"This is where you Mist ninjas will be staying. Your Fourth Mizukage Yagura is also living here..."

Lying in a room on the inn’s second floor, Yagura suddenly heard footsteps followed by voices.

He didn’t catch everything, but from what he heard, he knew that the Mist team sent to Konoha had arrived.

Yagura sprang to his feet, ready to meet the Mist ninjas.

No matter what, he was still the Mizukage. Despite the recent embarrassing events, he remained the leader of the Mist Village.

He needed to explain his being controlled, stop the previous policies, and apologise to the villagers.

Thinking of his mistakes while being controlled, Yagura’s face darkened, causing the Mist Village to suffer.

’I won’t forgive you. How dare you control me and harm my village, putting me in such a terrible situation.’

With a sad face, Yagura walked to the inn’s inn’s first floor, where he saw the arriving Mist team.

The team was small, only ten people, but they were all elite. Yagura spotted three Jonin among them.

Two were veteran Mist Jonin; the third was a young genius from the Mist Village, a girl even Yagura had heard about.

"Are you alright, Fourth Mizukage?" Terumi Mei was the first to speak, seeing Yagura’s grim face.

Although she was the youngest of the three Jonins, she led the team because her strength commanded respect, and it was an opportunity to hone her skills.

After receiving the message from Nagasawa, the high command quickly locked down the information, preventing the news of the Mizukage being controlled from spreading in the Mist Village. Only those initially involved and the high command knew.

The high command felt it was better for the village’s reputation to believe the Mizukage was inherently brutal than to admit he had been controlled. The latter would be too humiliating and could cause instability and attract the attention of other villages.

Terumi Mei was one of those who knew the truth. When she first heard it, she found it absurd. After all, the Mizukage was the village’s most vital, one of the top in the ninja world.

The idea that genjutsu could control someone of this calibre seemed impossible. If it were true, genjutsu users would have long dominated.

But the facts were undeniable: the Mizukage had been controlled, fought Konoha ninjas, and was ultimately captured.

’How embarrassing...’ Terumi Mei thought.

To be controlled by genjutsu, attack others, and then be captured—no other Kage had faced such humiliation.

"Are you Terumi Mei? Are you the leader of this team?" Yagura asked, shaking his head.

"Yes, I’m the team leader this time," Terumi Mei nodded.

Yagura looked around, leaving the others on the first floor, and then took Terumi Mei upstairs alone.

"If I remember correctly, you possess two kekkei genkai, Lava Release and Boil Release," Yagura said.

"My abilities are a bit mixed. They don’t compare to those of real strong ninjas," Terumi Mei replied.

"Don’t worry, I don’t dislike kekkei genkai users," Yagura said, noticing her seeming wariness. He continued thoughtfully, "I’m going to tell you an important secret, and you must not tell anyone else."

Terumi Mei, initially nonchalant, adopted a severe demeanour upon seeing Yagura’s stern expression. She wondered what could be so essential to make the Mizukage so severe.

"Actually, I was controlled by a mysterious masked man before, which is why I implemented those policies. It might sound unbelievable, but I was indeed..."

Yagura tried to maintain a serious face, hoping Terumi Mei would grasp the gravity and truth of the situation.

However, seeing Terumi Mei’s somewhat unconcerned expression, Yagura felt dissatisfied. He was severe, and despite his strength, he had been controlled.

"Although it sounds unrealistic, the fact is I was controlled by a mysterious masked man using genjutsu..."

"No need to explain, Mizukage-sama. I believe you were controlled," Terumi Mei interrupted calmly.

"I know you won’t easily believe it, but I..." Yagura stopped, stunned by her reaction. He only expected her to accept it so slowly, making his prepared speech useless.

’Does she think being controlled by genjutsu is just an ordinary occurrence?’ Yagura felt troubled.

Although he was small in stature, he was strong. At least show some scepticism so he could explain.

"You really believe it?" Yagura asked again.

"Konoha has already informed us of some details," Terumi Mei revealed.

Yagura was instantly petrified, the colours draining from his face. If Konoha had already told them about his control, what was the point of the courage he mustered to disclose this embarrassing truth and the elaborate speech he prepared?

’Fourth Mizukage, you’re really a disgrace now.’

’Maybe I should kill her and say she tripped and died... No, I can’t do that without chakra.’

Yagura considered eliminating the source of his embarrassment but realised he couldn’t without his chakra.

Sensing his malicious intent, Terumi Mei stepped back, warily eyeing Yagura.

"Mizukage-sama, it seems you’re thinking of something bad."

"Forget it, you can go now," Yagura dismissed her, feeling defeated.

Without his powers, he still had to accept Terumi Mei’s protection.

Terumi Mei obediently left the room, but once outside, her respectful expression disappeared, replaced by curiosity.

She felt the Mizukage seemed different today, lacking his usual stability and dominance.

Before, despite his childlike appearance, he had an imposing presence. But today, he seemed weaker, more like a real child.

’Interesting, but he’s still the Mizukage, so I shouldn’t go too far. Besides, with Elder Genshi’s support, it would be troublesome.’

Taking advantage of her time in Konoha, she explored the village. She had heard of Konoha’s prosperity and hoped to find things unavailable in the Water Country.

While shopping in the village that captured their Mizukage might seem inappropriate, Terumi Mei didn’t care.

With the Five Kage Summit approaching, the ninja world might soon return to peace. The Mist and Konoha might no longer be enemies.

She had trained and completed missions diligently. She deserved a break.

Terumi Mei was unlike ordinary girls. Both her parents were skilled ninjas who, seeing her immense talent, dedicated all their efforts to her.

Ordinary girl activities like playing with dolls or making friends were foreign to her. It was all training, leaving no time for friendships.

She had lost what ordinary girls could have but gained recognition as a genius ninja in the Mist, earning Elder Genshi’s favour.

Elder Genshi was the highest authority in the Mist Village, aside from the Mizukage. He was highly respected and was the de facto leader in the Mizukage’s absence.

But Terumi Mei was still seventeen years old. Hearing peers discuss romance piqued her interest. She wanted to buy luxury makeup and look pretty.

Unfortunately, these desires had to be set aside to meet others’ expectations.

In a village where no one knew her, she could finally relax.

...............

In the afternoon, Nagasawa arrived at the izakaya, where he had arranged to meet Tsunade. He arrived early and hadn’t seen the others yet.

He took a seat and ordered some grilled chicken skewers and a bottle of sake.

"Advisor Nagasawa?" The owner, bringing over the skewers and sake, recognised Nagasawa’s face and exclaimed in surprise.

He had thought the voice was familiar but didn’t realise it was Nagasawa.

"Yes, it’s me," Nagasawa said with a smile.

Due to his personal preferences, he rarely visited izakayas, preferring dango shops, sweet shops, and occasionally yakiniku restaurants.

"It really is you. You’re amazing. I saw you fight that village-attacking monster at the viewing area. You were glowing with golden light; it was incredible..." The owner excitedly recounted.

Nagasawa smiled and nodded, finding nothing odd about the reaction.

His battle against the ultimate summon beast had left even ninjas astonished, let alone ordinary people.

It was a performance that stunned both the uninformed and the knowledgeable.

No wonder the izakaya owner was so excited.

"Having you in Konoha makes us feel incredibly safe," the owner said, wanting to waive Nagasawa’s bill for the skewers and sake.

"No need. I’m here for a gathering, not alone," Nagasawa politely declined.

He wasn’t short on money and saw no need for special treatment.

"Nagasawa-kun."

A hoarse yet magnetic male voice came from behind Nagasawa.

Without turning, Nagasawa recognised the voice as Orochimaru’s. His voice was quite distinctive.

"I’m curious. I thought you wouldn’t be the type to enjoy gatherings and drinking," Nagasawa said, pouring sake into two small cups and handing one to Orochimaru with a skewer.

Taking the sake and skewer, Orochimaru’s cold face showed a rare trace of helplessness.

"I was pestered by an annoying toad. Coming here seemed easier."

"Haha," Nagasawa laughed, knowing precisely what Orochimaru meant. It matched Tsunade’s guess about Jiraiya’s persistence.

Or it could have been Tsunade’s plan, urging Jiraiya to do so, which explained her accurate prediction.

From what Nagasawa knew of Tsunade, she was capable of such antics.

"You damn snake, I heard you talking bad about me as soon as I walked in. Can’t you be nice to an old friend?" Jiraiya roared, sitting next to Orochimaru and slapping his back hard.

Nagasawa saw the force of the slap, enough to make a lower-rank ninja spit blood. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

But Orochimaru remained unfazed, calmly sipping his sake.

"I didn’t name names. If you acknowledge yourself as an annoying toad, there’s nothing I can do," Orochimaru said indifferently.

"If it’s not Jiraiya, who else could it be?" Nagasawa added with a smirk.

"You damn snake. I’m not the same as before. I’ve mastered Sage Mode and am now the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku!" Jiraiya declared, pouring himself a cup of sake and glaring at Orochimaru.

"Toad Sage? You’re still an annoying toad," Orochimaru replied flatly.

He might have felt a twinge of jealousy in the past, but now he was on a more straightforward, brighter path.

Seeing Orochimaru’s calmness, Jiraiya felt deflated as if he had punched cotton.

"Am I really the last one to arrive? I thought it would be Jiraiya," Tsunade said, entering and sitting next to Nagasawa.

"Don’t underestimate me," Jiraiya said, ordering several bottles of sake and snacks.

"Why are you here, Nagasawa? Drinking alone?" Jiraiya asked suddenly.

"Hmm?" Nagasawa questioned internally, looking at Tsunade. It seemed unplanned; no wonder they invited him to a Sannin gathering.

"Why are you staring at me? Don’t you like being invited for a drink? We just happened to meet and asked you along," Tsunade replied confidently.

Jiraiya didn’t mind, and Orochimaru saw it as a pleasant surprise, so the four quickly started chatting about various trivial matters.