The Land of Water, Kirigakure.
Kirigakure was a complete mess at that moment. Not many buildings had been damaged, and most of those had been destroyed by their own Mizukage.
It was mainly the casualties that were so horrifying!
And this was after Mei Terumi had defied the Elder Council's objections and forcibly relocated all the civilians to shelters.
Otherwise, that number would have risen exponentially!
Just think of those terrifying mutant rats. Ordinary people facing them had almost no possible outcome besides death.
Without those advance preparations, Kirigakure might truly have become history by now.
The current situation was already a blessing amid misfortune.
And through this war that was not quite a war, Mei Terumi had finally cemented her Mizukage position.
Genji chose to relinquish his power. The other elders had more or less opposed her decisions before, believing she was making a fuss over nothing and placing her trust in a scoundrel.
Now, those still alive had been thoroughly and repeatedly proven wrong. Naturally, they could no longer do anything to Kirigakure's hero.
Even whether the Elder Council needed to continue existing would henceforth be up to Mei Terumi.
At the hospital, Mei Terumi personally gathered Ao's remains.
To her, Ao had been less a comrade than a teacher or elder.
He had always stopped her from acting recklessly, telling her what was right, what was wrong, what she ought to do as Mizukage, and what she ought not to do.
Every time, she had found him long-winded and annoying.
But only when Ao could no longer speak did she realize how precious that nagging had been.
"From now on, no one will ever be able to keep me in line again."
Mei Terumi spoke softly, then gently covered Ao with a white sheet.
"Come out for