Mist Village Daily Life
The streets Mist Village, the thin fog remaining as usual.
Most of the houses on both sides of the street have been renovated, with dark blue wavy patterns adorning the plain white walls, and paper lanterns hanging under the eaves, swaying gently in the breeze.
Most of the shops along the street were open. Women selling vegetables neatly arranged fresh radishes and kelp, while the owner of the grilled fish shop added charcoal to the charcoal stove, and fragrant smoke wafted from the iron mesh.
Although people walking on the street don't often wear smiles, their relaxed and natural demeanor is something that can't be faked.
Although it is still far from being comparable to Konoha, compared to the oppressive village shrouded in Blood Mist four years ago, Mist Village today truly has the breath of life.
Koko and Mei Terumi walked side by side down the street.
He wasn't wearing the dark blue robe that symbolized his role Mizukage Aide today; instead, he was dressed in plain casual clothes, and a faint smile graced his ordinary, gentle face.
Mei Terumi walked beside him, having also changed out of her smart uniform. A light blue casual outfit made her already tall figure appear even more slender.
"Sora-sama! Mei Terumi- sama!"
A fishmonger who was packing up his stall nearby was the first to spot them.
A wide smile spread across his face, roughened by the sea breeze. He vigorously rubbed his hands, still covered in fish scales, on his apron and waved enthusiastically at them.
"Are you two taking a break today? It's rare to see you out together. You must get some rest!"
"Sora-sama! Mei Terumi- sama!"
Hearing the commotion, the owner of the vegetable stall next door quickly put down her scales and poked her head out of her shop, her round face beaming with smiles.
"I just received a shipment of fresh vegetables from the Land of Fire. If you gentlemen don't mind, please take some back to try!"
"Lord Sora, Mei Terumi! Come, come, try my grilled squid, it's fresh out of the oven!!"
"Mei Terumi, my Old Man has been talking about that dock dispute you mediated for us for days now. He keeps saying he wants to go to the Assistant Directorate to thank you in person!"
"Master Kong! The new tangerines have arrived. I saved the sweetest ones for you, and now—"
Kou and Mei Terumi were so surrounded by the enthusiastic crowd that they could hardly move.
Kou subconsciously raised his hand, about to say something to politely refuse, when the owner shoved the still-steaming grilled squid into his hand without a word.
He opened his mouth, turned his head to look at Mei Terumi beside him, only to find that her arms had been stuffed with vegetables and fruits at some point.
The two looked at each other and saw the same helplessness and emotion in each other's eyes.
In the end, each of them could only carry a large bag full of things that the villagers had insisted on giving them, and continue walking along the path amidst the overwhelming farewells.
"Although I expected it, everyone's enthusiasm is a bit too much."
Mei Terumi walked, she tossed the bag of vegetables she was carrying upside down, a helpless, bitter smile appearing on her cold, beautiful face.
"After all, it's everyone's good intention; it's a good thing that everyone is so enthusiastic."
Kou pulled a bright red apple from the bag in his hand, wiped it casually on his sleeve, and then took a big bite.
He chewed on the crisp, sweet fruit, chuckling incoherently as he remarked:
"It's better than how everyone was so scared of us four years ago that they couldn't say a word when they saw us."
Back then, when the members of Mist Village saw us wearing Forehead Protector, they were so scared that they didn't even dare to lift their heads, let alone greet us.
Thinking back to that time, we really put in a lot of effort to persuade and mobilize the villagers.
"It's called 'us,' but the reason we were able to successfully mobilize the villagers' strength despite Yagura's suppression was almost entirely due to Sora's planning."
Hearing Koko recount the hardships and struggles of those years, Mei Terumi lowered her head and said softly with shame:
"I was so immature back then. I was too eager for quick success and only knew how to talk empty words. I didn't think about the issues from the perspective of the members of Mist Village at all."
If they just put themselves in their shoes, it would be easy to understand why they are unwilling to support us...
Hearing Mei Terumi Mei's self-reflective words, Koji couldn't help but recall the various events of the past, and smiled helplessly.
Unlike the Fifth Mizukage in the later stages of Shippuden in the original timeline, who had matured in every aspect, the Mei Terumi I encountered back then was a passionate young man who had just turned eighteen.
Having experienced the brutality of the Third Ninja World War since childhood with her genius, she is determined to reform Mist Village and lead the village out of the terror of the Village of the Bloody Mist.
However, despite her noble birth in the Land of Water and elite education from a young age, and her far superior political acumen compared to her peers, this genius girl clearly panicked when it came to Mist Village the ordinary people of Kirigakure, whom the Reformist Faction needed most.
Perhaps in the original timeline, this future Fifth Mizukage also endured considerable hardship before maturing into that mature and composed figure many years later, ultimately achieving his dream...
Thinking of this, he looked at Mei Terumi's slightly troubled face and sighed softly in his heart.
I don't know whether my intervention made it a good thing or a bad thing for the Fifth Mizukage, who should have been tempered and grown through hardship, to have a smooth and successful passage through this difficult period that should have helped her grow.
"Well, it seems like it's a good thing now."
Looking at the young face beside him, still brimming with youthful energy, he silently sighed in his heart.
At least for now, she is much more relaxed than the strong woman in the original timeline who was overwhelmed by the village and reforms and only realized she hadn't gotten married when she was almost thirty.
Besides, she's only twenty-two now, there's plenty of time for her to get married, she shouldn't end up with that heartbreaking ending from the original timeline... right?
Thinking of this, Kou couldn't help but recall Mei Terumi's past workaholic state, where she devoted herself entirely to political affairs, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly:
"But I always feel like she's not in a hurry at all about that aspect..."
"This girl, is she really going to repeat her old mistakes?"
Feeling the increasingly strange gaze beside her, Mei Terumi turned her head, her beautiful eyes filled with suspicion:
"Why are you staring at me like that, Sora? You seem to be thinking about something quite rude."
"Uh... no, no, it's your imagination, your imagination!"
"Ah! I was right!!"
You must be secretly talking badly about me, right?
How could you think that way? Do you think I'm that kind of person?!
"... Now that you say that, it just makes it more suspicious."
Mei Terumi looked at Kokoro's face, her scrutiny deepening.
"Tsk, this girl, she's definitely not as easy to fool as before."
He silently complained in his heart.
Just as he was trying to change the subject, he suddenly caught sight of two very familiar figures out of the corner of his eye, and his steps faltered slightly.
Noticing Koko's unusual behavior, Mei Terumi also dropped her accusatory expression and followed Koko's gaze, curiously looking at the street in front of them.
Not far ahead of them, Zabuza was looking at Shiro with a gloomy expression, who was standing in front of him with her head down and her small hands clenched nervously.
Zabuza clutching a brightly colored book in his bandaged hand.
Kou glanced at the two people in front of him, then at the shop next to them that had a sign that read "Kumogakure Doujinshi Association Mist Village Branch," and his pupils suddenly contracted.
A sense of foreboding suddenly surged from the depths of his heart...
--
Sorry, I'm a bit too tired to stay up tonight, so I'll have to update the remaining chapter tomorrow morning...