The Waters Here Run Deep-You're Out of Your Depth!

"You don't need to say any more. I won't agree to you going to look for those ruins."

Kou sat upright in his chair, his back perfectly straight. His usually gentle face was now stern with righteous resolve.

"Why?!"

Mei Terumi said, visibly agitated. She leaned forward slightly, her emerald eyes filled with undisguised urgency.

For the first time, her usually cool and beautiful face showed something close to a plea:

"We finally found a chance to break the deadlock! If we can find the Uzumaki Clan's lost Sealing Jutsu in those ruins, we can break the stalemate with Yagura!

"Only by completely defeating those backward fools who still support the Blood Mist Policy can we fully carry out the reforms in the Mist Village. Only then will the village have a bright future..."

Her voice grew louder and more urgent with every word, as if she were trying to convince Kou—or perhaps herself.

"But that's only if everything goes as well as it possibly could."

Kou replied calmly. His voice wasn't loud, but it stood like a wall, firmly blocking the torrent of Mei Terumi's words.

He looked at her, his gentle eyes clear and composed, seeing through every illusion:

"Have you thought about what would happen to the Reformist Faction if you failed to return, just like the Mist Anbu who went to investigate before you?"

At Kou's words, Mei Terumi stopped mid-sentence.

The urgency on her cool, beautiful face gradually froze, replaced by a complex expression she couldn't quite name.

She wanted to argue, but the words turned over in her throat several times and refused to come out.

Seeing the reaction from Mei Terumi that he'd expected all along, Kou smiled faintly to himself.

His expression remained stern as he rebuked her in a steady voice:

"Do you really think we're able to stand against Yagura and his people because we have the support of most of the Mist Village?"

Kou's gaze settled on Mei Terumi's face.

"I doubt even you would believe that if you said it aloud."

Mei Terumi's breath caught slightly.

Watching the force drain from Mei Terumi, Kou continued with his "persuasion."

He spoke unhurriedly, each sentence seeming carefully calculated:

"The reason we've been able to push through reforms in the Mist Village despite opposition from Yagura and the conservatives under him isn't simply that we have the support of most of our comrades in the village, including Lord Genji.

"The most important reason is that you and I are the only two Kage Level fighters in the Mist Village besides Yagura."

Kou tapped a finger lightly on the table. The sound was faint, but it seemed to drive home an unshakable fact:

"It's because you and I serve as a deterrent that Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage and Three-Tails Jinchuriki, hasn't purged the Reformist Faction.

"That's how we've been able to hold our own against him over the past four years, even gaining the upper hand and successfully implementing some reforms."

He paused, his tone turning more serious:

"Setting aside whether this map is real and whether the ruins even contain the Uzumaki Clan's lost Sealing Jutsu, letting you go in alone would be far too risky.

"If anything happened to you, all our efforts would come to nothing. We can't afford that."

What he'd said was half true and half false.

From Mei Terumi and the others' perspective, his argument was indeed sound.

But in reality, the current standoff in the Mist Village was a situation Kou had deliberately engineered in collaboration with Obito.

Kou didn't want a pathetic Mist Village, crippled by the Blood Mist Policy. Nor did he want a Mist Village that had completely reformed and embarked on a path to revival.

He wanted a village that would gradually reform and improve, reliably provide him with support, and, given its current strength, lack the ability to threaten his life.

Only when Kou could be certain he had the strength to control the entire Mist Village would he consider pushing through its reforms completely.

In the end, his life and interests came first.

Behind a mask and a false identity, he... didn't belong here in the first place.

After finishing his half-truths, Kou looked sternly at Mei Terumi across from him.

His gaze held an unquestionable conviction. That conviction was genuine: he truly didn't want her to go to her death.

The reason, perhaps, was not quite what she thought.

Mei Terumi fell silent.

She lowered her head and stared at the tabletop with her emerald eyes, though she wasn't really seeing it.

Her arms hung limply at her sides, as if all the strength had been drained from her.

She knew that everything Sora had said was true.

How could she not understand Sora's reasoning?

It was just that the Mist Village had finally glimpsed hope for the future, while the pressure from her family and the uncertainty ahead had left her anxious.

In the end, she'd made a decision she would never normally have made so hastily, and come to the comrade she trusted most after Lord Genji, hoping for his support.

But now, it seemed she really had been too impatient...

Kou saw Mei Terumi wavering. A hint of satisfaction flickered in his gentle eyes, too subtle to notice.

He continued to persuade her, his voice softening as if soothing a frightened cat:

"I'm sure you would have thought of all this quickly under normal circumstances.

"You're just tired and a little anxious."

His voice took on a note of concern:

"Take the next couple of days to rest. I'll have someone take over your work for a while."

Kou's gaze fell on the map, his expression turning meaningful.

His fingers gently traced the edge of it.

"Let's put the investigation of the Uzumaki Clan's ruins to rest."

He looked up at Mei Terumi, his voice still gentle:

"The waters here run deep. You're out of your depth."

As he spoke, Kou watched Mei Terumi's face.

When he saw no change in her expression, he suppressed his inner delight and carefully rolled up the map, putting it away as naturally as could be.

"Guess I'll have to take care of it for you, little Kou."

He silently added the words to himself.

Kou put away the map as naturally as before, his face still righteous and resolute.

He spoke to Mei Terumi in a solemn tone, as if making a vow:

"I'll hold on to this map for now. When the time is right, we can discuss going to investigate the Uzumaki Ruins."

Mei Terumi looked into Kou's "sincere" eyes, and the restlessness in her heart gradually settled.

Her breathing steadied, her shoulders relaxed, and the emotions roiling in her emerald eyes slowly subsided.

She nodded slowly. It was a small gesture, but it came from a place of genuine trust.

Whenever she felt frustrated and low, she always felt safe around Sora.

She didn't even understand why.

She was a Mist Village ninja, raised in a cruel environment from childhood. She shouldn't have trusted anyone...

Looking at Kou, she smiled faintly.

"Thank you, Sora."

Kou stared at the radiant beauty smiling at him and froze for a moment. But only for an instant; then he immediately put on that gentle, sincere smile that no one could find fault with:

"You don't have to thank me. We're comrades, aren't we?"

"Comrades..."

Mei Terumi repeated the word to herself. At some point, a faint blush had spread across her fair cheeks.

Looking at Sora, she smiled and replied:

"Mm!"