"Yagyu, the Mizukage's orders regarding your appointment have arrived."
"Lord Mizukage has promoted you to Elite Jonin and ordered you to go to Konoha to discuss an alliance."
Terumi Mei rushed into Yagyu's tent, speaking excitedly.
Yagyu set down his teacup, blinking as he looked at her. "Promoting me to Elite Jonin... that part I can understand."
"But sending me to Konoha to discuss an alliance... what is that about?"
Genji walked in from outside, speaking in a calm tone.
"The Mizukage feels that now is not the best time to go to war with Konoha."
"Moreover, Konoha has sent us a request for an alliance. The Mizukage intends to send someone to negotiate."
Yagyu shook his head skeptically.
"This doesn't feel like a good assignment. Are they going to eliminate me halfway there?"
Yagyu recalled Pakura of the Scorch Style from the Hidden Sand. It seemed she was killed while on her way to the Hidden Mist to discuss an alliance.
She died miserably; it appeared she was the only Kage-level powerhouse to be killed by kunai and shuriken.
Genji replied calmly,
"Indeed, there is that risk. But that is no reason for us to shy away. The reason Konoha requested an alliance with us... likely has something to do with you as well."
"Lord Mizukage's intention is for you to accompany me, to properly intimidate Konoha. War is merely the continuation of politics; one does not always need to fight a war to obtain what one desires."
Yagyu thought for a moment, shrugged indifferently, and asked, "When do we leave? And besides you and me, who else is going?"
Genji smiled faintly. "We depart tomorrow. Aside from us, Terumi Mei and Yagura will be joining as well."
As a trusted confidant of the Third Mizukage, Genji understood his leader's thoughts perfectly. This trip to Konoha was essentially a way to build up political achievements for Yagyu and Yagura.
The high command of any ninja village would never tolerate ninja clans—organizations akin to a 'state within a state'—becoming too powerful.
Ninja from clans often had a stronger sense of belonging to their family than to the village; clan orders took precedence over village orders.
Therefore, the vast majority of village leaders would suppress the clans and support civilian ninja.
The clans in the Hidden Mist were far too powerful. The Third Mizukage would absolutely not hand over the position of Fourth Mizukage to someone from a clan background.
Under these circumstances, the only ones who met his standards were Yagyu and Yagura, both of whom came from civilian backgrounds.
The Third Mizukage believed this trip to Konoha wouldn't be dangerous, so he felt safe letting Yagyu and Yagura go to earn some political clout.
Konoha was currently deeply embroiled in war with the Sand and the Stone; they would never proactively declare war on the Mist.
Genji left.
Terumi Mei looked at Yagyu, who was calmly sipping tea, and spoke with a tone of frustration,
"Yagyu, do you realize how big of an opportunity you have right now?"
Yagyu glanced at her and shook his head.
Terumi Mei continued, "Yagura is a hot favorite for the Fourth Mizukage position. Your recent performance has likely caught the Third Mizukage's eye as well."
"The Third Mizukage has probably listed you as a competitor for the Fourth Mizukage seat, on equal footing with Yagura. Do you understand?"
Yagyu sighed.
"I understand! Fourth Mizukage, huh? Sounds like a lot of trouble."
Terumi Mei was driven to the brink of madness.
"Trouble? Do you know how many people in the Hidden Mist covet that position?"
"They can't get such an opportunity even if they beg for it, yet you find it troublesome? You're going to be the death of me!"
Yagyu leaned his head back, resting against the chair, and spoke nonchalantly,
"Mei-chan is angry? Ooh, how scary~"
Terumi Mei: (◣д◢)
Yagyu dug around in his clothes, pulled out a pair of nail clippers, and began trimming his nails while speaking lazily, "The position of Mizukage is indeed tempting. I do have some thoughts about it."
"But... we're only human! The most important thing in life is to be happy. You can't let the pursuit of fame and fortune become your entire life. Living like that is exhausting. I much prefer this leisurely lifestyle."
Yagyu let out a long sigh.
At first, when the System told him to imitate Kizaru, he rejected it because it was too lazy.
Later, he discovered that this lifestyle was actually quite nice. He had even become somewhat addicted to it.
Before, he had no choice. Now, he wanted to be a salted fish.
Terumi Mei said sternly,
"Slacking off is the enemy! As a ninja, pursuing a leisurely life is wrong."
Yagyu replied indifferently,
"If that's the case, I'd rather give up the ninja life."
"There are plenty of pirates in the Land of Water. I could consider becoming a pirate. With my strength, maybe I could become the Pirate King."
"Or I could go talk to the Daimyo of the Land of Water and establish a Navy or something. I'll be a Navy Admiral... no, a Fleet Admiral."
"At the very least, I could become a Guardian Ninja for the Daimyo. Being the personal bodyguard for the Daimyo's wife doesn't sound too bad, does it?"
Yagyu leaned back lazily in his chair, speaking with zero concern.
Terumi Mei: →_→
Yagyu shrugged, looking completely indifferent.
"I didn't want it to be like this either, but it's too late!"
"When I wanted to resist the most, I lacked the power to do so. Now..."
Yagyu sighed deeply, looking helpless. "I've already started enjoying it."
Terumi Mei: "..."
Seeing Terumi Mei's speechless expression, Yagyu laughed heartily and said dismissively,
"Relax!"
"Although I hate trouble, I won't shy away from my duties."
"I'll do what needs to be done, including competing for the position of Mizukage. Don't worry, it's not a big problem."
Terumi Mei raised an eyebrow and huffed,
"With that attitude of yours, how could you possibly win against Yagura?"
Yagyu drawled lazily,
"Who says I can't win against him? Even if I gave him a handicap of both hands and a leg, I could still beat him."
"All this time, whenever I've faced anything, I've just casually messed around. But the problem with being too outstanding is..."
"Even the results I get from casually messing around are better than the results others get from racking their brains and trying their hardest."
As Yagyu spoke casually, he glanced at his System Template.
Defeating two of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, intimidating the Mist ninja at the base, gaining the attention of the Third Mizukage, making the Third Hokage wary...
This series of achievements had given Yagyu considerable help, successfully raising his template unlock progress to 18%!
"A trip to Konoha will definitely boost the unlock progress of this template even further,"
Yagyu mused internally.