"That's the Second Mizukage!"
The moment she saw him, Terumī Mei recognized the man before her as none other than Hōzuki Gengetsu, the Second Mizukage of Kirigakure. She rushed to Kiyosuke's side and asked,
"Kiyosuke, what's going on? Why has the Second Mizukage, who passed away long ago, been resurrected?"
"Edo Tensei," Kiyosuke replied calmly. "Kabuto Yakushi used Edo Tensei to bring your Second Mizukage back. By the way, wasn't your Kirigakure's corpse disposal unit supposed to be the best in the entire ninja world? How did his physical information even remain?"
Terumī Mei shook her head.
"I'm not sure either. I have no idea where he got the body data from. But right now..."
She looked toward Hōzuki Gengetsu, her tone becoming respectful.
"Second Mizukage-sama, I am the Fifth Mizukage, Terumī Mei. I grew up hearing stories of your heroic deeds from my father. I never imagined I would meet you in such a way today."
"Ah, I didn't expect it either," Gengetsu said, scratching his cheek awkwardly. His gaze shifted toward the colliding clones nearby.
"Fifth Mizukage, seal me as fast as you can. Otherwise, the village will suffer tremendous damage."
"Is that… the Steaming Danger Tyranny?"
Terumī Mei's face darkened.
As the Mizukage, she knew of Gengetsu's infinite self-detonation technique. It was one of the most dangerous jutsu in existence. The hail in the sky was already thinning—proof that the clone was about to explode.
"All units, fall back! Water Release unit, prepare for defense immediately!"
Under her command, the Kirigakure shinobi quickly formed a coordinated formation.
Gengetsu nodded approvingly.
"That'll help… but it won't be enough. Be careful—it's about to explode!!"
BOOM!!!
A massive cloud of white steam spread through the area.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Dozens of Kirigakure shinobi joined forces, raising a water barrier to contain and cool the explosion. It worked well, but it also accelerated the clone's cooling process.
Kiyosuke rushed forward and struck Gengetsu square in the face, sending him flying. Even though he was revived by Edo Tensei, using the Steaming Danger Tyranny had weakened his body severely, drastically reducing his power.
"Good hit!" Gengetsu grinned despite being knocked down.
He knew that if no one stopped him now, he would soon be the one attacking everyone else. If his jutsu detonated inside the village, countless people would die.
He couldn't let that happen.
Regaining his footing as his body reassembled, the falling hail slowed. Another clone came charging in, but Terumī Mei stepped forward.
A torrent of viscous acid shot from her mouth, forcing the clone to dodge.
Kiyosuke took the chance, grabbing Gengetsu by the head and slamming him into the ground.
Gengetsu's body twisted and rolled, barely regaining control. He aimed two fingers at Kiyosuke's temple.
"Water Release: Water Bullet!"
But before the jutsu could connect, Kiyosuke's head ignited in roaring flames.
A flaming hand grabbed Gengetsu's skull—the fire erupted violently, blowing his head apart.
"Sealing unit!!"
The Kirigakure Anbu proficient in sealing techniques immediately rushed forward, rapidly forming hand signs. Glowing seals appeared, ready to cover Gengetsu's body.
But suddenly, a coffin rose beneath him, swallowing him whole and vanishing without a trace.
"Damn it, he was summoned away."
Kiyosuke's head reformed as he walked over, frowning. From a nearby bush came a faint rustling—the tip of a snake's tail disappeared into the shadows.
So Kabuto had been watching everything through that snake.
"What a pain," Kiyosuke muttered. "Looks like we'll have to deal with Hōzuki Gengetsu again in the Fourth Great Ninja War. That guy's notoriously troublesome."
But by then, maybe he wouldn't be the one who had to face him.
"So, what exactly happened here, Kiyosuke?" Terumī Mei approached, clearly wanting an explanation. After all, it wasn't every day that their village's Second Mizukage came back from the dead.
Kiyosuke didn't bother hiding anything. Letting them know might even cause Kabuto some trouble.
"Yakushi Kabuto took over after Orochimaru and used Edo Tensei to control the Second Mizukage. He's probably revived others too. I fought the Third Mizukage's Edo Tensei myself back when I was with Orochimaru."
"The Third as well…" Terumī Mei bit her lip, her brow furrowing.
"Why did your Konoha's Second Hokage have to invent such a jutsu in the first place?!"
This technique was beyond troublesome.
"How should I know?" Kiyosuke shrugged. "That guy had a whole collection of forbidden jutsu."
Senju Tobirama, the genius of forbidden techniques—he truly lived up to the name. A man who created everything from the Sea Release to an entire arsenal of taboo ninjutsu.
"Enough. You're coming back with me to explain this properly."
Terumī Mei grabbed Kiyosuke's hand and started walking toward Kirigakure.
"Wait, I still have a mission! My subordinates are waiting for me!"
"Don't worry. I'll send people to bring them in."
Her narrowed eyes glimmered playfully—she seemed to be in a surprisingly good mood as she dragged him back toward the village.
And so, Kiyosuke ended up staying in Kirigakure.
...
Not long after, Hinata and her teammates arrived and were brought straight into the Terumī residence.
"This place is incredible. It's huge!" Kiba exclaimed, eyes wide as he looked around.
"Yes, and it has a very refined aesthetic," Shino commented, observing the elegant architecture of the Terumī compound.
Hinata nodded softly.
"The servants here are well-trained and very polite."
As the heiress of the Hyūga clan, Hinata had undergone years of etiquette training—even if her gentle personality made her less suited to lead the clan, she could easily recognize disciplined servants when she saw them.
"So, you're Kiyosuke's students?"
A gentle voice called out.
Terumī Mei, dressed in a light home kimono, walked toward them with a soft smile.
"I've heard about you. I'm Terumī Mei, your Kiyosuke-sensei's fiancée."
Her warm smile instantly won over all three of them.
Still, aware of her status, they didn't dare be casual.
"Hello, Mizukage-sama," they greeted respectfully.
"No need for formalities," she said with a pleasant laugh, motioning for them to sit.
As expected of Kiyosuke-sensei—his taste in women was impeccable.
That was what all three of them thought silently.
"So, where's Kiyosuke-sensei?"
"I'm right here."
Kiyosuke emerged, now wearing a loose yukata, and smiled faintly.
"Good to see you're all safe. Did you run into Kabuto?"
"We fought one of his subordinates—a woman with Crystal Release. She was dangerous," Shino said, adjusting his sunglasses.
He remembered how his insects had been completely sealed in crystal during the fight.
Kiyosuke nodded.
"Crystal Release is an extremely dangerous kekkei genkai. I thought it had disappeared. But I guess Orochimaru-sensei's collection habits never died out."
Orochimaru had always been obsessed with collecting unique kekkei genkai and gifted individuals—people like Kimimaro and Guren—to use as potential vessels for his own body.
That twisted hobby had existed long before Kiyosuke ever trained under him.
----------------
Fanfic is finished on Patreon (536 chapters in total.)
Patreon(.)com/Jixo (for only $4.50, read this entire fanfic)