Junko's loudness wasn't for naught as it got the Princess and I talking again. Mangetsu's participation in these duels wasn't one I was aware of and surely had something to do with Lady Megumi's manipulations. It was fine except now everyone thought I'd been teaching the boy and possibly grooming him to take my place as Kage whereas I've only sat in the chair for four months.
Mangetsu wore what I'd always seen him with, a blue sleeveless, a wool scarf and three-quarter shorts that would usually hoist his pouches of ninja tools but that was abandoned for the single tanto sheathe attached to his back. He sported a couple injuries from previous duels that occurred before I arrived but otherwise looked ready to take down whoever was in front of him.
"Oh look, it's that young man you were rooting for, Hime. Junichi, what did you say his name was?"
"His name is Jin." Junichi provided.
"Right, Jin, you must have a good eye for Kenjutsu, Hime." I said.
The Princess merely blinked, watching Jin test Mangetsu's blade with some unease, "Not as good as yours, Mizukage, your apprentice will surely be triumphant."
That I couldn't deny so I simply turned it into another compliment, "That you can see the outcome already speaks well of you."
She snorted at this and spared a glance, "These are the finals before the main event aren't they? Your apprentice will face the one your vassals call the Demon of the Mist, I'm not so sure I can see the outcome of that match, can you?"
At that I fell silent in thought as I hadn't considered what Mangetsu facing off against Zabuza would look like until this very moment. The fact was Zabuza was a terror in each of his battles, not letting his opponent's blade even graze him while he shredded their muscle and tendons, chasing some to forfeit by tossing themselves off the edge so he wouldn't get them. Mangetsu on the other hand…
"Will you be disappointed?" The Princess pressed, eying me intently, "Should your apprentice lose against a low caste demon as your vassal aptly described, would you be disappointed?"
I breathed in and said, "No."
She frowned, "No? Isn't he under your tutelage? A prodigy of a great house? His failure shames you."
Again I said, "No, it doesn't and he hasn't failed. Mangetsu only recently became my student and between attending to my village and cleaning up after the Daimyo's messy war, I haven't the chance to teach him anything his prodigious mind hasn't already thought of."
She leaned to speak but I didn't let her, "And no, why should I be ashamed that he loses to who you call a lowly caste demon? I am beyond such discrimination, Hime, every one of my shinobi performing well means Kirigakure is performing well. Zabuza maybe a tad excessive in his violence but that is the nature of the things as my predecessors built it, excessive violence, the brutal, unequivocal conquest of those perceived to sit above it all is what it takes to be noted in this world, in the Land of Water."
She leaned back into her chair, tongue tied for a brief moment before spitting at me, "You are much the same aren't you? Your succession, I did not attend but my brother went on about the terror your power instilled in your opponents, people you now lord over as Mizukage."
I smiled my pretty boy smile at her and to my credit, it worked dashingly as her eyelashes quickly bat away from my gaze, "You're right, I am terrifying or I can be. But unlike Zabuza I already stood at the top and my Uncle sat in council already without me as Mizukage. However, like Zabuza, I wish to be acknowledged by all without prejudice dictating what I am or can be or can do. I want first a Land of Water where all islands stand as one, where the infighting ceases once and for all for harmony and inner peace to reign.
"Kirigakure has isolated itself for so long because of the fears it inherited from the Daimyo's of old. Your brother, he has the right idea battling against obtuse fools that would see the strength and glory Bloodlines bring dissolved in blooded waters. But battling against them will not be enough, not for this war, Hime. I am nothing like my predecessors, I dream of peace and I know well to prepare for war, ha…I must be prattling on and on to you when you only wish to hear one thing from me."
She shifted in her seat, the slightest movement billowed her scent through my nostrils, "And what is that?"
I sucked my teeth and wagged a silly finger at her, "If you want to know then you have to ask the right question." She rolled her eyes terribly and turned away all interest as I chuckled, "Either way, every single person that's come up to give their best chasing after their dream, their passion. Every one of them is a strong, wilful Kirigakure shinobi that has what it takes to realize my dream and perhaps…even yours as well, Hime."
She bit her lip and scoffed, "It's not them I doubt, it's their Kage."
"And the final finalist is…Mangetsu Hozuki!" the proctor yelled suddenly.
I'd barely paid the short duel any attention but Mangetsu seemed to have gone easy on his opponent, perhaps even underestimating him as his injuries seemed to have multiplied. Still, he fared better than Jin who seemed to suffer from two lost fingers, I cringed at that but quickly reassured myself the man would be alright. This wasn't the battlefield where the nearest medic was miles away from the frontlines, Jin would hold a sword again.
They cleared the stage and Mangetsu went to visit a medic as well, his next duel would demand his full strength. I peeked over at Lady Megumi and found her face strewn with a deep, angry frown. She would have taken Junko's words well the least and though Mangetsu had won this match I knew little else except total victory would satiate her. Unfortunately, if I were to bet, I'd bet on the demon.