The Land of Wind, Sunagakure (The Hidden Sand Village).
The newly appointed Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, sat with a grim expression as he discussed the intelligence sent back from Konohagakure with the five elders of the village.
"Konohagakure is truly despicable! How dare they propose such unreasonable terms!"
"Even so, Pakura's influence on both the Kazekage and our governance cannot be denied," one elder remarked.
"Indeed. While Pakura is seen as a hero of the village, she disrespects commands and frequently opposes the new policies..." another added.
Although Rasa had recently ascended to the position of Kazekage, the six years of the Third Shinobi World War had left the village without a true leader, even with elders like Chiyo and Ebizō relinquishing some of their power. This absence of leadership allowed certain elders involved in administrative affairs to grow too powerful. Though their influence wasn't overwhelming, it was still present—and particularly evident in how united they seemed now.
Seeing the collective opinions of the five elders, Rasa's expression darkened. There was some truth to their words: Pakura's influence was indeed undermining his authority. Not only was Pakura regarded as a hero, but she also had a habit of publicly opposing Rasa's policies, which should have been unquestioned.
"Konohagakure has gone too far this time. It's one thing to address the instability posed by Pakura, but for them to demand that our Kazekage's children be sent to Konoha to prove the trust between our nations... This is a hostage situation!" one elder fumed.
Rasa, seated at the head of the table, took a deep breath. He urgently needed to eliminate all internal threats and focus on developing the village. Thus, he coldly stated:
"What's the big deal about sending a single child? Let Konohagakure see the sincerity of Sunagakure!"
To outsiders, the idea of sending one's child away might seem intolerable. But to Rasa, eliminating Pakura's influence was worth it. If offering up one—or even two—of his children would achieve that, he would do it without hesitation.
The elders in the room were stunned by Rasa's resolve. His decisiveness made some of them reconsider their hidden agendas. This was a man who wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice his children for the sake of the village.
"Assign Pakura to escort Temari to Konohagakure. She will represent Sunagakure's sincerity and sign the peace treaty on our behalf," Rasa commanded coldly.
Hearing this, the elders' expressions shifted. One of them mustered the courage to object:
"Kazekage-sama, Temari is only—"
Before he could finish, Rasa interrupted with a frosty tone: "Temari is already four years old! This is her responsibility and destiny as the Kazekage's child."
"...Understood!"
Faced with a leader who was willing to sacrifice his child for the village, the elders had nothing more to say. They also understood the deeper implications of the mission. Although Pakura's name wasn't explicitly mentioned, everyone knew the assignment was designed to deal with her.
Some matters were better left unspoken.
As the wind swept through the desolate village, Rasa stood alone by the window, gazing out at the barren landscape. His eyes reflected a mix of complexity and determination as he muttered to himself:
"Temari, do not blame your father for being ruthless. Kankuro is a boy and must inherit... And Gaara is the village's secret weapon..."
...
Konohagakure.
In the Forest of Death, two shinobi wearing Kirigakure forehead protectors moved stealthily through the dense woods.
One of them was a tall, burly man with a shark-like face, his cold, indifferent eyes betraying no emotion—he seemed more like a tool than a man. This demeanor fits perfectly with Kirigakure's current Bloody Mist policy.
"The tower up ahead is the rendezvous point," the shark-faced ninja, Kisame Hoshigaki, stated emotionlessly as the pair caught sight of a distant tower.
The other ninja, who had been feeling uneasy the entire journey, tensed up.
"Kisame, something about this mission feels off!"
This second figure, a woman with reddish-brown hair, emerald-green eyes, and a half-mask covering part of her face, was none other than Mei Terumī. Her expression turned grave as her unease grew.
"This is Konohagakure. To choose such a remote and suspicious location for a rendezvous... And considering how heightened Konoha's security is right now..." Mei couldn't shake the bad feeling in her gut.
However, Kisame remained unmoved. His cold, detached demeanor reflected his unwavering loyalty to his superiors' orders.
"A shinobi must obey the village's orders. Nothing else matters," he replied indifferently.
Mei felt stifled by Kisame's extreme adherence to the rules. His cold logic was emblematic of the Bloody Mist era, which had produced countless emotionally dead shinobi. While Kisame was considered one of the more stable ones, many others had been twisted and broken under the oppressive regime.
As the two approached the tower, Mei's unease grew.
"We've arrived," Kisame said, his voice as cold as ever.
The towering structure loomed before them, its open doors seemingly inviting them inside. The silence of the surrounding forest, broken only by the sounds of insects and wild animals, only heightened the tension.
Cautiously, the pair stepped into the tower, where they were greeted by the sight of a massive, freshly carved stone statue.
"This is usually where Konoha holds its Chūnin Exams," Kisame explained, his adherence to protocol compelling him to report any relevant information.
"The giant statue with its hands forming a seal was originally built during the Third Hokage's era. Judging by its appearance, it seems to have been updated recently to reflect the hands of the soon-to-be Fourth Hokage..."
The statue's young, powerful-looking arms confirmed Kisame's observation: it had been remodeled to honor Uchiha Shirou, Konoha's Fourth Hokage.
"The time is up, but our contacts haven't arrived," Kisame said, frowning slightly as he checked the time.
Mei, however, felt her unease spike.
"Something's wrong. This mission has felt strange from the beginning..."
Just as she voiced her concerns, the tower's doors slammed shut with a resounding boom.
In the next moment, countless shadows emerged from the surrounding forest.
"Damn it!" Mei shouted in alarm, while Kisame calmly reached for the massive sword on his back.
The shadows resolved into numerous Konoha shinobi, their sheer numbers creating a suffocating atmosphere.
On the observation platforms above, masked members of Konoha's ANBU Black Ops appeared one by one, cutting off any means of escape.
"Kirigakure shinobi! Trespassing in Konoha's prohibited area is punishable by death!" a cold, merciless voice declared.
Among the ANBU, several pairs of glowing red Sharingan eyes could be seen. Having just experienced the horrors of war, Kisame and Mei immediately recognized those crimson eyes for what they were.
"Sharingan!"
"This is a misunderstanding! We were sent here to rendezvous with our envoy—" Kisame began, his voice low and gravelly.
But Mei's sharp mind worked faster. As she pieced the situation together, her expression turned grim. Something far more sinister was unfolding.
Command them to come here, yet the appearance of Konoha's Anbu!
This immediately made Mei Terumi's face change drastically. She was shocked and furious, her mind constantly flashing with various guesses.
Had her Kekkei Genkai been exposed? Or was it just as she suspected?!
Had the village made some kind of deal with Konoha?!
An instant conspiracy and trap surfaced in her mind!
"So sharp, no wonder you're called the most promising seed of Kirigakure by Shirou."
At this moment, a gentle voice suddenly echoed from the tower. In the next instant, under the pupils of Kisame Hoshigaki and Mei Terumi, a swarm of black Hell Butterflies appeared.
A figure appeared on the fingertip of the newly carved sealing stone statue!
When Uchiha Mikoto's graceful figure emerged, with Hell Butterflies surrounding her, the pupils of Kisame and Mei, who had intruded here, both shrank.
"What terrifying chakra!"
Kisame, far from his peak state, immediately felt the oppressive pressure of this terrifying chakra. Meanwhile, Mei Terumi, with a grim expression, forced out a stiff smile.
"We came here under orders to rendezvous…"
Before Mei could finish her sentence, her pupils suddenly contracted. The figure had already appeared in front of her, while the Hell Butterflies on the distant statue's fingertip had only just begun to dissipate.
Genjutsu!
"What beautiful eyes you have…"
At such a close distance, Mikoto gazed at Mei Terumi's emerald green eyes with an appreciative expression, which only made Mei more tense.
"Damn it!"
As Kisame was about to erupt in rage under the crisis, the scarlet Sharingan glimmered beneath several masked faces around him. In an instant, his body stiffened and became immobile.
"As ninjas of Kirigakure, you've intruded upon Konoha's restricted area. Now, you mustn't move recklessly."
Mikoto's gentle smile, in Mei's eyes, was extremely terrifying. Especially when the three tomoe in her Sharingan connected into a single entity, Mei immediately lost the will to resist.
Or rather! At this moment, under the Mangekyo Sharingan, only Mei's pupils remained her own, while her limbs were already out of her control.
The Mangekyo's Genjutsu rendered her body stiff and immobile in an instant.
After all, Mei Terumi was far from her peak state, while Mikoto had awakened the Mangekyo during the Second Shinobi War nearly ten years ago.
Adding to that years of training and the Wood Style chakra that had emerged within her, even Mei at her peak wouldn't stand much of a chance against Mikoto now.
"So it's the Mangekyo…"
Mei's hoarse voice trembled. She hadn't expected that before the confrontation had even begun, it would already be over.
With so many Anbu around, escaping would already be a near-impossible task. And now, with the Mangekyo in play, there was virtually no chance at all.
"Heh, a wise choice."
Seeing Mei give up resistance, Mikoto couldn't help but show an approving gaze.
"May I ask, what value do we hold that is worth Konoha going to such great lengths?"
Though captured, Mei Terumi remained resentful. Unlike Kisame, who had yet to understand, she had already pieced together a general idea.
It was clear that from the very start, their arrival here was part of a trap.
Or they had been betrayed by their village.
Faced with Mei's perceptiveness, Mikoto smiled approvingly and nodded:
"In the eyes of your Fourth Mizukage, your value is nothing more than two swords. The reason is simple: you accidentally killed important youths from Konoha's Aburame and Kurama clans on the battlefield."
"Of course! That's how Kirigakure sees it. But in Konoha's eyes, the two of you possess far greater potential, a value that far exceeds those swords."
With a gentle smile, Mikoto turned around. Her voice, however, carried a commanding authority:
"Two Kirigakure ninjas trespassing in Konoha's restricted area, investigating our top-secret information. Detain them immediately! We'll demand an explanation from Kirigakure!"
"Yes!"
With the cold responses of the surrounding Anbu, Mei Terumi glared helplessly with wide eyes.
Konoha was too tyrannical!
What did they mean by trespassing into Konoha's restricted area? Wasn't this just a Chunin Exam arena?
And investigating top-secret information? This was outright framing with no evidence!
Yet under Konoha's overwhelming might, the two were taken away just like that.
...
Elsewhere, in Sunagakure...
The elite Jonin Pakura, whose graceful figure could be considered divine, was escorting the young Temari to Konoha.
The Sunagakure envoy leading the way wore a smile. Pakura, though slightly relieved, remained vigilant upon entering the village.
However, seeing the bustling streets of Konoha left Pakura stunned and envious.
"So this is Konoha, the strongest of the ninja villages! With such a foundation, it's no wonder they are so powerful!"
Pakura continued observing Konoha in secret, constantly recording information in her mind—an instinct for a ninja.
Only the young Temari, filled with innocence, looked at the lively scene with wide-eyed excitement, marveling at the unfamiliar prosperity.
However, as the group unknowingly approached the Hokage's office, Pakura's expression turned puzzled.
"Are we meeting Konoha's new Hokage now?"
But before Pakura could voice her confusion, the envoy leading the way took a deep breath. In the next moment, under Pakura's shocked gaze, blood splattered.
"Pakura! You traitor! You've attacked Miss Temari and intend to start a war! You're nothing but a warmonger! Fortunately, you weren't made the Fourth Kazekage…"
With a sudden scream, the Sunagakure envoy clutched his injured arm in terror. At the same time, the young Temari, standing at the forefront, looked utterly incredulous, blood dripping from her mouth.
A kunai!
In that instant, the envoy had slashed his arm with a kunai and then aimed it at Temari's vital points.
At the same time, this commotion alerted countless people inside the Hokage's office.
From Konoha ninjas retrieving missions and reporting in, to foreign ninjas and merchants issuing tasks and trading—all turned their stunned gazes toward the commotion below.
"Pakura!"
"Konoha ninjas, Pakura has gone mad after losing the war! Kill her now!"
Amid countless gazes, the window of the Hokage's office shattered. Pakura, clutching Temari tightly, appeared to be holding the Kazekage's child hostage.
"Pakura! You betrayed the village! You're a traitor to Sunagakure!"
The Sunagakure envoy screamed hoarsely, terror flickering deep in his eyes.
The Kazekage's orders had left him no choice but to act this way!
At this moment, in the Hokage's office, Uchiha Shirou's lips curled into a faint smile.
Mei Terumi and Kisame—knowing the potential of such individuals in the ninja world, it was only natural to recruit them early. He didn't want to destroy the ninja world; he sought to unify it.
As for Pakura, he couldn't keep wasting Konoha's resources targeting Sunagakure and Kirigakure. He preferred to take the initiative and keep control firmly in his hands.
PS: Naruto harem fanfic will not be complete without Mei Terumi.