Install a new Kazekage?
Terumi Mei's gaze flickered slightly, and a captivating smile appeared on her fair cheeks.
Of course, discussing such a matter now was still far too early. After all, the infiltration of Sunagakure had only just begun.
A sudden upheaval in upper leadership would benefit neither Sunagakure nor Kirigakure.
However, if an external force were to intervene... then that would be an entirely different matter.
Yuto didn't voice this thought aloud, merely musing to himself in silence.
Whatever that external force might be, it certainly couldn't be Kirigakure.
Afterward, Yuto lingered in the Mizukage's office for a while before taking his leave.
After all, he was just a hands-off overseer. Virtually every matter in Kirigakure, large or small, required Terumi Mei's decision. She was nowhere near as leisurely as Yuto.
There was also another reason. For some reason today, Terumi Mei kept absentmindedly brushing aside the brown curls framing her forehead.
She radiated a mature, alluring aura that even Yuto found himself stealing glances at her more than usual.
For a moment, Yuto found himself wondering—he had seen Terumi Mei plenty of times before, so why had he never noticed just how captivating she was?
Click!
The sound of the Mizukage's office door closing echoed through the room.
Watching Yuto depart, Terumi Mei's hair-brushing gesture froze. Her previously straight-backed posture gradually relaxed.
"Was I being too bold just now?"
"According to what I read in that book, it should be fine."
Terumi Mei gently rested a hand against her forehead, a blush still lingering on her cheeks as she murmured to herself.
Terumi Mei replayed her recent actions in her mind. She had simply straightened her posture a bit and brushed her hair aside.
That shouldn't count as bold, she reassured herself firmly.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Having left the Mizukage's office, Yuto was walking along a road in the village, heading toward Utakata's residence.
"I wonder if those two jinchuriki, Yugito and Fu, are getting along with that slacker Utakata."
Yuto murmured to himself with a faint smile.
Given Utakata's laid-back, lazy personality, Yuto could easily imagine that having to deal with two troublemakers like Yugito and Fu would make his days quite eventful.
The Two-Tails jinchuriki, Yugito Nii.
The Seven-Tails jinchuriki, Fu.
Yuto narrowed his eyes slightly. While their individual combat abilities weren't particularly impressive, once they entered their Tailed Beast transformations, the destructive power they could unleash was truly terrifying.
Yuto hadn't brought these two back to the village out of the goodness of his heart.
Aside from preventing Uchiha Madara from getting his hands on the tailed beasts, he also planned to use the jinchuriki's power for some small experiments.
That's right—small experiments.
Utakata was family, after all. Yuto still had a conscience when it came to his own people.
As for the Three-Tails, Yuto couldn't keep milking it forever. Even shearing sheep required rotating between flocks.
Yuto didn't expect these two to have any deep loyalty toward Kirigakure.
Fu might be somewhat compliant due to her ties to Takigakure, and she could follow Kirigakure's orders reasonably well. Yugito, however, was unlikely to be as obedient as Fu.
But Yuto wasn't particularly concerned. The fact that Yugito had followed him to Kirigakure so readily meant she naturally had her own reasons.
As for what those reasons were, Yuto wasn't particularly interested. After all, he had no immediate plans to move against Kumogakure.
Just as Yuto was deep in thought, several figures approached from a side path.
Leading the group were Ringo Ameyuri and Hoshigaki Kisame.
Behind them followed three individuals who looked like freshly graduated genin.
Unlike the composed demeanor of Ringo Ameyuri and Hoshigaki Kisame, these genin all looked travel-worn and exhausted.
Clearly, they had just returned from completing a mission and were heading to the Mizukage's office to handle the mission completion procedures.
Although Ringo Ameyuri and Hoshigaki Kisame walked at the front, there was a noticeable distance between the two.
Hoshigaki Kisame wore an indifferent expression, but deep in Ringo Ameyuri's eyes, there was a trace of wariness—she seemed somewhat guarded against him.
Faced with Ringo Ameyuri's cautious gaze, Hoshigaki Kisame appeared completely unfazed.
Suddenly, Hoshigaki Kisame was the first to spot Yuto approaching from ahead. His steps faltered, and he quickly adopted a solemn expression, bowing respectfully.
"Lord Yuto!"
Ringo Ameyuri beside him was momentarily startled before she reacted as well.
"Lord Yuto!"
Ringo Ameyuri quickly followed Hoshigaki Kisame's line of sight. When she saw Yuto, a flash of delight crossed her eyes. She also came to a halt and bowed respectfully.
Hearing those two respectful voices, Yuto, who had been lost in thought, raised his head to look ahead.
"Oh, it's you two. Looks like you've just returned from a mission."
Looking at Ringo Ameyuri and Hoshigaki Kisame, a gentle smile appeared on Yuto's face.
Aside from special mission requirements, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist spent most of their time idle.
When people have too much free time, they tend to stir up trouble.
This was especially true for the Swordsmen, whose personalities were all rather eccentric. So Yuto had them temporarily serve as mentors for newly graduated genin.
After all, these individuals ranked among the strongest of Kirigakure's jonin—more than capable of teaching genin a great deal.
It was also an indirect way of boosting Kirigakure's overall strength.
Yuto had originally worried that assigning these individuals as instructing jonin might lead to some difficulties.
But from the looks of it now, both Ringo Ameyuri and Hoshigaki Kisame had adapted quite well.
And it wasn't just Hoshigaki Kisame and the others. Aside from Haku, Neji, and Hozuki Suigetsu, even Kimimaro had been tossed into the academy by Yuto as a temporary substitute teacher.
Yuto figured that spending some time as a substitute teacher at the academy might help improve Kimimaro's reclusive personality.
As for Ranmaru, he had also been sent to the ninja academy—but not as a teacher, rather as a student.
Ranmaru's combat ability was decent, but his foundational knowledge and common sense were sorely lacking. The ninja academy could help fill that gap.
Yuto suspected that Ranmaru's inability to enter Cursed Seal Level 2 might partly stem from his lack of understanding regarding chakra manipulation.
Kurosuki Raiga was hardly a good teacher. Moreover, from the very beginning, Raiga had only ever treated Ranmaru as a tool.
Naturally, he would never have taught Ranmaru anything about chakra or basic shinobi knowledge.
[
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