"Kazekage-dono…"
Mei's voice was lazy, carrying a trace of careless amusement. "What a coincidence."
Teizawa stopped and looked at her.
"What? Was a beauty waiting for me?"
His tone was frivolous.
But the smile in his eyes was impossible to hide, and neither was his appreciation.
Mei clicked her tongue twice.
"Kazekage-dono, what a sweet mouth you have."
She tilted her head, those emerald-green eyes circling over his face. "I wonder how many girls you've deceived with it."
"How do you know?" Teizawa took a step forward and leaned closer to her. "Want to taste it?"
Mei did not retreat.
She raised her head and looked into the eyes so close at hand, the smile on her lips growing deeper.
"Kazekage-dono, is that an invitation?"
Her voice was still lazy.
But her heartbeat quietly sped up by several beats.
Teizawa lowered his head until the tips of their noses almost touched.
He could smell the faint fragrance on her.
It was not the scent of cosmetics, but some kind of flower.
Clear and not cloying.
"That depends…" His voice lowered. "On whether you accept the invitation."
Mei's eyes narrowed slightly.
Her gaze slowly slid across his face, as if savoring something.
Then she suddenly laughed.
She lifted a finger and gently tapped his chest.
"Kazekage-dono, you…"
She paused. "Are very dangerous."
Teizawa took hold of her finger and did not let go.
"Dangerous things are the most interesting, aren't they?"
A flicker passed through Mei's eyes.
She did not pull her hand back, simply letting him hold it.
The smile on her lips slowly deepened.
"Unfortunately, I'm returning to Kirigakure today."
Her voice carried a trace of regret, though whether it was real or fake was impossible to tell.
"So soon?" Teizawa released her finger, his tone carrying just the right amount of reluctance. "I was still thinking of inviting you for a drink."
"Next time."
Mei turned around and walked a few steps, then stopped and looked back at him. "Kazekage-dono, the next time we meet, don't forget to invite me for that drink."
Teizawa smiled.
"Definitely."
But just as Mei was about to leave, Teizawa suddenly spoke.
"Mei!"
"Mei?"
Mei's brows lifted slightly.
A trace of surprise flashed through those emerald-green eyes.
And something else that could not be described.
Wasn't that form of address a little too intimate?
She opened her mouth.
In the end, she only turned her face aside.
The corner of her mouth rose slightly, and she did not refute him.
That blush spread from her cheeks to the tips of her ears.
It was especially clear in the morning light.
Teizawa looked at her profile, the smile in his eyes deepening.
"This trip to Konoha, you seem to have done nothing at all."
His tone was casual, as if he were discussing the weather.
"You didn't win the Four-Tails, didn't spend any money, and just stood on the side watching a show."
"I really do wonder what Kirigakure's objective was."
Mei fell silent for a moment.
The morning breeze blew in from the alley entrance, lifting her auburn hair.
A few strands drifted across her cheek.
She reached up and gently tucked them behind her ear.
"At this point…"
Her voice was softer than usual, with less laziness and more seriousness.
"There's really nothing I can't say."
She turned around and leaned her back against the wall.
Then she raised her head and looked at the square of sky cut apart by the eaves above.
"The elders sent me here partly to make contact with the major ninja villages…"
She paused. "But the real objective was the Four-Tails and the tailed beasts."
Teizawa said nothing and waited for her to continue.
"As for Kirigakure, if we could obtain the Four-Tails, of course that would be good. If we couldn't…"
She turned her head and looked at him. "That would be fine too."
Teizawa nodded.
"But I didn't expect Konoha to actually be interested in the Four-Tails."
There was a trace of self-mockery in Mei's voice. "So my mission was actually completed from the very beginning."
Teizawa looked at her thoughtfully.
After the years of civil strife caused by the Bloody Mist policy, Kirigakure had suffered a great loss of strength.
Now was the time for them to lick their wounds.
So where would they find enough resources to bid for a tailed beast?
But they also did not want Konoha to obtain one.
Konoha already possessed the Nine-Tails. If it obtained the Four-Tails as well, its strength would swell even further.
That would break the fragile balance between the Five Great Nations.
As Konoha's neighbor, Kirigakure naturally did not want to see such a thing happen.
As for whether the Four-Tails returned to Iwagakure or was stolen by Kumogakure…
That had little to do with them.
The distance was too great. It would not threaten Kirigakure.
So Mei's true mission had never been to buy the Four-Tails.
It was to gather intelligence.
To observe and remember the attitudes, strength, and movements of the major ninja villages.
Kirigakure had been isolated from the shinobi world for too long.
It could not continue stumbling forward blind.
"So…" Teizawa looked at her. "What did you see?"
The corner of Mei's mouth rose slightly.
"I saw…"
She paused. "Kazekage-dono is a very dangerous man."
Teizawa smiled.
"That's all?"
"Isn't that enough?"
Mei tilted her head, and those emerald-green eyes reflected his figure.
"One person stirred up the entire shinobi world. Iwagakure, Kumo, Konoha, Kirigakure. All of them were led around by you."
She paused. "Is a person like that not dangerous enough?"
Teizawa did not answer.
He only looked at her, his eyes carrying a trace of appreciation.
This woman was even smarter than he had expected.
"All right."
Mei straightened away from the wall and patted imaginary dust from her dress.
"I've said what I should say. Kazekage-dono, until we meet again."
With that, she turned to leave.
But the instant Mei turned around, Teizawa took a step forward.
Light and swift, like wind brushing over water.
Leaving no trace.
He reached out, wrapped an arm around her waist, and lowered his head to kiss Mei's lips.
It was not a fleeting touch.
It carried a certain certainty, a possessive force that allowed no refusal.
Mei's eyes widened round.
Her mind went blank.
This man. This bastard.
He actually dared…
Actually dared…
Anger surged through her heart.
Not the feigned annoyance of flirtation.
But true anger, carrying killing intent.
She was Kirigakure's future Mizukage.
The wielder of the kekkei genkai Lava Release and Boil Release.
She was Mei Terumi.
Not a woman any man could casually take liberties with.
Her lips parted slightly.
A scorching breath surged up from deep in her throat.
Lava Release, magma hot enough to melt steel.
She would make this reckless Kazekage learn the price of his audacity.
Then…
Her vision blurred.
The hand around her waist released her.
That oppressive presence vanished.
His aura retreated in an instant.
She only had time to catch a flash of dark-gold cloth disappearing at the alley entrance.
His voice still echoed beside her ear.
Amused, smug, and carrying a certainty that made her teeth itch.
"The future Mizukage's lips… really are soft."
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]