After parting ways with Nagato and the Akatsuki, Kaguya Ren no longer bothered to hide his trail. He crossed the Land of Fire's borders openly, heading straight for the frontline where Kirigakure and Konoha clashed.
When he'd left the frontline to search for Ryuchi Cave and senjutsu, it had been an autumn of bleak, cutting winds.
Now, in many parts of the Land of Fire, snow like goose feathers had begun to fall. Only a few days remained until the new year arrived.
Unlike Kirigakure—where the air was cold and murderous and no one bothered celebrating the new year or festivals—the Land of Fire's civilians were almost absurdly enthusiastic about the coming holiday.
Along the road, Ren saw household after household preparing supplies to spend the new year together. He saw professional performers rehearsing for festival shows. He saw shops draped in lanterns selling rare goods that never appeared on ordinary days…
As if the smoke of war between Konoha and Kirigakure—still not fully cleared—had nothing at all to do with their noise and warmth.
"Don't you envy this atmosphere, Terumi Mei?"
"I don't," Mei replied flatly. "Because their happiness is built on our continuous defeats."
Not quite three months had passed, yet Mei's aura had matured noticeably—she'd begun to shed the last traces of a carefree thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girl and take on the capable, reliable sharpness of a hardened commander.
But the cost was written all over her.
She had grown thin. Dark circles stood out under her eyes. She looked like she'd gone from a lively teenage girl to an exhausted, overworked office slave overnight.
"…You've had it rough," Ren said quietly.
He knew exactly why she looked like this.
He placed an apology gift he'd bought on the road carefully on her desk—already buried under logistics reports and frontline intelligence.
Mei glanced at the beautiful clothes and the sweets that looked painfully tempting. She let out a long sigh, then collapsed forward onto the desk. Her eyes went hollow as she muttered in a small voice.
"You didn't tell me you were going to be gone this long, Ren…"
"Sorry, sorry. I didn't expect to be stuck at Ryuchi Cave for that long either," Ren said, taking her cold hand in his with genuine contrition. "It won't happen again."
"It's one thing if you ran off alone—Konoha really did scatter a lot of intel staff trying to find you, and the frontline pressure eased a lot," Mei snapped, lifting her head. "But can someone explain why the Seven Ninja Swordsmen—frontline commanders that important—were suddenly conscripted for a mission, and then almost got wiped out in a single battle?"
She slammed her palm onto the desk, voice shaking with frustration.
"Five people died and we got nothing for it. Worse—our lack of command and top-tier strength was exposed to Konoha. If you hadn't left several batches of secret medicine behind, we would've been driven straight back into the sea."
"Can't help it. If we're comparing leadership by who's worse, we're clearly worse," Ren sighed. "Konoha's high-ups are greedy and stagnant. Our Third Mizukage is practically governing with the goal of destroying Kirigakure's future."
"So you're ready, Ren?"
"Ready for what?"
"To defeat the Third."
Mei lowered her voice, staring straight into Ren's slit, serpentine pupils.
"Because Zabuza—no, not him… because Momochi is irrelevant. Because Biwa Juzo and Samehada's wielder—no… because both Juzo and Mangetsu are—"
She exhaled sharply, forcing herself to stay focused.
"Because Juzo and Fuguki are back in the village recovering, I've been handling frontline command almost the entire time. I can't crush Konoha like you do, but I've at least stopped the line from collapsing further."
She leaned forward.
"And because I used your medicine to severely injure several of Konoha's elite jonin, the Mist ninja trust me now. Meanwhile, the Third's mistakes since the war began have piled up, and their dissatisfaction keeps growing—so… you understand what that means, right?"
Ren narrowed his eyes.
"With you commanding the front, they might not support someone as young as me in a coup… but they also might not keep backing the Third's rule. Is that what you mean?"
"No." Mei shook her head. "They'll support you more than you think."
She spoke steadily, precise.
"The Third hasn't made a real move in years—many, many years. For the village, that helps preserve the Mizukage's mystique and protects information. It also makes other villages hesitant because they can't judge the Mizukage's current strength."
"But it also means the new generation can't feel the Mizukage's power directly. They start doubting it—especially when someone appears whose battle record can only be described as absurd."
Mei pointed at Ren with a complicated look.
"Twice defeating and severely injuring Konoha's Yellow Flash. Beating Orochimaru—one of the Sannin—in a one-on-one. Wiping out Root elites in a multi-target fight even with Orochimaru and Shimura Danzo present. Forcing Orochimaru to abandon his comrades and flee. Then casually selling Danzo's corpse on the black market for cash…"
She let out a faint breath.
"Even kids who grew up hearing legends of the Third will naturally believe you're stronger."
"…Fair," Ren said quietly.
A brief silence fell.
Ren looked at her gaunt frame, the exhaustion that clung to her like a shadow. He drew in a slow breath.
"Do you really not need me to stabilize the frontline first, Mei?"
"I've held it this long. I can hold it a few more days," Mei said, eyes steady. "Even if you help us win a few battles, we don't have the manpower to control more territory. We're past the point where we can allow the Third to keep sitting in that chair, Ren."
"No." Ren shook his head. "If I had my way, I'd let him stay Mizukage a little longer."
"Why!?" Mei's eyes sharpened.
"Our shinobi numbers can't even hold a wider defense line. You don't think we can still win this war, do you?" Ren shot back, spreading his hands in exasperation. "If we can't win, peace talks with Konoha are inevitable. And I don't want the first major act of my reign as Mizukage to be signing a 'peace treaty' with Konoha."
Mei's mouth tightened.
"…Then the Third should bear the disgrace he brought on himself."
She nodded once.
"Then you'll go back to the village first? The moment you returned, the Third's intel people would've reported it—but you should still be able to act before he finishes preparing."
"I will."
Mei grabbed his sleeve, voice tense.
"Be careful, Ren. He's still the Mizukage. He's held that position for a long time. No one knows what cards he has left. Even if you're a Sage now, you still need to—"
"Mei-sama! Bad news!"
A chuunin responsible for passing intelligence burst in, panic written across his face.
"Uchiha are leading Konoha ninja in an attack again! Uchiha Fugaku is there—and Shisui the Body Flicker, the one who's been rising in fame recently, is with them!"
"I'll go—" Mei instinctively reached for her jonin uniform—
But Ren caught her pale wrist and shook his head.
"I'll handle it. Consider it warm-up before the real match."
Mei snorted, forcing a thin smile.
"Hmph. You were gone so long I almost forgot what it feels like to hide behind you when the enemy's troublesome."
"I'm back now, aren't I~"
The chuunin's eyes went wide as he finally recognized the figure in the room. Shock turned into ecstatic disbelief.
"Kaguya Ren-sama?! You… you're back?!"
"Yeah." Ren's smile was calm. "I'm back."
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