"So it turned out to be like this." Haku was holding an ice tablet in her hands. Some characters that Ryoha could not understand at all were written there. However, as an Ice Release user and a member of the Yuki clan, Haku could understand them.
"Sure enough, I didn't expect the leaders of the Yuki clan left something like that." Mei walked in and looked at the ice table in Haku's hand as if she knew what it was.
"What is that?" Knowing her intelligence and observant self, Ryoha guessed that Mei would make the best decision.
Otherwise, she would not be able to drive out the Akatsuki, who was controlling the Fourth Mizukage and the Kirigakure from the shadows, and successfully assume the leadership of the village. In addition to strength, this required courage, spirit, experience, and wisdom.
"That.. is a relic that the past leaders of the Yuki clan left for their descendants. Only the suitable candidate of the next leader of the clan is qualified to receive it. It was said that all the secrets of the Ice Release were recorded in it."
"Back then, when I was not yet in power, some people who sought control of the Kirigakure issued an order to annihilate everyone with that Bloodline Limit, to weaken the strength of the village, therefore making it easier to control. They also annihilated the two strongest clans of the Kirigakure."
Back then, when the Yuki clan was exterminated, the people of the Council of Elders had been searching for that thing. Because they knew that the leaders of the clan would try to preserve their bloodline, by letting few clansmen to leave the village ahead of time to ensure their bloodline's survival, and by leaving that relic.
"They hoped one day, the clan would be revived, and their powers could be preserved. Therefore, the Council of Elders had been searching for that relic in order to completely destroy the hope of clan's revival."
"However, the people of the Council of Elders would never have thought that the relic would be hidden in the clan's old mansion. Moreover, it required the power of a Yuki clan member to open. What a joke."
Mei sighed. This was all because of power. There were a lot of people who participated in this matter. Besides the elders of the Kirigakure, even her name was involved. At that time, Mei was only ten years old. Although she already had the strength of a Kage-level ninja, she had not yet in power.
Therefore, she could not stop them. She could only watch these people do stupid things, such as weakening their own village's military power.
"You finished yet?" Ryoha looked at Haku. When the latter heard this, she nodded and said that she could leave at any time.
"Mizukage-sama, I still don't know your name. Would you be so kind as to tell this peasant your name?" Ryoha's smooth talking was so good that he himself felt very strange when he said those words.
"Name, eh? Haha. I kinda like you now. Well, with the strength you displayed earlier, you deserve to know my name. My name is Terumi Mei." Mei was a little happy when she told Ryoha her name.
"Well, I guess that will be everything for today. If there's nothing else, I will see you again one day." After Ryoha finished speaking, he turned around and left with Haku while secretly clenching his fist. One should never guess what a woman was thinking inside her heart, let alone measure it with reason.
Because that would be very dangerous, so even if Ryoha thought that Mei would not attack again after their fight just now, he was still secretly prepared for the worst.
Who knew if Mei would take advantage of his carelessness and take the opportunity to strike back? If that was the case, it would be too dangerous. A woman's mind was as unfathomable as the sea, and powerful women were even harder to fathom.
Fortunately, after Ryoha and Haku left, Mei was relieved because things had not developed to the worst.
Mei was indeed very smart. This was a relatively risky investment. Even after exposing her strength to an unknown enemy, she cleverly chooses to make a slightly dangerous decision.
"Mizukage-sama, why did you let them go? They killed Ao." Chojuro asked while approaching Mei.
"Chojuro... Sometimes, laying low would make your life easier. If you insisted on being arrogant like him, you might suffer the same fate. What happened to you today?" Mei stared at the timid swordsman. Her terrifying gaze made him shiver.
"The Council of Elders wanted to assassinate your guard and cut off one of your arms, Mizukage-sama. By the time you arrived, the enemy had already left." Although Chojuro was shy, as the Mizukage's personal bodyguard, he knew what it meant if he kept being silly.
"Very good, then why don't you inform the other families? This is a chance to deal with the Elders." Mei found that today's harvest was not bad. Although it was a bit risky to let Haku go, compared to being good friends with Ryoha, all of this was nothing. Moreover, Ryoha's unintentional words awakened her. Her resolve was stronger now, and it would help with her improvement in the future. At the same time, her style of doing things had changed, and she was more sophisticated than before.
The law of the jungle is the norm of this world. Her strength was already above the Council of Elders. It was just that she did not want the Kirigakure, which was in a period of rapid growth, to fall into a conflict after so many years. Now it was time to end this meaningless power struggle.
She was determined to improve herself with all her might after wasting all these years. She absolutely could not waste the talent that the heavens had given her.
Ryoha never expected that because of his joke, Mei, who was already very strong in the original work, would become even more terrifying when they met again. Sure enough, the original plot would not change, but this was the real world.
Everyone had their own wisdom and would change due to all external factors. Variables were everywhere, and there were no so-called protagonists. Everyone in this world could be said to be the protagonist. One's strength would decide their worth.