Reborn in the Mist

The entire street was awake with noise. Hammers smiting nails, the pull of wooden pillars from its foundations, the bark of men at work and the thickening dust cloud that came from their demolition.

Uncle and I watched from the sidelines, atop another building slated to be demolished. The entire street once belonged to the Funato clan, the buildings, the streetlights, the trashcan, even the paint on the sidewalk. Now through the efforts of a barely deserved boon of an island and the violent purge— one they were most targeted by— the Funato clan was no longer of the main isle. The same went for the Hozuki but they didn’t bear the stink of a pariah on their name.

Even after permitting the arrogance purge I am still not hated nearly as much as the Funato Clan.

The hatred I deserved would come in time, those that lost were still grieving and many more were far too busy picking up the pieces of their lives to trace the source of the purge to me and even if they did, what could they ever do about it save hate?

A taint of guilt ate at me in the midst of everything else I was slotted to feel and think of. Lord Funato was just as deserving of hate as I but everything…how people and events have positioned themselves has made the man and clan true pariahs to the village. Even the workers tearing down the block muttered his name with spite and spat like it left a sour taste in their mouths.

Yet all the same men looked up at me, my haori and hat and bowed, grinned and even thanked me for the good work. To say this wasn’t what I expected from the aftermath of a purge would be an understatement.

“They’ll hate you in time.” Uncle reminded me. He shuffled through a thick, binded dossier I dreaded to look at— if only he’d come keep me company at his leisure. “Look at what you’re doing now, the first thing you do with the new space is tear down the people's businesses, how dare you, Mizukage?”

I rolled my eyes hard at his lackluster attempt at sounding maddened. He smirked and leaned up against the handrail with me, placing the dossier down at its corner. The wind sent its pages flapping. “Won’t that fly away? Don’t want to get another print out.”

He snatched a kunai from my pouch and dropped it atop the pages. “Solved.”

I snorted at his efficient solution and continued to watch the workers tear down stores and homes of the Funato. As contemplative of my actions as I was, Uncle wasn’t silent for long— “The Court of Unity was it?”

I glanced at him. He smiled, “You’re going full throttle huh, not even waiting around for a temporary office space to be set up.”

“The Tower acts as their temporary space for now.” I said, watching the last pillar holding up a house get knocked out. The home came crumbling down into a heap of dust and forgotten memorabilia. “The coming year will see the Courts establishment to function, I want it to have the respect and cohesion with the other Divisions and that means treating it like I know it will work.”

The men let out a loud whistle and burst aloud laughing as the last of tumbled bricks and dolls tumbled. My gut churned at the sound, they couldn’t have possibly heard a whisper of what I’d said a block away but their cheer sounded like mockery.

A mockery Uncle went on to punctuate. “Do you? Know…it will work?”

The shame I felt turning over in my gut like primed dough was loud in his slightly trembled voice. What could he be ashamed of? It was a question bought with blood and worth asking— but I didn’t have an answer. That was enough shame for the both of us.

“Forget I asked that.” Uncle said before I could even mumble a response. “Just tell me where you see this going, truly.”

I narrowed at him. My vision for Kirigakure’s future— volatile as it was— was something I’d taken to sharing with my councillors any chance I got. Of course, I held some of the grander facets to myself but the general vision of a strong and united Kirigakure was clear.

Clear to who exactly? I asked myself with a frown Uncle winced at. I let the frown melt away as I realized with resignation— “This worrying and dreading is all pointless, Uncle.” I said, surprising him. “It’s done. The Court will either function or it won’t and if it doesn’t then I will simply institute new law to combat its failures.”

Uncle grumbled a little as he said. “Like your execution law?”

I shrugged. “Whether or not I succeed in creating the Kirigakure I envision, it will still be left up to the next generation to ride off the coattrails I leave behind.” The demolition team started hammering at the next building. I squinted up at him, the sun glinted over his head. “I know all this change looks frightening and dangerous, but give me a few more years before entrusting the fate of Kirigakure to my successor.”

Uncle’s mouth fell open as he tripped over his words. “I would never! And no one is thinking of a successor, perhaps to our family legacy but to your hat? No.”

I smirked at his guilt-shamed expression and nodded at the dossier with the kunai. “What did you bring me?”

“Oh, these are mostly for me. You’re not the only one doing some renovations.” He winked.

I’d blindly approved most if not all of the land appropriation requests he’d put in after the Funato and Hozuki move. Like me, Uncle was positioning the clan for literal prime real estate. With all the new land I’ve afforded us, it’d only take a decade before we’re the most prominent and populous in Kirigakure, a pride once belonging to the Funato and Hozuki.

That said, with an island to themselves the Funato and Hozuki are in for a population boom just as well. I looked forward to it all— growth.

“But, I did bring a council agenda.” He said with renewed pep.

I groaned and buried my chin into my palms. “What is it now?”

“Don’t be a grump, you’ll like this one…maybe.” He grinned. “Chuunin Exams. What have you decided?”

My mind went blank for a moment before memories of past discussions and the official invite from the Kazekage came flooding back. My next sigh emptied my lungs as I looked over the rail at another crumbling building.

Uncle scratched his head awkwardly beside me. “That bad?”

“I had plans for it…” I muttered.

“Lady Megumi mentioned your desire to meet the Kazekage in person, might I say that might not be the best idea?”

“Huh? Why not?”

“Let’s just say the they’re not known for their poisons for no good reason.”

That confused me a pinch. “We have no standing issues with the Sand Village do we? Why would they ever want to assasinate me?”

Uncle shook his head. “They might not or they might. I’m just saying…they’re not the most friendly of the five.”

I laughed out at that. “And what are we? Cherry picking dandies?”

He cleared his throat. “The point remains, you’re a new Mizukage and though our past relations with Suna have been cordial at best and non-existent at worst, their Kazekage is a shinobi desperate to save that sinkhole of a village.”

I gave Uncles words some consideration. At this point I’d read and been briefed on the last ten years of shinobi world relations and events— Sunagakure as ever was struggling financially. The Village Hidden in the Sand was an unlucky egg to be placed right beside Konoha’s verdant greens and Iwa’s nigh impenetrable mountains. They could only wish to invade the latter and the former was far too rich and powerful to be subdued in any conflict not involving at least two other villages.

Konoha really struck gold with their founding.

“He’s desperate even to be feign cordial relations with us after our cooperation with Iwa in that disaster of operation…ahh, nevermind.” Uncle trailed off but I knew or rather I remembered.

Operation Sever— the Third Mizukage’s bold move against Konoha saw the Seven Swordsmen dispatched into enemy territory with the aim to obstruct any movement into Earth Country. A woeful failure punctuated by the fact that Iwa’s nearby border forces refused to offer the Swordsmen aid when they came running from Might Dai and his Eight Gates.

“Operation Sever had nothing to do with the Sand, I don’t see why the Kazekage would be bothered.” I said but Uncle merely shook his head.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend, Yagura.”

I snorted but it made sense. “If the Kazekage is pissed about Operation Sever then why send an invite that encouraging?”

“That’s what I’ve been saying!” Uncle exclaimed. “They are suspicious, I can’t tell what they want and whatever it is, it couldn’t be in our interests.”

I smiled softly. “Maybe, but I still wanted to go. There are much larger stakes than just each other now, the five Kage need to know this.”

“Who says you can’t go? I’m just warning to be on guard.”

I shook my head. “Not now, not when everything in the village is upside down. Not when things are still so uncertain and unbalanced. I need to be here to lead.”

Uncle stroked his chin at that, humming as he did. I could tell he was trying to encourage me to do as I pleased but it would be mighty difficult to in this scenario. “You could send a clone? Or leave one behind?”

“No, sending a clone is insulting and if for whatever reason something happens to my clone here then…it’ll take at least a weeks journey travelling with an entourage to return home.” I massaged my temples and let out another deep sigh. “No matter, I will decide later.”

“Yes, the matter of your attendance isn’t the only issue that needs your decision though.” Uncle said, folding his arms as he fixed me with a look that said I was forgetting something. I narrowed at him and he broke. “The Genin teams? For the exams? You haven’t chosen a single one!”

The groan that escaped me was almost instinctual. “Right, I saw that pile on my desk somewhere, I’ll have a look.”

“Do it quick, we have less than two weeks to attend and that includes travel time. In fact, Team 3 is a good pick, a strong pick.”

I raised a brow at him, unsure of that for many reasons. “Utakata, Rina Hozuki and Zabuza Momoichi? That team is disbanded last I checked, but even if they weren’t Utakata is not only a valuable Jinchuriki to protect behind our walls but he’s already a Chuunin. And so is Rina.”

I pushed away from the railing as the suggestion soured with every passing second. “No, its too dangerous. And what if I choose to attend as well?” I scoffed as I imagined what would surely happen next. “Two of our Tailed Beasts in one place? That’s just asking for trouble.”

Uncle stroked his chin as he mused. “Perhaps, perhaps. But you can simply replace Utakata with someone else, uhh, take Mangetsu for example, your apprentice looks the part of a Genin too.”

“But he’s a Chuunin.”

Uncle shrugged. “That’s never stopped the other villages before.”

“What?”

Seeing that I was genuinely confused Uncle gasped. “Wait, do you not know the secrets of the Chuunin Exams? I’m not sure I can call it much of a secret honestly but if you aren’t aware…”

“I think I know where this is going.” I chuckled and shook my head. “I suppose an honest shinobi isn’t really a good shinobi.”

“No, no he’s not.”

Sending actual Chuunin rank shinobi to participate in the Chuunin exams must be the least deceitful thing I could do as a Kage. Though, looking back on the past Chuunin exams, it was always a draw between the prodigies and the experienced combatants— it made a lot more sense now how our competitors always had more in their bag of tricks.

Despite obvious dangers I still wanted to reach out to Rasa and have a conversation about the looming threat— if he was lucky I’d caution him against working for the snake too. I wondered if I could afford risking sending Utakata and I out in the open like that, Sunagakure’s defenses couldn’t help Gaara against Deidara and I didn’t expect it to hold up against whomever the Akatsuki would send.

Would they send someone? It was a legitimate question to ask at this point given how quiet they’ve been since. Not a peep came from Amegakure and Owl Mask continues to report failures in her search for the Masked Uchiha.

There was a short period of inactivity, right? I tried recalling my memories of the Akatsuki’s movements but I couldn’t remember anything significant to this timing. Obito had already tried to control me and he’s caused the Nine-Tails disaster as well so…what came next?

“Maybe…maybe….” I muttered to myself, trying not to feel too hopeful about what I was realizing. If Obito and the Akatsuki had gone underground then it was possible I could look forward to at least ten years without concerning myself with them— IF the timeline would still move as I recalled anyway.

The more I thought about it the more it made sense and the more I saw myself and Utakata in Sunagakure. One of my goals as Mizukage was bringing Kiri out of its shadows and rumours, introducing it boldly to the shinobi world as a source of protection and power. If I wanted to do any of that then…

Kirigakure might just attend.