In Kirigakure,
Inside the Mizukage Office,
While Mei is scrolling through the paperwork, Elder Genji is summarizing the recent turns of events to her.
"Mizukage-sama… the next bout of chunnin exam would be held in our Kirigakure. Konoha, in honor of our treaty and good faith, would help conduct the chunnin exam.This is a huge opportunity for Kiri to wash away its past and reforge a new future."
"Indeed…"
Mei nods her head.
'It's all thanks to Izuna. He had helped Kiri a lot.'
Mei closes her eyes and gazes towards the direction of Konoha.
'I wish I could retire today as the Mizukage and move to Konoha.'
She turns towards Elder Genji and interrupts him.
"Elder Genji… how is Chojuro faring with his training?"
Elder Genji nods his head.
"Ao has been taking care of the kid's training. After his promotion to chunnin, the kid has grown out of his shell; nevertheless, his personality needs a little extra effort. I am sure with time; he would grow in a fine shinobi. As for the position of Mizukage…"
Elder Genji pauses for a while.
"… Mizukage-sama! I don't think it would be a wise decision to hand over Kiri to a person with such a weak personality."
"No! It will be alright."
Mei shakes her head.
"I have a hunch that Chojuro will make a great Mizukage."
She shakes her head and indulges in paperwork.
On top of Mizukage's Office,
Whoosh…
The Flying Thunder God seal of Izuna glows brightly, and three figures teleport out of nowhere.
Hmm…
Mei and Elder Genji raise their head as they sense Izuna's chakra.
"He is here." Mei has a smile on her face.
She immediately jumps out of the window and scales the roof.
"Yo!"
Izuna waves his hand and hugs Mei.
"Did you miss me?"
He smiles at her.
"Yes, I did." Mei nods her head.
Ahem…
Elder Genji coughs slightly.
"If my memory serves me right, then we met yesterday." He remarks.
"Is that so?" Izuna raises his eyebrow.
"Why can't I remember anything?" Izuna smiles at Elder Genji.
Bam…
Mei elbows him in the gut.
"Stop fooling around! Tell me the purpose of your visit." She questions him.
"Do I need a purpose to visit my wife?" Izuna retorts.
"Fine! Now tell me the reason." Mei sighs helplessly.
'I can't win against him. He is too shameless.'
She notices Zabuza and Haku behind him.
Mei immediately recognizes Zabuza since she knew about him from her academy days.
"He is Zabuza Momochi, and this boy is…"
She turns to Izuna for answers.
"He is the last known surviving member of the Yuki clan. His name is Haku Yuki." Izuna introduces Haku and ushers him in front of Mei.
"I… It is nice to meet you, Mizukage-sama." Haku stammers.
Hmm…
"He is indeed a member of Yuki clan with that appearance." Mei nods her head.
Swoosh…
Izuna produces the Executioner's blade from his Kamui.
"Kakashi and the kids came across them during their mission. I brought them here to let you decide their fate."
Mmm…
Mei's expression turns serious as the demeanor of Mizukage appears to present itself.
"Zabuza is a rogue ninja of Kiri who deserted the village during the Blood Mist era. As such, he has committed treason against the village and his punishment will be decided accordingly."
She turns towards Haku and a gentle expression appears on her face.
"The Yuki clan suffered great injustice under the hands of the previous Noble clans. The Yuki clan was a former ally of my Terumi clan. Still, he will face punishment for impersonating as a Hunter-nin."
"Let me handle that…"
Izuna butts in.
"I will take care of his punishment."
Izuna has a smile on his face as he secretly gestures to Mei.
"Hmm… then I will leave it you."
Mei nods her head and continues with her work.
Later in the evening,
Inside one of Kiri's famous restaurant,
Izuna and Mei are seated beside each other, enjoying their dinner.
"So, you want to recruit Haku for your team?!" Mei asks him.
"Yes! That boy has so much untapped potential. His skills with Ninjutsu are top notch. He can use One-hand seals to cast Ninjutsu. I can count the number of people who can perform this feat on my fingers.
Also, the Ice-Release is the cherry on the top. I will teach him all of my Ice-Release techniques."
Izuna picks a piece of meat with his chopstick and dips it in the sauce.
Aah…
Mei opens her mouth and bites on it.
"Thankfully, I am using the transformation jutsu to eat here or as a Mizukage, I would be too embarrassed to do this in public."
Mei's face reddens.
"What's there to be shy about?!"
Izuna chuckles and takes another bite of meat from Mei's hand.
"This is quite good."
He enjoys the flavor of meat and remarks.
"Still, I am quite sad that you won't be able to assist us with the upcoming chunnin exams."
Mei has an unresigned expression on her face.
"I finally got a clue of an important mission. I can't miss it at any cost."
Izuna sighs in an apologetic tone.
"Kakashi and the rest should be enough for the task."
Mei and Izuna spent the rest of their dinner talking about trivial stuff.
"Alright! I think that's enough for today. I have other responsibilities too, otherwise, I am afraid I won't leave till next morning."
Mei abruptly breaks the conversation. Izuna's expression turns sour.
"It's just some useless job. Let others take care of it." He snorts.
"NO! That won't do. I can't slack with the work." Mei shakes her head.
Izuna blankly stares at her as it reminds him of a certain Hokage always whining for more breaks.
----------
In Konoha's Yakini-Q,
Achoo…
Tsunade sneezes violently. She waves an empty cup towards Shizune.
"Shizune! Do you think I caught a cold from overwork?! Hicc…"
"…"
Shizune helplessly stares at her.
"Err… Tsunade-sama… I think that's enough sake for the day. I think it's about time we return. Naruto must have returned from his mission."
"One more Shizune!!… one more… it won't do any harm to drink more."
Tsunade waves the empty cup in front of Shizune.
Sigh…
Shizune sighs and refills her cup.
----------
"Let me pay the bill." Izuna places a stack of Ryo on the table.
Both of them walk out of the restaurant and scrutinize the nearby area.
"Kiri has improved quite a lot in these past three years."
Both of them notice the hustle-bustle of the surrounding area.
"It's just the light of Kiri. Blood and all sorts of evil still taint the darkness of Kiri. Unless I uproot the problem from the root, Kiri has to bear the burden of its infamy." Mei sighs.
"Hey! At least, you are giving your best. Things will work out with time." Izuna assures her.
Both of them continue to walk through the streets of Kiri. Soon, they arrive near the residential area of the lower class -the slums of Kiri.
"There is not much improvement in the status of the Lower class." Izuna remarks.
"My hands are tied in this case." Mei helplessly remarks.
"The elders of the village don't trust these war prisoners and captives. The least I can do is to hire them for odd jobs and increase the number of missions directed their way."
"That's fine too. You are their leader, not their nanny."
Izuna chuckles.
Suddenly, a girl in a tattered pink dress walks towards Izuna.
"This is for you, Mister."
She passes a small scroll to Izuna and turns around to leave.
"Wait!"
Mei stops the girl while Izuna inspects the scroll.
'Hmm… there are no traps or other such seals on this scroll. There is no sign of poison either. It's just a plain scroll.'
"Girl! Who gave it to you?"
Mei interrogates the girl.
"It was a masked man with glasses who gave this scroll to me. He told me a man and a woman will shortly pass through this area and told me to give this scroll to the man.
In return, he gave me some money."
The girl produces some coins from her pocket. There is a hint of worry and fear in her eyes.
"It's alright. She is as clueless as us."
Izuna takes out some Ryo and gives it to girl.
"Thank you, Mister!"
Izuna waves her off.
"Now for the message on this scroll. Let me see…"
He opens the scroll and checks its content. There is only a single line carved on the scroll.
"Izuna Uchiha! Let's meet near the Land of Origin of Shinobi World."
-----------------------------
A/N:- Don't forget to vote with power stones. There will be an extra chapter with each 500 power stones up to a max. of 3 bonus chapters per week resulting in a total of 10 chapters.
So, Gimme that power stones.