Mizukage Under the Moonlit Night

"This woman must have already figured out what she wants. No matter what I offer, if it doesn't meet her expectations, she'll reject it outright!"

Having figured out what the woman was thinking, Long Ye simply handed the decision over to her.

"Tell me! I need your help. What do you want me to do in return? As long as it's within my principles, I'll agree."

In order to resolve the issue of Rin losing her mind after Tailed Beast Transformation, he was willing to accept an unequal treaty.

Mei Terumi gave him a look that said, "You're very wise."

"Here's what we'll do! I'll give you two choices."

Mei Terumi had clearly thought it through; Long Ye finished speaking, she immediately pointed out two choices.

"Tell me about it!"

The old man remained calm and composed in the Long Ye.

"Firstly, you need to give me the right to know. Since I've decided to help you, you at least need to let me know why you're looking for someone with Ice Release Kekkei Genkai."

Before Long Ye could speak, Mei Terumi immediately interrupted him:

"It's easy for you to lie to me, and I might even have a hard time exposing you if you fabricated a lie, but if you do that, it would be too despicable, considering how much I trusted you."

Long Ye thought to herself: If you truly believed me, you wouldn't have said those words.

He hesitated.

If he says he wants to obtain the body cells of someone who possesses Ice Release, this person will definitely press him for details, and it will be easy for him to find out about his "Cell Transplantation," which is precisely the thing that must not be revealed to outsiders.

What is the second option?

Long Ye was in no hurry to give an answer.

Mei Terumi continued, "The second option is the easiest for you. I won't ask your purpose in finding someone, but as a deal, I helped you, so you owe me a favor. If I need you to do something in the future, you can't refuse."

Long Ye frowned deeply. "That won't do. If you ask me to kill or commit arson, I won't do it."

Mei Terumi curled her lip. "You talk as if you've done it all yourself. As a ninja, isn't killing and arson just commonplace?"

"What I mean is, doing heinous things doesn't just mean murder and arson," Long Ye forced an explanation.

He continued to bargain, "How about this! There's a condition: it must not violate my principles, and I cannot be forced to do something I don't want to do."

"No!"

Mei Terumi immediately rejected the idea.

"What kind of nonsense is it to not force you to do things you don't want to do? If you want to do something, just do it yourself. Do I need to tell you what to do? I can agree with the first part, but I don't believe the second part!"

"This woman is really difficult to deal with. Why didn't I notice this before?"

Long Ye felt a sense of helplessness.

After much deliberation, he ultimately chose the latter.

Moreover, Mei Terumi promised not to force him to do anything against his principles, which was crucial to him. As for the rest, it didn't seem to matter much.

Moreover, he has the initiative. If the other party makes any excessive demands, even if he is labeled as untrustworthy and unworthy of being human, he should bravely say no.

Seeing that he nodded, Mei Terumi smiled happily, seemingly not afraid that he might change his mind later.

Without hesitation, Mei Terumi immediately summoned Ao and instructed the intelligence team to investigate the whereabouts of the girl from back then.

The Land of Water is an island nation, not very large in area. For a skilled ninja, finding someone is simply a matter of time.

The first day has passed, and there are still no clues.

As long as he couldn't find the person, Long Ye couldn't leave Kirigakure.

Unlike his last visit, where he stayed in a simple woodshed, this time he was arranged in a superior private room with all kinds of facilities, making him think to himself that Mei Terumi wasn't so stingy after all.

At night, the moon was bright and the stars were few.

Long Ye, who hadn't eaten all day, had a rumbling stomach.

After waiting for a long time, the person delivering the food finally knocked on the door, which made him somewhat dissatisfied. It was the middle of the night, and everyone in the village was asleep when they remembered that he was hungry.

But since he was on someone else's turf, he couldn't complain and could only obediently open the door.

The next moment, his eyes widened.

The person who came did indeed bring food, but the person was someone he hadn't expected—it was Mei Terumi, the one who had haggled with him during the day.

At this moment, she had shed her Hokage attire and was wearing light, thin casual clothes, her orange hair flowing down her shoulders and waist, revealing her slender and perfect figure.

She carried a large bowl of noodles on a wooden tray, along with a pot of rice wine and two wine cups.

"You must be starving!"

While Long Ye was still confused, Mei Terumi walked past him and into the room.

"I'm the Mizukage now, so my position is a bit special. That's why I could only bring you your food at this time." There was a hint of apology in her expression.

Mei Terumi at night was so gentle that Long Ye was somewhat bewildered.

"It's just delivering food; anyone can do it. Your personal visit really doesn't look good."

Long Ye didn't stand on ceremony and sat down to eat.

Mei Terumi, sitting opposite him, heard this and a flash of anger crossed her eyes.

"It's delicious!"

The Long Ye was still hazy, and the wind swept away the last of the noodles, leaving not a drop of broth. Whether it was because he was extremely hungry or because the noodles were truly delicious, he ate with great satisfaction.

Mei Terumi heard his praise, a gentle smile curved her lips.

She pushed the sake cup over, filled it with sake, and then filled her own cup as well.

The two were in a room on the third floor, with the table by the window, and the bright moon visible just to their side.

Long Ye downed his drink in one gulp, smiled, and said:

"Life is unpredictable. When we first met, you even tried to kill me. At that time, neither of us could have imagined that we would be drinking together in this situation soon after."

"Yes! If I had killed you back then, perhaps none of this would have happened," Mei Terumi said softly, gazing out the window.

"That's really harsh. It's as if you could kill me if you wanted to. Was I really that worthless in your eyes back then?"

Mei Terumi smiled at Long Ye's dissatisfaction but did not give a direct answer.

"Even if I kill you, you won't be wronged. Who told you to say such things to a woman you've just met..."

"What's most outrageous is that he even cursed me, saying that if I missed you, I would be alone for the rest of my life. Any girl who hears such words would choose to send you to your death."

Speaking of this experience, Long Ye felt somewhat embarrassed.

He was just speaking in the heat of the moment, and he was just saying whatever came to mind without thinking.

He himself never imagined that one day the two of them would sit together as friends; otherwise, he would never have said such "flirting" things.

As for the curse, it was a mix of truth and falsehood, because Mei Terumi had indeed never found a good home.

"Long Ye, what have you been pursuing all your life? To Hokage? Or...?"

Mei Terumi turned her head to look at him, filled with curiosity about everything about him.

"Hokage 'll forget about becoming Hokage. I wasn't originally from Konoha. I serve Konoha mainly to repay Minato Namikaze for saving my life back then. I will leave someday."

"As for what I pursue... it's probably to become stronger! If I don't die, I might become the strongest man in the history of the Shinobi World."

His arrogant confidence stemmed solely from the Devil Fruit power he possessed.

But he didn't know that his casual boast had left an indelible impression on the woman opposite him.