An Unlikely Friendship

"..."

Mei Terumi recognized what sounded like her own voice.

Of the first few sentences, she had understood only "Madara Uchiha." She had no idea who the rest described.

But that last one...

"What do you mean, 'an aging spinster who can only spit water'?!"

Mei lowered her head slightly, her face darkening as she ground her teeth.

"Don't get upset. You said it yourself. Besides, I think that description is wrong too."

Shirozumi looked perfectly serious.

"Oh?"

Mei's green eyes lit up. "Then tell me..."

"You don't just spit water. You spit slime and acid mist too."

"...So the aging spinster part was right?"

Mei's expression froze again, and she ground her teeth.

Wait.

Before her anger could build, Mei paused.

How did he know she could use Boil Release and Boiling Release?

Right now, she was a nobody who had never even left the Land of Water.

Could it be...

Mei was beginning to believe Shirozumi's claim that he came from the future.

To think she would become the Fifth Mizukage and even fight the legendary Madara Uchiha...

But hadn't Madara Uchiha died long ago?

Shirozumi had given Mei so much to take in that she did not know what to ask first.

After holding it in for a while, Mei finally stopped biting her lower lip. "I know you won't tell me how you came back or anything else private about yourself. So tell me how we met in the future, and where you got that thing."

"That's all you need?"

"There's not much to it. During a future Chunin Ninja Exams, there was also a Five Kage Summit. All five Kage were there, so I took a photo with each of them."

"As for the recording, it was originally a video. The Sixth Mizukage went to the meeting, and you came along. With nothing to do, you started chatting with me, then decided to get a drink at a tavern and dragged me along.

I was worried something might happen and I'd have no proof, so I recorded it.

This is the audio I extracted."

Oh, really.

Mei almost laughed in exasperation.

What did he mean, "worried something might happen and I'd have no proof"?

She was beautiful and alluring. Shouldn't she be the one worried about what he might do?

Wait.

"How many years in the future did you say you came from?"

Mei clenched her fists and looked at Shirozumi nervously.

"Twenty."

"Ah."

Mei was speechless.

Twenty years from now, she was still single?

Today was supposed to be a good day. They had gathered to break the Genjutsu on the Fourth Mizukage, clear Kirigakure's Blood Mist, and welcome a brighter future.

But after hearing that, Mei suddenly felt that her future was pitch-black. All her motivation vanished.

"Don't be too upset. It's not your fault, and you've got plenty of chances to change things now, right? Of all the Five Great Shinobi Villages, the first place I thought to visit was the Land of Water, to find you. After all, you could say we were friends despite the age gap back then..."

"Cough, cough, cough!!!"

Mei had been calming down as she listened to Shirozumi's reassurance.

But "friends despite the age gap" made her vision go dark. She nearly spat blood.

It took Mei a long while to recover.

"What's that photo in your hand?"

Mei remembered that Shirozumi had taken both a recording and a photo from the scroll. He had mentioned taking photos together, too.

"Here. Do whatever you want with it."

Shirozumi said nothing more to provoke her and handed over the photo.

Mei took a deep breath, accepted it, and summoned the courage to look.

"!"

Even though she had braced herself, Mei nearly fainted.

"Boiling Release: Profound Mist Technique!"

Mei tossed the photo into the air beside her, opened her mouth, and breathed out a thick cloud of acidic mist.

The Boiling Release capable of melting Susanoo reduced the photo to ash in an instant.

Smack.

With the photo gone, Mei turned, walked up to Shirozumi, and gripped his shoulders. She straightened his head, then spoke while he stared at her in utter confusion. "Look at me. Remember what I look like now, and forget what you saw before!"

Only one of Mei's emerald eyes was visible; her long auburn hair covered the other.

She was not yet wearing the strapless dress of the future, just ordinary Kirigakure ninja clothes.

The black stockings underneath, though, had not changed...

"Uh, Lady Mizukage, before you ask that, maybe find someone who can use Kotoamatsukami?"

Shirozumi smiled helplessly.

"Don't call me Mizukage. I'm not Mizukage yet. Just call me Mei."

"Give me the recording, and I might consider hearing you out about this partnership."

Mei released Shirozumi and reached for the recording in his hand.

Shirozumi did not resist. He let go and allowed her to take it.

Mei did not destroy the recording. She put it away, then regained her calm, serious expression. "Go on. Tell me about the partnership."

Of the five Kage during the Fourth Shinobi World War, Mei had actually been the last to take office.

After the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, died, Genji had governed Kirigakure. Mei had only just become Mizukage by the time of the Five Kage Summit.

Genji had been able to appoint Mei as Mizukage without opposition partly because of her contribution to breaking Yagura's Genjutsu today.

More importantly, her long-standing love for and loyalty to the village were plain to everyone. She had earned their approval, and that was how she became Mizukage.

So when Shirozumi, a man from the future, brought up a partnership with Kirigakure, Mei naturally took it seriously.

She set aside her grief over learning she really would become an aging spinster and composed herself.

"As for the partnership, the Land of Waves is currently within our sphere of influence. Once the Blood Mist lifts and the Land of Water opens up, all trade and diplomacy could pass through there...

The Land of Water's resources are mainly seafood, along with tourism built around Sunshine Beach.

I haven't been there in the future, but I was curious, and you gave me a few photos..."

The moment Shirozumi took out the photos, Mei snatched them away.

She seemed afraid another image of her future self would appear.

But these showed only scenery and tourists, allowing Mei to breathe a sigh of relief.

"What beautiful scenery. Everyone looks so relaxed. Can the future after the Blood Mist clears really be this wonderful?"

Mei gazed at the photos wistfully.

"Thank you. Knowing this will spare us a lot of wrong turns. I'll find a way to convince Genji and speak with the Daimyo, so the Land of Water and Kirigakure can develop in this direction and work with you."

After collecting herself, Mei thanked him sincerely.

But Shirozumi shook his head. "No. I want you to become Mizukage as soon as possible and gain authority over Kirigakure and the Land of Water.

You didn't think I traveled through time and came all the way to the Land of Water just to make money from a partnership, did you?"

"The future is still troubled, then?"

Mei sighed softly.

Ever since Mei had begun to believe Shirozumi came from the future, she had suspected as much.