Chapter 172: Kurotsuchi Raiga: Positive Energy
When Terumī Mei arrived, she happened to witness the final stage of the Three-Tails' sealing.
The feeling was like an impotent man coming home and catching someone in his house right in the middle of a full-on sprint.
The key point was, there was nothing he could do about it.
The first time Terumī Mei met Shiromo was when she sensed that Yagura was being controlled and led the Kirigakure ninja in a pursuit to stop the rampaging Yagura.
In the end, with the help of two Akatsuki members brought along by Shiromo, Yagura was restrained, regained consciousness, and survived.
After returning, Yagura used his prestige as the Fourth Mizukage to help Terumī Mei take control of the situation in the Land of Water.
However, back then Shiromo merely had Itachi lend a hand, making the process a bit easier and reducing casualties. The final outcome itself did not change.
At the time, based on the appearance timing of the wild Three-Tails, Shiromo deduced that because Yagura had been under control for so many years, his body was already "pineapple pineapple da"(completely wrecked), basically falling apart. Once he woke up, he was bound to be living on borrowed time.
Reality proved exactly that.
Yagura's assistance to Terumī Mei was like a dying man clearing obstacles for his successor, bold, ruthless, and unconcerned with consequences. After stirring things up for two days straight, Yagura left behind a letter and departed from Kirigakure.
As Mizukage, even though he had been controlled, he still understood Kirigakure's situation very well.
After enduring his deranged Blood Mist policies, Kirigakure was already as broken as his current body, utterly dilapidated.
There was simply no suitable ninja who could serve as a jinchūriki.
If one had to name someone, there was only Terumī Mei herself, the Mizukage.
But Yagura did not choose to do that.
The ideal relationship between a Kage and a jinchūriki was actually like the one in Kumogakure.
The current Mizukage also held the authority once belonging to the daimyō, which meant there were far too many responsibilities to handle.
A jinchūriki, on the other hand, needed large amounts of free time to calmly master the tailed beast.
Moreover, judging from Konoha's situation more than a decade ago, letting a woman become a jinchūriki had an inherent disadvantage: during childbirth, the seal would weaken drastically.
And that was under the condition of using high-level Uzumaki sealing techniques.
So Yagura's final decision was to leave Kirigakure, find a remote, uninhabited place, and live out the rest of his life in seclusion.
Yagura didn't know when he would finally give out, and that would mean the Three-Tails could be released at any time, so he absolutely couldn't stay in the village.
Only Terumī Mei knew Yagura's place of seclusion.
He also instructed her not to tell anyone else.
Kirigakure was currently in a period of reform. Even in the relatively mild reform phase of the original story, there were still many hidden opponents, and it wasn't until the Boruto era that they were barely cleaned out.
Right now, Kirigakure was basically playing Werewolf. If the "wolves" found out about Yagura's condition and whereabouts, and decided to seize the Three-Tails' power to restore the rule of the Bloody Mist, wouldn't that be completely screwed?
That was the situation.
So Terumī Mei's sense of déjà vu wasn't wrong at all.
Kirigakure couldn't seal a tailed beast themselves, and now she shows up to find it already sealed by someone else.
Wasn't that exactly like an incompetent husband?
And incompetent in 'that' sense, no less.
"Why didn't you look for me and secretly seal the Three-Tails instead?"
Terumī Mei looked at Shiromo, her tone full of resentment.
"I was planning to look for you, but I ran into two people on the way. They happened to know where the Three-Tails was."
Shiromo took out a sealing scroll from behind him, pulled out the two lightning blades he had previously confiscated, and handed them over: "I also helped you recover Kirigakure's signature ninja swords along the way."
"Huh? Isn't that Kurotsuchi Raiga?"
A Kirigakure ninja following behind Terumī Mei recognized Kurotsuchi Raiga and immediately drew his weapon, assuming a defensive stance.
Kurotsuchi Raiga was a rogue ninja.
And not just any rogue, he was one who still hadn't returned to the village or registered himself even after the current Mizukage issued an amnesty order.
"Yes, that's me."
Kurotsuchi Raiga swept his gaze over the Kirigakure ninja: "That lord just now said there's someone among you more qualified than me to wield the Lightning Blade. Which one is it?"
Without realizing it, Kurotsuchi Raiga had already begun addressing Shiromo with the honorific "that lord."
It was obvious he was being extremely… pragmatic.
"Oh?"
Terumī Mei also grew curious. She turned back and glanced at the several jōnin guards accompanying her, and finally her gaze settled on a female ninja with brownish-red long hair and a distinctive hairstyle.
There were many sword-using ninja in Kirigakure, but most specialized in Water Release. This female ninja, however, not only used a sword, but specialized in Lightning Release.
"Ringo…"
"Mizukage-samq, that has to be me."
Just as Terumī Mei opened her mouth to ask, Ringo Ameyuri confidently stepped forward, lifting her chin.
Shiromo: ?
Shiromo wasn't surprised by Ringo Ameyuri's personality, she had always possessed the confidence of a genius.
It was just that her words felt oddly familiar.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Terumī Mei glanced at Shiromo. Seeing that he didn't object, she confirmed that the person he meant was indeed this one before her.
Shiromo, having returned to this era from the future, knew who the next generation of Seven Ninja Swordsmen would be and how strong they were, this was perfectly reasonable.
"Mizukage-sama, the previous wielder of the ninja sword seems a bit unconvinced. I think it'd be best to give him a chance."
After taking the ninja sword from Terumī Mei, Ringo Ameyuri weighed it a couple of times, then tossed one of the blades toward Kurotsuchi Raiga.
Ringo Ameyuri had two hobbies: challenging strong opponents, and eating delicious food.
And both hobbies had… certain quirks because of her personality.
When she ate, she liked saving the best part for last. When challenging strong opponents, she also liked saving the strongest for last.
Her love of challenging the strong, combined with her talent and strength, made her famous at a young age.
Her personality flaws, however, made her regret things after being revived by Impure World Reincarnation; if she could do it all over again, she'd definitely eat the best stuff first.
"A young little girl like this…"
Kurotsuchi Raiga raised his hand to catch the Lightning Blade as it flew over his head, then stood up with a cold laugh.
"Kirigakure truly is overflowing with talent now, new generations replacing the old. I'm very gratified."
Kurotsuchi Raiga's tone suddenly shifted as he spoke.
"Eh?"
Ringo Ameyuri scratched her head, a question mark forming.
She had expected Kurotsuchi Raiga to say something vicious like, "Such a young girl, it would be a waste if you die."
Why did it suddenly sound like he was some friendly senpai with a great relationship with her?
Among the intelligence on the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, there didn't seem to be anyone with this kind of personality, right?
Terumī Mei, however, seemed to understand Kurotsuchi Raiga's change quite well, and glanced at Shiromo.
There was only one possibility for this kind of change, he had suffered a major blow in life and developed psychological trauma.
Who knew what on earth had just happened here.
"Come on, let me see what level Kirigakure's current prodigies are at!"
Kurotsuchi Raiga gripped the Lightning Blade and flicked it, lightning surging along the blade.
At this moment, Kurotsuchi Raiga inexplicably looked full of righteous energy.
(End of this chapter)