I still managed to wake up early the next day, I think it's due to the fact that when I fell asleep last night I didn't continue to focus on Isobu's chakra while I slept and I was able to pull myself out of my subconscious to wake up whenever I needed to. The first thing I did this morning was go to my office to do more paperwork. I didn't get too much done before Chojuro interrupted me.
"Okay, I've arranged for you to sit in on another class at the academy today, but I didn't get anything scheduled at the kenjutsu academy for this afternoon so you'll still have that free." he set a piece of paper down in front of me. "That's for the rest of the week. Being that there's so many classes in session during any given day I've gone through and set specific times you would observe each class and wrote down the name of the sensei and the year each class is in the academy."
"You put that together fast." I was a bit surprised that he managed to arrange for me to visit everyone at the academy. I thought that some sensei's would refuse thinking that it would interfere with their classes or that they just didn't want me in particular to visit. I looked at the schedule and then folded it up and tucked it into the waistband of my leggings.
"Rinzu sensei talked to some of the other sensei's after we visited and most of them agreed. I think they want to show off their students, which I understand." Chojuro said. He shuffled through his stack of papers and pulled out another one to hand to me. "Also, I was correct in assuming Zagura was an orphan. He currently lives with his elderly grandmother who is his guardian. His mother is Kaiku Akasa, but his father isn't listed anywhere. His grandmother's name is Razuchi Akasa and it looks like she runs a ninja tool store here in Kiri."
"I could pay her a visit today. Do you have both her home address and store address written down?" I asked. I didn't want to overwhelm the woman with questions, but I would like a few of them answered. I don't even know if she'll want to talk to me, I know there are some people who still don't like me out there and if she is then I don't really care. She can demand that I leave and I will, but I still have to try.
"It's all there, but remember you should be going to the academy soon, so you can visit later." Chojuro said.
"What else are you going to do this morning?" I asked.
"I was planning on looking more into the orphans and possibly starting to organize the evaluations of the shinobi that have left the academy within the last five years." he said.
"Have Shozouki or Ao help you with evaluations. I'll check in with Genma and Baki before I leave the tower. They've been shadowing me since we arrived in Kiri." I got up from my seat behind my desk and glanced at uncle Yagura's hooked club before leaving my office. I've been thinking about learning to fight with it, but then realized I only thought of doing that as a way to connect with him and I shouldn't be grasping on to the memory of someone who's dead that didn't pay too much attention to me when he was alive.
"Alright, I'll get to it then." Chojuro followed me out of the office and was about to leave me to look for Shozouki and Ao, but then stopped. "Hey Ketto, I saw Mitsuru this morning and he said that you planned on making a public announcement today about kekkei genkai users, is that true?"
"Yeah, I'm going to announce that the law forbidding all kekkei genkai users is abolished. I want to invite them back to the mainland." I said.
"That's a good idea, I just didn't know if Mitsuru was telling the truth." Chojuro said. "Well I'll be going now." he gave me a smile and a wave as he left me alone.
I walked to the gathering area here in the Mizukage's tower, Baki and Genma weren't here but I could wait for one of them to show up. I sat down on one of the reclining chairs facing the television and relaxed. I still have a half hour before I need to worry about getting to the academy to sit in on the first class. The piece of paper Chojuro gave me said that the sensei was Harume Hoshigaki and that his class was filled with eleven year olds who have been attending the academy for at least three years. They would be more advanced in their teachings than Rinzu's class. Hopefully I'll come across more students with significant chakra like the chakra Hikari, Zagura and Futto have.
Harume being a Hoshigaki is surprising, that clan was isolated from the rest of Kirigakure because of their appearance and their abilities. I didn't think any of them would want to be involved with the village. I never would have thought one of them would have wanted to be a sensei at the academy either, so that's a bit shocking considering I assumed any relation to Kisame would have a similar perspective on their lot in life.
I turned my head to see Baki approaching from the direction of his room. I thought Genma would have been the one to get close, but he's also been shadowing me very closely yet just out of sight since he got here. He's never interfered with anything and I've never called attention to him so I guess it only makes sense that he would continue to be my shadow.
"Good morning Baki, how have you been enjoying Kirigakure?" I asked.
"It's different from how I pictured it would be here." he said. He took a seat near me on one of the couches. I noticed that he was wearing longer sleeves than he was in Suna. "I honestly thought it would have been more tropical here, I didn't realize that it was either raining or misting all the time and that it was so cold. I guess in that regard this really is the village hidden in the mist."
"It is, the weather is so familiar to me that I find myself missing it when I'm not in the village." I said.
"The cold is a bit of a shock but it's nice here." he said. "I even managed to try some crab for the first time. It was really rich in flavor and I'm not sure if I really like it."
"That's okay, some things need a more acquired taste." I said. I sat up from my relaxed position knowing that I should leave for the academy very soon. "By the time you'll need to go back to Suna I'll have some teams ready to travel back with you from the cypher division, medical corps, a sealing team, and some more experienced fighters to help with training. I think in a couple of weeks or so, I'll also travel to Suna. I want to make sure everyone's training is going according to plan, but I want to make sure everything is taken care of here first."
"There's no need to rush. It's important for you to get Kirigakure settled how you want it before you plan on traveling outside of the village." he said.
"Right, I should be heading to the academy now. I'm observing some classes there." I stood up from my recliner to prepare to leave. "Are you and Genma going to keep shadowing me?"
"Yes, we were sent here to keep an eye out for you and while I leave in a couple of days to go back to Suna, Genma will be here for awhile." Baki also stood up from his seat on the couch.
"I know, and I'm not surprised." I said. "If that's the case, why don't you walk with me to the academy?"
Baki nodded his head and followed me out of the tower. "The number of times someone has tried to kill you is greater than the amount of times the Kazekage has sent anbu to kill Gaara. Has it always been like this?"
"For most of my life, yes. When I was very young people would be apprehensive of me because I was being raised by the Mizukage in the era of the Bloody Mist, it wasn't until after my graduation that people tried attempting to take my life." I lead the way down the street to the academy. "It's actually nice not having to worry about that anymore. Creating the protection division for the Mizukage was a good idea." Even if I created the division because of uncle Yagura falling under the control of someone else's genjutsu it worked out for me in a way I didn't think of before. I can walk wherever I want to in Kirigakure and not have to worry about being attacked, I can finally relax a bit.
Our walk to the academy was uninterrupted, there weren't many people out yet this morning. It was still dark and was raining as opposed to our usual mist and we got pretty wet on our walk. Baki didn't say anything about it so it must not have bothered him. He followed a few steps behind me the whole way to the academy. Once I entered the academy Baki turned to leave. "I'll be watching from a distance."
I watched him disappear into the rain. Even though I couldn't see him, I continued to follow his chakra until he met up with Genma. I sensed for any other chakra signatures that seemed familiar, but I haven't memorized every one in the protection detail yet. There was another chakra signature that followed to the left of Genma's by twenty kilometers, it was either someone planning an attack or another shinobi tasked with protecting me. I decided on the latter when I couldn't detect much bloodlust from them.
My body was leaving puddles of water on the floor. It would be uncomfortable to sit around in wet clothes all day, the feeling of your clothes sticking to you is distracting. First, I wrung my hair out to get as much water out of it as I could. Then, I focused on the water particles on me instead of those in my body to draw them out. Three small balls of water formed inches away from me. They continued to grow larger the more I pulled water out of my clothes, bandages, and my hair. Once I was relatively dry, I flung the spheres of water outside the open door to the academy and started to walk towards Harume's classroom.
I walked the halls searching for the room number that Chojuro wrote down for me, but it seems as if I didn't have to look for the room. Harume was waiting for me outside of the classroom. He was leaning against the wall by the door with his hands in the pockets of his black pants. He also wore a long black sleeved shirt that clung to his body and showed the definition in his muscles. His skin was a grey-blue color and his eyes were white orbs with three curved black markings under each eye. For a second I almost thought I was looking at Kisame, but while his hair was gelled up and looked straight, Harume had a wave to his hair that was also gelled up but to the left. Now that I was able to look closer, I noticed that while their faces are similar they are also different. If I had to guess I would say that they were closely related, possibly cousins.
"Harume Hoshigaki." I didn't say it like a question, it's obvious that this man is from the Hoshigaki clan.
"Lady Ketto, I heard that you wanted to observe all the classes at the academy?" he asked. His voice even sounded similar to Kisame's, yet his was a bit deeper.
"That's right, I wanted to make sure the next generation is as strong as the last one." I said.
"I see, well my students have all mastered walking on water and show potential with their developing chakra." he said. He pushed off the wall and took his hands out of his pockets. "None of them can create water out of their own chakra, they can only use existing forms, which is okay considering not many people have the skill to do that. I still push them to try. We'll be going to Port Royaru to work on water based ninjutsu. I would like to point out that while most of my students have water based ninjutsu there are a few who have wind and lightning based chakra."
"That's quite impressive." I said. I didn't think that students in the academy would be able to not only identify but also use their elemental chakra.
"Let's go in, I've already told my students that you'll be observing our class today. They're actually quite excited to show off their abilities to you." Harume gestured for me to enter the classroom first. I did as he wished and entered the room, as soon as the students saw me they stopped chattering among themselves. "Okay everyone, now that Lady Mizukage is here we can go to Port Royaru for ninjutsu training. Form two lines, one behind me and one behind Lady Mizukage."
The students rushed to form lines, the two that were closest to me in line were actually girls and I was surprised by that. In the other two classes that I was able to observe there were hardly any girls. Hikari is the only girl in her class and Chojuro doesn't have any girl students. It's nice to see that there are more girls wanting to be kunoichi, but there's still not as many as I would have liked. If I would have attended the academies when I was younger, I know I would have been the only girl.
They whispered to each other as they followed me and Harume out in the rain and through the village to Port Royaru. During our walk the rain continued to fall, not showing any signs of letting up. When we got to the docks at Port Royaru, Harume stopped everyone. "Today we will be battling each other using only ninjutsu. Lightning elemental types will have to sit this one out, wind is able to participate. Now pair up and show Lady Mizukage what you've learned."
The students paired up with each other and ran out to the water not caring that they were already drenched. All except one girl and two boys, they waited by me and watched their fellow students fight each other.
Some of the ninjutsu the students were using was pretty incredible, I wasn't all that satisfied with the students in the academy until this class. A student used a water whip to pull another student under the surface of the water. It was sudden and I didn't think they could recover from it, then I noticed that the boy who was pulled under the water had a bubble of air around his head that burst the second he breached the water's surface and used a water trumpet as his body rose into the air. The powerful stream of water forced the other boy back, he lost his concentration on the water's surface for a moment and I noticed him sink up to his ankles.
I watched as another student used a water prison and changed the density of the water to suffocate the other boy. The boy being suffocated remained calm and used an air blade in each hand to destroy the water prison. The difficulty of all the different jutsu ranged from class D to B, the more I watched the more impressed I became.
"You must be the lightning users." I said. The girl and two boys waiting near me gave me their attention.
"Yes Lady Mizukage, normally we get to participate with the others when we do ninjutsu training." the girl said. "We don't get to when it's raining out, but we can if it's misting and that's only if we're on solid ground. Harume sensei wanted to focus more on water ninjutsu today because there's more students with that element."
"How are you with lightning?" I wondered. I remember when Ameyuri trained with me, it was easy being accepted by the Kiba swords. It was another thing to adjust to using lightning style ninjutsu. I was so attuned to using water and yang for my coral, it was a bit difficult to learn to use lightning after learning that I had an affinity for it. "I would like to see your lightning jutsu, but that could be another day."
"I like to think I'm pretty good." the little girl said. "My dad thinks I could improve, but mom says that I'm doing pretty good for someone my age."
"I could be stronger too." a little boy said. "It'll take me a long time to be able to control my lightning fully, I'm still working on it though."
"What about you?" I asked the last boy.
"It's hard to get the lightning to work how you want it." he said. "I only know a couple of jutsu, I'm mostly focusing on chakra control."
"That's a good place to start." I said. "When I started my training with Ameyuri she had me focus on chakra control too."
I remember Ameyuri being bored out of her mind with having to put her hunting to the side for a while. With her frustration I could see that she also thought it was important for something as basic as chakra control to not be rushed. She still complained about it, even with myself developing my chakra as fast as I was it didn't seem to be fast enough for her. When she finally had me use lightning chakra it was without Kiba, as crazy as she seemed to be she still wanted to do things right.
I can't remember how many different lightning style jutsu she had me perfect, Zeus' Gauntlet and the Axe of Judgment for example, along with several other A rank jutsu. I even created one myself that involves lightning and yang release, there was something else too, it felt different than yang but similar. I assumed it was yin, but I've never dealt with yin chakra before and I'm not sure that's what it really is. Only it must be, there aren't many people that have yin-yang release so it's not exactly easy to learn from them or even find them. I named the jutsu Art of the Hundred Lightning Fists and it allows the user to imbue energy strikes with Lightning Release, the strikes can pass through water and mud with little resistance, which is perfect for conditions in Kirigakure. The final punch, if it lands on the intended opponent, ends with a large ball of lightning hitting them, delivering a strong finishing blow. Ameyuri was impressed with that, I haven't exactly perfected it, I still need to focus on the energy punches. It's hard trying to get a grasp with something you only understand partly, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. The one time I did it perfectly in training was pretty much just a fluke.
That was actually something Ameyuri helped me understand a little bit, she only had lightning chakra but she used that to sense the energies of her prey while hunting. When you're attuned to lightning as much as Ameyuri was you're able to sense the energies of other people whether it's their life energy, or chakra energy. It wasn't until after Ameyuri died of a rare illness and I started hunting and tracking people with Utakata that I truly understood what she was talking about. During the Kiri-Kumo war I tried perfecting the Art of the Hundred Lightning Fists, I replaced the energy punches with lightning chakra at the time and I only used this technique when I would happen to be unarmed. Over the years I've been getting better with lightning chakra, but I still relied heavily on my coral more than lightning. Still, I was able to understand the struggle these young lightning users were going through.
"You got to train with the Ameyuri Ringo?" the little girl asked.
"A long time ago, yes." one of the students suddenly formed a whirlpool and all the other students in the surrounding area were being pulled in. "It's important to hone chakra control, it's the basic starting point for any great ninja." I didn't mention to them that there were different chakra types, they would never be able to reach those. Well someone might be able to master senjutsu, but not as of right now.
I was silent during the next two hours before I had to go and observe another class. Today I was going to be in both classrooms and then I would have the afternoon free. Harume told me that I could come and observe his class whenever I wanted. He said that his students were exceptional and have more of their abilities to show off. It's dumb, but I might just visit his class again because he looks like Kisame. The second class I observed wasn't as interesting as the first but I'll admit that the students were exceptional for nine year olds.
Once I left the academy I went to the address of the ninja tool shop. I've never really had to visit a ninja tool shop, the only other weapons I've needed other than my coral and sword was some standard Kirigakure kunai and that was something I've always had access to in the Mizukage's tower. Uncle Yagura has an armory on one of the mid level floors. That's where I've always gotten any additional weapons that I've needed.
The storefront was all glass windows with displays of some of the newer ninja tools like shuriken with more complex designs and chain scythes. The chain scythes got my attention, I almost wanted to buy one but I don't have a need for one. I walked into Akasa Tools after admiring the chain scythes a bit more. Aside from some kunai the only silver weapon I've ever really had was the Executioner's blade. My Kokoshibyo is black along with any other coral weapons I make in the heat of battle. There was always something appealing about shiny new weapons
When I entered the store I was greeted with the sight of even more weapons. Scythes, spiked balls and chains, long swords, sabers, axes, war hammers, and these were only the weapons that immediately caught my eye. Though I did notice a section for senbon and another for ninja wire and paper bombs.
"C-Can I help you, Lady Mizukage?" a feminine voice pulled my attention away from the clubs. There was one with a hook on it that reminded me of uncle Yagura's.
"Actually, I'm here to talk to Razuchi Akasa." I said.
The woman looked to be in her thirties and she had chocolate brown hair. "She hasn't been in lately, she's at home sick. I could help you, she's put me in charge of the store until she gets back."
"That's alright, I have some business with Razuchi that's just between the two of us." I said. "I'll just go to her home and meet with her there. Thank you for your help."
"Anytime Lady Mizukage."
I left the ninja tool store with one last look at the machetes, I wondered if anyone actually used that as a weapon and then realized they would. This is Kirigakure, everything is a weapon. The address for Razuchi's home took me only a few streets away from the shop. It looked like every other house with a clay foundation, the only thing to distinguish it from the other houses was all of the blade marks etched in the clay. Maybe Zagura practices throwing kunai with targets up against the house? What other reason could there be for this many marks?
A few people were returning home for the day already while some were only going to the next place they needed to be. I could feel the stare of a man down the street as I knocked on the door. I didn't get a response right away, so I waited a bit before knocking again.
"Come in, the doors open!" called out a woman's voice.
She just lets anyone enter her home without knowing who it is? Then again everyone knows everyone or at least heard of them, so maybe she really isn't worried. I opened the front door and entered the house. The front of the house already opened up to a living room to the right and a kitchen and dining room to the left. Everything was clean and polished, is this really the right home? It doesn't look like a child lives here. I couldn't see anyone in the home so I decided to call out, "Razuchi Akasa?"
"You don't sound familiar." the voice came from the back of the house where there was a staircase. "Who are you?"
"Ketto Karatachi, I've come to talk to Razuchi." I said.
An older woman slowly descended from the stairs. She had more gray hair than she did of the remains of light brunette and it was piled on top of her head in a bun. She didn't have too many wrinkles on her face, but she did have significantly more than elder Shun or Shohei did. She had the most wrinkles on her forehead and around her eyes as if she got them from excessive frowning. She stopped at the base of the stairs for a bit as if she needed to catch her breath and then started walking slowly towards me. "I see, and what can I do for you Lady Mizukage?" she gestured for me to follow her to the kitchen and I did.
"I've been observing academy classes to see how far along the students are in honing their abilities." I started. I watched as she opened a cupboard and revealed that the whole first shelf was filled with various sizes of pill bottles. She took out six bottles and started taking one out from each one. "I've seen Zagura yesterday during his kenjutsu class, his sensei Chojuro says that he skips out on his regular academy classes all the time and that he only goes to his kenjutsu class. Is that because he's here with you during the day?" I didn't want to breach that topic, but after meeting her and seeing her pill stash I've gotten a little concerned. Also, her slow and careful movements suggest that she can't go any faster.
"Yes, Zagura has been here with me during the day." she put the lid on the last bottle, leaving a small pile of pills in front of her. She then reached to the second shelf for a glass cup to fill with water. I waited for her to take her pills hoping she would continue with more than what she already said. "I tell that child all the time he shouldn't be worrying about me. He needs to get stronger, he won't be able to take care of himself if he neglects his training to take care of me." she scowled as she finished talking.
"If I may ask, what happened?" I gestured to the pill bottles that were still sitting out.
She sighed before talking, "Three months ago I had a sudden heart attack, since then a whole new string of problems have come up. Zagura refuses to leave me alone despite my dislike for him, he's just a reminder of my useless daughter. I've managed to get him out of the house for his kenjutsu class but he refuses to leave me alone during the morning. This isn't why you came here, tell me why you're really here."
"I was just wondering about him and his home life." I said. I didn't want to avoid the real reason for coming here, she even knows that I'm here for something else. She seems like the kind of person to appreciate bluntness, so lets try it. "I have reason to believe that Zagura is the son of my uncle, the fourth Mizukage Yagura Karatachi."
I maintained eye contact with her even after she started to glare at me, I was right, that is where her wrinkles came from. "You would be correct in assuming that, Yagura Karatachi is Zagura's father."
"They look so alike, yesterday I thought I was seeing things." I said. Something else occurred to me. "Does Zagura know?"
"No, he doesn't." she said. "My daughter never told him before she died five years ago and I never told him because my daughter didn't even tell Yagura that she was pregnant. I figured there was a reason for that."
"Maybe she knew that most of the time he was being controlled by someone else through a genjutsu." I didn't know if it was right to tell her or not, but I thought she should at least know that. I'm sure many people at least suspected that there was something not right. "It's probably a good thing that she didn't tell him." Zagura could have been targeted just for being the son of a Mizukage and if uncle Yagura was being controlled by someone else they would have easy access to him. Something else was bothering me, "Razuchi, what other complications have come up in your health?"
"A part of my heart tissue died when I had the heart attack and it's irreparable. I was told that the probability of a second heart attack is high and that's only if my heart doesn't completely fail before then." she said. "I've been taking medication for so many things just to stay alive, it doesn't make me better and Zagura doesn't know that. He thinks I could still get better that's why he's been hovering, he's waiting for then."
"So you're going to die and there's no stopping it." I stated. Soon enough Zagura will be as alone as I am. His parents are already dead, not that he knew who his father was anyway and his grandmother is dying. I guess he'll have me, we are cousins after all but he doesn't know that either.
"Yes, I wonder how Zagua will take it. As much as I dislike the child, I don't want Zagura to be alone and fall into a depressed state." she muttered. "He won't be any use to anyone that way."
"Why don't you like him?" I asked, "He's your grandson."
"He's just a reminder of the Fourth, Zagura looks just like him. I'm sorry, but while he did what was best for the land of Water, he was not a good man." Razuchi said. She barely seemed sympathetic for her words but it's fine.
"I know, the Yagura that I knew was different than the Yagura I heard about." I said.
"Zagura is also my daughter's son, we never really saw eye to eye on some things. I don't think she planned on telling me who Zagura's father was until I pieced it together the older he got." Razuchi shook her head. "She's a pain in my ass who left me in charge of raising her child after she died." a sudden realization crossed her eyes. "You could take him in, after I die you'll be his only family so why doesn't he start living with you now? That way he'll be taken care of and I would know he'll be alright."
"Razuchi, I think you should use this time with him." I said. "It's not like you can make up for lost time later, you'll be gone and you won't be coming back. I suggest that he lives with you until your passing, it's too late to spare his feelings, he must already know or at least suspect that you're not getting any better." I gave her a look when it looked like she wanted to argue with me. "After your passing he'll live with me in the Mizukage's tower as Zagura Karatachi, you won't have to worry about that. I'll even train with him and turn him into a strong shinobi."
She was quiet before saying, "I understand."
"You don't have to tell him about any of this, I can if you want." I doubted that Zagura wouldn't try and push me away or question everything I told him as whether or not it was the truth, but it was something I was anticipating.
"I still don't want him to watch me waste away, is there anything you can do to get him out of the house more?" Razuchi asked. She waved at me to follow her. "I need to sit down." I followed her to the couch in the living room and sat down on a chair near her place on the couch.
"I could start his training already." I said, "But I would prefer it if he attended his academy classes before we focused on one-on-one training."
"I'll see what I can do about that." Razuchi said.
Suddenly, the door burst open revealing an out of breath Zagura. I watched him from my spot next to Razuchi, I thought he would still be in class with Chojuro. "The neighbors said that Lady Mizukage was here, what was that about? What did she want?" he hunched over with a grip on his knees to catch his breath. He must have ran here from the kenjutsu academy.
"Pay attention boy! She's still here." Razuchi snapped. She started to get off the couch. "And I told you that you didn't have to go with to this appointment."
"I know you said that, but I didn't think you should go alone." Zagura said. He seemed to have caught his breath and started to walk over to us. "You're not ready to go either."
Razuchi swatted Zagura on the back of his head. "I was talking with Lady Mizukage you brat. I'll go get ready now. Be courteous to Lady Mizukage." She pulled herself up from the couch and started to slowly walk away to go upstairs.
Zagura stood next to my seat and didn't say anything until Razuchi was halfway up the stairs. "What are you doing here?"
"I've come to talk to her about you actually." I said. I decided to tell him some of the truth, I'll just leave out important details like him being a Karatachi.
"What about me?" he asked. When I looked at him an angry look crossed his features. His pink-purple glare was almost as intimidating as uncle Yagura's, but for some reason it only seemed to amuse me. "You better not have said anything to make her hate me more than she already does. I try so hard for her to like me and the last thing I need is for you to say something that would make it worse off for me."
"Oh no, nothing bad." I lazily waved at him as if to say he was ridiculous. "Take a seat." I patted the spot on the couch that Razuchi was just sitting on. He was reluctant, but he sat down all while continuing to give me a suspicious look. "You already know that I'm looking for someone else to wield the Kubikiribocho, I'll admit that you have an attitude, but I would like to train with you. That is if you would like to. You and I will have one-on-one training, and I would also like for you to be in a squad of three, I think I have the other two picked out already."
"Why?" Zagura looked confused as he spoke. "Why would you or anyone want to train me?"
"I see potential in you." Zagura's look of confusion didn't subside, so I thought I should elaborate. "You have a strong chakra presence and your bloodlust is also strong. Though I wouldn't know why that would be, I could only assume it has a lot to do with the fact that you're an orphan and your guardian doesn't seem to care much about you. Actually, with the way you were just acting I would think that you're used to no one really caring about you and maybe that's what fuels your bloodlust?" Zagura looked away from me, so I could only assume it was true. "You seem to have walking on water mastered, which shows you excel in chakra control to some extent. I feel as if you would have excellent kenjutsu abilities if only you would hold your katana correctly, but the way in which you hold a blade says a lot about you too." His pink-purple eyes connected with my grey ones curiously. "I didn't realize it at first because I was focused more on you holding your blade incorrectly and I wasn't thinking about anything other than that. You carry your blade as if you're constantly trying to get a grip, almost like the blade is bigger than it actually is and you only ever use powerful blows, you want to take your opponents out with one hit. Either that or you want to be stronger than you are currently. That's how I wield my blades."
Zagura had a look of realization across his face. "We both utilize the same kenjutsu abilities?"
"I guess, you have the movements down anyway." I said. "We'll have to work on some strength training first before we should switch your blades, otherwise you might have a hard time adjusting."
"When would we start training?" he asked. He looked genuinely interested in having me train him, and while I wanted to help him become a stronger shinobi being that he's family there is something that would still need to be done and he will definitely have his hands full.
"As soon as possible." I said. "There is something else though."
"Hn?" Zagura had a curious look on his face again.
"It might be a lot for you, but along with your kenjutsu classes, your one-on-one training with me and group training I would like for you to start attending academy classes again." I watched as his face slowly started to fall. "It's doable, when I was younger I wasn't attending either of the academies yet I still would have one-on-one training with my older brother Zabuza and sometimes with my uncle Yagura, specialized training with the seven ninja swordsmen, and anbu missions with my partner where I would have to leave Kiri for unspecified lengths of time. We could work out a schedule for you so that everything would work out."
"I don't know if I can, my grandmother isn't doing so well. I should be home with her more." he said. "I'm sorry, but I might have to decline your offer of training me."
"I've actually talked to Razuchi about this." I said. "Zagura, how old are you?"
"I'm eight, why?" he wondered.
"Razuchi and I both agree that you are too young to have to witness what your grandmother is going through." I said. "You need to live for yourself and plan for your future and you can't do that if you're stuck at home taking care of her. What is your dream?"
"My dream?" Zagura looked thoughtful for a moment before continuing, "I want to be strong, strong enough where people will stop looking down on me for being an unwanted orphan. I actually want to be strong like you Lady Mizukage, you're the first female Mizukage Kirigakure has ever had. Everyone looked down on you for being an orphan and the Demon of the Mist, but you still ended up being the strongest ninja in the nation. No one expected that, and I want to shock people like that someday too."
"I see, and do you understand why you need to start focusing on yourself now?" I asked. "Razuchi would like you to start living for yourself."
Zagura still looked unsure, I feel as if it would have been an easier decision for him if Razuchi was already dead. Though I'm not completely heartless, I at least understand why he feels the way he does about this. Or I try to understand anyway. Razuchi is his only living relative, or so he thinks, it was the same for me when I would always try to impress uncle Yagura. I should have been paying more attention to Zabuza, because I spent more time with him than I did with uncle Yagura but I felt it was more important for uncle Yagura to be proud of me considering he was the Mizukage. Zabuza was always there, I always thought he would be there. I should have focused more on being with him and fixing our messed up relationship. Then maybe he wouldn't have left.
In the end Zagura and I will be stuck in the same place. All I ever wanted to do was surpass uncle Yagura, even though he claims I've already done that it still doesn't feel that I have. Now he's dead and I'll never fully know if I could beat him in a real battle as opposed to our sparring matches. Before Zagura can prove himself to Razuchi and make her proud she'll probably be dead too, I don't know how much longer the woman has but it must not be too much longer if she's been thinking about Zagura's future.
"I'll start going to my academy classes." he muttered.
"Good, We'll start training in a few days after I see that you really are attending your academy classes." I said. I stood from my seat knowing that I should probably leave soon, I'm supposed to make an announcement today and each division of the anbu is going to be represented, other than Mūn, Mei still hasn't gotten back to me. "You should talk to Chojuro about using a different blade tomorrow. Please say goodbye to Razuchi for me."
"Good bye Lady Mizukage." he scrambled to his feet and bowed to me.
"There's no need to bow Zagura, I feel as if we are going to be close soon enough." I gave him a small smile and left their home.
"Wait!" Zagura shouted. I could hear his rushed footsteps as he ran after me. "Is it okay if you tell me about the other two who will be on this squad with me?"
"I'll tell you about them after I talk to them about it." I waved and continued down the street.
I went back to the Mizukage's tower where I found the emerald haired elder waiting for me. With all of the scars on his face, I couldn't tell if Shohei was upset with having to wait for me or if he always looked like that, the correct answer is probably the second option, I can't picture him with any other look on his face than the one I see now. "Lady Ketto, you've returned. I just dropped off some scrolls that were delivered and I thought I should wait for you to update you on everyone's progress with the reevaluations."
"Would you like to tell me about their progress first?" I gestured for him to follow me to my office where I took a seat behind my desk. "I can always read the scrolls later."
"Very well." Shohei took a seat across from my desk and started, "Shozouki, Ao, and Akira have decided to evaluate the ninja through one-on-one battles amongst themselves, Shun has been helping them and up until a little while ago I was too. Most shinobi meet our standards, but what would you like us to do if someone doesn't?"
"They'll need more supplemental training before they can be cleared." I almost felt bad saying that. In Kirigakure, especially in the older generations up until those who are more than five years older than me, they grew up in the Bloody Mist. They were taught to fight, but most importantly they were taught to survive and we all take pride in that. I hope no one has to do supplemental training, that could damage someone's self value along with their pride.
"I'll be sure to let everyone know." he said. Shohei gestured to the scrolls on the desk. "There's one from the land of Lightning, I think you should open that one first considering our position with them. There's also one from the land of Wind."
I grabbed the scroll with the symbol for Kumogakure and unrolled it to read,
"Despite the circumstances of which it happened, I wish to congratulate you on being named Mizukage. With our nation's current standing with each other I feel the need to help you during this transition, so I'll be arriving in your nation in a couple of days with a protection detail. I wish for our nation to remain close during and after your transition so that we can continue to be an allied force. -A
"It looks like the Raikage will be visiting us shortly to help me transition into my role." I said. I passed the scroll over to Shohei so that he could read it too.
"I'll inform the oceaners so that they don't think they're trespassing." he read the scroll before adding anything else. "It seems that while he may want to help you transition, he also wants to know where he stands with you. He got along with your uncle, but they weren't close. I think their relationship was based mostly on the ceasefire between our nations."
"I see, then I'll have to share some information with him to show that I'm different than uncle Yagura." I'll need to tell A about the genjutsu that was placed on my uncle along with anything else he would want to know. The more open we are with each other the greater the ties will become, and I can't have the land of Lightning being an enemy of ours. We've already lost enough people on both sides with the last war.
"You'll need to prepare yourself." Shohei said. "You're young and he may hold that against you."
"Let him, I don't really care if he does. It doesn't change the fact that I'm still Mizukage. Besides, I'm used to people constantly judging me." I grabbed the scroll from Sunagakure and opened that one next. It was from Temari, she was just checking in and seeing if everything was okay considering the circumstances in which I left were a bit concerning, for me anyway. She could probably tell that I was worried. She said that Kankuro was improving his taijutsu and could now do the move I showed them and Gaara has been spending more time with them too. Temari's letter was long and ended with her saying that she wanted to visit Kirigakure, but she was checking in with me first to see if that was alright. "Shohei, can you send a message for me?"
"Sure, I can send it as soon as you're finished." he said. I didn't know how long A would be here, so I thought it would be best that they didn't visit anytime soon. While things are finally starting to fall into place here, I knew there was still a lot to be done. I wrote all of this down, but I avoided the subject of becoming Mizukage. That's something I would rather tell them in person if someone else hasn't told them already. I finished my response to Temari's letter and handed it off to Shohei. "I'll go send this, there are a few more things you should look at but they're mostly requests."
Shohei left, leaving me to read through the requests he was talking about. There really wasn't much to it, each request was filed away to be given to whichever division would handle it best. Easier missions will be for those who just graduated from the academies. Now I would just have to wait until Ao, Akira, and Shozouki finished with evaluations, then it should be a good enough time to make an announcement to the citizens of Kirigakure.
To pass the time I decided to go to the library here in the Mizukage's tower. This is where all confidential scrolls are kept along with detailed accounts of notable shinobi from each of the five great nations. I could be reading up on A and his partner B so that I would have them fresh in my mind by the time they get here, but I've already encountered both of them several times. I want to read about all of the previous Mizukage's and see if I could really see myself being as great as them.
I gathered all the books and scrolls about the Mizukage's and settled myself down at a table. The first, Byakuren Karatachi is known as the founder of Kirigakure. He had a strong water affinity and was said to rival the second Hokage Tobirama Senju in water ninjutsu. He was able to create water without a pre-existing water source by using his chakra as a substitute to mold and form the water. He also had a very strong yang release that helped in his ability to make water out of nothing. While Byakuren was a notable shinobi for these reasons, his son Kuroba was also well known as being the first Demon of the Mist.
Uncle Yagura never let me read too much on Kuroba and censored some of what I was able to read. Kuroba was born with the same ability that I was, he was also able to take the life of another with a single touch. It was described as being the result of having an uncontrollable yin and yang release. Byakuren's wife lost her life much like my mother did, by holding her child. Kuroba was a few years old when Hashirama Senju gifted the three tails and the six tails to the land of Water and at that time it was believed that if Kuroba was a jinchuuriki the chakra of his tailed beast might be able to sustain his rapidly growing chakra. He was called the Demon of the Mist because of the fact that he was both the jinchuuriki of the three tails and had an insatiable chakra of his own, one that not even Isobu could satisfy. This seems exactly like my situation, proving that I really am the next Demon of the Mist even if the villagers don't know the full truth about me.
The second, Gengetsu Hozuki the son of Zangetsu Hozuki and Mirai Karatachi is known as being the strongest Mizukage to date. Gengetsu was proficient in Water, Fire, Lightning, and Earth Release, along with Yin and Yang Release. As a member of the Hōzuki clan, his most prominent element was Water Release, which he could use to transform his body into a liquid state and then back into a solid form at will. He could also use his index fingers to fire bullets of water that were strong enough to easily pierce through a clone. I've seen Mangetsu and Suigetsu use both of these abilities, I think it could come in handy to be able to reform your body with water but my shell-like skin is hard to penetrate as it is and it wouldn't make sense to learn how to do that. It still amazes me every time either of the two Hozuki brothers would do it.
Gengetsu had an unspecified kekkei genkai, which I think has something to do with the composition of his water being reminiscent of oil. There never were any official reports or documentation of this kekkei genkai so I think it's safe to assume that's the case. Gengetsu used this to his advantage and created what he called his steaming danger tyranny clone. It was a water clone with a layer of oil coating it, the more the clone moved the more likely it was to explode. His summoning was a giant clam, by using the mist and the clam he was able to utilize his yin release to create a large scale genjutsu.
The third, Shojuro Karatachi, the Mizukage responsible for creating the Bloody Mist. There isn't much information on his abilities, which is a bit surprising considering he was the Mizukage. It's known that he was a bodyguard for Byakuren when he was Mizukage. He obviously had to be strong in order to be eligible to be nominated and I can only assume he also had a yin-yang release though I don't actually know. Something that I thought was significant that could also be a clue about his abilities was the fact that the sclera of his eyes was black and he didn't seem to have a pupil. What if he had an unexplainable kekkei genkai? Apparently his pearl headpiece is a Karatachi family heirloom that's passed down to the next head of the clan. I kind of wondered what happened to it considering this was around the time the Karatachi family was targeted because of our abilities.
The fourth, Yagura Karatachi is known as the youngest kage in history at the age of thirteen. He grew up in the era of the Bloody Mist when it was first starting to get that name. He participated in the graduation exam where he had to kill a classmate to pass. He became the jinchuuriki of Isobu and learned to control his powers over the following years. As a jinchūriki, he became known as the third person to achieve full control over a tailed beast, some would even say that he was a perfect jinchuuriki. He had a strong water and wind release. He was able to incorporate his large, hook-ended club into his water release ninjutsu, which allowed him to create water mirrors that can reflect attacks by rotating the "mirror" 90°, causing the reflections to emerge and materialise from the mirror to collide with the mirrored targets. As these reflections use the exact same technique as their counterpart — regardless of its type — they repel all attacks successfully. However, upon contact, the reflections disperse into water. He also had a summoning that was a giant gecko able to camouflage itself. He even had remarkable taijutsu abilities.
Nothing was said too negatively about him, but he did enforce the ideal of a Bloody Mist while some thought it was a good idea a lot of people thought differently. It was listed that uncle Yagura also had yang release, which I already knew about as it's needed to create our coral, but I realized that throughout generations of Karatachi's we have either one or both when it comes to yin or yang release. I don't know how I'll turnout as a Mizukage, but as long as I don't lose my sanity I shouldn't end up like Kuroba locked away in Hozuki Castle. I don't know what I would do if I ended up like that.
"Lady Ketto?" I turned to see Shozouki standing across from me at the table. "Are you ready to address the citizens of Kirigakure?"
I didn't even realize that much time had gone by. I decided to leave all of my materials laying out, I might come back here later and locate Kuroba's files. All I know is what was listed in Byakuren's file. I want to know more about what happened to him and see if there's anything I can do to prevent turning out like that. I stood from my seated position and stretched before walking with Shozouki up to the top of the building. "How were your evaluations?"
"Most people were okay with the evaluations, or at least they understood the purpose of them. There were a few who threw a bit of a fit, but they were dealt with." he was quiet for a bit before saying, "You were reading up on the previous Mizukage's?"
"Yeah, I feel as if I have to fill a role bigger than what I could actually fill." I said.
"I think you'll be fine." he said. Shozouki followed behind me close. "You underestimate your abilities, I don't know if you realize, but even if the Fourth didn't recommend you the strongest ninja affiliated with the land of Water was still you. Why do you think everyone disliked you? It was because you had an immense power that they couldn't understand."
"I guess I never thought of that." I muttered.
Together Shozouki and I emerged on the rooftop of the Mizukage's tower to meet Ao, Akira, and Chojuro. I couldn't see much of the village from here, the mist was exceptionally thick today. I would be surprised if anyone even bothered to show up with this weather. Akira performed a wind ninjutsu that created a powerful blast of wind to reveal the buildings in the village and a surprising amount of villagers who were gathered.
"This is the time Ketto, are you ready?" Chojuro asked. I remember when we were younger and Chojuro was awkward and shy, now he seems different. He has confidence and supports all of my decisions. We've only started this partnership recently, but I think we make a good team. We were supposed to be on a team of seven, though now it seems like the odds of that happening are very slim. Mangetsu is already dead, Suigestu has been kidnapped and is probably being experimented on. No one was chosen to wield the other three blades, but with the way the remaining swordsmen left there will never be anyone to wield those blades at least for quite some time. It really is just me and Chojuro from that group, I'm kind of happy that it's him.
"I'm ready." I stepped forward towards the edge of the tower to address the villagers. Chojuro was standing next to me on my right with Ao standing on the other side of him. To the left of me stood Akira and Shozouki and by sensing their chakra I could feel that Jiro and Mitsuru were close by along with Genma and Baki. "Attention citizens of Kirigakure, I'm sure many of you have started noticing some of the changes since I've become Mizukage. One such change was that I restructured the different branches of the anbu and had some ninja re-evaluated to determine their skill. We will start ranking ninjas again because it gives them a title to call their own and look forward to. Genin, chunin, and jonin will all be tested for their respective ranks. Now when ninja graduate from the academies they will have earned the title genin and appropriate exams will be conducted for the latter two. I've decided that Kirigakure will host the next chunin exams being that the exams in konohagakure were interrupted, this way any academy graduates can participate if they wish. I would like more experienced shinobi to volunteer to train a group of three genin to help further their training. I've already picked my team and while they are young I believe they have the skills to test out of the academy. Another thing, in the past there was a law created that prevented the existence of kekkei genkai users on the mainland. That law is hereby revoked, we should all embrace who we are and become stronger as a nation. That is all."
Those who weren't already talking amongst themselves were now. I turned away from the edge of the building having said all that I needed to say. "Ketto, when did you decide that we would have a chunin exam?" Chojuro asked.
"This is news to me, I didn't know you had plans on utilizing the ranking system again. Is that the true purpose of why we did the evaluations?" Akira asked. He wasn't wearing his mask and it was kind of strange to see him without it. The more I saw his face the more I realized there was something familiar about it, but I couldn't pinpoint what it was, it annoyed me not knowing why his face seemed familiar.
"That wasn't the only reason for the evaluations." I said. "I mostly wanted to make sure everyone really had the strength and will to be a strong Kiri ninja. It would be a shame if we allowed a weaker shinobi to do mission assignments that they couldn't effectively complete let alone survive."
"I see." Ao said. "To me it seems as if you want everyone to be battle ready if anything."
"That's something we'll discuss at a later time, for now let's focus on present matters." I started to walk inside the building just as it started to rain. "Ao and Akira, have you decided on who will be assigned to go to Sunagakure? They'll be leaving with Baki soon."
"I haven't had the chance to do that, but I will have everything sorted out by tomorrow afternoon." Akira said.
"My men are already chosen." Ao voiced.
"Good, now we have a visit from the Raikage to prepare for." I said. I didn't really know what to expect from A's visit but I could try and be prepared for any contingencies.
"The Raikage?" Shozouki sounded confused. "Is it something we should worry about? We still have a truce."
"It seems like the Raikage wants to help us during this time following my uncle's death. I won't deny his help, depending on how much trust we give him we could get a lot done." Slowly, we are becoming a better nation. Soon enough I wouldn't mind if Naruto, Gaara, Kankuro, or Temari visited and I wouldn't have to worry about how Kirigakure comes off to them. I'll make it happen, with help from anyone I can get it from, but it will have to be done one step at a time.
