Author's Note: Here we are, finally, Ainz arrives at Kirigakure! You people really want Sasuke to become injured in some way. Anyway, I noticed that some of you are now taking note of connections between events chapters apart, good on you! It is all intentional, there's never something happening without some reason behind it, aside from comedy.

On another note, life has been kicking me down, which stopped me from writing anything for a long while. My dog died, I got dreadfully sick for nearly a whole month, and a slew of other irl problems that just all came in at once destroyed my motivation. I was fully prepared to write my Digital Human Series until all that happened, really put me down. But I'm recovering now, standing back up, just need to catch up on things I let pile up due to all that.

So if this chapter is 'less quality' than usual, apologies for that.

Now no spoilers, the Q&A from the previous chapter's reviews:

Will Ainz attend the Kage Summit?

The Kage Summit has yet to be called, remember, it was called by the Raikage because Killer Bee was attacked by Sasuke and the Akatsuki. This hasn't happened, and even if he did, Nadeshiko isn't considered a great enough village to be part of the Kage Summit as of now.

How about Ainz summoning doppelgangers and them taking the shapes of his ninja friend?

Firstly, doppelgangers can only take the shape of those they see or have stored in their list of transformations, neither of which is possible for newly summon doppelgangers to take the form of the Supreme Ones, Pandora's Actor was an exception to the rule because Ainz created him like that. Secondly, it is possible for Ainz to make some permanent summons, both with his undead skill on corpses or through mercenary books in his Inventory.

Ainz learning the Eight Gates?

He doesn't have a chakra network, so he doesn't have the gates in the first place.

Who is the new deity?

It seems I wasn't clear about this, but it was intentionally vague. All I can say without spoilers is that there is no new OC deity. So don't worry about some made-up god appearing.

Is the tower that Ainz summoned still around?

Yes.

Ainz vs Being X?

I do not debate about such matches or the difference in their power-scaling, but I will say that Being X is not and will never be the center focus or outright cause of problems that our characters will face. So think of him as more of a background antagonist, while formidable, is not the main issue or incredibly important story point.

Why is Sasuke there at the ruined village where the [Death Knight] is?

All shall be revealed in time.

Shouldn't those killed by a [Death Knight] turn into [Squire Zombie]?

Yes, in fact, you bring up a good point I forgot earlier. Let's just say Ainz didn't care for that in chapter 13 and ignored it. As for the village occurrence, they and regular zombies might appear.

Does Tanya have Tier Magic?

No, Tanya does not have access to Tier Magic, though she can still use items that have Tier Magic.


The Overlord of Nadeshiko

Skewed Diplomacy Arc

Chapter 17

A team of kunoichi approached the designated mission area; they had been hand-selected by Nadeshiko's leader, Lady Shizuka, to deal with the immediate threat to their village's safety and that of the peninsula. Their target, according to the available information gathered by Lord Ainz, was a type of zombie creature created by some unknown experiment of a rogue ninja. It was assumed to be caused by Orochimaru, whose Sound Ninja had fought with Nadeshiko's own a few days ago.

A zombie wasn't an unknown terminology in the Ninja World, there were quite a few techniques that utilized the use of corpses, some based on puppetry, others the pinnacle of Earth style.

The sun had set, the sky coated in dark hues, but the moon illuminated the region. The kunoichi had arrived at the village only to come across a peculiar sight, an ongoing battle between a foreign ninja and a monstrous creature, and not only that but what were presumed to be the villagers who hadn't escaped and became refugees had turned into zombies of a more traditional knowledge.

They had to make the decision, should they aid this unknown ninja, or await in the shadows and observe the situation more? The choice lay with the team leader.

But a decision was made for them, what zombies who weren't engaged with the ninja had sensed the living and made their way towards the group. Sure, they were slow, even with the running pace it couldn't compare to kunoichi of their rank, and wouldn't catch a genin. But to a civilian, they would be dangerous.

"We're moving in," the team leader said. "Avoid fighting with the unknown ninja and focus on the mission objective. Eliminate the zombies."

"They are infesting the place," Another kunoichi said. "Should we go with scorched earth tactics?"

"No, but don't be shy about using fire style ninjutsu," She replied, and on cur started performing hand seals, her chest expanded before she leaned back then forward quickly and exhaling, "Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bomb!"

A spew of flame engulfed the zombies charging at the team, they kept a loose formation, taking care not to separate from their fellow members in case of a tight situation. At first, it didn't seem like the zombies posed much of a threat, but the kunoichi took notice of a peculiarity that some of these undead required more effort than most. It was these, which used weapons, that the kunoichi decided to focus fire their ninjutsu to eliminate them post-haste.

In the meantime, the unknown ninja had disengaged from the perpetrator undead monster. He had also taken to switching from Lightning Style to Fire Style, which had more notable effectiveness on it.

The Nadeshiko Kunoichi made their way towards their primary target, although the zombies were a threat, they were no match to an experienced group.

The ninja who disengaged earlier spotted them, his eyes narrowed, searching for an indication of their village. Once he spotted the symbol of Nadeshiko, his expression shifted to a slight puzzlement. He clearly expected some other village but didn't express any hostile intentions towards them.

"We're kunoichi belonging to Nadeshiko Village," the leader said on approach, "Our target is the abomination in front of you."

"I see," He replied.

"It has destroyed this village and killed innocents," She continued. "Are you willing to aid us temporarily?"

"What's in it for me?" He asked, eyes gleaming with red orbs, black tomoe's representing the iconic bloodline limit of the Uchiha Clan, the Sharingan.

"I would say the thanks of the people, but I understand a fellow ninja wouldn't accept free work," The leading kunoichi replied. "What do you desire?"

"I'm searching for someone, but I and a companion require a place to stay for an indeterminate amount of time," He said.

"I do not see any indication or recognize you from the Bingo Book that would certify you as a rogue ninja. So I accept this deal."

"Very well, I'll help you deal with this."


True to this word, the ship sailing Ainz and Shizuka encountered no storms or harsh weather, though whether that was due to luck or the Overlord silently casting [Control Weather] is anyone's guess. Furthermore, the wind had been on their side and greatly accelerated the ship's speed, cutting down their arrival time to the Land of Water's primary islands.

Of course, it was the dead of night, but they had docked at Kirigakure's outer port before midnight, breaking a record if any existed. The outer port was the only shipyard and docking area on the entire island, as such, was the only way to enter Hidden Mist's home island in a legal manner.

Perhaps in some future, Kirigakure would have grown to and around the port and be easily seen from a distance.

But such wasn't the case now, although the shipyard was developed and had a few warehouses, the Village Hidden in the Mist itself was not until further into the island. Ainz and Shizuka would need to take the road and make their way through a mountain tunnel passageway before finally arriving at Kirigakure.

This is exactly what they did, after fulfilling his end of the deal with the captain, Ainz Ooal Gown and Shizuka walked the dirt road through a misty forest and to the entranceway of the tunnel dug through a mountain, it was gated but they had diplomatic clearance.

Like its namesake, a hazy mist hung in the air as they cleared the tunnel and entered the village. It was visible even under the night sky, making it difficult to see further than their surroundings. Though an application of [See Through] could fix this simply enough, Ainz decided not to use the spell, instead reserving his full observation of the village for the morning hours. He could tell, however, that most of the buildings were constructed out of a mixture of stone and wood, professionally cut and likely incredibly insulating from the humid temperate.

They were escorted by kunoichi belonging to the village, where they were brought to and granted an entire floor to a high-end hotel. He could feel the eyes on him, his appearance was unique and the [Mask of Envy] didn't help in easing suspicions. Still, the sensation of being watched faded away when they entered their private room, though the building itself was likely still under observation, whether it was done due to protecting them as diplomats or potential threats remained unclear.

"We really made it here… So late at night as well," Shizuka remarked as she glanced out the window still. "They didn't expect our arrival."

"Perhaps, but they did have people on standby for the occasion, so while unexpected, they weren't unprepared," Ainz replied, remembering times back in his old world when visiting business owners from overseas would come at inopportune times.

She turned to him, "Do you believe they view us as a threat?"

"A threat? Unlikely, we were invited, they are just cautious," He said. "Get some sleep, we'll be fine."

He can't sleep anyway, so it wasn't like they could surprise him.

Shizuka shifted a bit, "Will you be in another room?"

"Yes, the entire floor is reserved for us," He answered.

It wasn't like they slept together in Nadeshiko anyway, their relationship didn't have that level of connection. It also allowed him to avoid Shizuka during the night hours, she was unaware of his undead nature and its untiring benefit.

Well, 'benefit' is a loose term.

"I'm… Uncomfortable with being by my lonesome while in the Bloody Mist- Yes, I'm aware they're trying to venture away from that reputable name, but it hasn't been that long."

"Hmm, I see your point."

So she was wary?

Not unsurprising, they could be considered in the territory of a different guild. Not an enemy one, but not exactly friendly, more akin to an acquaintance. Or perhaps it was closer to visiting your direct competitor? No, rather, Kirigakure could be seen as the parent company while Nadeshiko was the child.

Yeah, that had to be it, it was much easier for Suzuki Satoru to understand in the context of companies than national politics that honestly went over his head.

"I'll stick around then," He offered, he wasn't only going to catch up on more reading about the world and chakra from the books borrowed from the Nadeshiko library, though this time more about the history of the villages. Though, he was aware that these books were limited in their information, as these were likely international copies.

"I appreciate it," Shizuka thanked. "Good night."

"You too," He replied and watched her head to the bedroom of their multi-room residence. Once out of sight, Ainz released his tension as he slumped on the nearest couch. "Ah… This is hard… And the talks haven't even started yet… I already want a vacation."

At least with the Three-Tails incident, it created a distraction from the village management and diplomacy, at least he wasn't forced to hide behind some evil overlord mask. Though that's not to say he wasn't using a mask, figuratively speaking, he was trying his best to maintain professionalism as a leader.

The only problem was that he was an office worker with the education of an elementary student. Well, perhaps not exactly that level of education in this world, considering students graduate at a young age, Ainz likely had the same if not better schooling than most ninjas, besides history that is.

How messed up was that? Ainz felt he needed to correct that problem, but it wasn't so simple.

He reached into his Inventory and pulled forth a book summarizing an abridged history of the world.

It was rather lacking in anything prior to the Warring States Period, but for Suzuki Satoru, that wasn't necessary information. He just needed to know history to the point he could understand present-day context, not to the significance of a historian. More specifically, anything tied to Konohagakure and Kirigakure, which were the two Hidden Villages connected to Nadeshiko in some form or another.

Though, if he were honest, it was rather concerning that three separate world wars occurred in the span of a hundred years since the formation of the first ninja village, Konohagakure. As it similarly mirrored his Earth's own history. It painted a grim picture to Suzuki Satoru that Nadeshiko could be easily wiped off the map like many villages briefly mentioned in the book.

And there were not an insignificant amount of villages, while the book did focus on the 'Great Five' influence on history, it did not ignore other factors entirely. Though there was definitely much left out and Ainz figured many other destroyed ninja villages were left unsaid due to the author's own bias, lack of information, or simply pressure from the publisher.

He would've appreciated more information about the Kage of each village, but the book was outdated by more than five years, it stated that the Third Hokage should run the Hidden Leak but he was aware that there was the Fifth Hokage right now,

A bit of trivia he got from Shizuka.

Ainz sighed audibly as he closed the book, he got a general gist of it, Warring States Period, the formation of the villages, The Great Ninja Wars, and the current world map's regions and various lands. Still, it was immensely lacking in finer details, such as exactly why the wars occurred, the general power scale of how chakra was used, and how these tailed beasts worked into any of it beyond a passing mention in the First Great War's beginning.

He really wanted to check out the Hidden Mist's library, but it had only been two hours since he started reading.

Should he risk going out late at night?

Unlike Nadeshiko, Kirigakure was one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, it would be logical to assume its standard of ninja would be higher, and with a larger population pool, likely to have exceptional cases. Ainz was unsure of how strong the Mizukage was, so he was currently under the assumption that they were at least above level 60 and able to bypass his passives in some way. Still, even higher-level players can find it difficult to bypass certain spells, such as [Perfect Unknowable], and he was confident in his ability to escape should the situation call for it.

But it wouldn't be a smart move to just leave Shizuka by herself.

… He's bored.

Very bored! The answers to many questions about the world lay dangling right in front of him but he's forced to wait!

Curse this undead body at times, he can't just sleep to pass the time, it would've been great back in YGGDRASIL, but at this moment it was a pain.

Maybe a bit of time-?

"No, don't think about it," He spoke aloud to himself. "Just find a distraction for now."

He'll try reading some other books, not all of them were related to the ninja world after all. For example, a self-help book about trade, it would still be boring, but at least it'll pass time, but he needed to learn these things.

Ainz Ooal Gown sighed.

When will daylight come faster?


In the morning lights of the following day, the leader of Nadeshiko Village couldn't deny the anxious feeling in her gut. Shizuka admittedly had a wonderful sleep and even a good breakfast, though apparently, Ainz had been awake beforehand and had already eaten. Regardless, Shizuka mentally prepared herself with meeting with the Fifth Mizukage, and undoubtedly, other leaders of smaller ninja villages inside the Land of Water's domain, or perhaps clan heads. The Land of Water was mostly an island chain, besides Nadeshiko's peninsula, which remained the only area belonging to the Land that was directly connected to the main continent. As such, some clans made small islands entirely their own property instead of living on the same island as Kirigakure.

Shizuka double-checked her appearance in the mirror, wishing to make a decent expression of herself to the Mizukage and other important figures. Once satisfied, she left the bathroom and greeted Ainz at the door leading out of the room.

"Are you prepared?" Ainz asked her.

"Prepared, yes, nervous? Incredibly so." She admitted.

"You will have to do most of the talking," Ainz said to her.

"I don't really desire to," Shizuka said, taking a deep breath before putting on a professional mask. "Beyond the topic of the relationship between Nadeshiko and Kirigakure, am I correct to assume you desire to change the status quo?"

"Yes, but we shouldn't make it painfully obvious. Nadeshiko needs the capability to accept higher-paying missions without the Hidden Mist taking the contracts for themselves. This will require re-evaluating and discussing the current terms and conditions between us," He answered.

She frowned, knowing full well how this could go south, "That could easily imply our independence from them and act as a statement as a rival village within the Land of Water."

"We still have today and tomorrow before this diplomatic meeting ends," Ainz began. "Let's figure out what the Mizukage wants first, then create a compromise to satisfy each our goals."

"... I want to say that Nadeshiko is fine in its current position," Shizuka responded, eyes glancing away.

"While that is true, there is no room for growth if things remain the same as they are," Ainz admitted. "If we remain the same, we will be swept away but the outside world. From what history speaks, plenty of villages were wiped out by following that stagnate line of thought."

He brought up a solid point backed by historical evidence. Nadeshiko was one of many ninja villages not belonging to the Great Five, it could be wiped off the face of the Earth without so much as a mention in history books in some upcoming fourth great ninja war. Of course, Ainz was an equalizer in the situation, an individual capable of defeating the Three-Tails wasn't someone taken lightly. But Ainz was just one man, and without him, the kunoichi of Nadeshiko couldn't put up a war effort against any of the major Hidden Villages.

That's not to say Nadeshiko couldn't survive, their cultural custom in kunoichi marrying only stronger ninja has slowly been strengthening the overall quality of kunoichi, but they severely lack quantity as a consequence. And while quality can hold its own, it's a quantity that was needed for a war effort.

One could look towards the various Bloodline Limit clans in the Land of Water during the Hidden Mist's purging. These were quality ninjas and kunoichi with powerful Bloodline Limits, yet many of them were hunted down and exterminated despite that, they simply didn't have the numbers to compete and survive against the Hidden Mist Village.

Obviously, Nadeshiko wasn't a clan; still, the comparison still remained.

Not to mention, if Shizuka was to change the deeply rooted laws of Nadeshiko, she had to first make it grow enough to not require them in the first place.

"You're right, we'll see what the Mizukage wants to say then work from there," She crossed her arms. "She seems to wish to mend Kirigakure's reputation and relationships, we might be able to leverage that."

"A decent starting point," Ainz said. "Let's head out then."

A few minutes afterward, not a moment passing outside the hotel they were greeted by an escort duo of kunoichi.

"Lady Shizuka, Lord Ainz," The kunoichi greeted them with a slight bow each dressed in the standard dark blue colors of Kirigakure chunin, headbands branding the mark of the Hidden Mist Village. "We've been sent to guide you to the meeting hall in the Mizukage Mansion."

Shizuka motioned with her hand to lead the way, "Thank you," She said.

It didn't take long for them to arrive, the building called the Mizukage Mansion the largest structure in all of the village, with many stone bridges that created roads leading to the place. It was a massive, circular building with a blue-tinted roof having a high observatory floor with window panels circling its entire segment. Underneath the building was a gapping archway, covered in the shadow of its overhead structure, but it was the top half of the mansion they were heading to.

They trekked from the hotel room through the village, unlike Nadeshiko, which was not only smaller in scale but condensed into three main segments; Kirigakure was a large area surrounded by mountains, its interior didn't have flat lands but rather many different elevations. This created a rather spread-out design with roads rising and falling, twisting and turning, and where some areas of the village were densely packed and others quite empty. The Mizukage Mansion was towards the higher elevated area, but not entirely separated from the densely packed area which could be reached by a raised stone wall serving as a road.

The local residents of the village might find it easy to navigate, but for someone like Shizuka, it was incredibly difficult. Not only due to the prior mentioned facts, but a heavy mist tended to hang over the Hidden Village during much of the year, making vision more difficult depending on its severity. This was what made it so difficult for foreign ninjas to infiltrate the Hidden Mist unless they had some sort of rare jutsu or Bloodline Limit that aided in such ways.

Upon entering the Mizukage Mansion, Shizuka stuck close to Ainz's side as they made their way to the meeting room. It place was full of ninja and kunoichi, ready to respond to any danger that may threaten the village or its allies. It felt like a serious meeting, which unnerved Shizuka, who stole a glance a few times at the man walking beside her and found a strange comfort in his lack of expression.

Though, he was hidden behind that mask of his, so she couldn't see what face Ainz made.

"Through here, the Mizukage awaits," The kunoichi escorting them said as stepped aside from a double door entrance.

"Alright," Shizuka said, pressing a hand against the doors.

"Umu, stay calm, I doubt they do not mean us any harm," Ainz reassured her.

She pushed open the door to reveal a round convention room, at the opposite end of an equally shaped table sat a tall slender woman with green eyes and auburn-colored hair in a blue shoulderless long sleeve dress, with a brief highlight of mesh armor rising just a bit above her breasts. Her lower half was blocked from view by the table, and the top of her head was covered by the blue and white hat signaling the status of the Mizukage, there also stood two bodyguards at her side, a young man with light blue hair, square glasses, and an indicative sword sheathed on his back marking his identity as a member of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist alongside mild shark-like features on his face. The other older and taller man was dressed in a dark blue robe, a black eyepatch covered his right eye, and his expression remained passive but focused, giving away no emotion save for the professional gaze.

Shizuka's eyes focused on the Mizukage, she knew her name.

Mei Terumi greeted them with a warm smile.

But that only made Shizuka ever more anxious.

The reason?

They were the only individuals in the room.