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

Chapter 104: Chapter 104: A Pity

Kirigakure was blanketed in mist year-round.

Today it was thinner than usual, and the outlines of the central square were rare and clear.

Kitahara Kaede stood within the Chunin formation, with Terumi Mei positioned half a step to his left. She stared straight ahead without turning her head, her lips pressed into a thin line, one eye visible beneath her bangs, staring fixedly forward.

The people in the square were spread out in a fan shape. The Chunin occupied the left wing, the Jonin were in the center, and the Genin were on the right. The three formations faced the high platform, separated by several paces.

The Mizukage was ascending to power; the entire village was in attendance. With the formation stretching left and right, the square was a sea of people. Kaede scanned the crowd—there were at least three or four hundred people. In all his time in Kirigakure, this was the first time he had seen so many people gathered in one place.

His gaze first swept toward the Jonin formation. Toward the left of the center, a towering figure obscured several people behind him. He had long, orange-red hair and green war paint on his face, stretching from the sides of his nose to his cheekbones like cat whiskers. Behind him, the hilt of a massive, bandage-wrapped sword rose a head above everyone else.

Fuguki Suikazan.

The master of Samehada.

One of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen who had actually returned alive. After his return, he had taken a position in the ANBU and held a high rank.

Few shinobi were "normal," and those in Kirigakure even less so. But Fuguki was different. He wasn’t a lunatic or a mindless killer. He knew exactly what he was doing, and he knew exactly who every person he killed was. From his own perspective, everything he did was right. Sacrificing the few was logical; for the sake of the village, anyone could die.

Standing behind Fuguki was a young man with blue skin, pointed teeth, and no eyebrows. He was tall, though his shoulders were slightly lower than Fuguki’s, and he stood half a step behind and to the side.

Kisame Hoshigaki.

Kaede lingered on him for a few seconds. There was nothing on the man’s face. His eyes were empty; he didn’t look at the crowd or the platform, he simply stood there. A tool created by Kirigakure—empty from the very first day.

Kaede withdrew his gaze. Scanning the area, he didn’t see Zabuza. At this time, Zabuza should have been in the ANBU. He was either wearing a mask and providing security in some corner of the square, or he wasn’t here at all.

To the right of the platform was a row of seats: the Elders’ seats.

A yellow snake-head cane rested on a lap, with two hands clasped over the snake’s head, fingers interlaced. Eyelids drooped, as if the man were dozing off. Midori and Gonbe stood behind him. The old man’s lips curled into a very slight, shallow smile.

To the side of the platform, a figure with grayish-blue hair stood alone.

Ao.

He wasn’t standing with the Jonin formation. From that position, he could overlook the entire square. Beneath his right eye’s eyepatch, the contours of his face were faintly visible.

Their eyes met. Ao gave a very slight nod. Kaede nodded back and then looked away.

Shortly after, there was movement on the platform.

Yagura stepped forward.

He was shorter than Kaede had imagined. Green hair hung over his forehead, and his purple eyes looked heavy in the gray mist. There was a prominent scar under his left eye, looking like an old suture. Behind him was a staff-like weapon with a hook at the end, nearly as tall as he was.

As he stood at the edge of the platform, the last few whispers in the square died down.

The Three-Tails Jinchuriki, in complete control of his Tailed Beast. Even with the face of a youth, the weight of his presence in that position was immense.

Yagura scanned the crowd below and spoke.

"Kirigakure has endured too much. War, loss, internal strife."

He paused.

"I do not intend to make empty promises. What can be done will be done."

"From this day forward, I am the Fourth Mizukage. The rules that must be kept will not change, and the things that must be changed will not be delayed."

That was it.

There were no cheers in the square, nor was there applause. There was only silence.

Yagura turned and walked down from the platform, his pace neither fast nor slow. Kaede stared at his retreating back, replaying those few sentences in his mind.

Every word had been his own.

He wasn’t being edited; he wasn’t being controlled. He wanted Kirigakure to improve, and he had the power to do it.

’A pity.’

Obito would find him sooner or later. Once the Genjutsu bolstered by the Sharingan took hold, this man who wanted to change the village would become the sharpest blade of the Bloody Mist era.

The graduation exams wouldn’t be abolished; instead, they would become even more brutal. The ANBU purges would only become more frequent, and the fear within the village would only deepen.

Kaede didn’t entertain thoughts like "what if I could stop it." He didn’t need to stop it.

Because only if Yagura reached that point—dragging Kirigakure into deeper darkness—would Terumi Mei have the reason, the standing, and the motivation to step forward and overthrow him.

The crowd began to disperse.

Genji moved slowly as he stood up, his cane tapping the ground rhythmically. Kaede noticed that after standing, the old man tilted his head slightly. He wasn’t looking at the dispersing crowd, but rather in the direction where Yagura had disappeared.

The old man was sizing up the man he had personally pushed into power.

Midori and Gonbe followed Genji away from the side. Terumi Mei remained standing, her gaze still fixed on the platform.

Kaede glanced at her. "What are you thinking?"

Terumi Mei snapped back to reality and turned her head. "He said the things that must be changed will not be delayed."

"I heard."

"Do you think he’s telling the truth?"

"Whether it’s true or not doesn’t matter. The path you have to walk won’t change just because the Mizukage did."

Terumi Mei looked at him for a few seconds. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she didn’t. She simply nodded.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kaede spotted someone at the edge of the square. Ao had already come down from the side of the platform and was walking out via the stone steps on the north side.

Kaede made a quick judgment. Ao had heard Terumi Mei’s name from Midori, but he had never met her. They were missing a proper introduction.

"Come on, I’ll introduce you to someone."

Terumi Mei frowned. "Who?"

"A Jonin I’ve been on missions with."

Without further explanation, Kaede walked toward Ao. Terumi Mei hesitated for a moment, then followed.

As Ao approached the north exit of the square, he seemed to sense the movement behind him and slowed his pace. Seeing them approach, he stopped.

"Ao-senpai."

"Kaede."

Ao’s gaze shifted from Kaede to the person beside him. Kaede stepped aside half a pace, making room for Terumi Mei.

"Terumi Mei."

Terumi Mei bowed her head slightly. "Ao-senpai."

Ao’s gaze lingered on her face for two seconds. "So, you are Terumi Mei."

"Yes."

Ao looked at Kaede, then back at Terumi Mei. "I didn’t expect you to know Kaede." He paused. "Midori mentioned you. Your mission performance has been impressive."

Terumi Mei nodded.

Ao turned back to Kaede. "You’ve been leaving the village less often lately."

"I’m recovering."

Ao stared at him for a second. "Take care of your health."

With that, he turned and left, his grayish-blue figure melting into the dispersing crowd.

Terumi Mei withdrew her gaze and remained silent for two seconds. "Midori... the one beside Genji?"

"Yeah."

Terumi Mei looked at him. Kaede had already started walking forward without looking back.

The two of them followed the flow of the crowd out of the square, their footsteps echoing in sync on the stone path.

Yagura had officially taken office today. Obito’s move should be coming soon.

Before that happened, Terumi Mei still had a few more steps to climb.