After the death of the Third Mizukage, the village high command fought bitterly over the Mizukage's hat, but in the end, no one managed to claim it.
Instead, a jinchuriki nad Yagura was pushed to the forefront.
The Fourth Mizukage was about to officially take office.
Kitahara Kaede didn't care who beca the Mizukage. He only cared about one thing.
With Yagura ascending to power, it wouldn't be long before Obito took control of him. When that happened, the blades of the Bloody Mist would only be sharpened further.
Terumi i possessed both Lava Release and Boil Release. Once the new Mizukage took office, she would either beco a weapon held firmly in the palm of the administration or a thorn to be removed.
She needed a backing strong enough to protect her.
Until then, the best Kitahara Kaede could do was push her upward.
***
"Let's go."
Kitahara Kaede followed.
Over the past few weeks, Kaede had gone on four missions with Ao: two A-rank reconnaissance missions, one B-rank interception, and one joint scouting operation.
This ti, his teammate had changed.
A bald man wearing a shinobi hat and a brown robe: Midori.
Kaede had never dealt with him before, but through his partnership with Ao, he had heard a few things. Midori was Ao's forr partner who had later begun working under Elder Genji, spending most of his ti behind the scenes.
Soone like him rarely appeared on active duty rosters. However, since Midori was here, Kaede didn't ask any questions.
***
As the mission wrapped up, the three of them crouched in an abandoned outpost just outside the border, waiting for nightfall to retreat.
Kitahara Kaede leaned against the corner of the wall and closed his eyes.
Ao and Midori sat on the other side, their voices kept very low. Both assud he was asleep.
Midori spoke first.
"Elder Genji recently asked to organize the files of so of the younger shinobi."
Ao gave a short grunt of acknowledgnt.
Midori continued, "There's a Chunin nad Terumi i. She has a dual Bloodline Limit. Her performance over the last six months has been quite good; Elder Genji has asked about her several tis."
Silence fell for two seconds.
"To what extent has he investigated?" Ao asked.
"Training records, mission performance, and the people she associates with."
The conversation stopped there.
Kitahara Kaede kept his eyes closed.
Elder Genji.
In the original story, he had very few appearances, but every appearance was decisive. It was ultimately his decision that allowed Terumi i to eventually wear the Mizukage's hat.
This old man had survived the high pressure of the Bloody Mist era to remain steadily in the position of an elder. He lacked for neither political intuition nor patience.
Even before Yagura had officially taken office, he was already keeping an eye on the younger generation. Terumi i had entered his field of vision.
It was a bit earlier than expected.
What Kitahara Kaede needed to do was simple: don't get in the way, push her forward, but don't push too hard.
***
The following evening, after returning to the village.
By the river, beneath a crooked tree.
A new layer of dry grass had been added to a cat's nest. A cat lay inside, napping.
Terumi i crouched beside it, her fingertips slowly stroking the cat's back. Kitahara Kaede stood a couple of paces away.
"Soone might be looking for you soon."
i's hand stopped. "Who?"
"Soone from the Mist Village high command."
She looked up, her gaze eting his from beneath her bangs.
"You've perford well on your missions over the last six months, and word of your Bloodline Limit has reached the top. It's only natural that people are paying attention to you."
Terumi i's brow furrowed slightly. In the Hidden Mist, being noticed by the higher-ups wasn't necessarily a good thing.
"What should I do?"
"Go et them. Speak little, observe more. Answer only what they ask."
Terumi i nodded.
Kitahara Kaede knelt and placed the last few crumbs of dry rations from his pocket at the edge of the cat's nest.
"But if they ask for your opinion on the village..."
He paused.
"Tell the truth."
Terumi i froze. "Tell the truth?"
"If they ask you directly, they'll know if you're lying. People who reach that position don't lack the ability to distinguish truth from falsehood."
Terumi i stared at him for several seconds. "How do you know they'll ask?"
Kitahara Kaede stood up.
"You aren't the only one who wants to change this village."
He didn't say anything more, turning and walking away. Terumi i remained crouching there, watching his silhouette vanish into the twilight.
The cat reached out a paw from its nest and rested it on the back of her hand. She looked down and stroked the cat's head.
'Tell the truth.'
She committed those three words to mory.
***
Three days later.
Inside the village, Gonbe intercepted Terumi i.
"Elder Genji wants to see you. Now."
Terumi i glanced at him. Brown short hair, a brown coat, and no shinobi tools hanging from his waist.
"Lead the way."
Gonbe turned and walked ahead without saying another word. Terumi i followed him through several narrow alleys. They entered the side door of the Mist administration building and ascended to the second floor.
Gonbe stopped in front of an office and pushed the door open.
"Go in."
He remained outside.
Terumi i stepped inside. The room was small and simply furnished: a desk, a few chairs, and a half-withered potted plant on the windowsill.
An old man sat behind the desk. He was bald, his face etched with wrinkles, and his eyes were closed. A yellow snake-headed cane rested by his side, his finger perched motionless upon the snake's head.
Terumi i stood still at the door.
Elder Genji did not speak.
Ten seconds passed. The sound of wind drifted through the window, shaking the withered leaves of the plant. The old man sat there like a rooted stone.
Terumi i realized sothing: he was testing how she handled the silence.
She didn't make a sound, nor did she move.
After a few more seconds, the aged voice finally spoke.
"Sit."
Terumi i walked over and sat in the chair opposite him.
"Your na is Terumi i."
"Yes."
"The reports on your recent missions are quite positive."
"Thank you, Elder."
Elder Genji nodded but didn't elaborate. He asked her a few questions: what difficult situations she had encountered during missions and how she handled them; which team compositions she found most effective; and her view on the current situation surrounding the village.
Terumi i answered each one.
Elder Genji kept his eyes closed throughout. After every answer, he would fall silent for a mont before asking the next question.
Terumi i thought the conversation was nearly over. Then, Elder Genji suddenly shifted direction.
"When you graduated from the Academy, how many people in your year were eliminated?"
"Thirty-seven. Twelve survived."
Elder Genji's finger twitched slightly on the cane.
"Do you think there is anything wrong with that evaluation process?"
Terumi i's fingers tightened slightly as they rested on her knees.
This question.
In the Hidden Mist, the graduation exam was an ironclad rule. Classmates killed one another; the strong survived, and the weak were weeded out. To question it was equivalent to questioning the very foundation of the village.
'Tell the truth.' His voice echoed in her mind.
"Yes."
Elder Genji didn't move. Terumi i took a breath.
"Forcing students to kill their comrades doesn't only weakens the village, but it also kills trust."
"Shinobi must form teams and cooperate; they must trust the people they entrust their backs to. If you teach them to be suspicious and kill each other from the first day they enter the academy, no matter how strong the survivors are, they will never learn true cooperation."
The room fell silent.
Elder Genji's eyelids flickered. After a long ti, the old man gripped his cane and slowly pushed himself up to stand.
"You may go."
Terumi i rose, bowed, and turned to leave the office.
Gonbe was no longer in the hallway.
As she walked out of the administration building, she didn't know if she had answered correctly.
But it was the truth.
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