Mangetsu's foot slammed against my forearm, the impact reverberating through bone and muscle like a struck drum. Pain flared, but I gritted through my masked grin, more pleased than pained—his strength was improving. As he fell away, I twisted, shoving him off before slashing at his descending form, my blade whistling through the air in a silver arc.
His tanto met my strike in a swift parry, the clash ringing sharp in the air. But he was wise not to linger. A bladed gust of wind roared from behind, tearing through the field, slicing apart grass and earth alike. Mangetsu shoved against my weight and leaped free, forcing me to do the same—lest I be shredded by my own jutsu.
On the opposite side of the field I watched my masked clone nod satisfactorily at the move, his fingers already flipping through more hand signs we didn't need to keep the pressure up. Mangetsu dashed out at him, flinging shuriken to interrupt the sequence— another brilliant move but wasted as a bolt of water surged at the young Chuunin's exposed flank. I held back a wince as the bolt collided with Mangetsu and to our collective surprise and pride, did nothing save shove him a couple inches to the side.
I smirked behind my mask as Mangetsu's body rippled, his form momentarily warping into liquid before solidifying again. A prodigy indeed. I brandished my blade and dashed out at him, having given more than enough breathing space.
Quick on his feet, Mangetsu turned to run, but the residual shift in his form slowed him enough for me to close the distance with ease, even while holding back. He cursed as my blade met his tantō in a flurry of blows, his grip faltering under the relentless assault. It didn't last long. A well-placed strike knocked the weapon from his hands, leaving him utterly exposed.
I stabbed forward, leaking killing intent that had his face contorted in horror and fear, his eyes winced shut as he tripped on his own foot and fell on his ass.
""Dead."" All three of us said, gathered around him as his eyes peeled open once again.
My blade hovered barely an inch away from his face and my other selves stood with hands placed in seals, ready to unleash Wind and Water Release techniques. Each of us wore standard ANBU gear and were masked with indicators for our specialties. I was masked Kenjutsu, the others were Water and Wind.
Disappointment, shame washed over his features, his lip trembled as he muttered pathetically, "It won't happen again, Yagura-sama."
I drew my blade away from his face and relaxed my stance, "It will and I am not Yagura. I am not your Mizukage, not your mentor." Again my clones spoke in sync, a little intimidation trick I was utterly enjoying. ""We are the enemy.""
Water helped Mangetsu up to his feet while Wind continued the lecture, "Your Hiden is powerful and very useful, but when you're cornered against enemies who understand its limitations and weaknesses, sometimes it's best not to use it. A weapon the enemy has prepared for is a trap."
"I understand." His voice was low, bitter with regret.
"Do you?" Water questioned, "Over-reliance on your Hiden is a mistake. I allowed you to use it today because I know how deeply ingrained it is. How easy it is to fall back on the familiar. But a shinobi must be able to recognize when a weapon is best left in its sheath."
I nodded in agreement, "Not to mention, your defensive Kenjutsu is still lacking, allowing yourself to be disarmed is another fatal mistake I will beat out of you."
Wind retrieved his tanto from where it fell and handed it back to him, "Are you ready?"
Mangetsu's grip tightened. His jaw set. "Yes, master!"
At the word the three of us spread out across the field, returning to our positions to start the training session again.
Perched atop a target stump, I let my gaze flick toward the distant gazebo where the Boss and Lady Megumi sat—watching, judging, discussing. I tightened my grip on my weapon's pommel.
This was far more fun than another dreary political meeting.
***
"Aoto was right… this technique is quite useful." Lady Megumi chuckled, the feathered fan in her grasp swaying in slow, deliberate strokes. "You finally have time to train my scion—even if it isn't the real you."
I drank a sip of my tea and sighed as I leaned back in my chair, "They are the real me…to an extent."
She looked out at the field, "Was he right about the other thing?"
"What other thing?" I turned, a brow raised in question. She gave me a meaningful look and I rolled my eyes and blew on my tea, "Don't let his paranoia get to you, he worries all too much."
She sat upright then, "Oh in that case, perhaps—"
"No," I didn't let her finish, already aware of what was on her tongue, "I won't be sharing the secrets to this technique anytime soon. If you're lucky, perhaps I'll be impressed enough by your scion and let him inherit it. Otherwise, it's best you and every other clan head respect yourselves and don't ask."
She snickered, fanning herself some more, "Stingy, but I had to try. Just like I have to ask you this as well," I narrowed an intolerant gaze at the aged clan matriarch but she was unfazed, "The technique is strong, useful but I don't see how it's worth more than Konoha in rubble. Why?"
I groaned and set my teacup down, having lost my taste for tea. After nearly a month since my return the rumours, true and grandiose of what occurred in Konoha were making its way across the sea. They'd done a good job holding the truth of the disaster back as well and long as they did but news was bound to break— Konoha was hurt.
My council knew already from my own reports and likely their individual interrogations with Ao but they never bothered to question my reasoning so much, especially as I declared war on a masked terrorist lost in the wind and likely because they themselves were too preoccupied with securing their new wealth. Uncle, of course, was unavoidable— I told him the truth of what happened, of why I decided to visit and intervene in Konoha's disaster.
A hunch, a terrible, all too true hunch.
Before I could share the same vague response with Lady Megumi she spoke again, leaning out of her netted chair, "You see, we wondered what would have made you insert yourself so deeply…worried in some part that they'd brainwashed you even." I growled and she raised her hand to calm, "But Lord Karatachi is your Uncle, he loves you and has surely eaten up whatever vague half-truth you fed him to assuage his worries and Lord Funato has felt the heel of your boot on his neck and has no desire to taste the dirt beneath it, at least not before he's passed on a rich legacy to his son. But I…well, I have no such fear or inhibitions."
My gaze became a hot glare, "Are you saying you do not fear your Mizukage, Lady Megumi?"
Rather than falter or sweat under my glare her smile blossomed into a wistful grin, "I birthed your predecessor, Yagura-sama, I know the power of a Mizukage all too well. What I fear is what its misuse can do to the village…you see, I still believe Kirigakure is, like Rina, my son's child. Throwing yourself into danger will do nothing but hurt it, so I ask without an ounce or iota of fear in these old bones. Why did you go out of your way to help Konoha, Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi?"
There were a number of things I was privy to do in this situation but all of them would be counterproductive and perhaps, even embolden others to start questioning things I didn't want them to. The old lady had made it clear this was…personal for her, perhaps even more so than it was for Uncle. The hat I wore sat on her son's head and while he was dead and gone, the village he and their clan bled for was now left in my hands, I charted their fates and while I'd done a whole lot of good…it could all be undone the moment I stopped breathing.
"I am flattered by your concern for my safety, Lady Megumi, even if your means of expressing it are unorthodox." I sat up straight, finger drumming against the arm rest as I prepared to reveal more of my secrets than I ever had. There was no sweeping this under the rug otherwise, "Konoha is vital for Kirigakure's continued safety. An alliance with them and to an extent, other Hidden Villages is necessary to protect ourselves from the influence of this…terrorist."
Her smile fell but didn't fade, "I knew it. You've known of this…Masked Uchiha long before he ever showed his face. No wonder you were so insistent on being friendly with those tree huggers." Her disdain for Konoha was clear in her tone, "How? And how long have you known? Who is he and—"
I raised a hand, shaking my head. "Don't push your luck, Lady Megumi." My voice was even, but firm. "What I've revealed today is out of respect for you and your clan's service to the village—nothing more. Understand this: everything I do is for the village." I let the words settle before adding, "Let this be the last time you question that—or imply otherwise."
She'd stopped smiling but in her eyes I found she understood and perhaps even admired the secrecy and boundaries. Lady Megumi gave me a firm nod, "Yes, of course, Mizukage-sama."
Before the silence could have a chance to grow terse and awkward, I pivoted the conversation towards something else as my clones continued to bully Mangetsu, "How are efforts on Midoriwara?"
Her smile returned, "Well! It has been…an expense but Tauyi is slowly becoming something worth a secondary base of our dear village. We've almost completed construction on the main training grounds and facilities, we'll be shifting our attentions towards proper accommodations and the like as soon as the third batch of shipments leave the port."
I nodded along with her words. One or the other of my clones had read the reports and so I was more or less up to date with the happenings. Including the setbacks, "You should ensure there aren't any more scuffles involved between you two. There's enough enemies outside the village, I'm sick of getting reports and complaints from both your clans."
She rolled her eyes a bit, "This I tell my children but they are not the aggressors, the Funato clan is upset, envious of us and our favour. They cannot stand to see another prosper without undermining it…even if to little success." She chuckled.
"They may be the aggressors but your clan provokes at any opportunity. Do not damage their wounded pride any further, understood?"
"Of course, Mizukage-sama." she said, her smile still intact, "You will be pleased to learn the Nettou clan are adjusting to our presence well and are expectant for greener pastures, fresher days and calmer nights. I have to say, with how Rina speaks of them, I am glad they weren't wiped out like the others."
I breathed in the insensitive comments on Bloodline genocide and nodded, "Train and treat them as you would your own…" I paused and thought of who I was speaking to, "Or at least, how you would want to be treated should you be so lucky to be born with a bloodline."
"Luck?" She murmured with a sickened look. "But of course, Mizukage-sama. You will hear nothing but praises from Midoriwara."
"No, I will not. Do not attempt to filter the truths of whatever will happen there, Kumogakure is creeping and given our recent response…it's only a matter of time before they seek to do us harm again."
She nodded, "You spoke earlier of allying with the Shinobi Nations, is Kumogakure included in that offer?"
My lips parted to answer but not a word escaped them. I thought in silence for a moment, it had long occurred to me that I would have to deescalate the growing aggressions at some point but from where I stood, almost a year into my reign, I couldn't see how Kumogakure or Kirigakure could stand together in the same room as allies. The mere thought of having to discuss peace and greater enemies with the Raikage, especially with what little proof I have beyond my own words and the words of Konoha— yet another village they loath— sent an ache through my skull.
"In time…a time much longer than with Konoha or Suna." I answered finally.
"Suna? Ah, the Chuunin exams are coming up, they sent yet another letter." Lady Megumi mused, fanning herself in comfort as she eyed me with a curious glint, "I don't suppose you're going to do what we've always done, reject the offer?"
"No, we will be in attendance, I'm still deciding whether I will be as well." I said, watching her face go slack jawed. I laughed, "It is an opportunity to bring us out of the darkness we've veiled in, a protected one, no doubt, but one that blinds us from the world out there and the threats that linger. The Masked Uchiha…I intend to make him an enemy of all the shinobi nations, if he doesn't beat me to it anyway."
The feathered fan snapped shut with a sharp crack. Lady Megumi's frown deepened, disapproval etched into every line of her face.
"You want to leave the village to yet another enemy? Again? Yagura, it's only been your first year—you can't keep throwing yourself to the wolves! Did you think nothing of my concerns earlier?"
"Konoha and Suna will not— cannot harm me," I countered.
Her expression darkened. "But that Masked Uchiha you made an enemy of will. You said it yourself—he is powerful."
"I have grown stronger," I answered, my resolve unshaken. "With the Shadow Clone, I've quadrupled my progression in ways you wouldn't understand. I may not have been able to end him then, but now…"
Between [Sage Mode], my summons, clones, Isobu, and the ever-growing archive of Fūinjutsu knowledge I was downloading into my head, I was almost looking forward to a rematch with Obito.
Lady Megumi didn't know that, though. She saw what I allowed her and everyone else to see. They needn't know more—even if it made them doubt me.
She opened her mouth to argue, frustration clear in her tightened grip on the fan, but a sudden shift in the air cut her off. A gust of wind announced a presence before us.
An ANBU-nin appeared in a kneeling bow beside me.
"Sir!"
"What is it, Kurohane?"
The masked shinobi hesitated for the briefest moment before speaking. "It could be nothing more than another clan skirmish, but… there's been an explosion at the docks. Ao has captured the culprit—a Genin. Civilian-born. No clan relations."
My jaw tightened.
"They're at I&C, sir."