Walking through the Hidden Mist Village at night, although it was only around ten o’clock, it was already completely silent. It seems that the Hidden Mist Village doesn’t have much of a nightlife, primarily because it is quite poor.
Whoosh~
A shadow suddenly appeared in front of Su Xiao; the manner of a ninja’s appearance is always so mysterious and unexpected.
"Follow ."
The shadow vanished instantly from its spot.
Su Xiao surveyed his surroundings. At least a dozen ninjas were monitoring him, the weakest of which were Chunin, with the majority being Jonin.
Su Xiao headed in the direction where the shadow disappeared. Guided by the shadow, Su Xiao arrived in front of an oval-shaped building.
There was a "Water" symbol on the building, indicating that this was probably the Mizukage’s place of work.
The ninjas around him moved as Su Xiao moved. It was obvious that soone wanted him to enter the Mizukage Office Building.
Although Su Xiao appeared to have regained his freedom, leaving the Hidden Mist Village could only be a dream, given the sheer number of ninjas here.
As soon as he entered the Mizukage Office Building, a young boy blocked his path.
"Follow ."
The person speaking was nad Chōjūrō, a young boy wearing glasses and carrying a dual-handle, oddly shaped weapon on his back.
Flounder: One of the Seven Ninja Swords, dual handles, fish-shaped blade.
The young Chōjūrō, although usually nervous, now had a calm deanor. Even though he still had so insecurity, he was facing the evil man who attempted to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage. He was i Terumī’s guard and must ensure i Terumī’s safety.
Chōjūrō walked up the stairs, heading towards the upper levels of the Mizukage Building, with Su Xiao following behind.
After walking for a while, Chōjūrō stopped in front of the Mizukage Office and knocked on the door.
"Co in."
i Terumī’s voice ca from inside the office. She was just one step away from the title of Mizukage, though practically she already had the power of Mizukage. As long as the Warring Faction existed, she could not beco the universally recognized Mizukage.
Su Xiao pushed open the door, and the room was brightly lit. i Terumī was sitting behind a desk piled high with docunts.
Su Xiao walked into the office, and i Terumī looked up, even giving Su Xiao a slight smile.
"It seems you understand what I an."
"Hmm, let’s hear your demands."
"Alright."
i Terumī got straight to the point, picking up a docunt beside her.
"Help kill these people. As for the reward... I won’t pursue your involvent in the attempt to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage."
Su Xiao didn’t look at the docunt but instead began to study i Terumī.
Initially, i Terumī didn’t pay much attention to Su Xiao, but after a minute, while holding a pen to review docunts, she frowned.
A few minutes later, the pen in i Terumī’s hand creaked loudly.
"Staring at a lady’s chest like this is quite ungentlemanly. Such a terrible man."
"Don’t misunderstand, I’m just guessing the color of your heart, it should be quite black, right?"
i Terumī looked up, staring coldly at Su Xiao.
"You can choose to refuse, in which case you’ll be sent back to prison until you die there."
Su Xiao picked up the docunt on the table and flipped through it. It contained the information and photos of several people, all Jonin. No doubt, these were the leaders of the Warring Faction.
"As I said before, I’ll do the work, and you pay . When you don’t need anymore, I’ll disappear on my own."
He couldn’t accept i Terumī’s previous proposal about ’not pursuing the assassination of the Fourth Mizukage,’ as that was entirely an attempt to discard him after use.
"You can’t escape the Hidden Mist Village."
A pen twirled in i Terumī’s hand as she stopped reviewing docunts, seeming to consider Su Xiao’s words.
"I know, but I don’t want to die yet, so helping the future Mizukage is my best choice."
"Oh? Do you want to be one of my subordinates?"
i Terumī looked at Su Xiao with interest.
"That’s impossible. I’ve attempted to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage, there’s no way I can appear in public."
"As long as you know."
Continuing to review docunts, i Terumī asked, "What do you want?"
"Money, secret techniques, Chakra Conducting tal, High-quality Ninja Swords, all of these are good."
Su Xiao sat in front of the desk, knowing that i Terumī wanted him to help eliminate dissidents, tasks that Qing and Chōjūrō couldn’t handle.
For example, if i Terumī asked Chōjūrō to kill a Mist Ninja, even if Chōjūrō agreed and did it, killing a nominal companion would cause inner conflict, leading to problems eventually.
Su Xiao was different; i Terumī just needed to offer benefits.
Su Xiao’s objective was very clear, which was to leave the Hidden Mist Village. The reason being, it’s too poor here and lacks a Tailed Beast. His ultimate goal is the Tailed Beast, nothing else.
"Secret techniques? Chakra Conducting tal? High-quality Ninja Swords? You’re asking too much."
"Money would work too."
Upon hearing Su Xiao’s words, i Terumī’s delicate brows furrowed. The Hidden Mist Village was very poor, with finances barely enough for military needs, let alone giving any to Su Xiao.
"Money is out of the question too."
"Then high-level Ninjutsu."
"...That is also unlikely."
Saying this, i Terumī appeared slightly embarrassed because such is the reality. Each ninja village treasures its high-level Ninjutsu and does not share it with outsiders.
"You want to help kill people for free?"
"Uh-huh."
i Terumī responded unusually straightforwardly.
"Do three things for , and afterward, I’ll let you safely leave the Hidden Mist Village. How’s that?"
This was i Terumī’s proposal, a very ’reasonable’ yet dangerous proposition.
"Don’t worry, I keep my promises. My subordinates are here; they wouldn’t follow a leader who goes back on their word."
Chōjūrō had been standing beside Su Xiao all along, to prevent Su Xiao from making a sudden move. As long as he held Su Xiao back for a mont, i Terumī could handle him.
"Three things..."
Su Xiao pondered for a mont.
"Two things."
"Three things, that’s the minimum."
"Okay."
Su Xiao agreed, and i Terumī smiled.
Su Xiao made up his mind secretly. He would agree for now, but he couldn’t remain in prison all the ti. Before completing the three tasks, he would find a way to leave the Hidden Mist Village. i Terumī would definitely silence him by killing, she certainly would. She is the future Mizukage, a Mizukage must consider the safety of the ninja village and not be swayed by personal emotions of good or evil.
i Terumī’s notion of trust only applied to her subordinates, and Su Xiao was not her subordinate.
"There’s a residence next to the prison, you will stay there. You can’t go out during the day, and I’ll send people to deliver daily necessities to you, you can only move at night and only while performing tasks."
The deal was struck; on the surface, it looked like Su Xiao would do three things for i Terumī, and she would let him leave the already locked-down Hidden Mist Village. In reality, Su Xiao was constantly under surveillance, and the completion of the three tasks marked his death.
i Terumī wouldn’t believe a ’killer’s’ words nor trust this assassin. To beco a Mizukage, she certainly isn’t a simple woman.
Ruthless, strong, rational—that is i Terumī when facing enemies.
Mature, dignified, gentle, friendly, with occasional small outbursts—that is i Terumī when facing her subordinates.
Clearly, Su Xiao belonged to i Terumī’s enemies. The fact that he had attempted to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage ant he couldn’t further develop in the Hidden Mist Village. If not for the chaotic situation, i Terumī would not release Su Xiao from the dungeons.
Su Xiao rose to leave, but i Terumī suddenly spoke.
"You were planning to assassinate just now, weren’t you."
"How could that be? You’re overthinking, Fifth Mizukage."
Su Xiao walked out of the Mizukage Office. Just after he left, Qing walked out from the adjacent room.
"Keep an eye on him; if there’s any suspicious behavior..."
i Terumī didn’t finish, but Qing understood.
"Yes."
Qing vanished instantly; his transplanted White Eye was well-suited for surveillance.
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