BOOM!
With a thunderous explosion of sound, a powerful burst of wind rushed outward in all directions.
Shihouin Naraku launched himself high into the sky like an arrow shot from a bow, and within the blink of an eye, he had completely disappeared from the sight of the Mist shinobi who were watching his departure.
"Mizukage-sama, why were you so humble toward him?" one of the shinobi demanded angrily.
"Yes, if we had all rushed forward together, what could he have done to us, even if he is supposedly the God of the Shinobi World?" another added with frustrated determination.
The Mist shinobi who felt that their Mizukage had lost face in front of Shihouin Naraku finally spoke up now that he was gone, wishing they could rush into the sky right now to fight Naraku themselves.
"Shut up!" Terumi Mei snapped sharply.
The surrounding Mist shinobi immediately fell silent at her command.
Clearly, in everyone's minds, Terumi Mei's authority and prestige were indeed very well-established and respected.
"A momentary loss of face means nothing in the grand scheme of things," she explained firmly. "As long as the Mist Village can recover and grow stronger as quickly as possible, it doesn't matter if I, as the Mizukage, have to endure a little personal humiliation."
"Mizukage-sama!" several of them called out, clearly moved by her selfless dedication.
Seeing the touched and admiring expressions on the faces of her Mist shinobi, Terumi Mei temporarily set the matter aside and turned to walk toward the camp. "What's the current situation back in the village?"
"Mizukage-sama, the advance team has arranged everything according to your instructions..." one of them began to report.
Many Mist shinobi guards quickly surrounded Terumi Mei and escorted her safely into the main tent of the camp.
High above, a strong wind blew through the sky, causing white clouds to roll and shift dramatically.
Shihouin Naraku stood suspended in the air, his hair blown slightly messy by the powerful gusts.
"It appears that Terumi Mei made preparations well in advance," he observed to himself. "This camp must have been established in this location quite some time ago, simply waiting for Terumi Mei to arrive and make contact."
"That makes perfect sense, actually. How could Kirigakure possibly entrust the complete safety of their Mizukage to a shinobi who had just killed their previous Mizukage?"
"Also, there are two individuals in that camp whose chakra signatures are quite interesting and noteworthy. The amount of chakra contained within their bodies is absolutely enormous, and one of them possesses chakra that seems filled with water vapor, but occasionally gives off a strange burning sensation."
"The other one emanates a distinct chill and coldness..."
Shihouin Naraku felt genuinely surprised by these observations.
It seemed that Kirigakure's hidden strength and resources weren't too shabby after all, considering they had revealed two Kage-level powerhouses so casually!
But who could these individuals possibly be?
Naraku couldn't think of any other Kage-level shinobi who should currently be active in Kirigakure, since there weren't supposed to be any remaining.
Out of curiosity and a desire to understand the situation better, he extended his Observation Haki downward in an instant, allowing it to cover Kirigakure's temporary camp completely.
He wanted to discover exactly what was happening with the sudden appearance of these two Kage-level Mist shinobi.
"Mizukage-sama!" voices called out respectfully.
"Mizukage-sama!" others echoed as she approached.
Terumi Mei walked alone into a heavily guarded tent, and the two shinobi waiting inside immediately stood up and offered her formal salutes.
"Please, have a seat. Thank you both for coming all this way to meet me here," she said graciously.
Terumi Mei sat down calmly with the two men, and from their body language and interactions, it was clear that although both individuals respected Terumi Mei as their leader, they carried themselves with considerable confidence and self-assurance.
"Hey, if it were up to me, I'd rather send out our entire army and completely wipe those guys out," declared one of them aggressively. "There's absolutely no need to bother with all this defensive positioning and careful planning."
The person who spoke was a middle-aged man with distinctive white hair and beard. The deep wrinkles visible on his weathered face were more than sufficient proof that he was considerably older than his youthful appearance might initially suggest.
"Hozuki Sakuzuki, shut your mouth!" the other man commanded coldly.
"Hey, like hell I will!" Sakuzuki slammed his fist on the table, stood up abruptly, and angrily shouted at the man who had told him to be quiet. "Why don't we step outside and settle this with a one-on-one fight right now!"
"I don't enjoy killing my own comrades unnecessarily," the other shinobi replied with an incredibly cold expression, not even bothering to look directly at Hozuki Sakuzuki sitting across from him.
"Hey, you bastard..." Sakuzuki began angrily.
"Enough! Both of you be quiet and remember that we are not currently in the safety of the Water Country!" Terumi Mei interrupted sharply.
Her face had turned visibly upset, and Hozuki Sakuzuki grudgingly pouted before sitting back down, leaning back in his chair and placing his feet up on the table in a deliberately casual and disrespectful manner.
The other two people in the tent understood Sakuzuki's volatile personality well enough to know that this posture meant he would be temporarily calmed down and wouldn't cause further disruption.
Terumi Mei turned her attention to the other individual and asked seriously, "Yuki, you should have been able to sense Shihouin Naraku's presence just moments ago. How did it feel to you?"
The shinobi called Yuki was dressed entirely in white clothing and maintained a perpetually cold expression, but possessed an absolutely stunning and alluring beauty that was immediately captivating!
To be completely frank, even Shihouin Naraku, who was observing from high in the sky, found himself momentarily dazzled by the extraordinary appearance of this particular shinobi.
"This person is incredibly beautiful!" he thought to himself with genuine admiration.
"Unfortunately, it's a man!" he realized with some disappointment.
That was correct – the beautiful shinobi who would rank first even by Shihouin Naraku's demanding standards was indeed male.
If it weren't for the fact that his Observation Haki had never made any errors and could now gather detailed intelligence as clearly as if he were seeing everything with his own eyes, Naraku would have assumed he had made a mistake in his assessment.
It was simply that this Mist shinobi was so extraordinarily beautiful that anyone would likely make the same error upon first glance.
Combined with the individual's temperament, which was as cold and distant as ice itself, it became even more difficult to determine their true gender accurately.
"This is absolutely remarkable. Where exactly did Terumi Mei manage to find these two exceptional individuals?"
"A hot-tempered shinobi from the Hozuki clan, who appears to be significantly stronger than Hozuki Mangetsu ever was. Why hasn't this person appeared in any previous conflicts or major events?"
"The remaining man named Yuki – setting aside his impressive strength for a moment – his appearance is truly something extraordinary."
Even as Naraku continued to observe and analyze the situation, the conversation inside the tent below continued without interruption.
Terumi Mei's direct question caused Yuki to fall silent for a long moment, clearly considering his response carefully, before finally answering in a cold, measured voice: "He is extremely powerful! The two of us combined would be absolutely no match for him in any kind of confrontation!"
"Tch!" Hozuki Sakuzuki expressed his obvious dissatisfaction with Yuki's pessimistic assessment and snorted coldly in response.
However, he also understood that they were discussing serious strategic matters at the moment, so he refrained from interrupting the important conversation between Terumi Mei and Yuki.
"What if I were to join the fight as well?" Terumi Mei asked thoughtfully.
Both Yuki and Hozuki Sakuzuki frowned deeply and stared at Terumi Mei with expressions of genuine surprise, seeming somewhat shocked by what she had just suggested.
Meanwhile, Shihouin Naraku, who was still observing from high in the sky, raised his eyebrows with interest.
"How fascinating," he murmured to himself.
Inside the tent, the atmosphere suddenly became thick with tension and uncertainty.
"Hey, Terumi Mei!" This time it was the usually reckless Hozuki Sakuzuki who spoke up. He said in an unusually serious and deep voice, "Are you just joking around with us, or are you being completely serious about this?"
With her pair of beautiful eyes blinking thoughtfully, Yuki looked directly at Terumi Mei and said analytically, "If we were to attack together in a coordinated assault, and if it were a surprise attack launched without any advance warning..."
"What do you think our chances would be?" Terumi Mei pressed.
"We would die," Yuki stated flatly and without hesitation.
"Damn it! I really have to admire you people from the Mizunotsuki clan!" Hozuki Sakuzuki exclaimed, laughing bitterly as he gave Yuki a sarcastic thumbs up gesture.
Mizunotsuki Yuki didn't even bother to look at him, keeping her focused gaze fixed entirely on Terumi Mei.
"If you truly want to launch an attack against Shihouin Naraku to avenge Yagura's death, then both Sakuzuki and I will consider it our duty to support you!" Yuki declared with unwavering loyalty.
"Hey! What right do I have to seek revenge for that disgraceful puppet who was controlled by a Sharingan!" Sakuzuki protested angrily. "Terumi Mei, you'd better make your decision quickly and leave this place while you still can. Shihouin Naraku probably hasn't returned to Konoha yet!"
Although Hozuki Sakuzuki cursed Yagura harshly, he was clearly prepared to follow Terumi Mei's decision without any hesitation whatsoever.
Shihouin Naraku, who continued watching from high in the sky, had a slight smile playing across his face, and he found himself genuinely looking forward to hearing Terumi Mei's final answer.
The atmosphere in the tent became increasingly tense with anticipation!
"Ah..." Terumi Mei sighed deeply.
"Forget it. As the Fifth Mizukage, I have already formally asked for his forgiveness and made peace. Let's not create any unnecessary trouble or complications."
Terumi Mei suddenly smiled warmly, completely dissolving the tense atmosphere that had been building.
Yuki nodded in understanding and continued looking at Terumi Mei without saying anything further.
Hozuki Sakuzuki muttered some choice obscenities under his breath and returned to his previous lazy and casual sitting position.
"The internal chaos and political turmoil in Kirigakure isn't completely resolved yet," Terumi Mei explained pragmatically. "If we were to provoke Shihouin Naraku again at this critical time, we would be completely doomed and destroy any hope of recovery!"
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