Hidden Mist Envoy

"Ah, finally back. Once I lay down, I didn't want to get up again." Keiko sprawled shamelessly across the bed in his Sunagakure home, burying his head deep in the goose-down pillow and refusing to emerge for a long while.

Keiko was currently in his own home. Yes, his own home—not the low-rent ninja housing assigned by the village, nor the lounge in Kazekage Hall, but a luxurious three-story villa he had bought with hard cash back when he was still a Jonin!

That money certainly had not come from corruption. He had been Kazekage for less than a year; even if he wanted to embezzle, he had not had the time. As a ninja, Keiko was by no means poor. He had become a Jonin at sixteen, and it had been exactly ten years since then. During that time, he had completed sixteen S-Rank missions and 107 A-Rank missions. He was single, did not gamble, and did not visit brothels, so naturally he had saved quite a bit. On top of that, whenever he happened to wipe out bandits or chase down fugitives after finishing a mission, Keiko would make some extra money. Though he was young, he was a regular at the Underground Bounty Station. Put simply, before becoming Kazekage, Keiko's net worth had already approached thirty million.

The moment he took office, there had been war. Then diplomatic visits. Then war again. Damn it, it was about time he enjoyed himself.

"Should I find myself a woman and start a family?" Keiko muttered to himself as he leaned against the headboard.

Keiko was not bad-looking. In fact, among all the Kazekage, the Third Kazekage was the most handsome. Back when he was a Jonin, he had been quite popular with the girls in the village. But Keiko had been ambitious at the time—or rather, timid. These days, almost anyone could take his life. He had focused single-mindedly on improving his strength and tempering his body, never giving such matters any thought. By the time he became the Kazekage's guard, and then Kazekage himself, he had been so busy that even Shadow Clones were not enough. Finding a woman had been out of the question.

"If it comes to it, maybe Pakura! Bah! Keiko, you beast. She's only sixteen!" Keiko gave himself a fake slap.

"Ding-dong!" The doorbell rang outside.

"Who is it?"

"Big Brother, it's me, Pakura! I saw that you hadn't eaten dinner, so I made something and brought it over."

"Wait a moment, I'll be right down!" Keiko scratched his head. On second thought, waiting a few more years was not impossible.

A lifelike puppet dog comically flipped around in front of a red-haired child, making him laugh with delight. Chiyo controlled the puppet dog, her face and eyes full of gentle smiles, her affection impossible to conceal.

"Sasori, don't keep pestering Grandma. Be good and go to bed. You have school tomorrow morning." Akasuna Guimu and Akasuna Hideki came into Chiyo's room.

Sasori of the Red Sands was very obedient. Since Keiko had saved his parents from the White Fang's blade, he had not developed the cold and cruel personality he would later possess. He politely bowed to Chiyo, then followed Akasuna Hideki into the bedroom. Chiyo watched her beloved grandson leave with tender affection, then signaled for her son to close the door.

"Did you find out?"

"We did," Akasuna Guimu said.

"Speak."

"The visitor is called Karatachi Yagura. He claims to be an envoy of the Third Mizukage. The Karatachi Clan is considered a prominent family in Kirigakure, so there is no doubt about his identity."

"I never doubted his identity from the beginning. I only wanted to confirm his purpose."

"He only said that he wanted to speak with the Third Kazekage in person. He refused to say another word!"

"Arrogant!" Chiyo slapped the armrest of her chair, clearly angered.

Ever since Keiko had appointed Chiyo as director of the Sunagakure Intelligence Bureau, she had rarely lost her temper like this. Usually humble and steady, she became especially sensitive whenever matters concerned Keiko.

In her eyes, Keiko's tenure as Kazekage was deeply admirable. Whether it was foreign wars or diplomatic maneuvering, he had handled everything almost flawlessly. More importantly, Keiko possessed enormous prestige among frontline ninja, and every faction in the village trusted him. Under his leadership, the village's thinking was more unified than ever before.

Development in all areas had also begun to take shape. This was exactly what Chiyo wanted to see. She believed that with the whole village united in thought, it would surely undergo explosive growth.

But the assassination attempt in the Land of Fields had sounded an alarm for Chiyo. What if Keiko suddenly died an unnatural death at such a critical time? This wonderful situation would become nothing more than a beautiful bubble under the sun.

Although Keiko had merely issued a brief notice and diplomatic statement regarding the matter, the old woman, as director of the Intelligence Bureau, had broken out in a cold sweat. She blamed herself deeply as well. She resolved to overhaul the ANBU and forge a capable "dark force" for the village—and for Keiko.

"Leave him waiting for a few days, but the ANBU cannot sit idle. Activate the hidden operatives and find out why this man has come."

"Yes. In fact, the hidden operatives began moving long ago. This is the information sent over yesterday."

"Mm." Chiyo took the report. After a while, her brows furrowed tightly.

"I hate villages like this the most. A whole village full of lunatics, and they still have factions. If anything really happens, no one knows who has the final say, and if trouble breaks out, no one knows who to look for. Take a look." Chiyo handed the report to her son.

Kirigakure's situation was different from that of other villages. Other villages, such as Konoha and Sunagakure, had been founded by First Kage whose overwhelming strength subdued the powerful and united the surrounding forces. Kirigakure, however, had been established more like a loose alliance formed by various islands banding together.

The First Mizukage, Byakuren, was more like a grand elder, while the different islands each blew their own tune. It was not until the era of the Second Mizukage, Hozuki Gengetsu, that things truly changed. Hozuki Gengetsu possessed immense strength and brilliant methods. To consolidate the village's development, he followed the Second Hokage Tobirama's example and established the Hidden Mist Village Ninja Academy and ANBU, while also creating laws to protect the village's secrets. Only then did Kirigakure achieve military unification.

None of the various forces dared to make trouble afterward. Kirigakure's strength once became unprecedented, capable of standing toe-to-toe even with Konoha. Unfortunately, during the First Shinobi World War, the Second Mizukage Gengetsu and the Second Tsuchikage Mu perished together in a certain battle. The Third Mizukage who succeeded him was far less capable of bringing everyone together than Hozuki Gengetsu had been.

Now, the Mizukage's orders could barely leave the main island. The other forces in the village acted as they pleased, and the Mizukage could do nothing to stop them. For example, the previous plan to assassinate the Kazekage had been entirely the work of the Militant Faction led by Suikazan Fuguki, who had sought to provoke Konoha and Sunagakure into conflict. The Mizukage had not known about it at all!?

"I think we should report this to Lord Kazekage as soon as possible. Something about this feels wrong. Delaying it may only cause harm," Akasuna Guimu analyzed.

After thinking briefly, Chiyo nodded in agreement. She checked the time. "It's only eight. It's still early, and Keiko probably isn't asleep yet. Let's go to his house. I want to hear his opinion too—whether we should meet this man or not."

"Meet him! We must meet him! Arrange the meeting first thing tomorrow morning." After reading the intelligence report, Keiko spoke without hesitation.

"Why?" Chiyo asked.

"Heh, it's simple. No matter which side he represents, we need to understand their attitude." Keiko bent down and poured Chiyo and Akasuna Guimu each a cup of tea.

"Please elaborate."

"Look, if Karatachi Yagura really is the Mizukage's envoy, then his purpose can only be one of two things. First, to explain the previous assassination attempt and seek peace with us. Second, also to explain the assassination attempt, but by twisting the facts and declaring war on us. However, the latter is highly unlikely. Given the personalities of the Mizukage throughout history, if they wanted to fight, they would simply fight. Declaring war would be completely unnecessary."

"What if he isn't one of the Mizukage's men?" Akasuna Guimu asked.

"Actually, I don't think that possibility exists." Keiko shook his finger. "Hmm?"

"A representative of a local Militant Faction. Their people tried to assassinate another country's leader, failed, and then they still sent someone here? To apologize? What a joke. Who would be generous enough to forgive them?"

More importantly, Keiko did not say it aloud: wasn't Karatachi Yagura the future Fourth Mizukage who would be controlled by Obito? He had never heard of a crown prince rebelling.

"As for what they came here for, we will only know after meeting them. Only once we know can we come up with a response, right?" Keiko said confidently.