Ao and Terumi i left the stairwell and walked briskly down the street.
The sky over Kirigakure was a heavy, oppressive grey. Pedestrians were sparse, and the silhouettes of distant office buildings were half-buried in the mist.
After walking a few paces, Ao spoke first, his voice kept low.
"Kaede truly has no appetite for power or fa."
Terumi i didn't slow her pace. "He's always been like that."
Ao didn't respond imdiately. He walked a few more steps before speaking again.
"Kaede's judgnt, his intelligence gathering, his combat reflexes... none of it is the level of a Chunin."
"With his capabilities, it would be a benefit to Kirigakure if he were willing to promote to Jonin, or even enter the village's inner circle of decision-makers."
Terumi i remained silent for two seconds. "He likely has his own ideas."
After another beat, she added in a softer tone, "Besides, with around, it wouldn't make much of a difference."
Ao glanced at her. "True."
He paused, as if choosing his words carefully. "But is that your judgnt of him, or your judgnt of yourself?"
Terumi i turned her head. "Is there a difference?"
"Yes." Ao looked at the road ahead. "One is trust; the other is emotion. When we stand before Genji, neither of those things can be present."
Terumi i stopped speaking. After a few steps, she gave a short nod.
"I know. I will only speak of evidence."
They arrived at the office. Gonbe was standing at the door; as they approached, his gaze lingered on them for a mont.
"Lord Genji is inside," he said, stepping aside to let them through.
Ao knocked and pushed the door open, with Terumi i following behind him.
Due to the weather, the office was dimly lit. Genji sat alone behind his desk, several scrolls spread out before him. He lifted his eyelids slightly, his clouded gaze shifting from Ao to Terumi i.
"Coming together... has the mission gone wrong, or has the village gone wrong?"
"The village," Terumi i answered.
Genji tapped the top of his cane lightly. "Speak."
Ao didn't interrupt. He took a half-step back, leaving the position directly facing Genji to Terumi i.
Terumi i glanced at him. She understood that by yielding the position, Ao was giving her the right to speak—and the opportunity to take the credit.
She didn't hesitate.
"I believe that Lord Fourth Mizukage's judgnts may no longer be entirely his own."
The office fell silent for a mont. Genji showed no reaction.
"Continue."
Terumi i began with Fuguki. "Fuguki held the authority to deploy the Cipher Division. His status in the village was high, he lacked for nothing financially, and he already possessed power. Yet, he leaked intelligence. The intelligence departnt searched his residence and every one of his contacts, but they found no evidence that he received any reward."
She paused. "A man extrely loyal to the village commits an act of treason and gains absolutely nothing. That doesn't look like a defection."
Genji's finger stopped moving.
"It looks more as if he discovered sothing within the village that he couldn't resolve on his own, and used the crudest possible thod to force it into the open."
Terumi i continued. "Furthermore, after Kisa killed Fuguki, he left the Land of Water with Sahada without triggering a single alarm."
Her pace slowed. "The number of people in this village capable of helping soone bypass every blockade without the high command noticing is very small."
Ao took over. "Last week, the high command adjusted the guard rotation. I managed to secure a slot for close-quarters protection."
His voice dropped to a whisper. "I used my Byakugan to examine Lord Yagura's chakra pathways. There is persistent external interference at the core nodes of his ridian system. The flow and frequency are completely different from those of a normal ninja."
He looked Genji straight in the eye. "Soone is controlling him."
The office remained silent. Genji's finger slowly circled the top of his cane.
A long ti passed.
"Did you discover all of this yourself?" he asked Terumi i.
Terumi i's throat tightened. Kitahara Kaede's face flashed through her mind.
She opened her mouth. "It was a deduction reached after Ao-senpai and I jointly analyzed the existing intelligence."
Genji stared at her, his clouded eyes making it impossible to read the depth of his thoughts. After a few seconds, he gave a slight nod.
Then, he reached out, picked up an old scroll from the desk, and pushed it toward them.
Terumi i looked down.
The changes in governnt decrees since Yagura took power, the anomalies in guard rotations, the last-minute alterations to several purge lists... beside every single entry were handwritten notes in Genji's own ink.
The earliest entry dated back even further than when she had first started feeling that sothing was wrong.
She froze. He had been suspicious all along; he had been recording everything. He simply hadn't had the evidence needed to change the situation.
Genji withdrew the scroll.
"The first ti you ca to this office, I asked for your opinion on the village's graduation exams. You said there was a problem—that forcing students to kill each other destroyed trust."
Terumi i rembered.
"Since then, I have kept a close eye on your battle reports and mission performance," Genji's tone remained flat. "Now, without having direct contact with the Mizukage, you've used scattered information to deduce this truth and worked with Ao to provide the evidence."
He looked at Terumi i. "Very good."
Terumi i's breath hitched. Beside her, Ao's brow relaxed slightly.
Genji fell silent for a mont, his finger beginning to tap the cane rhythmically.
"I will arrange the operation under the guise of adjusting the guard rotation and reviewing border defenses."
He looked at Ao. "You will be responsible for using the Byakugan to confirm the specific nodes of the control markers. Midori will be responsible for sealing off all information from the scene."
His gaze shifted to Terumi i. "You will be responsible for suppressing Yagura at the critical mont."
Terumi i blinked in surprise. "I'm participating too?"
Genji looked at her. "With your current abilities, it is enough."
Terumi i subconsciously clenched her fist, then released it.
Ao frowned. "Lord Yagura is a perfect Three-Tails Jinchuriki. Even if he is being controlled, his combat power is not sothing an ordinary Jonin can handle. One wrong move, and no one present will make it out unscathed."
Genji nodded. "The Barrier Team will be in position beforehand to coordinate with you and seal the area."
He paused, his tone growing heavy. "But the most critical factor is speed. Once we move, there can be no delay. We must take down Yagura before the person behind the scenes can react."
Ao didn't press further and nodded.
Genji's finger slowly rubbed the top of his cane as he scanned the two of them.
"There is one more thing you must understand."
His voice lacked inflection, but every word carried imnse weight.
"Yagura is the Mizukage. Moving against the Mizukage, regardless of the reason, is a scandal if it leaks. Only the people in this room know about this. Any leak will be viewed by the outside world as an attempted coup for power."
He looked at Terumi i. "If we fail, we are traitors."
Terumi i's gaze did not waver. "Then we are only allowed to succeed."
Genji stared at her for two seconds, then nodded.
"Gonbe."
A response ca from outside the door.
"Go and bring Midori here."
The sound of footsteps faded down the corridor.
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