Mangekyo Sharingan and… Wood Release?
As a genius ninja born from a clan with a long inheritance, Mei Terumi was no stranger to those two terms.
But precisely because Mei Terumi knew what kind of power those two terms represented, when she heard Rei Kaguya connect the mission's failure to a Konoha ninja who possessed both, she felt the suffocating pressure behind those words even more clearly.
"Konoha… actually cultivated a monster ninja of that level?"
As if all strength had left her body, Mei Terumi leaned weakly against the scarred tree beside her.
She looked at the blackened blood still remaining inside the cuts on the trunk, then looked at Rei Kaguya, whose eyes showed no falsehood at all. She wrapped her arms around herself and asked in a trembling voice,
"Then what do all those people sacrificed by the village count as?
"What do the feelings we abandoned count as?
"All our efforts to become stronger, to seize more land one day and solve the Land of Water's lack of resources—what were they?
"Are we just pitiful insects using a cold and cruel style to uphold the village's reputation, pretending we still haven't fallen out of the ranks of great nations?"
"That's what it means when I say that if the road itself is wrong, then the harder you work, the farther you move from success."
Rei Kaguya slowly stepped forward. He patted Mei Terumi's shoulder and spoke earnestly,
"Now do you understand why I said what I said, and why I deliberately brought you here to say it, Mei?"
"I don't understand."
"Uh…"
Caught off guard by Mei Terumi's sudden willful reply, Rei Kaguya awkwardly took two steps back.
Looking at Mei Terumi, whose head was lowered and whose mood was depressed, he hesitantly asked,
"Specifically, what part don't you understand? I-I can explain further…"
"Idiot."
Seeing Rei Kaguya's serious expression, as if he genuinely intended to explain it to her, Mei Terumi had no choice but to put away the small bit of stubbornness she had instinctively shown to protect her own heart after hearing such shocking truths.
After quietly scolding Rei Kaguya, she said in a low voice,
"Learn to read the atmosphere a little… At a time like this, aren't you supposed to show some masculine spirit that can make me feel hope again?"
"My bad."
Rei Kaguya very decisively accepted the small blame of failing to read the mood.
That clean and straightforward behavior allowed Mei Terumi to once again see the boy she knew from ordinary days.
His way of doing things was hard to understand, but he could always bring confidence to the people around him.
Feeling slightly reassured, Mei Terumi patted her full, proud chest. Then, as if remembering something, she asked curiously,
"Rei said so many things just now that my head almost stopped working. But thinking back on it now, when you mentioned the mission's failure, your tone didn't seem very wary of those two monster-like Konoha ninja."
"After all, I beat both of them up."
Rei Kaguya whistled casually.
"If I hadn't been there, not even one person from the team would have come back to report."
"I knew it."
The gloom on Mei Terumi's face instantly dispersed by more than half.
A lively light returned to her beautiful green eyes. She lightly punched Rei Kaguya's shoulder and said with a trace of embarrassment that was almost impossible to notice,
"Since you could still calmly go out to eat dango after returning to the village to report, and still had the mood to deliberately call me here and say so many treasonous things, there's no way you would have acted like this without confidence in your own strength…"
"Then it's still the same question as before. Do you understand now, Mei?"
Rei Kaguya smiled and punched back lightly, then asked again.
"I roughly understand."
Mei Terumi caught Rei Kaguya's fist and, in a petty show of revenge, used her nails to leave crescent-shaped marks on the back of his hand.
"You want to launch a coup against Lord Third before he formally declares war on Konoha, replace him, and cancel the plan to interfere in the Third Shinobi World War. Right, Rei?"
"Tch. Looks like you still don't understand at all."
Hearing this, Rei Kaguya could not help rolling his eyes and said irritably,
"How could I possibly challenge Lord Third before war is declared on Konoha? Mei Terumi, is your head spinning?"
"Huh?"
Seeing Mei Terumi's confused expression, as if her brain had not caught up, Rei Kaguya reached out and lightly flicked her forehead. He then explained earnestly,
"Idiot. It's been a very, very long time since Kirigakure last participated in a large-scale war.
"So long that every ninja in the village has accumulated many emotions that can only be fully released through cruel war.
"And now, Konoha, which looks exhausted by years of fighting on multiple fronts, is right in front of us.
"Do you think most people in the village will carefully investigate Konoha's current remaining combat strength, seriously assess the situation, then decide whether to declare war?
"Or will they see this as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to seize a large stretch of fertile land from Konoha and rush forward without hesitation?"
"…The latter."
Although she felt deeply unhappy, Mei Terumi could only pinch her nose and admit the fact that most ninja in the village held the latter view.
"Then what comes after is simple, isn't it?"
Rei Kaguya spread his hands and began "predicting" Kirigakure's next actions with sharp wording.
"Since the ninja from top to bottom all want a war, then regardless of what the Kage leading them thinks, he must respond to the demands of his village's ninja and start a war that allows them to release themselves to their hearts' content.
"But this war against Konoha cannot be won.
"The gap in hard strength between Kirigakure and Konoha is too large.
"So large that as long as Konoha can free Minato Namikaze from the borders of the Land of Lightning and Land of Earth, they can achieve a one-sided victory in this war.
"Kirigakure's current weakness is the bitter fruit born from Lord Third's mistaken policies. If I launch a coup and take power at this time, wouldn't I be helping him shoulder the blame for the failed war and wrong decisions?
"Whoever wants to do something that stupid can do it. I'm not interested."
"So Rei's idea is—"
Mei Terumi narrowed her eyes, feeling as if she had vaguely grasped Rei Kaguya's thinking.
"Of course, after the war against Konoha ends in total defeat, I'll act as a war hero active on the battlefield, impeach the severely negligent Lord Third, and naturally take over the position of Fourth Mizukage."
Rei Kaguya reached his claw-shaped right hand toward the sky. Madness overflowed in his eyes as he said,
"The Third Mizukage, who represents the mistaken ideology of the Village of the Bloody Mist, and the stubborn faction that believes in his theory, will fall with the defeat of the war.
"They will be replaced by the new generation, who fought bravely on the battlefield but could not hold up the collapsing sky alone.
"Then we, the people of the new era, will restore Kirigakure's glory.
"Is there any better script than this, Mei?"
"A failed war will kill many, many people, Rei."
Mei Terumi looked at Rei Kaguya's wild and unrestrained figure. Her red lips parted slightly as she reminded him in a low voice,
"Even if you have to watch many comrades die in front of you, will you still not care?"
Hearing this, Rei Kaguya's body stiffened.
He slowly turned around and looked at Mei Terumi. On his face appeared an ugly smile woven from bitterness and self-mockery.
"I am a ghost who successfully graduated from the Ninja Academy only after killing my best friend.
"That kind of pure hero who saves everyone…
"I stopped being worthy of becoming one a long time ago."
"That's true."
Mei Terumi walked forward and clumsily placed Rei Kaguya's slightly cold left hand in her own, interlocking their fingers.
People born in the Village of the Bloody Mist…
How could they still have the qualifications to become heroes who stood in the light and saved everyone?
"War will come very soon…
"Live well, Mei Terumi.
"When the day comes for me to impeach and challenge Lord Third, I hope that among the guards standing behind me and blocking hidden arrows for me, your figure will be there."
Feeling the faint warmth transmitted from Mei Terumi's hand, Rei Kaguya looked up at the dark sky heavy with storm clouds and spoke quietly to the beauty beside him.
"Only your guard?"
Mei Terumi gently brushed aside the bangs on her forehead, revealing the right eye that few people ever saw. She quietly looked at Rei Kaguya's side profile.
"As someone who possesses both Lava Release and Boil Release, I do have some pride of my own, you know?"
"Yes, yes. I know you're a woman who wants to become Mizukage. But don't be impatient. After I bring Kirigakure back onto the correct path, I'll leave you the chance to challenge this position."
After telling a double-meaning joke that probably no second person in this world would understand, Rei Kaguya closed his eyes and peacefully enjoyed this brief moment of tranquility.