Reborn in the Mist

“BEE! How could you let this happen!”

Bee groaned at Gyuki’s shrieking, his head was banging, throbbing actually and in pace with the hissing seal the Fourth Mizukage slapped on him. He sucked his teeth at it, it scarred across his tattoo and he sensed it binding over his chakra network, stronger each time he tried to access it.

It was like a leash tied to a post— each time Bee tried to access up to a certain portion of his chakra it would measure and then clamp if he exceeded its boundary. It left Bee with only enough chakra to keep himself aloft on one arm, staring holes into the wet haired Mizukage.

“Lord Bee, let us help you up!” A Jounin from Mabui’s entourage kept bugging him too and he couldn’t help but snarl at all the voices as he shook his head in decline.

A distance out of earshot, Mabui and a pair of Elite Jounin’s from the family surrounded the barely five feet tall Fourth Mizukage and supposedly, Three Tails Jinchuriki. Bee couldn’t help but wonder about that.

Is he truly a Jinchuriki? Bee’s gut was screaming something at him and it wasn’t hunger. He hummed as Gyuki continued to bark in frustration.

“Hurry up Bee, you can’t let my name and power be besmirched by my little brother!”

I thought you said your siblings were nonuplets?

“That’s not the point!”

Bee shook his head and pinched chakra from his chakra network again, this time letting his body float loose on the waves instead of wasting chakra to stay upright. Once that was done he pinched chakra until the Mizukage’s seal clamped on his pathways, constricting them so painfully his veins bulged.

Pushing through wasn’t an issue now that he’d experienced it’s sting in the last dozen attempts. Rather than let go of the chakra he was pinching at Bee concentrated on sustaining a pulling force on it— if the seal acted like a post and leash then Gyuki was most definitely a bigger dog and the Mizukage surely knew it.

Bee couldn’t hear a lick of what was being said between heads but he could hazard a guess from expressions. The Mizukage was mean, his brows furrowed and those strange appendages on his face flared with every third word out of Mabui’s mouth. All the same, Bee caught the Mizukage stealing a glance at him enough times to warrant his suspicions.

Don’t you worry, Gyuki my brotha! This seal is weaker than an otter!

Bee continued to apply pressure and strain on the seal, pulling and tugging on the sliver of chakra he’d already drawn, using it as a delicate and precise clamp to seize the vast pool underneath. He was close, the more his veins bulged, his arm literally burning from the inside as the seal reinforced its rickety authority on his chakra network.

“Bee, wait!” Gyuki barked suddenly. “There’s something else!”

Huh?

But it was too late, Bee felt the seal give under pressure and immediately afterwards a flood of chakra was unleashed into his pathways— except it wasn’t his chakra.

Bee had a bare fraction of time to process what happened before his right arm spun out. It jerked out wildly as something pushed from underneath, above and the sides all at once. A substance of sorts sprung out from his arm, it was soft and damp but almost instantly hardened to the point it shoved his neck away from his shoulders, cracking it loudly as he fell face first into the water.

“Lord Bee!” Mabui’s grating Jounin shrieked and this time Bee had little choice but to let him help.

“Right on cue.” The Mizukage said in a condescending tone. He glanced down at Mabui who stood looking shocked and appalled at Bee for some reason and continued. “Yet another example of Kirigakure’s preparedness. Your Jinchuriki does not intimidate us.”

Mabui’s shoulders sagged. “For the fifth time, Mizukage-dono, Bee’s excursion today does not reflect the Raikage’s will in any manner. We have no intention of intimidating Kirigakure, you understand this now. So please—”

Mabui made an encouraging gesture at Bee and the Mizukage eyed him. With a short snort, he raised his hand— one effortless wave, and the coral binding his body cracked apart, twisting in on itself before collapsing in a brittle crumble.

“I will commend you, Gyuki no Jinchuriki, you dismantled the seal and triggered the trap faster than I thought you would.” He turned to Mabui with an almost neutral expression, a great improvement from the scowl no doubt. “He destroyed the seal itself, I’d have to beat him up again to reapply a stronger one. Don’t make me.”

Mabui examined Bee and as he successfully water-walked, she let out a sigh of relief and bowed slightly. “Thank you, Mizukage-dono, we will return with Lord Raikage’s response.” She straddled his arm in hers and waved the others over in a speed walk away from the Mizukage.

The short grey-haired Kage was swiftly joined by three Swordsmen, one of which Bee had already fought and was wildly violent but manageable. The others and the Legendary Swords they carried were a completely different energy, the kind that sent a chill down his spine.

“Bee, you have no idea what you just cost the village, do you?!” Mabui nagged once they were far enough away. “Lord Ay is going to be livid, I just know it. This wasn’t what he wanted, not at all.”

One of the clan Jounin’s grunted in agreement, “Nrnn, yes, but this deal isn’t bad either, the Mizukage was strangely accommodating even though he—”

Mabui tossed a murder glare at him, “Don’t you say it. No one says it, it’s not true, Bee was just caught by surprise.”

The mood of their entourage turned sour quickly but Bee remained mostly quiet throughout the journey back to Lightning Country, so much so that at some point, Mabui stopped scolding him and started consoling his defeat.

“Bwahahah!” Bee burst out cackling, startling the others as they traversed the sun beaten mountains.

“Ah! If you’re finally ready to talk, don't scare me like that!” she smacked his seal burnt arm.

Bee winced but didn’t lose his grin as he stared up at the rising sun. “The Champion of Kumogakure was not defeated!” He whooped.

While Bee understood like any other average person what his perceived defeat meant for war morale, Bee didn’t truly care whether or not that was how his battle with the Mizukage was taken. Because in the end, he knew.

Isobu no Jinchuriki is a friend.

***

It took an hour and a half for the Killer Bee and the Kumogakure delegates to escape my [Saged Water Perception] but when they did I felt my shoulders fall in a heap.

“You can stop now, Isobu, thank you.”

I sighed and rolled my neck till it cracked and popped. I breathed out a soothed sigh as after nearly four hours I released the Nature Energy swirling in my pathways. It was as if ten tons of weight fell on my muscles, they tensed and I groaned as I sank deeper in my office lounge couch.

Prolonged use of [Sage Mode] was not without its risks and consequences, even with the express aid of a Tailed Beast. In fact, the aid of one might only exacerbate the risks to my health and strength— the more Nature Energy there was to blend to create Senjutsu Chakra, the more my reserves dipped, inadvertently lowering my natural defences against Nature Energy’s passive effects in exchange for its extraordinary boons.

All about balance… I groaned into the pillow. I’d lost that balance somewhere along the way today and the consequences were a thoroughly sore body. Kaizoku would count me fortunate to be alive.

Gyuki’s power is…violent.

“Indeed it is.” Isobu concurred. “But so is mine and you refused to use it.”

I shook my head and said aloud, “I had a statement to make. And I did use it, in the seal.”

Isobu snorted. “You Kages and your pride of power. Last you practiced that seal you said it wasn’t worth the effort to figure out. What changed?”

I guess…it became worth it. The yet to be named [Fuin] was my own version of the Sannins [Five Elements Seal] and Harusame’s own [Mantra of Binding]. The former of which was my main blueprint and decidedly weaker than the [Five Elements Seal]. But the Sannin’s [Five Elements Seal] was quite frankly impossible for me or Harusame to learn without access to all five chakra natures in the first place.

A credit to the power of the Legendary Sannin’s surely but not a barrier enough to stop me from learning how to control and seal away the overwhelming power of my enemies. I’d reached a roadblock in the creation of my seal when I discovered the gaps in its structure— simply being a stubborn prisoner would eventually force the seal to break, meaning those captured by it merely needed to want to escape to do so.

It wasn’t ideal but for my tussle against Killer Bee I added a modification last minute with Isobu’s chakra— Coral Release. It was little more than plaster over a gaping hole but it worked well alongside the initial breathing period the seal afforded me. Together I estimated I could keep Killer Bee vulnerable for up to two minutes before he breaks free.

Fortunately, all my preparation wasn’t needed, while the seal did its work, I struck a mildly annoying new deal with Kumogakure’s representative, Mabui. Or at least I hope I did, the Raikage’s official agreement was all that was needed now.

The door swung open and the scent of boiling hot chicken pepper soup filled my office. Mei walked in and placed the tray of rice, soup and bread on the small coffee table, “Hurry, eat and recover your strength.”

Every word carried the weight of her hard furrowed brows, worry filled her and many more after my anniversary festival was cancelled in the wake of another village wide emergency. I was certain my people would be stuffed indoors and scared for their safety but when I returned there were crowds of men, women and shinobi waiting with the same strained look Mei had etched on her face.

Uncle welcomed me back with an all enveloping bear hug and dismissed the prying crowds with the relief that their Mizukage was safe and sound. Apparently, someone had let slip why I’d disappeared and words spread like wild fire throughout the village within the few hours the confrontation took place.

‘Kumogakure was invading!’ ‘Kumogakure’s Jinchuriki launched a surprise attack on Yagura-sama’ ‘Kurikiribocho’s wielder was swallowed by Kumogakure’s octopus and the Swordsmen are out for revenge’

There were all other sorts of rumours and whispers floating around already but for once I didn’t let any of it get to me, because the truth was peaceful and it was coming. I sat up with a groan that had Mei rushing to my side, she wrapped her arm around my waist and eased me upright.

“Thank you.” I said, raising a spoonful of soup to my strangely dehydrated lips. I slurped and found it delicious and refreshing. “Don’t worry about me, Mei, today was a messy day but if the Raikage agrees then…we’ll have peace.”

“For eight months.” she murmured.

I shrugged, it was far less than I negotiated. “It’s a start, plus, they’ll be paying us throughout.” I wiggled my eyebrows at her and added, “Huge sums too.”

She rolled her eyes but smiled through her scoff. “Money isn’t enough.”

“No, it's not but the only way we get more is with blood.” I said. “This deal allows both Kiri and Kumo to step away from this escalating conflict looking like misunderstood powers rather than bickering warheads.”

For eight short months Mabui proposed Kirigakure work with Kumo and the Land of Hot Water in cleaning up their sea trade routes. Trade routes she expressed with much grief had been beset by pirates, bandits and even a kraken. Despite being on edge and counting the seconds to Killer Bee breaking free, I couldn’t help but smile at her light and diplomatic wording of the suggestion.

After all, the attacks on their trade routes were carried out under my orders— the pirates and bandits were Kiri-nin in disguise and the kraken was none other than Unaimaru. But Kumogakure wasn’t ignorant to this fact, it was because they knew the truth of my involvement that made the deal worth it.

In essence, for eight months I’d send a handful of squads to patrol routes alongside Kumo and Yugakure’s shinobi as they kept an eye out for pesky pirates and krakens. Mabui was happy to highlight the benefits to foreign relations by participating in the exercise, further telling that Kumogakure was willing to forgive our plundering in order for the deal to go through.

During those eight months, Kirigakure would be paid installments of half my demanded reparations. Twenty-five million ryo in eight months wasn’t bad at all and I was willing to take it because my outrageous demand of fifty-million was just that, outrageous.

In return I was to forgive Killer Bee’s intrusion and release Jay from his cell in I&C. More things I was happy to do. While I’d promised to beat Bee into submission and seal away Gyuki’s power with a stronger seal, that was little more than a bluff— a strategic lie as Uncle would say.

In truth, I wasn’t sure I could beat Bee in a truly fair fight, at least not without my Tailed Beast transformations— of which he outclassed me in as well. Three tails to Eight was no small difference, not to mention— He was holding back too.

“Our working together will counter the narrative that the Raikage is an undiplomatic hot head, it’s the sort of image rebranding they desperately need thanks to us.” I said, stabbing away a chunk of fine boiled chicken with my fork. “It’s a good deal and if we can make new bonds during the eight month period of this pretense then perhaps Kiri and Kumo might have a future together.”

“Or they’d just use that time to recover, spy on us through those patrol squads and learn our vulnerabilities just to attack us.” Mei said skeptically.

I smiled up at her and she let out a huff. “It’s just that…I let my guard down once, I let a client die and nearly lost my subordinate as well. These Cloud shinobi…I don’t trust them.”

I swallowed a spoonful of my meal and belched to her chagrin, I grinned sheepishly but said in all seriousness. “That’s alright, because we’re going to be doing the same. I don’t trust them either.”

But for now, at least, I was satisfied. This cold war could come to an end at last.

​

See ya next Friday.

Discord||Moar chaps