Naruto : Akatsuki Bizzare Strategist!

Some people present noticed the man who had slipped away, but nobody paid much attention.

The Konoha shinobi simply assumed he had some task to handle and had left early.

He was not an important figure, nor had he been standing near the front, so it did not really count as rude.

Besides, this was not exactly a formal diplomatic event.

The Kirigakure shinobi had initially been confused when they saw him leave, but the moment they followed Might Guy's shout toward Kakashi, they immediately understood.

Everyone silently pretended they had seen nothing.

"Guy, let me introduce you. This is the friend I mentioned in my letter, Shira from Sunagakure. Shira, this is Konoha's taijutsu master, Jōnin Might Guy."

Kakashi pulled Guy over and introduced the two.

"Huh? You really do have a friend…"

Guy froze for a moment before quickly recovering.

"Uh, I mean—hello! I'm Guy, Konoha's Green Beast!"

He enthusiastically shook Shira's hand.

"Lord Mizukage, could you temporarily arrange a large open area for us? We'll need somewhere to teach Sage Mode, and Guy and Shira also need space to work on developing their taijutsu."

Kakashi turned back toward Terumī Mei with his request.

"It's already been prepared."

Mei nodded and extended one hand behind her.

Chōjūrō immediately handed her a scroll.

"This is an open area we recently cleared. It was originally intended for an expansion of the beach resort district, but construction hasn't started yet, so it's still completely empty. It should suit your needs perfectly.

"The resort area is right next door as well, so if you get tired, you can always go relax."

Mei handed him the scroll.

"Thank you for going to so much trouble, Lord Mizukage."

Kakashi accepted it with mild surprise.

He had not expected Mei to be this considerate.

The location was perfect.

Kakashi had originally assumed that if they wanted to experience the Land of Water's seaside resorts, they would have to finish their mission first before they had any chance to go.

Instead, Mei had practically arranged everything for them.

Whenever they had free time, they could walk next door, play beach volleyball, or lie around sunbathing.

That was excellent.

After promoting Sage Mode through several villages already, Kakashi knew the process inside and out.

Aside from the initial instruction, there was always a huge stretch in the middle where all they could do was wait.

Previously, Kakashi had spent that free time working on the first original novel he planned to publish.

But as time passed, his inspiration had temporarily dried up.

He could force himself to write, of course, but Kakashi did not think that was a good idea.

Writing without inspiration was no longer creation.

So this worked out perfectly.

Now he could actually enjoy the downtime.

Everyone was pleased with Mei's thoughtful arrangements.

Even Pakura, who had been quietly observing everything, gave an approving nod.

From a small detail like this alone, she could already tell Kirigakure was no longer the Bloody Mist Village she remembered.

Tourism was a service industry.

You had to understand people, hospitality, and social etiquette.

It was difficult to imagine that the same Kirigakure which once casually killed even its own comrades had now become a country heavily dependent on tourism and service.

"As for our candidates…"

Mei sighed.

"Kirigakure really has suffered a terrible loss of talent. Chōjūrō, Ao, and Kurosuki Raiga—you three should all give it a try."

There were simply too few recognizable shinobi left in Kirigakure.

As for those who had fled during the Bloody Mist era, there was little they could say now.

All they could do was make the most of the people they still had.

"Yes."

The three people she named stepped forward from behind her.

One was Chōjūrō, Mei's aide.

The second was Ao—the man who had quietly slipped away earlier and had now returned wearing a mask.

The third was Kurosuki Raiga, the former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen who had once been humiliatingly elbowed by Senju Hashirama.

At least Mei still possessed some basic moral standards.

She did not ask Ranmaru, who had returned to Kirigakure alongside Raiga, to learn Sage Mode too.

Kirigakure was already famous for producing suspiciously feminine men.

Mei had to remain constantly alert against anything that might cross basic moral and ethical lines.

Especially now that Kirigakure's economy depended heavily on tourism and hospitality.

They absolutely could not ruin the village's reputation across the shinobi world.

To prevent Kirigakure from turning into some reborn cursed private island, Mei needed to separate certain bonds whenever possible.

There was no way she was letting Raiga and Ranmaru "take off" together.

As for Zabuza and Haku?

They were beyond her jurisdiction.

Those two had never returned to Kirigakure in the first place.

"Oh, right. This is Hoshigaki Nanami. She'll be responsible for communication and handling any unexpected incidents, so she'll accompany you.

"As for whether you want to practice Sage Mode yourself, Nanami, you can decide that later."

Mei introduced another kunoichi standing behind her.

She looked both unfamiliar and strangely familiar at the same time.

Unfamiliar because Kakashi had never heard of her or seen her before.

Familiar because…

Kakashi immediately noticed the surname Hoshigaki.

The same surname as Hoshigaki Kisame.

And she had distinctly shark-like facial features as well.

So the Hoshigaki name actually belonged to a small clan in Kirigakure?

Kakashi had only learned that today.

"Understood. I look forward to working with you."

Kakashi nodded.

Kisame had been invited by Mei to deal with hidden rebels.

Now another Hoshigaki shinobi was openly serving Mei.

For some reason, the situation gave Kakashi a disturbingly familiar feeling.

Surely the next development would not be Hoshigaki Nanami joining forces with Hoshigaki Kisame to wipe out their own clan, right?

Like when Uchiha Itachi had joined forces with Obito to massacre the Uchiha "for the village."

Kakashi suddenly began sweating.

If things really developed in that direction, he would prefer to stay as far away from it as possible.

But…

Could he really avoid it?

Kakashi suddenly remembered what Mei had said earlier.

If something does happen while you're here, I won't stop you from helping.

Thinking back on it now, that "if" felt remarkably loaded.

…

Elsewhere, Hoshigaki Kisame was currently standing on a small island.

Beside him stood Uchiha Itachi.

That was right.

Although Mei had only hired Kisame to help, Itachi had actually come along voluntarily as his teammate.

Truly touching enough to move the entire shinobi world.

All those rumors about Itachi normally using genjutsu to hypnotize Kisame into believing the two of them were completing missions together could finally stop~

As for why Itachi had come…

Perhaps after reading the details of this assignment, he had experienced the same strangely familiar feeling as Kakashi.

Good grief.

So this was another bond the two of them shared as teammates?

"Kisame, I never knew you had a clan."

Itachi looked at the isolated village ahead.

"And it doesn't seem particularly small."

"I don't remember much about it."

Kisame shook his head.

"But according to the information the Mizukage gave me, only part of the village should actually belong to the Hoshigaki clan."

Nothing in Kisame's early appearances or later memories in the original story suggested he had ever been particularly connected to a clan.

And in truth, his life really had almost nothing to do with one.

Besides, under the Bloody Mist system, what value did family bonds even have?

If two brothers entered the Academy together and wanted to graduate in the same year…

There was a very real chance one of them would have to kill the other.

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