Naruto: We Agreed on a Simulation, But They Actually Came to Life?

Chapter 102: Chapter 102: Telling the Truth

After the death of the Third Mizukage, the village high command fought bitterly over the Mizukage’s hat, but in the end, no one managed to claim it.

Instead, a jinchuriki named Yagura was pushed to the forefront.

The Fourth Mizukage was about to officially take office.

Kitahara Kaede didn’t care who became the Mizukage. He only cared about one thing.

With Yagura ascending to power, it wouldn’t be long before Obito took control of him. When that happened, the blades of the Bloody Mist would only be sharpened further.

Terumi Mei possessed both Lava Release and Boil Release. Once the new Mizukage took office, she would either become a weapon held firmly in the palm of the administration or a thorn to be removed.

She needed a backing strong enough to protect her.

Until then, the best Kitahara Kaede could do was push her upward.

***

"Let’s go."

Kitahara Kaede followed.

Over the past few weeks, Kaede had gone on four missions with Ao: two A-rank reconnaissance missions, one B-rank interception, and one joint scouting operation.

This time, his teammate had changed.

A bald man wearing a shinobi hat and a brown robe: Midori.

Kaede had never dealt with him before, but through his partnership with Ao, he had heard a few things. Midori was Ao’s former partner who had later begun working under Elder Genji, spending most of his time behind the scenes.

Someone like him rarely appeared on active duty rosters. However, since Midori was here, Kaede didn’t ask any questions.

***

As the mission wrapped up, the three of them crouched in an abandoned outpost just outside the border, waiting for nightfall to retreat.

Kitahara Kaede leaned against the corner of the wall and closed his eyes.

Ao and Midori sat on the other side, their voices kept very low. Both assumed he was asleep.

Midori spoke first.

"Elder Genji recently asked me to organize the files of some of the younger shinobi."

Ao gave a short grunt of acknowledgment.

Midori continued, "There’s a Chunin named Terumi Mei. She has a dual Bloodline Limit. Her performance over the last six months has been quite good; Elder Genji has asked about her several times."

Silence fell for two seconds.

"To what extent has he investigated?" Ao asked.

"Training records, mission performance, and the people she associates with."

The conversation stopped there.

Kitahara Kaede kept his eyes closed.

Elder Genji.

In the original story, he had very few appearances, but every appearance was decisive. It was ultimately his decision that allowed Terumi Mei to eventually wear the Mizukage’s hat.

This old man had survived the high pressure of the Bloody Mist era to remain steadily in the position of an elder. He lacked for neither political intuition nor patience.

Even before Yagura had officially taken office, he was already keeping an eye on the younger generation. Terumi Mei had entered his field of vision.

It was a bit earlier than expected.

What Kitahara Kaede needed to do was simple: don’t get in the way, push her forward, but don’t push too hard.

***

The following evening, after returning to the village.

By the river, beneath a crooked tree.

A new layer of dry grass had been added to a cat’s nest. A cat lay inside, napping.

Terumi Mei crouched beside it, her fingertips slowly stroking the cat’s back. Kitahara Kaede stood a couple of paces away.

"Someone might be looking for you soon."

Mei’s hand stopped. "Who?"

"Someone from the Mist Village high command."

She looked up, her gaze meeting his from beneath her bangs.

"You’ve performed well on your missions over the last six months, and word of your Bloodline Limit has reached the top. It’s only natural that people are paying attention to you."

Terumi Mei’s brow furrowed slightly. In the Hidden Mist, being noticed by the higher-ups wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

"What should I do?"

"Go meet them. Speak little, observe more. Answer only what they ask."

Terumi Mei nodded.

Kitahara Kaede knelt and placed the last few crumbs of dry rations from his pocket at the edge of the cat’s nest.

"But if they ask for your opinion on the village..."

He paused.

"Tell the truth."

Terumi Mei froze. "Tell the truth?"

"If they ask you directly, they’ll know if you’re lying. People who reach that position don’t lack the ability to distinguish truth from falsehood."

Terumi Mei stared at him for several seconds. "How do you know they’ll ask?"

Kitahara Kaede stood up.

"You aren’t the only one who wants to change this village."

He didn’t say anything more, turning and walking away. Terumi Mei remained crouching there, watching his silhouette vanish into the twilight.

The cat reached out a paw from its nest and rested it on the back of her hand. She looked down and stroked the cat’s head.

’Tell the truth.’

She committed those three words to memory.

***

Three days later.

Inside the village, Gonbe intercepted Terumi Mei.

"Elder Genji wants to see you. Now."

Terumi Mei glanced at him. Brown short hair, a brown coat, and no shinobi tools hanging from his waist.

"Lead the way."

Gonbe turned and walked ahead without saying another word. Terumi Mei followed him through several narrow alleys. They entered the side door of the Mist administration building and ascended to the second floor.

Gonbe stopped in front of an office and pushed the door open.

"Go in."

He remained outside.

Terumi Mei stepped inside. The room was small and simply furnished: a desk, a few chairs, and a half-withered potted plant on the windowsill.

An old man sat behind the desk. He was bald, his face etched with wrinkles, and his eyes were closed. A yellow snake-headed cane rested by his side, his finger perched motionless upon the snake’s head.

Terumi Mei stood still at the door.

Elder Genji did not speak.

Ten seconds passed. The sound of wind drifted through the window, shaking the withered leaves of the plant. The old man sat there like a rooted stone.

Terumi Mei realized something: he was testing how she handled the silence.

She didn’t make a sound, nor did she move.

After a few more seconds, the aged voice finally spoke.

"Sit."

Terumi Mei walked over and sat in the chair opposite him.

"Your name is Terumi Mei."

"Yes."

"The reports on your recent missions are quite positive."

"Thank you, Elder."

Elder Genji nodded but didn’t elaborate. He asked her a few questions: what difficult situations she had encountered during missions and how she handled them; which team compositions she found most effective; and her view on the current situation surrounding the village.

Terumi Mei answered each one.

Elder Genji kept his eyes closed throughout. After every answer, he would fall silent for a moment before asking the next question.

Terumi Mei thought the conversation was nearly over. Then, Elder Genji suddenly shifted direction.

"When you graduated from the Academy, how many people in your year were eliminated?"

"Thirty-seven. Twelve survived."

Elder Genji’s finger twitched slightly on the cane.

"Do you think there is anything wrong with that evaluation process?"

Terumi Mei’s fingers tightened slightly as they rested on her knees.

This question.

In the Hidden Mist, the graduation exam was an ironclad rule. Classmates killed one another; the strong survived, and the weak were weeded out. To question it was equivalent to questioning the very foundation of the village.

’Tell the truth.’ His voice echoed in her mind.

"Yes."

Elder Genji didn’t move. Terumi Mei took a breath.

"Forcing students to kill their comrades doesn’t only weakens the village, but it also kills trust."

"Shinobi must form teams and cooperate; they must trust the people they entrust their backs to. If you teach them to be suspicious and kill each other from the first day they enter the academy, no matter how strong the survivors are, they will never learn true cooperation."

The room fell silent.

Elder Genji’s eyelids flickered. After a long time, the old man gripped his cane and slowly pushed himself up to stand.

"You may go."

Terumi Mei rose, bowed, and turned to leave the office.

Gonbe was no longer in the hallway.

As she walked out of the administration building, she didn’t know if she had answered correctly.

But it was the truth.