"You're not going back with him?"

"Why would I? The whole of Kirigakure is a mess right now. No one has a clue what's really going on in there. I'd be safer staying out here than going back."

Terumi Mei curled her lip in disdain.

Elder Genji might seem reliable, but he was already very old.

Right now, the village couldn't even name a proper successor for the Fourth Mizukage. If something were to happen to Genji after he returned, Kirigakure would truly be finished.

And as the one who'd passed information to the outside, going back would likely be a death sentence for her.

If it ever came to that...

She figured she might as well consider defecting to Konohagakure.

Better a disgraceful life than a glorious death.

If she stayed alive, maybe she could figure out what was really going on in Kirigakure.

Kyoichi looked at her and gave a faint smile.

"If something does happen to the Mizukage… would you want to be the Fourth?"

"Huh?"

Terumi Mei blinked, completely caught off guard by the question. She had no idea what Kyoichi meant.

Was he… planning to assassinate the Mizukage?

"Don't overthink it. I meant exactly what I said. Just chatting. It's only the two of us here, anyway. Your Mizukage may already be compromised. Originally, the Fourth was supposed to be Yagura, right?"

"Yeah…"

She nodded slightly.

Yagura had always been the leading candidate. Despite his youthful appearance, he had both the ability and the ruthlessness. Aside from the powerful clans, most of the village's ordinary ninja supported him.

So...

Barring any surprises, Yagura was absolutely supposed to be the next Mizukage.

"If something happened to him too, then the choice of the next Mizukage is wide open. In a few years—would you be ready to take up that title?"

Kyoichi watched her expression closely.

She lowered her head, so he couldn't see her face—but from the chakra fluctuations he sensed, it was clear that her emotions were unstable. She didn't speak for several seconds.

"Do you know what it takes to be a proper Kage?"

"To protect the village," she replied after thinking about it.

Kyoichi shook his head.

"That's too vague. 'Protecting the village' is just an empty phrase. If you truly want to be a capable Kage, you have to understand how the village should grow, how to manage its development, and how to mediate conflicts—between the village's ninja, clans, and even external shinobi clans."

Every country had its own shinobi villages—and also ninja clans that existed outside of them.

For example, in the Land of Fire, aside from Konoha, there were the Iburi Clan, the shinobi monks of the Fire Temple, and others. Not all clans belonged to the village.

Kirigakure was the same.

Notably, the Yuki Clan and the Kaguya Clan—wielders of Ice Release and Shikotsumyaku—had a delicate relationship with the village. Rather than subordinates, they were more like uneasy partners.

Balancing the interests between the clans and the village was crucial.

Terumi Mei fell silent, deep in thought.

These were things...

She had never considered before.

In her mind, being Mizukage meant standing at the front lines, protecting the village with strength. She had never thought about the more complex, political side.

She was barely twelve, after all.

"That sounds like such a pain. Forget it."

Just imagining the responsibility gave her a headache.

Leading from the front, handling clan politics, overseeing growth...

No thanks.

What did the fate of the village have to do with a twelve-year-old girl like her?

That's what she thought.

"It's not as bad as it sounds. If you can't handle all that, then just make sure you're strong enough—so strong no one dares oppose you. Then you won't have to worry about internal strife."

"You really think someone like me could be Mizukage?"

She found it laughable.

Sure, Tsunade had become the first female Hokage, but Tsunade was in a league of her own—both in strength and lineage.

She was the First Hokage's granddaughter.

Just that background alone earned her the support of many. Compared to that, Mei had nothing.

"Does that matter? Kirigakure doesn't even have the strength to govern itself right now. When that day comes, don't be so sure you won't be a contender. What matters is showing you're capable."

Kyoichi smiled, and then the shadow clone dispersed.

Its mission was complete.

Terumi Mei stood still for several seconds, stunned.

She understood perfectly well what Kyoichi was implying.

This internal chaos likely couldn't be resolved by Kirigakure alone. When that moment came, Kyoichi's strength would be essential—and that was exactly what he was positioning himself for.

When that time came...

Who would really hold power in Kirigakure?

It wouldn't be the Mizukage.

It might be Elder Genji.

Or perhaps… Kanda Kyoichi.

She felt a wave of despair.

Kyoichi was simply too powerful. He didn't even need to attack—just his presence alone was suffocating.

If he didn't want someone to become Mizukage, all he needed was a reason—and Kirigakure would have no choice but to take it seriously.

After all...

Kirigakure had already lost to Konoha in the Third Great Shinobi World War. Though the war reparations had been paid, who knew how much they might owe this time?

What she didn't know was—

Genji hadn't returned to the village alone just now.

Of course…

Even Genji himself was unaware of this.

Underground, a wood clone infused with Sage Chakra was following him along the natural leylines of the land, tracing his path all the way back to Kirigakure without being detected.

The clone tracked Yagura's location without being noticed.

Proving once again—

This advanced anti-detection technique, one even White Zetsu couldn't sense, was on a whole other level. What's more, Kyoichi had recently merged it with a new jutsu—

The Toad's Shadow Stealth Technique he'd stolen from Jiraiya, which he'd now fully absorbed and refined.

When holding his breath, he could conceal his presence even more thoroughly. And since wood clones didn't need to breathe…

There was no way he'd be discovered.

Kyoichi wasn't here out of the goodness of his heart to check on Yagura or to rescue him.

He was here to investigate.

To see whether there were any White Zetsu lurking about.

That thing was a treasure.

Orochimaru's lab was hard at work trying to breed them—but nothing beat the original.

Crouching underground, he quietly observed.

Yagura was being held in a prison cell. Just by sensing chakra, it wasn't clear whether he had been marked with one of Madara's control seals. But what he had detected… was company.

White Zetsu!

However...

This was just a wood clone. Kyoichi didn't have full confidence in confronting it directly.

So, he completely sealed his chakra and suppressed his presence, avoiding alerting the White Zetsu who was observing nearby. He waited patiently for his real body to arrive.

Meanwhile—

Kyoichi and the others were already on their way to Kirigakure.

"Sensei, is this really okay? That's Kirigakure. If we go in and act without permission, it could start a major conflict," Shisui said with concern.

Acting now would seem… unjustified.

Kyoichi chuckled.

"Shisui, rules are made by people. If you bind yourself to rules in every situation, in the end you'll be shackled by the very rules you created."

"Huh?"

Shisui and Kurenai were both stunned.

This didn't sound like the Kyoichi-sensei they were used to.

Kakashi, however, was deep in thought.

Clearly...

There was more to this than they knew.

"Kiri's situation is far more complicated than you think. If we play by the book, we'll never get the results we need. Right now, we're stronger than they are—so we set the terms. Who cares what Kirigakure thinks?"

Kyoichi shook his head.

Since when did powerful nations follow the rules of the weak?

Kirigakure might be one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages—but the gap between them and Konoha was no small matter.

On the road to Kirigakure, he even had Minato send out a message via Flying Thunder God, summarizing the situation on this end.

This time…

He was going to catch one alive.

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