Once the elders' discussion gradually died down, Kisame cleared his throat and said:
"Besides that, Shinnō also revealed several Akatsuki bases in the Land of Water. They probably won't be able to evacuate them for the time being."
Mei Terumi's eyes lit up. "We might be able to get more intelligence on the Akatsuki from those bases."
The Akatsuki bases Kisame mentioned were actually Rain Ninja bases. Once their mercenary cover was stripped away, the Rain Ninja had also been classified as part of the Akatsuki.
After all, the leader of the Akatsuki was also the leader of Amegakure.
Of course, that very fact had further squeezed the Rain Ninja's already limited room to survive, almost confining them to the area around the Land of Rain and making expansion difficult.
Seeing Mei Terumi volunteer, Genji smiled and said, "Young Mei Terumi certainly thinks things through. Then I'll leave the task of rooting out those bases to you."
"Yes, Genji," Mei Terumi replied.
Although rooting out the bases was a thankless task, securing crucial intelligence would earn her considerable credit.
After their future course had been laid out in detail, the high-level meeting came to a hurried close.
Watching Kisame and Mei Terumi leave, Genji wore a conflicted expression, unsure whom to choose.
The Five Kage Summit would convene soon. Unlike the farce of their last meeting, this would be a true Five Kage Summit.
His seniority qualified him to attend, but his aging body would not permit it. He had to choose a suitable person to attend in his place.
He had watched Mei Terumi grow up and groomed her to become Mizukage since childhood, but she still lacked the strength to hold the position.
If disaster befell another Mizukage, Kirigakure might collapse outright, returning to the Warring States Period