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Chapter 145: Natsuhane's Background
🕑 Added 2024-06-25 19:17:33 +0000 UTCWhen Mei Terumi and Ao witnessed Natsuhane's immense power during the day, they were puzzled. How could such a powerful individual exist without them ever having heard of him? Mei instructed Ao to send someone to investigate Natsuhane’s background.
Luckily, they did. Upon seeing the information, Ao broke out in a cold sweat...
When the Daimyo of the Land of Water announced the cancellation of the plan, everyone except Ao was confused.
"Daimyo-sama! How can we cancel the surprise attack? You even sent Lady Mizukage to marry him! What will happen to her if we cancel?"
The Daimyo responded sternly, "This is a necessary measure. Do you think I want to cancel? Natsuhane is untouchable, at least for now!"
"Why?"
"Because Natsuhane is from Konoha! And he's an Uchiha!"
"!!!"
"Konoha? Uchiha?? How is that possible! Why would he leave his village to become a Daimyo of the Land of Sea?"
The shock turned into confusion.
The Daimyo's face darkened as he gritted his teeth, "This could be part of the Fire Country's expansion strategy! Dammit, I thought he was just a powerful, lecherous drifter. I didn’t expect this background!"
Ao murmured, "No wonder Natsuhane is so familiar with Orochimaru. If this is really Konoha’s move, things will be troublesome..."
The room fell silent as everyone processed this information. Despite being one of the Five Great Nations, the Land of Water knew it stood no chance against Konoha’s might. Even in their prime, they would barely stand a chance.
The high-ranking Mist ninjas fumed, "Konoha is so sneaky! They've quietly taken over our neighboring Land of Sea!"
"Aren't those self-righteous elders of Konoha always preaching about peace? 'If people do not attack me, I do not attack them. If people attack me, I will negotiate for peace!'"
"Hmph! What a facade. They’re ambitious after all!"
"Daimyo-sama, we can't back down now! You've already sent Lady Mizukage to marry him! If the marriage isn’t annulled tomorrow, Mist will become a laughingstock!"
The thought of the proud Mist Village becoming a joke, especially to their rivals in Iwagakure, was unbearable. The longstanding enmity between the Land of Water and the Land of Earth would make such a disgrace insufferable.
The Daimyo sighed, "What do you suggest? If we fight tomorrow and Konoha intervenes, do we stand a chance?"
"With just Natsuhane and Orochimaru, we’re already at our limit! Mist Village is still recovering. Who can we realistically fight?"
"..."
The Daimyo's words brought another heavy silence. After a few moments, he sighed deeply, "No more persuading. We will back down. The Fifth Mizukage’s marriage can be annulled, but we will not launch the surprise attack. Let this trip be a mere excursion. We’ll return home and plan carefully..."
"This is my final decision. It's the only way to minimize our losses. We can’t afford to lose both soldiers and face!"
"Under the Fourth Mizukage, Mist was already severely weakened. We’ve only recently begun to recover. We can’t afford more reckless actions..."
The high-ranking Mist ninjas looked frustrated but couldn’t argue against his logic. The Daimyo's timely decision to minimize losses was indeed their best option.
"Daimyo-sama, what about the conditions Natsuhane demanded today? Returning ten years of tribute and sending fifty ninjas to teach in the Land of Sea—do we still fulfill them?"
"We do! We can't let him suspect we know his background." The Daimyo's eyes glinted. "Don't worry about the money; the government will cover it. As for the fifty ninjas, pick those who excel in covert operations and intelligence gathering."
"Understood." The Mist high command breathed a sigh of relief. Their village was financially strained and couldn’t afford the tribute without governmental support.
"Ao, find a way to inform the Fifth Mizukage of our decision tonight. Tell her to annul the marriage tomorrow and return with us immediately. No fighting."
Ao responded quietly, "Understood..."
Though they were avoiding further conflict, this trip had already been costly. They had hoped to gain the Land of Sea's territories but ended up losing both face and money.
Even Ao and Chojuro felt dispirited, lacking motivation.
Seeing this, the Daimyo tried to comfort them, "This isn’t a total loss. At least we now understand the Fire Country’s ambitions, an important piece of information!"
"When we return, we can prepare. If Konoha has taken the Land of Sea, they might set their sights on us next..."
"Rest assured, I won't let their plans succeed. We may have lost this time, but we won’t lose in the future!"
"Alright, everyone, disperse. Ao, recall the forces from the other three islands and inform the Fifth Mizukage."
"Understood, Daimyo-sama. I’ll take care of it..."
Late into the night, at the Daimyo's residence in the Land of Sea.
Natsuhane and Uzumaki Honoka were still going strong in their wedding chamber, having already been at it for half the night.
Meanwhile, Mei Terumi lay angrily in her adjacent room, her face buried in a pillow.
She wasn’t sleepless, but the thin walls provided almost no soundproofing.
"Are they ever going to stop?"
"Is it really that intense?"
"Young people today have no self-control!"
"I hope they exhaust themselves, so I won’t have to fight tomorrow!"
Despite her complaints, Mei, who had never been intimate with anyone, felt a mix of curiosity and frustration.
Why was she annoyed? She wasn’t sure.
It was a strange, inexplicable irritation, her mind replaying scenes from their wedding earlier that day.
"Heh... what's wrong with me? Am I jealous?"
After regaining her composure, Mei laughed at herself.
"What am I thinking? He’s not my real husband..."
"Too bad, he’s so handsome. It would be a waste to kill him, but we’re on different paths. At least... I’ll give him a parting kiss tomorrow morning..."
"Handsome men are destined for early deaths..."
As she lamented, mist began to gather outside her window.
Alert to the change, Mei got out of bed, her eyes fixed on the night outside.
"Who’s there!"
"Lady Mizukage... it's me."
Ao's voice echoed softly through the mist...
