"So, what exactly is your purpose for coming here?"
Mei Terumī set down her wine glass, her red eyes filled with curiosity.
Yang Jiu swallowed the pile of barbecue in front of him in one go, not even bothering to chew. His silver-gold throat bobbed once, and then he spoke lazily:
"No purpose."
"I got bored staying in the forest, so I went out to look around."
Mei Terumī's beautiful eyes flickered with a sharp glint.
She wasn't a three-year-old child; words like that were only fit to fool ghosts. But she also knew that asking too deeply upon a first meeting would only cause the other party to feel resentment.
So, she changed the subject.
"You said you come from the Land of Fire—"
She paused, her lips curling into a meaningful arc.
"Could it be that you're from Konoha?"
Yang Jiu scoffed.
"No."
"That old monkey Hiruzen Sarutobi is no match for me."
He paused, remembering that transaction, and added another sentence:
"Besides, I even fleeced him for a tidy sum."
Mei Terumī's eyes lit up.
"Oh? What did you fleece from him?"
Yang Jiu glanced at her. "Want to know?"
Mei Terumī smiled and didn't press further.
She shifted her posture, leaning forward slightly, her red eyes staring straight at Yang Jiu.
"Then have you ever considered—"
Her voice was soft, carrying a hint of seduction.
"Settling down here with me?"
Yang Jiu raised an eyebrow.
Mei Terumī continued:
"Whatever you need, my Hidden Mist Village can satisfy it."
"Territory? Resources? Or perhaps talent?"
"As long as you ask, if I can give it, I won't hesitate."
She looked at Yang Jiu, her eyes full of expectation.
If she could keep this great deity in the Hidden Mist Village—
Then the Hidden Mist Village would effectively have a combat power far exceeding a Tailed Beast guarding them!
Who would dare look down on this Village that had just emerged from the shadow of the Blood Mist?
Yang Jiu looked at her.
He looked at the glint in this woman's eyes and that unmasked "calculation."
He laughed.
"You've certainly got it all figured out, don't you?"
Yang Jiu narrowed his eyes, a hint of playfulness flashing in his golden pupils.
"What if I—"
He paused, his lips curling into a meaningful arc.
"Want you?"
Mei Terumī's hand holding the wine glass froze in mid-air.
She was stunned.
In those red eyes, countless emotions flashed in an instant—bewilderment, surprise, confusion, and a hint of something even she hadn't noticed... panic?
"Want... me?"
She repeated, her voice carrying a rare hesitation.
Seeing her like this, Yang Jiu couldn't help but laugh out loud.
The laughter was low like rumbling thunder, echoing in the courtyard.
"What? Is that not allowed?"
Mei Terumī snapped back to her senses.
She took a deep breath, set down her wine glass, and her expression returned to calm.
But looking closely, the tips of her ears were quietly stained with a faint red.
"Are you flirting with me?"
She stared at Yang Jiu, her tone carrying a hint of scrutiny, and another... inexplicable emotion.
Yang Jiu tilted his head.
"If you think so, then I am."
Mei Terumī fell silent.
She looked at the ten-meter-tall giant wolf before her, seeing the unmasked playfulness in his eyes, and suddenly realized—
This wolf was truly just teasing her.
Like a cat playing with a mouse.
She gritted her teeth, picked up her wine glass, and drained it in one gulp.
"Wolf King, you've taken this joke a bit too far."
Yang Jiu laughed.
"Is that so?"
He stood up, his ten-meter-tall body casting a massive shadow under the moonlight, almost enveloping the entire courtyard.
"Alright, I'm done teasing you."
Yang Jiu looked down at Mei Terumī, his golden eyes filled with amusement.
"I have a clan in the Land of Fire, and I've even established a hidden Village."
"So for the time being, I won't be leaving the Land of Fire."
Mei Terumī was stunned.
A clan?
A hidden Village?
A hidden Village established by a wolf?
Before she could digest this information, Yang Jiu spoke again.
"Oh, right—"
He paused, a hint of playfulness flashing in his golden pupils.
"You shouldn't have anyone who can serve as a vessel for Three-Tails Isobu right now, right?"
Mei Terumī's pupils constricted slightly.
The Three-Tails?
How did he know about the Three-Tails?
"I'm going to meet it tomorrow."
Yang Jiu's lips curled into a meaningful arc.
"To see if I can spirit it away."
As soon as he finished speaking—
Boom!!!
Golden lightning exploded!
The ten-meter-tall silver-gold body vanished instantly from the spot!
Leaving behind only a charred, shallow pit still emitting wisps of smoke in the courtyard.
Mei Terumī stood up abruptly, her red eyes staring fixedly at the vanishing lightning.
"So strong..."
she murmured, her voice full of solemnity.
At the same time, a massive wave surged in her heart—
He has a clan in the Land of Fire?
And even established a hidden Village?
A wolf... actually building a Village on Konoha's territory?
And the matter of the Three-Tails, how could he know?
Mei Terumī stood in place, not moving for a long time.
The night wind blew, lifting her long, loose hair.
After a long while.
She slowly sat back down on the cushion, picked up her empty wine glass, and looked at the moon.
"Interesting..."
she murmured.
—
The next day, in the Mizukage's office.
Sunlight spilled through the window, shining on Mei Terumī's exquisite face. She sat behind the desk, and before her stood a group of Hidden Mist Village high-rankers—Genji, Ao, Chōjūrō, and several Elders.
"I've gathered everyone today to announce something."
Mei Terumī's voice was calm, yet it carried an unquestionable authority.
"From now on, no matter what commotion occurs outside—even if the sky falls—no one in the Village is allowed to go out or interfere."
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.
Ao frowned. "Lord Mizukage, what is the meaning of this?"
Mei Terumī leaned back in her chair, her red eyes sweeping over the crowd.
"You all know about that wolf from last night, don't you?"
The group nodded.
The matter of that ten-meter-tall giant wolf fighting a great battle with the Mizukage had already spread throughout the entire Hidden Mist Village.
"Before he left last night, he told me something."
Mei Terumī paused.
"He said—he's going to meet Three-Tails Isobu."
As soon as the words left her mouth, the room erupted into an uproar!
"The Three-Tails?!"
"He's going after a Tailed Beast?!"
"How is that possible!"
Mei Terumī raised her hand, silencing the discussion.
"That's why I said, no matter what happens outside, do not get involved."
"That is his business and has nothing to do with us."
She looked out the window, her gaze distant.
"If he can subdue the Three-Tails, it might not necessarily be a bad thing for our Mist."
"After all, the Three-Tails doesn't have a suitable Jinchuriki right now; keeping it is just a liability."
At that moment, an aged voice spoke up.
"Lord Mizukage, this old man does not agree."
Everyone looked toward the source of the voice—it was Genji.
The white-haired old man stood up leaning on his cane, a sharp light flickering in his aged eyes.
"That wolf is not to be trusted."
Mei Terumī's brow furrowed slightly. "Genji, what do you mean by that?"
Genji said slowly:
"This old man has lived many years and seen too many outsiders."
"They speak well with their mouths, but in the end, which one of them doesn't want to reap benefits from the Mist?"
He looked at Mei Terumī, his tone heavy.
"Lord Mizukage, you are still young and don't know the treacherousness of the heart."
"No matter how strong that wolf is, he is ultimately an outsider. Letting him go after the Three-Tails—what if after he subdues it, he turns around to deal with our Mist?"
"At that time, who will stop him?"
Mei Terumī fell silent.
Genji continued:
"Furthermore, the Three-Tails is, after all, a Tailed Beast of the Mist. Even if there is no suitable Jinchuriki now, we cannot let an outsider dispose of it at will."
"This is the dignity of the Mist."
The office fell into a deathly silence.
Everyone was looking at Mei Terumī.
After a long while.
Mei Terumī slowly stood up.
She walked to the window, her back to the crowd.
"Genji."
Her voice was calm.
"Were you present last night?"
Genji was taken aback. "This old man was not..."
"Then you have no right to say those words."
Mei Terumī turned around, a sharp light burning in her red eyes.
"I personally exchanged blows with him."
"I know how strong he is."
"If he truly wanted to harm the Mist, he wouldn't have shown me mercy last night."
"If he truly wanted to take the Three-Tails by force, he wouldn't need to tell us at all; he could just go."
She said each word deliberately:
"The fact that he could tell us shows that he respects us."
"We must accept that respect."
Genji opened his mouth but could say nothing.
Mei Terumī withdrew her gaze and looked out the window again.
"Let it be."
"No matter what happens outside, do not interfere."
"This is an order."
The group was silent for a moment before responding in unison:
"Yes!"
Just then—
In the distance, a heaven-shaking thunder suddenly sounded!
Rumble—!!!
The entire Mizukage's office trembled slightly!
Everyone's expression changed as they simultaneously looked out the window.
That direction—
Was the lake outside the Hidden Mist Village.
The place where Three-Tails Isobu was located.
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