After about a week, the Sand Ninja finally made a move. Pakura set out for the Land of Water with the Anbu and the first installment of reparations.
"Heh, finally."
Yuzuru told Mei Terumi and Hikari the news.
The two immediately set off. Along the way, they struck a deal with the Sand Ninja's Anbu, and so the classic backstabbing began.
Since they had chosen to sacrifice Pakura, they had to go all the way. They absolutely could not hand a bloodline ninja over to Kirigakure alive.
Pakura had never imagined that the greatest danger on this mission would come from the comrades behind her. Coupled with the Sand Ninja's skill with poison, she soon lay helpless on the ground, staring at these Anbu Ninja in utter confusion.
"For the village, you have to die."
With that, the Anbu raised a kunai and thrust it toward Pakura, who could no longer fight back.
Just as they were about to kill Pakura, the Anbu all stopped moving. Every one of them had fallen under genjutsu.
Uchiha Hikari had used Tsukuyomi to control them all.
Mei Terumi pulled Pakura up, looking at this Scorch Release hero of the Sand Ninja.
"Didn't expect this, did you? That we'd be the ones saving you."
She knocked Pakura unconscious and slung her over her shoulder. Only after the guards smeared blood on the Sand Ninja Anbu's kunai did Uchiha Hikari release their genjutsu.
"The deal is done. We'll be taking Pakura's body. Lord Mizukage wants to confirm it in person."
The Sand Ninja glanced at the blood on their kunai and said nothing more.
In the genjutsu, they had already killed Pakura.
After returning to the Sea Capital, Yuzuru personally prepared an antidote for Pakura, and only then did she slowly awaken.
In all of Kirigakure, the best practitioner of medical ninjutsu was actually not Rin, but Yuzuru. After all, he was a proper student of Tsunade's.
When Pakura woke and saw the unfamiliar surroundings, she immediately went on guard, but her body was still weak, and she was tied to the bed.
Beside her were Yuzuru, Mei Terumi, and Uchiha Hikari.
"You're awake."
Pakura did not panic. Her gaze slowly shifted from Mei Terumi to Yuzuru.
"You're the Mizukage?"
"Yes and no. To the outside world, I'm the Mizukage, but internally, I'm the president of the Land of Water. The Land of Water has long since done away with its daimyo and nobles, as well as its ninja village. I hold the highest authority."
Hearing this, Pakura clearly had yet to process it.
"Let's get to the point, Pakura. The Sand Ninja have already abandoned you. The president thinks highly of you, so are you willing to join us?"
Mei Terumi looked at Pakura as she asked.
Hearing this, Pakura immediately recalled the Anbu's words. "For the village, I have to be sacrificed?"
"No, not for the village. You got in Rasa's way, so you had to die. Don't think your sacrifice was some heroic tragedy. In the end, this was the inevitable result of your defeat in a political struggle."
Mei Terumi shook her head as she spoke.
"The Sand Ninja would never let a Scorch Release ninja become Kazekage. Even if Rasa's military achievements and reputation fall short of yours, he alone can become Kazekage, because he possesses Magnet Release."
"And you? The greater your fame, the louder the calls for you, the more you needed to die. A ninja village can only have one voice: its Kage. Your existence was superfluous from the very beginning, and the fame the war brought you merely hastened your death. Once Rasa took power, did you think you'd be able to keep living in peace?"
Pakura immediately fell silent at those words.
It was not that she understood nothing, but she had never considered these consequences any further. She trusted the village, but the village did not seem to trust her.
"Have her join the Military Department. From now on, she'll be your direct subordinate. Don't worry about whether she'll attack you. With Hikari here, she'll behave."
Yuzuru said this to Mei Terumi.
"All right. I happen to be short of people anyway. Sorry for the trouble, Hikari. My life is in your hands, so don't let her succeed."
Mei Terumi held Hikari's hand as she spoke.
"Don't worry. With me here, she can't hurt you."
Hikari nodded lightly.
"What a shame Hikari's a girl. Otherwise, I'd definitely fall for you."
Mei Terumi could not help teasing her.
At those words, Hikari blushed a little too.
Just like that, Pakura found herself in the Military Department in a daze, with absolutely no say in the matter.
Over the following month, autumn finally arrived.
Sea Capital Academy also officially began enrolling its first intake of students.
The scale was unprecedented.
The Sea Capital had expanded several rings outward from the original Kirigakure. Although the number of residents had not increased much, and even seemed somewhat low because the war had only recently ended,
there were a great many children.
Especially those under ten. After all, under the Blood Mist Policy, children under ten had not yet reached the age for killing one another.
This time, the enrollment age limit was fifteen, covering nearly all the children.
Even children who had already graduated from the Ninja Academy had to return to school.
However, the new school naturally would not divide classes using such outdated methods as age.
Everyone would start the same way, with basic courses, academic subjects, and ideological and moral education.
The mornings were for basic courses, including chakra extraction and basic physical conditioning-in other words, PE.
At noon, when the weather grew hot, classes were mostly academic, covering the shaping of new worldviews, values, and outlooks on life, the Sea Capital's laws, policies concerning citizens, and the central principle that the Military Department served the citizens. All of this was entirely new knowledge.
For six-year-old children, who understood nothing yet, instilling new ideas was not difficult, but it was somewhat different for some of the children already over ten.
Some had once become genin, and the vast majority had already come into contact with ninja. Some views had even begun to take shape because they had been exposed to the ninja profession from an early age, coupled with their own experiences.
However, having seen the changes in the Sea Capital and the Land of Water over the past few months, and heard their elders praising the president at home, their thinking, which had not yet become completely rigid, could still slowly change.
On the first day of school, Yuzuru also came in person to give a speech.
"Today, I'll only discuss three points. For the first point, first of all, the first question..."
Before he knew it, Yuzuru had actually spoken for over an hour, getting his fill of playing principal.
That afternoon, Yuzuru sat in his office as Mei Terumi handed him the school's enrollment list.
"This really is an unprecedented scale. There are nearly two thousand students in the school. Once they graduate, Kirigakure's situation will improve greatly. Even if only half join the Military Department, it'll ease things enormously."
Seeing how happy Mei Terumi was, Yuzuru chuckled softly as well. "Quite a few students here already meet the graduation requirements. We probably won't need to wait several years. Some students will be able to graduate this year. But make sure you keep them in line. Those who can graduate early are all young genin who experienced the old policies."
"Don't worry, I know. Once they graduate and enter the Military Department, I'll give their temperaments a good tempering."
Mei Terumi nodded lightly, bending down beside Yuzuru's head to look at the list with him. Of course, she had already read it. Looking at the list was merely a pretext.
Whoosh!
While the two were talking, Kakashi suddenly appeared. Seeing Mei Terumi practically pressed against Yuzuru, he acted as though he had seen nothing.
"Word has come from our spies in Konoha. Security inside Konoha has suddenly been tightened."
At those words, Yuzuru immediately narrowed his eyes.