At this moment, the second diplomatic envoy from Kiri had indeed arrived outside Homuragakure.
"Homura Mei-sama, we have reached Homuragakure," Kisame, standing respectfully behind Terumi Mei, gently reminded her.
Terumi Mei gave a light nod but said nothing.
It must be said: Mist Hidden Village had finally caught its breath and was gradually recovering—despite having overthrown the terrible reign of Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage.
However, due to various issues left behind from history,
Inside the village, unity still could not be achieved.
The conservative faction led by Elder Genji had gained support from many ninja clans and controlled the open politics and diplomacy of the village.
The radical faction led by Anbu Commander Fuguki Suikazan had gathered many elite ninjas who were responsible for protecting the village and maintaining order.
The former accused the Anbu ninjas of aiding tyrants, committing countless crimes on behalf of Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage, and deserved punishment.
The latter claimed they were merely biding their time, plotting rebellion; whereas people like Genji had previously done nothing, inadvertently fueling Yagura's arrogance.
Of course, these were merely surface-level excuses.
In reality, both sides fought relentlessly inch by inch for their own interests—struggling for control of the entire Mist Hidden Village.
After all, everyone knew clearly:
If people like Fuguki Suikazan chose to surrender quietly, what awaited them would undoubtedly be another round of brutal purges.
Thus, mutual distrust ran deep between the two factions, leading to frequent conflicts.
Still, the Mist leadership wasn't foolish.
Whether it was the elderly and shrewd elder Genji or the calculating Fuguki Suikazan, both understood very clearly—
Mist Hidden Village could not afford another internal conflict.
Therefore, both sides exercised considerable restraint.
Though they often clashed secretly, they still maintained an appearance of peace on the surface.
Elder Genji temporarily took control of the village's major powers.
And this diplomatic mission—
Kisame, being a trusted subordinate directly under Fuguki Suikazan, was specially placed inside the envoy team by him.
First: ordering Kisame to take this opportunity to gather intelligence on Homuragakure.
Second: also to monitor Terumi Mei discreetly.
After all, even Fuguki Suikazan could deduce with a basic line of reasoning—
Why that old man Genji insisted on specifically assigning Terumi Mei into the diplomatic team and appointing her as its leader.
In any era, the Honey Trap remains an infallible tactic!
Hence, the orders he gave Kisame were precisely meant to watch out for exactly this scenario.
After all—
Homuragakure could either forge an alliance with or provide support to Kirigakure.
But under no circumstances could Homuragakure be allowed to ally solely with Genji's faction.
Otherwise, all of them—the former Anbu ninjas from Kirigakure—would be toast…
"So this is Homuragakure? It feels so different from what I expected!"
Looking at the Hidden Village ahead, appearing more like a small town, Terumi Mei couldn't help but sigh slightly.
Originally, in her imagination,
Just a few months after defecting from Konoha and with only several hundred members, Homuragakure should have barely managed to set up little more than straw huts—that would have been impressive enough.
I can't believe they've already grown this big?
Looking at the town, there were easily over a hundred buildings taller than three stories.
Plus countless single-story houses.
The entire hidden village could comfortably hold thousands.
There was no way it should have reached such scale for a small ninja village on the run.
And judging by appearances, they were still expanding...
Just how ambitious were they?
Of course, considering Mist's current stance,
they naturally hoped their ally Homuragakure would grow even stronger—to shoulder more pressure from hostile villages.
Across the entire ninja world, weakness is a death sentence!
Even a once-mighty village like Konoha would instantly draw countless predators if it showed any sign of decline.
If relations with Homuragakure ever broke down,
then today's Mist would seem like an even more tempting piece of juicy lamb.
Therefore, before departing, Genji personally assigned her one task:
[Spare no effort in winning over Homuragakure. Avoid provoking them at all costs.]
Of course, assuming that condition holds,
winning over that bratty Uchiha kid for their cause would be even better.
...
"Please wait just a moment."
"One of our Young Master's attendants has already been informed. He should arrive shortly and will properly welcome you all."
The Uchiha guard standing watch patiently explained.
In response, Terumi Mei and others showed no signs of displeasure.
They continued waiting at the village entrance.
Just then, they suddenly noticed unusual activity from the right side. Did someone appear to be using ninjutsu?
'Hmm?'
'What are those people doing?'
'That's... using ninjutsu?!'
Soon enough, their attention was completely drawn to a group of ninja outside Homuragakure.
There, about a dozen individuals gathered together beyond the village.
[They used Earth Release to shape the trenches.]
[Clay Techniques formed pipelines.]
[Fire Ninjutsu was used to speed up the hardening process.]
[Wind Release smoothed the edges.]
[Water Release tested performance.]
They worked together seamlessly—clear evidence of great experience and training.
Within just a few short minutes, a high-quality concrete drainage canal over ten meters long had already taken shape.
It even passed an intense pressure test using Water Release—showing truly remarkable results!
And this smooth, efficient sequence of operations
left Terumi Mei and others spellbound.
Truthfully,
Terumi Mei had never seen anything like this before.
Even Kisame behind her wore an expression of shock.
Clearly, to nearly everyone present,
ninja had always existed as combat units, their jutsu solely meant for battle...
Never had anyone applied ninjutsu so creatively for civilian construction purposes (except for that unique Wood Release technique).
They were even starting to push its use to extremes...
Was this Homuragakure actually using ninja as labor beasts?
Now that was absolutely outrageous!
But what caught attention even more
was that several ninja performing Earth Release techniques all wore forehead protectors marked with Iwagakure's symbol!
Were these people really Iwa ninja?
What the heck is going on here?
A sewer system being built right in the Uchiha Clan's village?
No way in hell!
Am I seeing things?
Or am I dreaming?
Has the cooperation between the Uchiha Clan and Iwagakure really gone this far?!?
"That... that over there?"
Terumi Mei pointed hesitantly to the right, asking.
"Oh? Them?"
"They should be from the 9th Construction Team. Their job is to build and upgrade the town's drainage system…"
The Uchiha guard at the gate chuckled while explaining.
"No, no—I mean those people—are they ninja from Iwagakure?"
"Yeah."
"If they're from Iwagakure, then how—how can they be repairing sewers here?"
"What's so strange about it? They just arrived a few days ago. Just like you, they're all members of an envoy group sent by Iwagakure!"
Terumi Mei: …
Kisame: …
The other ninja from Mist: …
That answer shocked everyone present.
As if foreseeing their own upcoming treatment.
Is this how Homura Hidden Village treats its guests?!
Would leaving now still be too late?
Sensing Mei's concerns—and those of her companions—the Uchiha guard quickly added,
"Don't get me wrong! They're all volunteers! Nobody forced them into this!"
Terumi Mei: ???
She had never heard of any ninja actually wanting to dig sewage trenches before.
That was just insane.
"I'm serious—they really did volunteer. If you don't believe me, feel free to ask them yourselves."
The gatekeeper generously offered.
Honestly speaking, compared to being stuck here as a mere watchman,
He seriously envied those construction team ninjas!
Sure, their work was a little tougher.
But they got three full meals daily, strictly followed an eight-hour shift schedule, and worked in a four-day cycle followed by a three-day rest period.
Their wages and allowances were way higher than those of most other ninja roles!
And best of all—no life-threatening danger involved, all while improving their ninjutsu proficiency…
Far more beneficial than taking regular missions!
Plus, salaries got paid out daily—on time, no deductions, no exceptions.
No favoritism whatsoever.
So much so that nowadays in Homura Hidden Village, positions on the construction teams had become hot commodities!
Only those with real skill and solid ninjutsu techniques could qualify—no matter how hard others tried, they still couldn't land a spot.
At first, when those captured Iwa ninja were assigned sewer construction duties, they resisted somewhat.
But after experiencing just one or two days' worth of work, they flipped sides almost instantly.
Now throwing themselves enthusiastically into the projects without complaint.
In fact, you'd practically have to drag them away—they wouldn't leave willingly anymore.
They really were volunteering entirely voluntarily—with absolutely no coercion involved…
You could literally see broad smiles on their faces while they worked.
For a moment, as they listened to the gatekeeper's explanation and watched those smiling Iwa workers, Mei and her group felt completely dazed.
Had they somehow entered the wrong place?
Was this truly Homura Hidden Village?
Such benefits?
Compared to the typical 007-style ninja life in the Ninja World, calling this paradise wouldn't be an exaggeration!
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