I tried to sleep last night, I really did, but as soon as the sun's rays were shown through the spaces in the curtains I got out of bed. Quietly, I left Temari's room so that I wouldn't wake her up and ended in the dining area where Kankuro was already eating cereal as he normally does every morning. He was wearing black pants and a tank top with his face free of paint.

"What kind of cereal is that?" I asked.

"Some chocolate one, it tastes pretty good." he said.

I grabbed a bowl out of the cupboard and a spoon then I joined Kankuro at the table. The bowl clinked against the table as I set it down. "Pass it over."

Kankuro handed me the box and pushed the milk towards me. "I didn't see you after the funeral yesterday."

"Tsunade brought me to the council room right away and we've been there all night." I said. I poured some of the cereal in the bowl and added milk. "Everything is settled though so there's that."

"Does that mean you're going home today?" he asked.

"Yeah, I need to get back to Kirigakure." I said. With my spoon I took a big bite of the cereal, it was actually really good so I continued to eat knowing that it would be awhile until I got back to Kiri and was able to eat a meal.

"It'll be awhile before we get to see each other again." he said. He finished off his cereal and drank the milk out of the bowl before he said anything else. "I'll have a lot to work on while your gone. Chakra control is something I'll have to spend a lot of time with and I still can't believe I can do that coral thing, but I'll work on that too."

"You should be stronger the next time I see you." I smiled. "I think you could benefit from some strength training too. If you want to be able to use people as puppets you'll have to be able to hold their weight."

"I'll keep that in mind." he said. He pushed his bowl away, "So when are you leaving?"

"As soon as I'm done eating and I find the jonin that Tsunade is sending with me to Kiri." I said. I had another spoonful and said, "He has to deliver a message to my uncle so he's coming with me."

"Are you worried?" he asked.

"Why would I be worried?" I asked.

"I was there when that Chojuro guy arrived. I know something happened in your village, you wanted to go back right away." Kankuro crossed his arms and leaned forward onto the table. "What do you think happened?"

I stopped eating, "The truth is, I don't know. In my village no one really wanted anything to do with me, so the fact that elder Shun was the one to interact with me and send me a message is strange. I've never taken an order from someone who wasn't uncle Yagua, he's usually busy but he's never that busy."

"So you think something has happened." he said. "You don't have any ideas on what could have happened?"

"The only thing I can think of is that Kumo has declared war." I started to eat the rest of my cereal and finish it off before I drank all the milk and pushed the bowl to the side.

"Why would Kumo declare war on Kirigakure?" he wondered.

"We were once at war with them. After the third great ninja war ended they tried to claim some of Kiri's land and we fought back to keep what was ours. We've since come to an agreement." I explained. "But I won't really know what's going on until I get back and that's why I'm eager to leave."

"Make sure you say goodbye to Temari and Gaara. I know Temari will be sad if you just leave." he said. "And Gaara would miss you too."

I stood up from the table. "I promise I'll make sure to say goodbye. I'm going to go get my things, I'll see you again before I leave." I left Kankuro sitting at the table as I went back to Temari's room to grab my swords. That's all I really need, I don't have any clothes left to bring back they were all stained with blood and thrown away.

When I got back to Temari's room she was awake and just getting out of bed. "Did you sleep last night?" she asked as she rubbed her head.

"I did, but I got back late and didn't want to wake you." I said. The last thing she needed to worry about was if I actually got any sleep or not, so I lied.

I walked across the room and grabbed my sword belt to put on, before I could put it over my head Temari spoke again. "Shouldn't you change out of your mourning clothes?"

"It's the only outfit I have left. I didn't want to take yours back to Kiri with me because I might not get the chance to give it back." I said.

"That's fine, you can just keep it." she walked over to me. "It looks better on you than it did on me anyway and if you wear all black like that you won't make it out of the desert. Black attracts sunlight. Go change."

I put my sword belt down and went to change like she told me too. The outfit that she let me wear during my stay here was still in the bathroom where I took it off yesterday. I left my long blue hair up in the messy bun I threw it in last night as I walked to the bathroom. It was fast to change clothes being that they were both dresses. As soon as I tugged the shorter dress over my head and pulled it down, I grabbed the additional ribbon and tied it around my waist. All of my bandages were still in place so I exited the bathroom to be met with Temari who was changed and ready for the day.

"Thanks for letting me keep the clothes, I kind of like them."

"No problem, they really do look good on you." she handed me my sword belt.

I offered her a smile as a thanks. I took the belt and put it on making sure to secure it before grabbing and attaching my Kukushibyo and then the Executioner's blade. I didn't have anything else that I needed to take back with me so I was ready to leave the village.

"I need to find Tsunade before I go, she should be with Shizune. Do you know where to find either of them?" I asked.

"When visiting kage are in the village they stay here in the Kazekage building." she said. "I can show you her room."

Temari brought me to the other side of the building to the room she said was Tsunade's. I didn't get the chance to knock on the door before Shizune was running down the hallway yelling at me with Tonton in her arms. "Don't knock!" I stopped my raised fist an inch away from the door and waited for Shizune to get to me. "Lady Tsunade isn't a morning person and she was up late last night."

"She said something about sending a jonin with me to Kirigakure with a message." I said.

"That's right, Genma is out in the village." she said. "I can go find him and send him to the entrance of the village to meet you."

"That would work, I'll meet him there." Shizune left me and Temari in the hallway.

I moved to walk down the hallway when Temari said, "You're leaving right now? Were you going to say goodbye to Gaara and Kankuro?"

"I've already seen Kankuro." I said. I didn't move to face her, because I didn't have any intentions of saying goodbye to them. I've already seen Kankuro this morning, which was okay enough, but I don't know if it would really matter if I said goodbye to Gaara. Would he even care that I'm leaving?

"And Gaara? You're the closest thing he has to a friend, make sure you say goodbye." she said.

"I'll go now." I left her to go to Gaara's room not knowing what I should say. I don't really do goodbyes it was easier saying goodbye to Naruto because I didn't spend as much time with him as I did with Temari, Kankuro and Gaara. Now I actually care about them and I don't really want to say goodbye, but I belong in Kiri and I need to go back. I wouldn't necessarily want to stay in Suna, the weather is not what I'm used to. I never thought I would miss feeling dewy from the mist or that I would prefer the chilly air in Kiri, but it's true.

Outside Gaara's room I knocked on the door, but didn't get a reply. I waited for awhile and then entered the room, I stayed near the door. I could sense that his chakra was here, he was here, he just wasn't responding. I didn't really think he was going to say anything anyway, Gaara is the type of person who seems to prefer being alone. At least for now anyway, I'm sure it will be different in a few years, but it might not be.

Gaara was sitting on the edge of the bed watching me. His red hair was mused as if he had just woken up, but I knew he was probably just laying awake in bed all night. "I've come to say goodbye." I said. "I'm not sure when we'll see each other, but I know we'll meet again."

"You're leaving already?" he asked.

"It's been a week since I first got here. I need to go back to Kirigakure." I crossed my arms over my chest and slightly leaned against the doorframe. "You should spend this time getting closer to Kankuro and Temari. They should be people you can go to for any problems. If you need to, you can write to me, but reach out to your siblings first."

"When will I get to see you again?" he asked.

"I don't know. This is the first time I've ever been assigned to a mission in Suna. It's so far away from Kiri I doubt I'll get another mission here, so we'll probably meet again in passing in some other nation." The odds of me ending up in Suna again are very slim, unless if I come back with a few jonin and cypher division squads. Then I would be able to see them sooner, but I'll first have to figure out what's going on back in Kiri before I can leave. "I might be back. The council, the Hokage Tsunade, and I have come to an agreement, so it's possible that I might return."

"For what?" he wondered.

"I don't know if I can share that information yet." I pushed myself away from the doorframe and gave a small wave. "I'll see you around sometime Gaara. Take care of Temari and Kankuro would you? I bet Kankuro would be the one to get in the most trouble." I didn't really want to admit it to myself, but Kankuro reminds me of myself when I do some serious training. I'm surprised that I haven't been killed yet, maybe the fact that I always got up when I was beaten down and pushed myself to my limits to expand them is the reason that I was able to get stronger and adjust to situations better.

I left the Kazekage building not knowing when I would be back in this village. I have a feeling that uncle Yagura is going to have me work with the cypher division when I get back, or maybe he wouldn't because I'm a tailed beast and doesn't want someone to accidentally use a mind jutsu on me? The most I can do right now is let uncle Yagura know what happened in Suna and then he can assess what to do next.

My walk through the village was peaceful, no one stopped me, gave me glares or looked at me with mistrust. I'll have to remember that it'll be different in Kiri, hopefully I didn't get too used to the kindness of the people here. Otherwise, it will be a shock when I get back to Kiri.

Temari and Kankuro were waiting at the entrance of the village for me, most likely to give me a send off. Baki was also here and so was a Leaf village shinobi. He looked familiar, I could have sworn that he was the proctor of the final stage of the chunin exams. His name escaped my mind, but I recognized his face and the two pieces of brown hair that he had sticking out from under the navy cloth that was wrapped on top of his head. He had a senbon needle sticking out of his mouth, overall he seemed pretty mellow.

"You must be the shinobi Tsunade is sending with me." I said to him.

"I am, my name is Genma Shiranui. We met at the chunin exams." he said. "I never got to see you fight because the other kid forfeited."

"Yeah, that was Kankuro." I said. "I would have liked a fight, but it looks like he was just trying to save his strength for the ambush." I turned to Baki wondering why he was here. "Are you here to see me off?"

"No, the council tasked me with returning to Kirigakure with you to pledge loyalty to the Mizukage. Being that we currently don't have a Kazekage, I would have to be sufficient in delivering the message." Baki said.

"Okay, are we ready to go then?" I asked.

"I'm ready." Genma said. He had a small pack slung over his shoulders.

"Yes, we should get moving." Baki said. "The later it gets in the day, the more likely the chances for sandstorms."

"Then we should leave." I didn't even get to take a step or turn to say goodbye to Temari and Kankuro when Temari had me in an embrace. "Temari?"

"I just needed a proper goodbye." she said. Her head was tucked into the crook of my neck while her arms were wrapped around me. She was being mindful of my Kukushibyo so that she wouldn't cut herself as she held me tight. She loosened one arm around me to gesture to Kankuro. "Come here and give Ketto a hug."

"Temari, don't make this awkward." Kankuro whined.

"Kankuro." she called to him.

Kankuro grumbled something before he moved to join the hug. He moved closer to us and was going to raise his arms to hug us when I stopped him. "It's fine, I know we'll see each other again. Besides, I'm not used to hugs either."

"What?" Temari pulled away from me a bit. "Do you not get hugged at home?"

"No, sometimes uncle Yagura or Zabuza would rest their hand on top of my head and tell me that they appreciate me but that's about it."

Temari hugged me again, "Then that's even more of a reason for us to hug you." Temari grabbed Kankuro and pulled him into us.

"Damn it." Kankuro swore. He slowly wrapped his arms around the two of us and pulled us close. "We'll see you soon. Take care okay?"

"I'll be fine." I said. I didn't move my arms to embrace them in a hug. I couldn't bring myself to. The idea of hugging someone seemed foreign to me. I didn't even know if I would be able to hug them back even if I wanted to. I'm not used to being touched in an affectionate way, I don't think I ever will be.

The two of them let go of me and stepped back. I was smiling, not because I was happy, but because Kankuro seemed as uncomfortable as I was. At least I was able to somewhat brush off the affection, Kankuro was awkward about it the whole time.

"I should be going now." I stepped away from Temari and Kankuro to be closer to Baki and Genma. "I'll be seeing you."

"Bye Ketto." Temari said with a smile as she waved to me.

I waved back and left the village with Baki and Genma. We walked through the desert to conserve energy, but once we reached solid ground we started to run. I didn't have to worry about holding back and could run a bit faster than if I was with Mitsuru and Jiro. We stopped to make camp every night and took turns keeping watch though I didn't sleep and the two didn't seem to care too much that I wasn't sleeping. One night Genma suggested that I try and sleep but he didn't push it. The two brought food, which I didn't eat but once we started to pass through other villages we would sometimes stop to eat somewhere.

On the sixth day we reached the east coast of the Land of Fire. At one of the ports we found a boat that would take us across the sea to Kirigakure but it would still take another day until we were able to see the mainland. The ships of the Land of Fire weren't very innovative unlike the ones of the Land of Water. We've created steam ships that are more efficient than a ship you would have to change the sail for. All ships are used for transporting goods or for the oceaners.

The morning of the seventh day Baki noticed the first oceaner fleet seven miles off the coast of the mainland. "What is the purpose of those ships?"

I looked over at the large metal ships and grew a bit concerned at the number of them. "That's our oceaner fleet, they're a defensive mechanism we have to protect the mainland from outside foes. Normally, there are three ships to a fleet and they follow the shoreline seven miles out. You wouldn't see one fleet with the other." The ships we saw weren't grouped off, instead one ship was following the other with barely a ship length in between each ship. I couldn't see a break anywhere, the ships just kept coming. My eyes narrowed when I realized, "This means that Kirigakure is compromised."

"What do you mean by compromised?" Genma asked.

"It wouldn't be just anything." I said. "If I had to guess, I would say we were either attacked by rogue ninjas or it's wartime."

"Which do you think it is?" Genma played with the senbon that he had in his mouth. He glanced over to me to see my reaction.

"I have a feeling that it's neither." Every possibility kept flashing through my head, but one thing kept coming back to me and it was uncle Yagura's goodbye when I was leaving the Leaf village. I don't know what uncle Yagura planned on doing, but I have a feeling that something has happened to him. That's another thing that could explain the increased amount of oceaners. If something happened to the Mizukage and they were not able to protect the village then security would be raised in every area. More oceaners, the police force would be working with the ninja, the anbu would be doing damage control, and I'm sure that it would be nearly impossible to get into the Mizukage's tower. "We'll have to stop sailing. They won't let us passed unless if we're authorized."

"I'll go tell the captain." Genma said, he then walked off towards the captains cabin and the wheel.

Baki stood beside me as I leaned against the railing near the front of the ship. "What do you think is happening?" the way Baki asked it I felt as if he knew more about what's happening than I did, but I wasn't going to make him tell me what he knows.

"When we left the Leaf village my uncle said that we would say our goodbyes at the cemetery." I started. I watched as we got closer to the oceaner ships as I talked. "I was confused because we never say goodbye to each other. He usually gives me a mission and I leave, we never say goodbye because we know we'll see each other again. Something already didn't feel right and when he kissed me goodbye on my forehead I knew that the next time I would see him, he would either be dying or he would already be dead." Baki was quiet and I could tell that he didn't know what to say. "You don't have to confirm or deny anything, I think I already know what really happened."

"And what is that?" he wondered.

"Something's happened, I don't know what, but something has and my uncle has died. You and Genma are traveling back to Kiri with me to acknowledge the next Mizukage as my uncle's successor." I didn't feel like crying, instead I was mad. What the hell did uncle Yagura do? What was his goal? Why couldn't he have told me before we parted ways in the Leaf village?

The light mist that we've been experiencing for the last several miles at sea turned into light rainfall. The sky was overcast like it is everyday here, there was no natural light, everything was grey and dark. I was surprised, when we got close enough to the line of oceaners where we should have slowed down one of the ships came to a stop and dropped their anchor. The other ships noticing the lack of movement also stopped. There were ninja on deck buzzing around, next I'm sure someone will fire off a red flare because they'll think we're the enemy. Suddenly, a blue flare was shot from the crows nest of the first stalled ship and it illuminated the sky. A blue flare, what does that even mean? One by one all of the other oceaners fired off blue flares too.

I was confused by the blue flares, but something told me that it wasn't a bad thing. If they thought we were enemies wouldn't it have been red instead of blue? "Genma!" I turned and yelled in the direction Genma disappeared in a little bit ago. "Tell the captain to keep sailing! Don't stop!"

There was no response, but someone must have relayed that because we kept sailing towards Kirigakure. The captain maneuvered us inbetween two of the ships and we weren't stopped. As we sailed another round of blue flares lit up the sky. I still couldn't figure out what the blue was supposed to mean. Red is a distress flare and are to be used only in the case of an emergency when immediate assistance is required. There's orange, which carry the same meaning as red flares but are designed to be used in daylight as they are easier to see than red flares due to the billowing clouds of orange smoke that are produced. White is the only other color that I know of and that's used to warn other ships of your position in order to avoid collisions. They are also useful for illuminating the water at night in a man-overboard situation. What would blue be used for? What else is there to warn each other about?

As we sailed towards the docks in Port Royaru, the main port in Kirigakure, I noticed movement first on the shoreline and then on the docks as we approached. The captain brought us up to the docks with expertise that I'm sure was earned by years at sea. The first face that I saw and recognized was Ao. His fading blue hair was still darker than mine and was gelled up and mused to the right. Nothing in his appearance changed since I saw him in the Leaf village during the ambush. He looked fine and from what I can remember Ao traveled back to Kirigakure with uncle Yagura, whatever must have happened probably happened after they made it back to the village.

I placed both hands on the railing and pushed up to swing my legs over the side. My body fell a few feet before my feet connected to the aluminum of the docks, I had my hand held out against the dock to steady myself. I pushed myself up to my feet from my crouched position and looked up at Ao.

"Lady Ketto, it's good to see you back in Kirigakure." he said.

I could sense that Baki and Genma joined us on the docks. "Ao, tell me what's happened. Something's happened to my uncle, what is it?"

I couldn't tell anything from the emotion displayed on Ao's face, he just looked tired. "Mizukage Yagura never made it back to Kiri after we left the Leaf village. I had the chance to stop him, but he told me there was something that he needed to do and that he wouldn't be coming back. I let him go because I recognized that he was himself as he was talking to me that night and not someone who controlling him through a genjutsu."

"What do you mean, my uncle was being controlled with a genjutsu? How would you know that if it was true?" I asked.

"I know a great deal of things that I shouldn't know." Ao said. "By keeping these secrets I've kept myself from being a target. Like how I can see your chakra."

I narrowed my eyes at him. Uncle Yagura's thoughts on Ao knowing that I was the three tails jinchuuriki was partially confirmed. Ao definitely knows about the seals placed on my body, but he might not know what they are sealing away. As for uncle Yagura being under a genjutsu, it would explain how he acts when I'm not around him. The 'other' Yagura that I suspected was a real person. I was a bit shocked, but then I realized that I didn't know when he fell under that genjutsu. He could have been under it since he first became Mizukage all those years ago when he was younger and less experienced in releasing a genjutsu.

"Have the feudal lords gathered to discuss what to do in this situation?" I questioned.

"They have and they've also come to agree on Yagura's last order that he sent from the Leaf village." Ao said. "All of the paperwork has been filed making you his adopted child who he has named the fifth Mizukage."

I closed my eyes, you have got to be kidding me. Why the hell would he make me Mizukage? This has to be a joke. "Can you confirm that he's dead?"

"No, but it is very likely that he is." Ao said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "He entrusted me with this." I took the paper and tucked it into the ribbon around my waist, I'll have time to read it later.

"Baki, Genma, how long will you be staying in the village?" I asked.

"The council decided that I'll stay for at least a week and then I'll go back to Suna." Baki said.

Genma spoke next, "My orders are to stay until Ketto has been accepted by the people of Kirigakure as the Mizukage. Lady Tsunade suspected that because of Ketto's status of being the Demon of the Mist not as many people would follow her."

"You might be here for awhile then." I fought back a smile knowing that Genma won't be able to leave for quite awhile. I'll know him very well by the time he'll have to leave. "Nearly everyone hates me and those who don't are terrified of me."

"I'm sure I'll learn to like it here." Genma looked around as he said that. I wondered if this was his first time here in Kirigakure. The weather itself is different than what he's used to hopefully that won't be too much of an issue.

"The two of you are welcome to stay in the Mizukage's tower with me." I offered. "It's the least I can do if you are to be guests while you're here."

"The elders are at the Mizukage tower, they've been informed of your arrival." Ao said.

"How did you know it was me?" I understand that the ninja in the crows nest of the ships were able to identify me, but how did they know that it was me on the mainland?

"The blue flare is for the Mizukage." he said. I was a bit impressed that they made a blue flare for that. At least everyone is able to locate the Mizukage in times of need.

I turned to Baki and Genma, "It's time to go to the Mizukage tower. Whatever behaviors you see from the villagers let it be."

Baki looked a bit concerned but didn't say anything. Both Genma and Baki followed me as I left the docks and walked through Port Royaru bringing us closer to Kirigakure which is further into the mainland. Unlike in the Sand or in the Leaf village, you couldn't see the Mizukages tower from just anywhere in the village. There were large formations of rocks jutting out of the ground that rose high into the sky. The land here isn't necessarily mountainous, but it gave off a feeling that it was.

The Mizukage's tower was still the tallest and largest building on the mainland, it's concealment is imperative if we were to go to war. The building was cylindrical like all of the buildings here and it was wider. There was a wall with arches surrounding the building. Parts of the wall stretched to other areas in the village, it was highest at the tower but otherwise it's elevation dropped to look like a ramp leading to the tower.

All of the buildings were made of stone. Any and all rock formations were covered in moss. I couldn't feel the chill that I've been craving on my skin, but I was able to feel it with each inhaled breath. It was still lightly raining and the sky was still overcast, this is the kind of weather that I've missed while I was away.

I was doing a good job of avoiding the hostile villagers actions. I know many glares were sent my way and there were some people who spoke out against a demon being made Mizukage. We almost made it to the Mizukage tower when the first kunai was thrown. "You should stay back." I said. Baki stopped walking while Genma continued to stay close. Neither of them could sense the kunai until it was too late and it bounced off the skin of my right cheek.

Genma pulled out a kunai for each hand and placed himself in a defensive position. "Are you alright?" Baki had also palmed two kunai.

"I'm fine, there's something that I need to do. The two of you will have to stay back, don't try to help." I said. The two hesitated, but put away their kunai and stepped away. I stepped forward and turned to face the people out in the streets. "I know most of you might be against me becoming Mizukage and that's okay, you don't have to like it, it's what's already been decided. I'll give you this chance to attack me, if you think I don't deserve this then show me!"

A few ninja ran towards me, one was doing the hand signs for the water dragon jutsu while another pulled out a tanto and the last palmed several shuriken. I stood my ground letting the shuriken hit me first tearing at the fabric of my chest. The ninja with the tanto would have cut a large gash in the fabric of my dress that would have revealed what was underneath my bandages, so I blocked his hit with my arm in a way that it brushed against the wrappings on my forearms and didn't damage them. He jumped away from me when he realized he wasn't gaining any ground. The moment he moved away a water dragon was launched at me. I brought my arms up to block my face and grounded myself as the water collided with my body. I managed to stay on my feet, but I was pushed back several yards.

The dragon dissipated, lightning senbon followed and I hardly had time to move but I managed to dance around most of them. The ones that I couldn't avoid burned through my bandages of my arms and legs a little bit, they were hardly cut and managed to stay in place.

Next came a round of close ranged fighters. There was a woman with a spiked ball and chain, I didn't know who she was, but she looked familiar with her dark brown hair and eyes. Her chakra also felt slightly familiar. The other three ninja with her had various different types of swords. There was a katana, a broad sword, and a sword with a wider blade. More ninja joined, I noticed that one even had a scythe.

The woman with the spiked ball and chain was attacked from behind and her attention was taken away from me. The other ninja with weapons were blocked by the chakra from Hiramekarei, and knocked back by a water dragon. Chojuro took up a defensive position in front of me along with Mitsuru. Ninja kept approaching us ready to fight.

"Stop!" Chojuro yelled. "Ketto is your Mizukage, you should show her some respect!"

"All that demon has ever done is kill people!" someone yelled back.

"She only did what Lord Fourth asked of her!" Chojuro kept Hiramekarei in front of himself in a defensive position while he talked. "All she has done was what she was ordered to do! Look at her now, even as you are all attacking her she hasn't fought back! She didn't even try to defend herself!"

Baki and Genma now stood with Chojuro and Mitsuru, I would have wondered where Jiro was but I had a good feeling that I already knew. Mitsuru spoke next, "We stand with the fifth Mizukage Ketto Karatachi, if you plan on causing her harm then you'll have to go through us!" he reformed his water dragon and held it elevated behind himself.

The ninja we were facing didn't seem to want to drop their weapons and looked like they were going to continue to fight. "Everyone put down your weapons!" a new voice shouted from behind me. I turned to look and saw two older men who seemed to be in their early fifties. Despite being older than Ao, they aged well enough. If I didn't already know who they were I would think that they were the same age as Ao, if not younger. The one who spoke had deep violet hair that was just starting to lighten from old age. He had a scar on his neck, no additional scars were visible. He wore ninja attire instead of robes that an elder would normally wear. This was elder Shun Shimizu, the one who sent me the scroll while I was in Suna.

The man standing next to him with emerald green hair and multiple scars on his face was elder Shohei Imamura. He also refused to wear elder robes, they claimed that it was more difficult to battle in and they would be right. "It has already been decided among the feudal lords and ourselves that Lady Ketto be named Mizukage. She is the most qualified shinobi Kiri has to offer and we will support her reign."

Shun glared at the ninja facing us. "Ketto go inside, there's nothing to be done here." he glanced at me and added, "You better change into some dry clothes and Shohei and I will meet you in the Mizukages office."

I didn't argue with him, I just nodded and entered the Mizukages tower. I carried myself up to the top floor, there was so much space up here that all of our rooms were on this floor. Uncle Yagura's room was closest to his office and the war room. Mine and Zabuza's rooms were on the opposite side of the building. In the middle of the tower was a rest area available to anyone who needed to relax. There were a couple of couches here and a television that we never used. On the south side of the tower was the kitchen and dining areas, I never used those much either.

No one stopped me on my way to my room, so I was able to get there relatively quickly. I pushed the door open and entered making sure to close it behind me. The first thing I did was grab some clothes from my dresser and a fresh roll of bandages from a drawer of my desk.

My room didn't seem as lived in as Temari's with her vanity and collages of pictures. Instead the walls of my room were painted olive and were covered with masks and weapons. There were five masks on the wall, all of them were my anbu masks. They were white with blue karatachi symbols painted over the right eye. The replacement of each mask had an addition of more blue markings with the most recent mask being upgraded from a regular anbu mask to a celestial mask with four eye slits. Each mask was damaged in some way, my first mask was cut in half from the chin to the forehead, the second was missing the top left half which exposed my eye and part of my forehead, the third had a cut through the right eye slit that revealed that fraction of my face and the fourth one had a hole in the left cheek where someone used a lightning jutsu to punch me in the face, there were still singed marks along the cracks. The fifth one was my latest mask with the celestial eyes, all of the blue paint was on the right side of the mask. I just realized that I wouldn't be wearing that mask ever again like all of the others hanging on the wall.

I unwound all of my bandages before putting new ones on. My arms were first and then my legs, I did my stomach last. After my bandages were taken care of I put on my dry clothes. I had a cropped black tank top with a raindrop cut out of the left side of my chest. The olive leggings that I grabbed were high waisted and covered all of my stomach up to the bottom of my tank. The leggings had black mesh across my thighs at an angle in two different places. I tucked the paper Ao gave me into the waistband of my leggings, knowing that I might have time to read it soon. It was going to be a long day, I could feel it, so I put my blue hair up in a messy bun to keep it out of the way. I don't have a mirror in my room so I didn't bother checking to see how I looked. I just left my room and walked to the Mizukages office, or well I guess it's my office now.

Elders Shun and Shohei were waiting for me just like they said they would. Neither of them were in the Mizukages seat, they each sat on the other side of the desk, so I took my seat in the Mizukages spot where uncle Yagura would always sit. As I sat down I noticed that in the corner of the room near the desk my uncles club was leaning against the wall. It was a club with uneven sized hooks, with a green flower on the larger end. He must have left it here when he left for the Leaf village.

"I'm sure we have much to discuss." I said. I clasped my hands in front of me and leaned forward on the desk.

"We can start with the current roster of anbu." Shohei said. "You are going to have to decide if you would like to keep everyone in their current positions. They all served under the fourth Mizukage, you have the choice of keeping them in service or releasing them from their current duties and reassigning them."

"In order to make an accurate decision regarding that I'll need all ninja registration forms and any and all mission reports pertaining to said ninja. Then I'll decide if they are better suited in their current positions or elsewhere." I watched the two of them, they both seemed calm as if what I asked was normal. Though we all know that no sane person would request a complete overhaul of all shinobi serving the village.

"Lady Ketto, you do know that kind of project will take months, even years." Shun said. He wasn't telling me that it couldn't be done or that he refused to help, just that it would take more time to do than I would like.

"It will actually be quite easy to do." I started. "If I choose who I trust to lead each division, they can then decide who will be in their division. Our anbu consist of several divisions, unlike other nations. We have our hunter nins, cypher division and Mūn as a sub-division to regulate the gangs on the mainland. From information gathered from Ao revealing that my uncle was being manipulated by another person, I would like to create a protection unit specifically for the Mizukage. I'll probably come to regret this decision in the future, but even I have to admit that it would be beneficial."

"It would be, do you have anyone in mind to head any of these divisions?" Shun asked.

"For most of the positions, yes." I said. "But when it comes to Mūn, I just want Saizo Terumi out of that position. There are many areas within our village that have been corrupted and that is one such position."

"I'll have someone get the ninja registration papers and those mission reports you talked about." Shohei said. He got up from his seat and left the office, leaving me alone with Shun.

"How long have you known about the villages corruption?" he asked.

"I've known for several years already, but you can't exactly counter that once it's gotten as bad as it has." I said. "That's why I decided to pick the new heads of each division and they can decide who they should keep. That way I know it wouldn't be nearly as corrupt."

"It's about time there was some change around here." he said. "Shohei and I are used to fighting in a war, but we've never felt safe here where it should be considered home."

"I would actually like the two of you to help me decide the new positions." I dropped my hands on the desk and sat up a bit straighter. "There aren't many people I can trust, but I do trust the two of you." Years ago, the two of them were still actively serving my uncle as anbu. They were among the few who spent a lot of time with me as a child and they've never given me a reason not to trust them.

"This would be the first time we actually had a say in any of the goings on within the village." Shun looked thoughtful and then said, "You're right though, Saizo Terumi needs to be replaced. What about his sister Mei?"

I haven't thought of giving Mei a position, especially not Saizo's. He can hate me all he wants for replacing him, but he will most definitely hold a grudge against his older sister if she was the one to replace him. Still, I was certain that uncle Yagura would have chosen Mei as the fifth Mizukage, I should at least acknowledge her abilities. "I'll bring it up to her and let her decide. From what I know about her, she is more disciplined than her brother."

Shohei reentered the office carrying a stack of three boxes, three other ninja followed him with more. "The ninja registration forms will be over here, keep the mission reports over there." the ninja moved to follow Shohei's orders and left the room.

"Wait a moment, I'll need the three of you to summon some people for me." I said. I got up from my seat to walk over to the boxes of registration papers. I pulled a bunch out and returned to the desk to sit down.

"Yes, Lady Mizukage." one replied.

"Their names are Shozouki Hozuki, Mitsuru Onishi, and Jiro Matsuo." I didn't pay them much attention, instead I opened the first set of registration files and started to look through them.

"Understood." the same ninja answered. The three of them left the office, leaving me alone with Shun and Shohei again.

"Those three?" Shohei wondered. I glanced up from my files to see him with his own pile of registration forms now seated across from me.

"My uncle put them on a temporary team with me for a reason and I believe I understand why now. They are more susceptible to change and they are willing to set aside their differences for the sake of the village. Actually, in some way I believe they possess the courage of water." They all stood up to me at some point and that in itself is courageous considering how I'm viewed by the people of Kirigakure.

"And you can trust them?" Shun asked.

"Yes, after what happened in the Leaf village I believe I can trust them to protect me." I was looking at a registration form for someone who had a jutsu that utilized acid. Acid based jutsu are rare in Kirigakure but it is possible for a user to have a jutsu like this. They are usually from Jokiden where the temperature is warmer and their jutsu is more fire based. I didn't know why this ninja would be in the cypher division and not the hunter corps where his jutsu would be useful in disposing of bodies. Or would I want him in my protection unit? I'll just have to set his forms aside for now and have Shozouki make the decision.

As I continued to look through the files I briefly thought about how I should have seen something like this coming. The last thing uncle Yagura and I talked about regarding the future was the Akatsuki and their search for the tailed beasts. Could uncle Yagura have been controlled by someone in the Akatsuki into giving up his tailed beast? Or did he choose to do this on his own to protect me from the Akatsuki targeting me. I wonder what would happen once they realize uncle Yagura doesn't have the three tails? Would they continue to search for it or would they already suspect me?

I found two more registration forms for people that I thought would be good for the protection unit. I set another couple away that could do well with the hunter nins. The forms of any ninja that worked with Saizo were set aside for further evaluation. I needed to find out which of them were following orders to follow orders and which ones were following orders because they truly partnered with Saizo and his beliefs. They all shouldn't be punished for what Saizo ordered them to do. The ones who were innocent can be reassigned while the ones who were guilty can become jonin leaders for students at the academy.

It's time that Kirigakure utilized teamwork in their ninja careers to bring about success, at the very least they can use each other to become stronger. We may have a strong military presence as it is, but I want us to be even stronger and I think that by helping each other develop our skills that would be more possible, especially with the younger generation, hopefully it will be easier with them. Either way it may be difficult to bring about any kind of change, I'm ready for the challenge.

"Lady Mizukage?" I stopped looking at the files in front of me and looked at Jiro.

"Please don't call me that, it's weird." I said.

A smile spread across Jiro's face. "It's your title, you should get used to it, Lady Mizukage."

I gave a slight sigh, he's right, I will have to get used to it. For awhile it will remind me of the circumstances of how I got this position. "You're right, that will come with time, I'm sure." I pushed the files that I was currently looking at away from myself to give the three in front of me my full attention. "I have decided to create a protection unit within the anbu specifically for the Mizukage after learning about past incidents. Shozouki, I would like you to be the head captain of this division while Mitsuru and Jiro are assisting head captains."

Jiro stood and stared, his mouth twitched as if he wanted to say something but he didn't, not right away. "You're going to make us anbu and our main task is to protect you?"

His behavior confused me a bit, I thought him and Mitsuru already took turns keeping an eye on me. Maybe they only said that when we were away from the village because they were stuck with me. "You don't have to take the position, I can give you a different one. Chojuro and I can take turns training you so that once we get Kiba back you would be more likely to wield it. If you would like, you could be a mentor to students at the ninja academy or maybe you would prefer the kenjutsu academy being that you rely heavily on your blade. Or you could-"

Before I could say anymore Mitsuru was the one to cut me off. "I think you misunderstood the nature of his question. He didn't think this would be the outcome of working together with you. He didn't even think that you actually liked him, which is understandable, you still act a bit distant with us so I'm a bit shocked too." Mitsuru crossed his arms as he stood across from me. His short black hair was wet from the rain, but he didn't seem to care that he was soaked to the bone.

"I accept this position." Shozouki said. A small smile graced his face, this would be the first time I've seen him smile. "Mangetsu cared for you as a sister while Suigetsu respected you. I'm not sure if he saw you as a rival or a friend, but I'm willing to protect you because of that."

That's right, Suigetsu is gone too. I almost forgot that he was even related to Shozouki or that they were raised together along with Mangetsu. The three have the same lavender eyes, but Suigetsu has white hair with an undertone of a light blue just like Mangetsu did while Shozouki has light brown hair. I'll have to remember that I have almost no one left. In my family, there's Mei and Saizo. Though I'm still not completely sure how we're related and I also trust Saizo about as far as I can throw him, actually I trust him less than even that. There's also Utakata, but as far as I know nobody knows where he is right now. It's really just me and Chojuro who I can trust from my past.

"What about the two of you?" I asked Mitsuru and Jiro.

"I accept too." Mitsuru said.

"Yeah, me too." Jiro agreed.

"Good, Shozouki you will be picking the other ninja to be in this division. Obviously you'll be choosing people you trust and think are qualified. I already set aside some registration forms of some shinobi that seem significant and who I think you might want in the division, but the final decision is yours." I gestured to the small pile of registration forms that I already set to the side. "The three of you can start going through the ones we set aside to choose who will be in the division. Shun and Shohei are here to make selections for the others."

I decided to not appoint the new head of the other divisions until after Shozouki, Mitsuru and Jiro already picked the ninja for theirs. That way there wouldn't be as many people in my office at one time. We all continued to go through the ninja registration forms. When Shozouki thought they had enough to go off of him, Jiro and Mitsuru left to go and recruit those ninja. I focused more on potential ninja for the hunter nins while Shun and Shohei were looking for the cypher division and Mūn respectively. I really think I might have to make Mei the new head of Mūn and I don't even care if it causes trouble with her brother. I need to stop his corruption before it becomes a major issue. For the other two divisions I had both Ao and Emon in mind, but first I'll have to make Emon remove his mask, I don't know if I could fully trust someone whose face I've never seen before, even if I've known him my whole life.

Eventually Shun and Shohei left me too. I didn't know what time it was, you can never tell by looking outside at the overcast sky, but still, I felt that it was at least late afternoon. I wasn't tired like I thought I would be instead I was exhausted. My body felt heavy and I didn't want to do anything. Normally, I would chalk it up as being physically exhausted from my trip back from Suna with little to eat and hardly any rest, which still could have been a big factor, but a part of me knew I was depressed. I would never admit that to anyone if they questioned me on it because then other ninja of the older generation would see me as weak and have one more reason to think that I'm unqualified to be Mizukage. I still don't understand why uncle Yagura did that. Did he make me the Mizukage as a way to keep the three tails in Kirigakure? Or was it because he really thought I was the best qualified?

I decided to relax for the rest of the day and pushed whatever files I still had away from me. I didn't want to stay here where I know I would be doing more work, so I got up from my seated position and stretched with my arms in the air before reaching my feet and then leaving the room. The first place I thought of going was uncle Yagura's room, I couldn't think of being alone in my own room. I can't even remember the last time I was in uncle Yagura's room, I don't actually think I've ever been in there.

No one was near me in the tower, Shun and Shohei were in the lounge area along with Baki and Genma but that was it, everyone else was out, so I didn't have to worry about anyone watching me go to uncle Yagura's room. I didn't hesitate when I reached his door, I just slipped into the room and closed the door behind me. I didn't turn the light on because with the remaining light from outside, I was still able to see. His room was just as I pictured it would look, it reminded me of Gaara's room and how it looked like no one lived here. There were a few picture frames on the top of the dresser that surprised me. One would have made sense, but uncle Yagura had more than that, four lined the top of the dresser. I moved closer to observe them because there were unfamiliar people in some of them.

The first frame held a photo of three people, a young woman with Karatachi features, a boy who was unmistakable as uncle Yagura, and an even younger boy who shared the same hair color and face shape as uncle Yagura and the woman but had the brightest green eyes I've ever seen instead of the pink-purple color of a Karatachi. The woman must have been my mother, uncle Yagura has never shown me pictures of her before so I don't know what she looks like, but somehow I know this is her. I wonder who the younger boy is? Could they have had a younger brother? I wonder if he's dead too. Uncle Yagura never talked about him either and that would make sense if he was also dead.

My eyes focused on the woman who was my mother, uncle Yagura once said her name was Moka. I didn't look anything like her. She had long wheat colored hair that was lighter than uncle Yagura's, it was nearly a full blonde color. She also had more color to her complexion than I did, but not by much and her eyes, I didn't think it was possible for another person to have pink-purple eyes. She was beautiful, I wish I would have taken after her more in looks at least that way I would have inherited more than the shape of her face.

In the next picture, my mother looked a little bit older and was standing next to a man that looked so much like Zabuza, but his face was slightly different. That must have been my father Zanma, I knew as much about him as I did my mother which wasn't much. I didn't even know that him and Zabuza looked nearly identical. Speaking of, a really young Zabuza was placed in between the two of them in the picture. He hardly looked like himself, I've never really imagined him being younger before, he had to have been no older than seven. They looked like a typical family from Kirigakure, a family of hard faced ninja.

The third picture I didn't even think uncle Yagura had anymore. It was a picture of him, me, and Zabuza from years ago. This picture was taken when I was seven before my graduation. Zabuza stood next to me, he was about eighteen. We were both dressed in ninja attire and had our respective blades. Uncle Yagura stood behind us in his Mizukage's robes with a hand on each of our shoulders.

The last picture was of only me and uncle Yagura taken last year. He was still in his Mizukage's robes and he still stood behind me, this time with both hands placed on my shoulders. We both didn't smile, we never had a reason to. In the picture I held my Kukushibyo in front of me with both hands on the handle and the tip was in the ground.

I didn't think uncle Yagura cared this much about family to keep several pictures of us in his room like this. I stepped back a few paces and fell backwards on his bed. If I make it back to my room tonight I would be surprised. I turned onto my side and buried my face into the blankets to find that they still smelled like uncle Yagura, he'll always be in the back of my mind. My hands reached for the letter in the waistband of my leggings, I might as well read it and get it over with. I rolled onto my back again to read the letter as I held it in front of me.

My beloved Ketto,

I must confess that I haven't been myself for years. The man who has been controlling my mind and making decisions for the village is Madara Uchiha. I didn't want you to know about this, whenever I'm around you I'm myself. Madara can't control me or at least his control over me is more limited when I'm with you. I think it's because my love for you is stronger than whatever hold he has over me. He was the one that has been trying to get me to give myself and Isobu up to the Akatsuki for the last two years. I decided that it would be best to go to them now, I knew I couldn't hold off whatever hold he had on me for too long.

I'm sorry that you had to come back to the village to be faced with knowing what happened to me. I leave Kirigakure in your capable hands as you are one of the only people that I trust and I know you have the strength to lead. The truth is that you have surpassed me in skill years ago, use that power to protect our homeland and make the land of Water a great nation once again.

Goodbye Ketto, we will see each other again but for your sake I hope we don't meet for decades. Live your life for you and for the people of our nation. Enjoy your fifteenth birthday and many more to come. I love you even though I never really had a chance to show it. -Yagura Karatachi

My hands fell to my sides with my left still clutching the letter. In a way, uncle Yagura sacrificed himself to the Akatsuki so that they wouldn't target me. Yet, they've already targeted me but for my bounty. Maybe the Akatsuki wouldn't be interested in pursuing me because there are many other bounties they could collect. I would really have to worry once they realize I have Isobu sealed inside of me. Who knows how long that could take, one maybe two years, less than that even? Either way I have a little bit of time. I have to stop doing things that give me away as Isobu's jinchuuriki. It was foolish of me to not block any of those attacks earlier today, but I felt as if I should let everyone get out their anger and whatever hatred they have of me so that we could all move on. I wonder if anyone really took note of my shell-like skin? I hope not, otherwise I just ruined a fifteen year secret.

Wait, is today really August 3rd? I remember Shohei said that it was earlier so it must be. This is one hell of a birthday. First, I find out that the last of my immediate family is dead. Then, I'm named the fifth Mizukage.

I can't believe that uncle Yagura has faith in me and believes that I'm stronger than him. I never once believed I surpassed him at any time. I was always striving to grow my abilities and be even stronger because I thought I was nowhere near his level. I'm still going to continue to grow and expand my abilities because now, whether I like it or not, I have more than just myself to protect.

I could sense a group of two people closing in on the tower fast, their bloodlust was strong and I already knew this was going to be another attempt on my life. I didn't want to get up just yet, but I was ready for them. Before I could sit up on the bed they were intercepted by Shun and their chakra signatures immediately started to disappear. Maybe I will be able to sleep peacefully tonight?