Mei Terumi acknowledged him and, without further hesitation, pushed open the heavy doors.
Inside the residence, the lights were dim.
A gaunt old man sat cross-legged behind a low table, his eyes closed in meditation.
Hearing the footsteps, Genji slowly opened his clouded eyes.
"You're back, Mei."
"How did it go?"
Mei Terumi walked to the low table and knelt down, lowering her head without answering immediately.
Genji frowned, sensing that something was wrong.
"What is it?"
Mei Terumi's body trembled slightly. After a moment of silence, she finally spoke in a dry voice.
"Lord Genji..."
"Konoha's Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Yao, has come."
A sharp glint suddenly flashed through Genji's cloudy eyes.
"Konoha's Hokage? What is he here for?"
"He..." Mei Terumi bit her lip and said with difficulty, "He wants our Kirigakure to merge into Konoha."
"What did you say?!"
An astonishing aura instantly erupted from Genji's frail body!
Bang!
He slammed his palm onto the low table, making the whole thing groan under the strain.
"Outrageous!"
"Utterly arrogant!"
Genji trembled with rage as he berated her. "Who does Uchiha Yao think he is?! A mere upstart junior, and he dares spout nonsense about annexing Kirigakure?"
"Our Kirigakure is one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, personally founded by the First Mizukage! How dare an outsider humiliate us like this!"
"Mei! Why did you bring such a madman here?!"
Faced with Genji's thunderous fury, Mei Terumi merely shook her head bitterly.
"I did not come willingly, Lord Genji."
"Where is he?!" Genji demanded harshly. "Didn't you kill him on the spot?!"
"Gather every elite jonin in the village! And every last member of your resistance!"
"So what if he's the Hokage? Since he dared enter Kirigakure alone, we'll make sure he never leaves!"
"Today, I'll let the Shinobi World