Kirigakure.
More than a dozen episodes of Naruto had already aired.
Gu, who lay in a hospital bed unable to care for himself, shouted in excitement when he saw Zabuza, the so-called Demon of the Hidden Mist, thrashing the Shinobi from Konoha on screen.
"Lord Mizukage! Please calm down! Your injuries haven't healed yet!" the Assistant beside him hurriedly said.
"See that? In the TV show they made, our Shinobi are beating the crap out of their village's Shinobi! Hahaha!" Gu roared with laughter.
"And that girl from the Yuki Clan—very nice, very nice!" Gu went on to praise the girl.
"Lord Mizukage... the show said... that, um... Haku from the Yuki Clan... seems to be a boy..."
"Shut up! You're fired!"
"Wait, don't leave yet. Go ask the Yuki Clan whether they have someone named Haku. Then look around the village for someone named Zabuza Momochi," Gu suddenly called out as he watched his Assistant's dejected retreat.
The delighted expression that had been on the Assistant's face vanished instantly...
"My lord, this is a TV show they made... and it's set forty years in the future... not to mention it's fictional... where am I supposed to find them?" the Assistant asked with a bitter smile.
"I don't care. If you can't find them, you're fired," Gu said with a couple of snorts.
"Wonderful! I'll go pack my things right now."
Meanwhile, in Konoha...
"Uncle Dave... you... are you really sure we should film it this way?" Orochimaru asked, his voice trembling... he was genuinely afraid that filming this would ruin his reputation...
"What's wrong with it? All you're doing is acting out killing Hiruzen," Dave asked, puzzled.
"Dave, killing your teacher is taboo in the Shinobi World... Orochimaru and I aren't actually teacher and student, but filming