"I have just carefully questioned the sixteen ninja who survived Uchiha Chisen and that Uchiha Girl-" Genji's aged face creased, and his already stooped frame seemed to shrink a little further without him noticing. "None of them had committed unforgivable crimes, and their injuries corresponded to the severity of their wrongdoing-"
"In that case, this account of Uchiha Chisen's Sharingan abilities should be reliable as well-" Mei Terumi offered a smile scarcely better than a mournful grimace. With the situation this dire, she was actually less despondent than before. "Speaking of which, Uchiha Chisen alone is already so terrifying. It's hard to imagine how you and the Founding Elders dealt with Uchiha Madara back then, let alone the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, who was even stronger than him."
Hearing the reverence in Mei Terumi's words, Genji, who had been shaking his head and sighing, suddenly broke into a violent coughing fit.
How had Kirigakure faced Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara back then? He could hardly tell Mei Terumi that, whether they faced Hashirama or Madara, all Kirigakure could do was take a one-sided beating.
In the end, it was only thanks to the rift between those two monsters that Kirigakure and the other three great nations had managed to survive to this day, wasn't it?
"Genji! Are you all right?!" Seeing his sudden, violent coughing fit, Mei Terumi hurried to her feet to help him, terrified that something might happen to this elder who had been there since the village's founding.
Even setting aside the fact that Genji was her strongest supporter in becoming the Fifth Mizukage, the beleaguered Kirigakure needed every pillar of support it could get. Mei Terumi could not afford to let him collapse at a time like this.
"-Ahem-I'm-I'm fine. I probably caught a chill tonight."