Once she had truly secured her seat as Mizukage and stabilized the Hidden Mist…

"When I'm firmly on the Mizukage's throne…" she murmured softly to herself, "perhaps I should persuade the Daimyō of the Land of Water, the way Konoha did."

Ao looked up at her words, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. Mei Terumi shook her head, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Her gaze grew sharp again.

"It's far too early to talk about that now," she said, her voice returning to its usual composure. "For the moment, the most important thing is to use this opportunity to restore the Mist's prestige."

Ao nodded in agreement. Over the years, the village had been plagued by constant internal strife it truly needed a decisive victory to reassert itself.

"Mizukage-sama is wise," Ao said as he reached over and plucked the blue kunai representing the Hidden Mist from the sand table.

"Tomorrow, I'll be the one to fight. I'll win the first battle for the Mist."

Among shinobi, battles were often won through intelligence, and with the information they had gathered on the Akatsuki, Ao had every confidence.

He would win.

The kunai spun in his fingers, catching the light in a flourish, the gleam reflecting off his determined face.

Mei tapped her fingers lightly against the armrest, the rhythmic sound echoing softly. "Once we've secured the first victory, we should know when to pull back. That's already a fair return for the price Konoha has paid."

Her eyes swept over the markers representing the other powers on the sand table. "This war isn't worth the Mist throwing in everything we have."

There was approval in Ao's gaze. The young Mizukage was not only strong but also clear-eyed and pragmatic. Having grown up in the Bloody Mist, he understood better than anyone how vital such a leader was for the village's future.

The Mist… had much to look forward to.

Iwagakure Main Camp

From the distance, the mournful singing coming from the Hidden Cloud's camp reached them, and Ōnoki listened with open schadenfreude.

If there was any village that clashed with the Cloud more than anyone else, it wasn't Konoha it was Iwagakure.

"Tsk, tsk… that pack of beaten dogs might have to make a living as wandering singers after this," he muttered.

Standing beside him, Kurotsuchi couldn't help but interject. "Grandpa, isn't that a little too mean? You could at least…"

"At least what?" Ōnoki's sharp eyes swept over her.

"Sympathize with them?" he scoffed, floating toward the tent's entrance and gazing out toward Amegakure in the distance. "In this world, the weak don't even have the right to be pitied."

Hmph.

The grudges between Iwa and Kumo were something this sheltered granddaughter of his couldn't possibly understand.

Shaking his head, Ōnoki sighed. Kurotsuchi had grown up far too peacefully.

He floated back toward her, now looking sullen and a little indignant, and decided to explain patiently. Though the Five Great Nations stood together as an alliance now, they all carried blood debts against each other.

Forget about Iwa and Kumo look at the other villages.

That famous "White Fang" of Konoha, Kakashi's father, bore deep grudges against Iwagakure.

Or that sweet-faced old woman from Sunagakure, Chiyo she'd slit Kakashi's throat without a second thought if she had the chance.

And that Ao from the Mist? The Hyūga of Konoha would gladly devour him whole.

The ties between the Five Great Nations were an intricate snarl of grudges and rivalries. "You're still too young, Kurotsuchi you think too naively."

Reality hit her hard. She had honestly believed this was a united, righteous anti-terror campaign.

"So… this time, Grandpa, should we conserve our strength and let them wear each other down?" she asked, now a little uncertain.

Ōnoki's eyes gleamed with satisfaction.

The once-innocent Kurotsuchi was already trying her hand at scheming. "Then, once they've battered each other to exhaustion, we can…"

It didn't take long to learn mischief.

But Ōnoki shook his head for once. "This time's different. In the end, we'll still have to work with that crafty old Sarutobi."

She tilted her head, puzzled.

Ōnoki's eyes narrowed, his gaze fixed on the sand table. "That Pain… he's not like the others. If we can kill him, we must."

Memories of his youth the shadows they cast rose unbidden.

If those Rinnegan eyes were allowed to grow stronger… the shinobi world might truly find itself with another would-be god.

Kurotsuchi returned to her usual self, albeit disappointed. "And Deidara? I wonder how he's doing."

At the mention of that name, Ōnoki's expression soured instantly. "That brat actually said I have no artistic sense and went off to keep working with the Akatsuki! Infuriating! I'll—"

"Ow, my back!"

"Grandpa! Are you okay?!"

Sunagakure Camp

Chiyo sat alone under the dim glow of an oil lamp.

The wind howled outside the tent, sounding as though it came from the farthest reaches of the desert. Her wrinkled fingers gently traced the surface of a yellowed old photograph.

From somewhere nearby came the faint strains of a sorrowful folk ballad.

In the photo, her son had his arm around his wife's shoulders. Between them stood a young boy with bright red hair Sasori holding a crude wooden puppet, smiling with unguarded innocence.

"Sasori…" she whispered, her voice rasping almost to nothing.

There had been no reply in years. Perhaps Sasori had long since severed all ties of kinship.

Carefully, she slipped the photo back into her inner pocket.

At that moment, she might have been the only commander in the Allied Shinobi Forces who could truly empathize with that wandering folk singer in the enemy camp.

Ace's fanfiction had become quite popular on the Shinobi Forum.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had even climbed his way up to a junior moderator position there, spending his days browsing and liking posts that mocked the "Black Four."

But today, he could barely restrain himself. Two different threads from the same user:

[Sarutobi Hiruzen fights Orochimaru alone no Konoha ninja came to save him! Shows he's lost everyone's trust!]

[Sarutobi Hiruzen drained Konoha dry to raise a 3,000-strong Sarutobi clan army utterly shameless!]

Did this guy not see the problem here?

If I have a 3,000-strong army, why didn't they flood Orochimaru to death?

Still, he gave the post a "featured" tag.

And replied: Yes, as a moderator, I completely agree.

Another day of swallowing his pride for the long game.

Come to think of it, Ace's fanfic hadn't updated lately. The forum was buzzing with readers urging him to post more Hiruzen's mod status was hanging by a thread.

He opened their private group chat.

Hiruzen: Ace, why did you stop updating your Naruto fic?

Ace: Been busy lately. Just finished sorting out matters with my crew, and next I've got to head to Wano to pick up Yamato.

Ace: Why are you even asking? You don't read it.

…I read it every day. You've already subdued the Uchiha, defeated the "Black Four," nearly become acting Hokage, and still go around calling yourself "Flame Emperor" in the story.

Hiruzen: Ahem. Don't quit halfway you'll let the readers down. I don't mind this or that.

Ace: Haha, really? Well, I'll try to write when I can. But it's been so busy… never knew a captain's job was this demanding. I don't get how Pops always had time to drink every day.

Because he was a hands-off leader, obviously. So, Ace are you going for full-on micromanagement now?

Yoriichi: I've made some progress here too Tanjiro's already taken down a Lower Moon.

…He was basically the Demon Slayer version of the Sage of Six Paths now. Looks like Konoha wasn't going to get that mission.

Yoriichi: When we head to Infinity Castle, I'd appreciate it if you could send someone to back me up.

Wait was Yoriichi reading a perfectly on-rails Demon Slayer fanfic? How was he so calm about it?

Hiruzen: Sure.

Ace: No problem. How about you, old man?

Hiruzen: Still busy with the Allied Forces taking on Pain. This morning, Kakuzu even sent us a formal challenge.

Ace: A challenge?

Yoriichi: Sounds like something out of a Three Kingdoms drama.

Hiruzen: Yeah tomorrow, Ao from the Mist is going to duel Kakuzu one-on-one.

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