Mufasa swore he really hadn't been thinking about anything improper at the time.
It didn't matter where was convenient—he just did what needed to be done.
Women had a way of making things more complicated than they needed to be.
That night, still sporting a fresh bruise on his face (thanks to Tsunade's "gentle" hands), Mufasa worked in the shadows.
(Tsunade refused to heal him. Said it would be a 'lesson.')
Ignoring the throbbing pain, he slipped through the camp's security with practiced ease. His destination?
The tent of Lord Yoshimitsu, one of the Fire Daimyo's most trusted officials.
Yoshimitsu clearly valued his life.
His tent was surrounded by at least twenty elite guards, all Jonin-level shinobi.
Some specialized in sensory techniques, others in genjutsu.
Traps and surveillance seals were set in layers, ensuring no ordinary assassin could even dream of approaching unnoticed.
But Mufasa wasn't ordinary.
Using a combination of invisibility, flight, and high-level chakra control, he bypassed all of it.
The guards were too lost in their own thoughts—some daydreaming about their next mission, others reminiscing about home.
None noticed the shadow that drifted past them.
Once inside, Mufasa grimaced.
Yoshimitsu was snoring loudly, sprawled out on his massive bed, clutching a body pillow like a lifeline.
Disgusting.
Shaking his head, Mufasa pulled out an ink brush.
He had planned to be subtle, but the sight before him was too good to pass up.
With expert strokes, he drew across Yoshimitsu's face, adding exaggerated whiskers and a pair of large, round glasses.
When he was finished, he turned to the tent wall and added a final touch:
"Came for a visit. Love, the Kazekage."
Satisfied, he disappeared into the night.
Back at Tsunade's tent, he landed gracefully at the entrance.
"All done," he announced.
Tsunade, lounging with a bottle of sake in hand, gave him a lazy thumbs-up. "You're real strong when it comes to sneaking around, huh?"
Mufasa rolled his eyes. "That's not a compliment."
She just smirked.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then Tsunade arched a brow. "Why are you still here?"
Mufasa crossed his arms. "I just got back. I don't have anywhere to stay. There's no hotel in this wilderness."
Tsunade sighed. "You're not seriously thinking of staying here, are you?"
"Well, I thought about it," he admitted, "but I figured you wouldn't agree."
She was already moving before he finished the sentence.
A solid punch landed against his forehead.
"GAH—!"
He stumbled back, rubbing the new bruise.
"You really don't hold back, do you?" he muttered.
Tsunade just cracked her knuckles. "Go find some poor sap's tent and make yourself comfortable."
Grumbling, Mufasa wandered off. He found an unsuspecting shinobi, knocked him out, then let him enjoy a full night of Teletubbies Genjutsu while he took the guy's bed.
The Next Morning
As Tsunade's 'bodyguard,' Mufasa attended the emergency meeting held by Yoshimitsu.
The moment they stepped inside the command tent, Yoshimitsu practically launched himself at Tsunade.
Mufasa stepped forward, hand moving faster than anyone could react, and caught the official's wrist in a tight grip.
"Hmph. And what do you think you're doing?"
Yoshimitsu yelped as Mufasa twisted his arm, forcing him down onto one knee.
The guards in the room immediately sprang to action, shouting threats.
"Release Lord Yoshimitsu!"
"Are you out of your mind?!"
"Daring to lay hands on nobility—do you want war?!"
Mufasa didn't care. He wasn't under their jurisdiction. He was the Kazekage.
Tsunade, however, pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation.
"Mufasa, let him go."
He released Yoshimitsu, who scrambled back, clutching his arm and glaring warily at him.
Mufasa smiled at him—warm, friendly, disarming.
It had the opposite effect.
Tsunade sighed, stepping in. "Apologies, Lord Yoshimitsu. My guard can be… overzealous."
Yoshimitsu, still shaken, waved it off. "N-No, no. I was too impulsive." He straightened his robe, coughing. "Seeing you, Lady Hokage, I simply got excited."
He turned his gaze to Mufasa, his expression hardening. "However, this so-called Kazekage is reckless and without honor."
"Honor?" Mufasa tilted his head. "You mean like that message I left on your tent?"
Yoshimitsu went pale. His hands twitched, recalling the horror of waking up to ink scrawled across his face.
The family elder, Hosokawa, spoke up. "My lord, the Kazekage has always been… unconventional. He's known for his unpredictable and unruly behavior. Even the daimyos of the Wind and River countries have suffered under his hands."
Yoshimitsu turned back to Tsunade. "Does Konoha have no authority to discipline this man?"
Tsunade's expression was cool. "Lord Yoshimitsu, Konoha has no jurisdiction over the Kazekage's actions in the Land of Wind. That was part of our treaty with the Sand Village."
She paused, then added, "And as for the Land of Rivers—I already stated that Konoha will not interfere."
Yoshimitsu's face twisted in frustration. "So you refuse to take action?"
Tsunade's patience wore thin. "If this meeting is just about plotting against the Kazekage, then we're done here." She turned sharply, ready to leave.
Yoshimitsu panicked.
"W-Wait! Lady Tsunade, please." He swallowed his pride. "I—I apologize for my past behavior. I was misled. That was my mistake."
He bowed slightly. "I will lift the embargo against Konoha. I'll provide whatever supplies you need, including steel and weaponry."
His voice lowered. "All I ask is that you protect me. Do not let the Sand Village assassinate me."
Tsunade was far from satisfied with the offer on the table.
She hadn't come all this way just to hear empty promises.
The real issue at hand was infrastructure—roads, railways, and securing Konoha's future.
So instead of nodding along, she sighed and shook her head.
"Well, my lord, given where things stand… don't you think it's time to take a broader view?"
Yoshimitsu blinked, clearly not following. "A broader view? What exactly am I supposed to be thinking about?"
Tsunade folded her arms. "I can hold off Kazekage for now, but can I hold him off forever? The Land of Fire and the Land of Wind need a lasting solution.
If you don't put an end to this conflict properly, sooner or later, something else will happen."
Yoshimitsu frowned, considering her words.
'She had a point.'
He couldn't spend his entire life running or hiding from threats.
That was no way for a daimyo to live.
"Then how exactly do we reconcile with the Land of Wind?" he asked.
Tsunade leaned forward slightly. "Kazekage invaded the Land of Rivers because its daimyo, Momonosuke, attacked the Sand Ninja delegation without cause. That was his own mistake—it had nothing to do with the Land of Fire."
Yoshimitsu exhaled sharply.
After the events of the previous night, Mufasa's 'message' had made one thing abundantly clear—his life was far more important than his pride.
"Yes, yes… it was all Momonosuke's fault," Yoshimitsu agreed quickly.
"If not for him, I wouldn't be in this mess with the Sand Ninjas in the first place. If that fool were still alive, I'd cut him down myself."
Somewhere in the afterlife, Momonosuke likely felt a chill run down his spine.
"But now he's dead, and the Land of Rivers is in Kazekage's hands," Yoshimitsu continued. "So tell me—how do we resolve this?"
Tsunade shook her head. "It's a mistake to say the Land of Rivers is under Kazekage's control."
That got everyone's attention. "What do you mean?" Yoshimitsu asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Our intelligence says that Sand Shinobi isn't directly governing the Land of Rivers," she explained.
"Instead, the country is currently run by a self-formed organization made up of its own people."
Hosokawa, one of Yoshimitsu's trusted retainers, nodded in agreement. "That's true. They've created some kind of company and signed numerous agreements with the Sand Ninjas.
Right now, the entire nation is focused on infrastructure—digging waterways, laying foundations, and constructing buildings."
Yoshimitsu looked even more bewildered. "What the hell is Kazekage thinking?"
He rubbed his temples in frustration. "First, he goes by some ridiculous nickname. Now, he's turned into a businessman? What's going on in that guy's head?"
Most rulers conquered land to expand their domain, to consolidate power.
Even if they let go of control in name, they typically left behind governors or puppet rulers to manage things in their stead.
But Kazekage? He was just… leaving? It made no sense to Yoshimitsu or the other officials in the tent.
Mufasa smirked from his position beside Tsunade.
Oh, if only they understood the irony.
You can't have economic and technological progress while clinging to a feudal system.
The two just don't mix.
If Kazekage was serious about development, he needed a structure beyond the outdated hierarchy of the shinobi world.
Otherwise, there'd be no way to sustain Sand Ninja's growing industries.
Tsunade could tell Yoshimitsu was still struggling to piece things together.
"It doesn't matter why he's doing it," she said.
"What matters is what he plans to do next."
Yoshimitsu rubbed his chin. "And what exactly is he planning?"
Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "Kazekage has been pushing for industrialization since he took office. Everything he does feeds into that goal—including his involvement in the Land of Rivers.
He's building roads and railways to connect the Land of Wind with the Land of Rivers. Once that's done, the Land of Rivers will effectively become an extension of the Land of Wind."
The room fell into silence as the realization sank in.
Yoshimitsu felt his stomach drop. "So… that means the Land of Fire will be the next target?"
"Not necessarily," Tsunade said,
"but it's definitely a threat. Two allied countries with shared infrastructure will be much harder to challenge. More than that, the ability to rapidly move troops and supplies between them would put the Land of Fire in a vulnerable position."
Mufasa nearly burst out laughing.
Wait… wasn't this exactly what Shimura Danzo had planned back in the day?
When did the Sand Ninjas start pulling pages from his playbook?
Did they even pay for the rights to use these strategies?
As expected, Yoshimitsu panicked immediately. "Tsunade! What should we do? Do we send troops? Destroy the Land of Rivers before they complete their plans?"
Tsunade shook her head again. "Sending an army won't solve anything. At worst, Sand Ninja will retreat back into the desert, and what then? Are we supposed to chase them into their own territory?"
"Besides," she added, "with Kazekage Mufasa leading them, there's no guarantee we'd even win."
At that, the tent grew even quieter.
The stories about Mufasa were legendary—some even called him a demon king.
There were rumors he once held the sun itself in his hands.
Anyone who heard those tales knew better than to take him lightly.
Yoshimitsu turned to Tsunade with a pleading look. "Then what do we do? You have to help me, Tsunade."
Tsunade pretended to think it over, making sure to draw out the suspense before finally answering.
"If Kazekage wants roads and railways, then we'll build our own."
Yoshimitsu blinked. "Huh?"
"We'll construct our own roads and railways, connecting the Land of Rivers to the Land of Fire," Tsunade explained.
"That way, we can compete with the Land of Wind for influence over the region."
"With our resources and national strength, we won't fall behind."
Hosokawa and the other retainers nodded in agreement. "That's a solid plan, my lord."
"With the power of the Land of Fire, we'll never lose to the Land of Wind."
Yoshimitsu seemed convinced. "But what if Kazekage refuses to allow it?"
Tsunade didn't hesitate. "The cost of construction will be covered by you, and Konoha will handle security and operations."
Mufasa nearly choked.
Wait, what? Did she just pull the old 'make them pay for it' strategy? Did she at least get my approval for this? Where was the copyright fee?
Tsunade continued, "I'll personally negotiate with Kazekage and ensure the best deal for our nation. I'll also make sure Sand Ninja doesn't step over the line."
Yoshimitsu, who had just been thoroughly manipulated but didn't realize it, beamed with satisfaction. "That's perfect!"
"Excellent!"
Mufasa glanced at the daimyo's happy expression and sighed internally.
It's truly a blessing for the shinobi world to have a 'demon king' like me.
All Tsunade had to do was use my name as an excuse, and every plan would pass without question.