have you calmed down?"
Hikaru seemed to sense the change in Mei and smiled faintly.
"Calmness is a good thing. If you let your emotions control your actions too easily, you are not a qualified shinobi."
"I do not need you to lecture me, you villain!"
Mei gritted her teeth.
Her expression was extremely ugly, and her heart was full of questions.
"Why have you come again? What evil plan does a damned man like you have this time?"
"Do I need to report what I plan to do to you?"
Hikaru raised his brows slightly.
Then he directly released his grip, allowing Mei to regain her freedom.
The moment Mei escaped his control, she immediately pulled away and stared at him warily, like a cat that had been forcibly grabbed.
Seeing her like this, Hikaru shook his head.
She looked as if he had done something to her.
But Hikaru had truly done nothing.
Once she had pulled far enough away—but still not truly outside Hikaru's control—he continued,
"Don't worry. This time, I did not come here to trouble Kirigakure.
"After all, if I truly wanted to do that, all of you could only watch."
Hikaru's words made Mei extremely displeased, but for a moment, she did not know how to refute him.
Because the strength he had displayed several years ago proved that he truly had no fear.
Several years had passed, and Mei's own strength had improved greatly.
How could she be certain that the man before her had not improved at all?
"However, this time, I mainly came to make a deal with you—or more accurately, with the people behind you."
Hikaru thought briefly, then smiled and spoke slowly.
"A deal?"
Mei frowned.
In her eyes, Hikaru was no different from a demon.
Making a deal with such a person—was that not the same as making a deal with a devil?
"Yes, a deal."
Hikaru nodded lightly.
Then he found a place to sit. His gaze fixed on Mei as he smiled.
"I heard that Kirigakure's recent days have not been very pleasant.
"Your Mizukage seems to be going mad, constantly consolidating his power. Am I right?"
Mei did not answer.
This was not a question she could answer.
Even if the Mizukage was indeed acting inhuman, this was still Kirigakure's own internal matter.
In other words, this was Kirigakure's own internal conflict. It had nothing to do with outsiders.
Hikaru was a true demon who had inflicted countless wounds on Kirigakure.
No matter what information Kirigakure had, they should not waste even half a sentence on him.
"If you don't speak, I'll take it as confirmation. In any case, it is the truth, isn't it?"
Hikaru did not care about Mei's attitude.
He shook his head calmly and continued,
"I want to meet your Mizukage.
"Alone. Privately.
"And I can guarantee that your Mizukage will return alive.
"As a trade, I will also give you something. Something you need. Something necessary…"
At this point, Hikaru paused slightly.
His expression became even more unreadable, and his next words caused Mei's eyes to widen.
"If I am not mistaken, you are trying to find a way to deal with the Mizukage.
"At the same time, you are also guarding against the Mizukage finding unfavorable evidence and using it to move against you.
"In that case, I can guarantee that after this meeting, for a limited number of years, you people will be able to truly stand on equal footing with the Mizukage.
"You can accumulate power. He will not move against you.
"As for what happens after that time passes, and how you fight each other then, that will be your own business.
"What do you think of this deal?"
After saying this, Hikaru no longer spoke.
He simply smiled as he looked at Mei.
At this moment, Mei looked genuinely terrified.
Because she realized that the person before her was not merely a demon.
He did not even bother hiding his evil purpose.
Mei was, after all, someone who would become Mizukage in the future.
Elder Genji had also carefully cultivated her.
Her mind was extremely sharp.
The moment Hikaru mentioned the contents of the deal, she understood what he wanted.
This was a blatant attempt to split Kirigakure from within.
He made it sound pleasant, as if he were giving them an opportunity to develop their strength and resist the Mizukage's madness.
But what consequences would their resistance bring?
Clearly, the village would be divided.
This would strike a heavy blow against Kirigakure's development.
This man did not want Kirigakure to improve at all.
For him to offer such a deal, he clearly had leverage over the Mizukage.
He must know something.
If he truly wanted to help Kirigakure, then why not simply reveal that leverage and give them a chance to remove the Mizukage reasonably, without internal conflict?
But this man had no intention of doing that.
He wanted Kirigakure to continue exhausting itself from within.
Thinking of this, Mei's heart filled with hatred.
But she knew one thing very clearly.
She truly had no right to choose.
This man had come to her because he wanted Kirigakure to remain chaotic.
Otherwise, he could have gone directly to the Mizukage and revealed certain matters about them.
If that happened, the Mizukage would watch them even more strictly.
They would have even less chance to force him down.
Perhaps even their own safety could no longer be guaranteed.
How could they still save Kirigakure then?
Cooperate, and Kirigakure would fall into chaos.
Refuse, and Kirigakure would completely sink into the abyss.
These two choices were placed before Mei, leaving her incomparably conflicted.
Only after a long while did she grit her teeth and ask,
"How can I trust you? And how can you guarantee that after meeting the Mizukage, he won't turn his blade around and start a war with us?"
"Sorry, but you do not have the qualifications to choose.
"And I am not so low as to deceive you. After all…"
At this point, Hikaru slowly walked up to Mei.
He looked at the woman before him, whose body was trembling continuously.
A smile appeared on the lower half of his masked face.
Then he reached out and gently lifted Mei's chin.
It was an extremely provocative gesture.
But Mei did not resist at all.
Perhaps she knew she could not resist.
Hikaru looked at the woman before him, who was clenching her teeth.
The smile on his face became even brighter.
Then he slowly leaned close to Mei's ear and whispered,
"After all, doing what I say is my nindō…"
…
"So that is the situation?"
Inside an office in the newly rebuilt Mizukage Building, Elder Genji sat on his cushion and quietly looked at Mei, who was half-kneeling before him.
Early that morning, Mei had come to his office, requesting a meeting.
This was not unusual.
But this time, Mei's expression was far too serious.
She had even requested that everyone, including the ANBU, be dismissed.
That made Genji somewhat wary.
He did not suspect Mei, because this girl had been personally cultivated by him.
He guessed that Mei might have discovered something extraordinary, which was why she was being so cautious.
Thus, he dismissed a portion of the more obvious people.
But he also left one person hidden in the office.
This person's concealment technique was extremely advanced. Unless one possessed exceptionally strong sensory ability, they would not notice his existence.
Necessary precautions still had to be taken.
Genji was naturally cautious, especially since the things they were doing now would be fatal if exposed.
However, after Mei told him everything that had happened last night, Genji's heart was filled with shock—and he also regretted leaving that ANBU behind.
This kind of matter, a major event concerning Kirigakure's internal future, could not be casually known by others.
Especially since this was clearly a premeditated matter that could foreseeably lead to Kirigakure's future division.
It absolutely could not be allowed to spread.
Fortunately, that ANBU could still be considered one of Genji's own.
Right now, Genji was more focused on the deal offered by that damned demon.
Mei could think of the implications, and Genji naturally could as well.
In fact, he understood even faster how they should choose.
He could tell that the damned man had truly cornered them.
Simply put, they had no room to choose.
Either they obeyed and cooperated with him, causing Kirigakure to become truly divided from within—but at least gaining time to prepare and eventually finding a way to remove the Mizukage in a reasonable and legitimate manner.
Or that man would go to the Mizukage himself.
If that happened, Kirigakure might avoid internal disorder, but the Mizukage would begin hunting them down, leaving them with nowhere to hide.
The final result would be no internal conflict—but they would all be doomed.
And the clearly problematic Mizukage would lead Kirigakure into the abyss.
Of course, there were not no other options.
For example, they could attack now and find a way to deal with the Mizukage directly.
But the result of that would be equally disastrous.
If they succeeded, they would become missing-nin.
If they failed, they would become nothing at all.
Thinking of this, Genji took a deep breath.
This choice seemed simple, but in truth, there was no truly good option.
It was choosing between bad and worse.
And in reality, they only had one choice.
"I understand. You have worked hard, Mei."
Genji shook his head weakly.
He had already made his decision.
"This matter truly leaves us with little room to choose.
"Making you face and bear this matter has been hard on you."
"No, Elder Genji. This is Kirigakure's matter. I am duty-bound!"
Mei shook her head and clenched her teeth.
"That demon is simply too hateful. A man like him will pay the price sooner or later. I swear it!"
Looking at Mei's expression, Genji could only shake his head helplessly.
He had little interest in discussing whether that man would pay the price.
First of all, whether they had anyone capable of doing that was unknown.
Second, just the strength that man had displayed several years ago made it unlikely that anyone could succeed.
Even if someone could, that man was so elusive that they might not even be able to find him.
So, in Genji's view, rather than obsessing over something useless, it was better to think about something more practical.
For example, if they gained time and the Mizukage truly stopped paying attention to them, how should they quickly accumulate their own strength?
That was the most important thing.
"Enough. There is no need to think too much about those matters."
Genji shook his head and spoke seriously.
"I will arrange what comes next. Once the arrangements are complete, I will inform you.
"That man will likely only contact you, so during this period, satisfy his demands as much as possible.
"I know you hate him. I hate him as well.
"No one will forget the damage he caused Kirigakure.
"But the most important thing is still Kirigakure's stability. The village is our root. This is beyond doubt.
"Once Kirigakure is stable in the future, we will make that man pay the price!"
"Yes, Elder Genji!"
Mei immediately lowered her head and answered with absolute determination.
Indeed.
The village was their root.
Only after the village became stable and peaceful again could they think of a way to take revenge on those who had once harmed it.
"Heh."
But at that moment, a soft laugh suddenly rang out inside the room.
In an instant, both Genji and Mei felt their hair stand on end.
Thud.
Immediately after, a black shadow suddenly fell to the floor.
Genji instantly knew that it was the ANBU he had left hidden in the room.
He did not know how that man had been killed.
Nor did he know when the mysterious man had entered the room.
But he knew one thing.
If that man had wanted to kill them, they would already be corpses.
Fear silently spread through both of their hearts.
…
Standing calmly beside a lake in the Land of Water, Hikaru's entire body was wrapped in a black cloak.
On his face was a mask that exposed the lower half of his face.
At this moment, there was no chakra fluctuation from his body. He looked like an ordinary person.
Yet it was as if his entire being had fused with nature itself.
No matter who saw him, they would not be able to ignore him.
From the time he departed for the Land of Water until now, Hikaru had already been away for more than a month.
He was not particularly worried that anything would happen in Konoha.
After all, he had left a shadow clone in the village. If anything truly happened, his shadow clone would absolutely notify him.
Besides, nothing should happen in Konoha right now.
After all, Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama were also staying there.
No matter what, Hikaru still trusted those two very much.
Konoha had no problems.
As for Kirigakure, things were also proceeding according to his expectations.
Ever since Hikaru killed the hidden ANBU in front of Mei and Genji, those two had clearly become much more motivated.
Although Hikaru had not paid too much attention, he had been staying at Mei's residence during this time, so he still understood some things.
He was not surprised by the choice made by Genji and Mei.
After all, a certain minister or prime minister had once demonstrated this perfectly through Sir Humphrey.
Between a bad choice and an even worse choice, anyone would choose the relatively better one.
After all, not everyone was a madman.
Hikaru's reason for doing this was very simple.
He did not want Obito to have an easy time.
At the same time, he did not want Obito to have time to run to the Land of Rain.
Obito hated Kirigakure to the extreme.
After inheriting Uchiha Madara's political legacy in Kirigakure, he had intensified his efforts to sabotage the village.
His goal was to drag Kirigakure into the abyss.
What Hikaru was doing now was pulling Kirigakure back up a little.
Obito's current advantage lay in his absolute control over the Mizukage—and the fact that no one had discovered his actions.
But for Hikaru, a transmigrator, this matter was simply too clear.
He could fully use this to make Obito unable to take care of everything at once.
He would force Obito to gain another enemy inside Kirigakure, and one he could not move against within the agreed time.
In that situation, the only thing Obito could do was try every means possible to win over more people willing to follow the "Mizukage" before that enemy became too powerful.
Under such circumstances, how would Obito have time to go to the Land of Rain and cause trouble for Nagato?
Black Zetsu was also a problem.
But Obito's intelligence might not necessarily be enough to outplay an old fox like Genji.
So Black Zetsu naturally could not leave easily either.
Besides, Hikaru did not mind adding one more layer of insurance for Black Zetsu, ensuring that he could no longer turn his gaze toward the Land of Rain.
That way, Nagato's freedom would increase.
At the same time, he could continue maintaining his identity as Akatsuki's leader while obediently serving as Hikaru's blade.
"As long as I pin those two down in Kirigakure, many interesting things will happen.
"If Tobirama fully studies that cursed seal, I can even start moving against the Land of Rain!"
The Land of Rain indeed did not have many resources.
And its endless rain did bring trouble to many projects.
But one thing had to be mentioned.
That place had abundant water resources.
If guided properly, Hikaru might be able to use them to make a fortune.
After all, the Land of Rain was a small country connecting the Land of Wind, the Land of Fire, and the Land of Earth.
The Land of Wind and the Land of Earth both lacked water.
Moreover, the country's geographical position also determined that its strategic value was extraordinary.
Hikaru truly did not mind properly developing that country, if they genuinely submitted.
He shook his head slightly and stopped thinking about these problems.
The road had to be walked step by step.
Food had to be eaten bite by bite.
Right now, the most important thing was still dealing with Obito and the others.
"Has he arrived?"
At that moment, Hikaru suddenly raised his head slightly.
He had already sensed someone approaching.
As expected, in the blink of an eye, the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, silently appeared around Hikaru.
His expression was still calm, even somewhat dull.
There was never any emotion on his face.
That blankness made him look like a puppet.
Hikaru did not know how Genji had explained things to this man.
Nor did he care about such messy details.
They had no meaning to him.
Hikaru calmly turned around and looked at Yagura.
Suddenly, a mischievous thought appeared in his mind.
He raised his head slightly and spoke with faint arrogance.
"You came?"
"Yes, I came. But you should not have come."
Although Yagura did not fully cooperate, the response still sounded acceptable.
He looked at Hikaru calmly, without any emotional fluctuation.
"I do not know why you have gotten involved with those people, or why they lied to me by saying they had important intelligence to report.
"I did not expect that they had already betrayed Kirigakure and joined hands with a dangerous figure like you."
"Is that so?"
Hikaru looked at Yagura with amusement.
Then he slowly spoke in a meaningful tone.
"I wonder, if I use Yin-Yang Release, will this man wake up?
"Speaking of which, this fellow is truly pitiful.
"No matter what, he is still the Kage of a major shinobi village.
"And yet now, he can only serve as a puppet on strings.
"That is truly tragic."
As soon as he finished speaking, chakra began to ripple from Hikaru's body.
A pale golden tailed-beast cloak appeared around him.
Not only that, the Yin-Yang Release inside him also began gathering within his body.
Powerful chakra shot into the sky.
The originally calm lake instantly became turbulent, waves surging violently.
"You two rats can either come out on your own and have a proper talk with me, or I can drag you out and make you talk properly."
As his words fell, Hikaru slowly turned his head toward another direction.
Not far away in that direction, Obito and Black Zetsu were already drenched in cold sweat.
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