Chapter 282: Guest
One month later, the Hidden Mist Village's Fourth Mizukage Yagura Karatachi personally led a delegation to visit the Sand Village.
The Hidden Mist personnel attending this visit included, beyond the Mizukage himself, Ao, Hoshigaki Kisame, Terumi Mei, Zabuza, and others.
All of these were story characters. There were also representatives from the Hidden Mist Village's distinguished clans, including the Hozuki clan and the newly prominent clan members who had recently risen to significance within the village. There were also several fighters with names connected to the later generations of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.
Of all the major hidden villages, the ones most significantly affected by the butterfly effect Yuji had introduced were Konoha and, arguably even more so, the Hidden Mist Village. Without Madara operating from the shadows after the Third Mizukage's death, and without Obito disguised as Madara pulling strings from behind the curtain, the Hidden Mist Village's trajectory had changed considerably.
Fighters like Hoshigaki Kisame and Zabuza both appeared to be genuinely settled within the village, with no signs of becoming rogue ninja. It was not yet the point in their timelines when they would have defected in the original story, but Yuji estimated the probability of them actually defecting had become quite low.
Because Yagura's reforms within the Hidden Mist Village had been relatively successful.
Although Yagura was himself a product of the previous era and had grown up under the Third Mizukage's governing philosophy, he had also recognized the Hidden Mist Village's weaknesses. After becoming the Fourth Mizukage he had made corresponding changes. The fact that he had even managed to recruit wandering clan members into the village's service made this clear enough.
He had made significant compromises and genuine efforts in reforming the Hidden Mist Village.
But the person who surprised Yuji the most in the delegation was Utakata.
The Six-Tails Jinchuriki.
Yagura had actually brought his Tailed Beast along.
It was obvious how seriously he regarded establishing diplomatic relations with the Sand Village this time. A Jinchuriki was not only a major hidden village's most important weapon but also a critical strategic asset. If something went wrong, the loss would far outweigh any benefit.
Adding to this, Yagura himself was the Three-Tails Jinchuriki.
This meant the Hidden Mist Village had brought both of its Tailed Beasts to the visit.
Among the delegation, Hoshigaki Kisame was seventeen years old. Zabuza and Terumi Mei were both fifteen. Utakata was eleven. All of them were quite young.
The only one who could be considered somewhat older was Ao, who was past thirty.
The Hidden Mist Village had assembled a genuinely substantial lineup for this visit. As Kazekage, Yuji naturally wanted to receive them personally.
Word of the Sand Village holding an exchange gathering with the Hidden Mist Village had spread through the village. The civilian population was quite eager to watch an inter-generational competition between villages take place within their own walls. This kind of event not only let people see the style and capabilities of ninja from other villages alongside their own village's fighters, it also had the effect of inspiring more young people toward the path of becoming ninja.
Beneficial for cultivating the village's ninja culture.
At the appointed time, Yuji led a group of senior Sand Village figures to meet the Hidden Mist delegation that Shimizu and the others had escorted in. The total number of visitors exceeded a hundred.
The Hidden Mist Village agreeing to establish diplomatic relations with the Sand Village owed something to the several cooperation agreements Yuji had previously reached with them. There was at least some established connection between the two sides.
Otherwise, given Yagura's personality, even recognizing that an exchange gathering would help develop newer generation talent and boost the village's reputation, he might not necessarily have taken the initiative to make it happen.
For Yagura himself, only recently having taken the Mizukage position and still working to fully stabilize his leadership, this gathering also represented a meaningful achievement.
"Mizukage. Welcome," Yuji said warmly as the other delegation drew close, stepping forward to greet them first with a smile.
He shook hands with Yagura, who wore his signature pale blue hat.
"We look forward to the Sand Village's hospitality over this period," Yagura replied with a slight smile, his manner warm and measured.
This actually surprised Yuji slightly.
The two had encountered each other on multiple previous occasions, and Yagura from the older era had always been notably serious and unsmiling in demeanor.
Now displaying something rarely seen from him, a genuine warmth in his expression, nothing like the stiff and guarded manner of their previous encounters.
He had clearly changed.
It appeared that after taking the Mizukage position, certain experiences within the Hidden Mist Village had brought a degree of maturity to him.
Worth acknowledging.
After all, despite also being a Fourth generation leader, Yagura was actually the oldest of all the current Fourth Kage by age.
Previously Yuji had been having White Zetsu secretly monitor the Hidden Mist Village, occasionally gathering intelligence on its internal situation. But after withdrawing the White Zetsu network, his understanding of subsequent developments within the Hidden Mist Village had become less detailed.
Although the ninja world's fate had shifted considerably from the original story, Yuji still retained his previous life's memories as an advantage when it came to understanding the general conditions of the major hidden villages in the years ahead. Maintaining White Zetsu surveillance was no longer necessary and would risk unnecessary exposure.
The two exchanged a few brief pleasantries and then entered the village together.
Unlike the Cold reception Yuji's group had received in Konoha, the Hidden Mist Mizukage personally leading his delegation to the Sand Village generated no open hostility from the Sand Village's civilian population, though the welcome was not particularly warm either. Mostly the villagers were simply curious.
At minimum the atmosphere did not make the Hidden Mist personnel feel awkward or uncomfortable.
The tension between the two villages was also nowhere near as charged.
Part of this was the peace period having gradually dissolved some of the fighting spirit from people's hearts. But the other part was that Sand Village civilians, when facing people from other villages, tended to carry a certain quiet pride in their hearts. This made them more able to look past certain past grievances and resentments.
After all, the Sand Village had emerged as the undisputed winner of the Third Great Ninja War. In recent years it had seized the Land of Rain, a major ninja power in its own right. The Sand Village's pharmaceutical industry had pulled the entire ninja world's industrial economy forward, and its thriving medical system and economic strength were known to everyone.
All of this was the source of their confidence.
When people are confident and living well, their psychological outlook tends to become less narrow and defensive over time.
Yuji and the others conversed with the Hidden Mist senior figures while first leading them to their accommodations to settle in.
Along the way, when the Hidden Mist personnel saw the Sand Village's scenery, they said nothing aloud but their eyes carried a trace of genuine surprise. They were struck by the sheer scale of activity and foot traffic throughout the village.
They had heard about the Sand Village's enormous size and its impressive and distinctive architecture. But even surrounded by desert, the roadsides within the Sand Village were now lined with specialized desert vegetation, and drainage channels had been constructed along the streets. More than a few Hidden Mist visitors momentarily felt they had arrived somewhere other than the Land of Wind.
Yagura took all of this in.
To say there was no admiration in his heart would be dishonest.
The reason foot traffic in the Sand Village was so heavy was not only the population growth of recent years. There was another very important factor. Trade caravans from essentially every nation and village of any size across the ninja world passed through here. This was something the Hidden Mist Village, effectively an island nation isolated on the sea, could not remotely compare to.
Even with the Hidden Mist Village's newly constructed pharmaceutical factories, the Land of Water was ultimately not a landlocked nation, and opening up trade and goods transportation routes was genuinely difficult.
Beyond that, Yuji's village planning and construction philosophy had transformed the Sand Village after its reconstruction into something not only grander in scale but meticulously organized down to the smallest details. Public works and infrastructure were all designed with clear logic and order. Nothing felt chaotic or haphazard.
In short, it simply felt organized. From major institutional buildings down to the smallest road surface, everything had been maintained to a high standard.
"This is a variety of vegetation adapted to desert climate conditions. It is also the primary plant species we have been cultivating extensively throughout the Land of Wind right now."
"The roadside drainage channels are actually part of a complete water circulation system. Beyond aesthetics, they add moisture to the dry air and support the surrounding green zones."
Yuji had noticed Yagura's gaze and took on the role of tour guide, offering explanations as they walked.
"Did you design all of this yourself?" Yagura asked.
"Of course not. I only provided some ideas and suggestions," Yuji said modestly.
Yagura said nothing in response.
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STONES 💎
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