"Miss Mei, It is good to see that you are here to enjoy Sake with us as well." Kakashi said as he sat beside Yoshiro.
Mei didn't say anything and just stood quietly behind the two men. She didn't know why her father suddenly called her in the evening with 2 bottles of premium Sake. But she was truly shocked to hear that her father was planning to drink with someone from the hidden leaf and that two by dropping on their roof unannounced.
"I don't drink much Lord Yoshiro… at least not in these circumstances." Kakashi said as he took the bottle Yoshiro had beside him in his own hands.
Yoshiro looked at Kakashi and with a smile on his face said "We don't need to drink the entire bottle. Just enough that I can ask you one question."
"So it is about gaining information as I guessed." Kakashi said and put the bottle back down beside Yoshiro.
Mei who was standing behind didn't know why her father would get straight to the point like that rather than playing with words like he usually does. 'I don't know why father just said it openly before even they started drinking but I know that he must definitely have something in mind."
Yoshiro opened the bottle of Sake and poured it into 2 shot glasses as he said "What if I say you also get to ask a question no matter what it is about and you don't have to answer the question I ask you.?"
"That sounds like an offer too good to be true Lord Yoshiro but since it is you I will trust you." Kakashi said and picked up the shot glass nearest to him.
Yoshiro nodded and picked up his glass as he looked back at the setting sun. It was almost dark now and seeing that neither Yoshiro nor Mei was looking at him, Kakashi pulled down his mask with one hand and emptied the shot glass in his mouth. Even though it was Sake, he couldn't just keep sipping little by little. He was curious to know what information Yoshiro had for him.
He put down the glass and asked "So who will ask the first question, Lord Yoshiro?"
"I will since I took so much effort to set this all up. And like I said you don't need to answer but first I would like to inform you of something that was decided today." Yoshiro said. He then sipped sake once more and said "We the bloodline clans have decided to launch an attack on the day of the prisoner exchange….and to be more precise before the exchange even happens. So my question is will you and the leaf shinobis aid us by blocking the stone shinobis from interfering?" Yoshiro asked.
"FATHER" Mei shouted in a low tone. It wasn't too loud but was forceful. She couldn't understand why her father would leak such an important piece of information just like that.
'What is he thinking? The leaf shinobis are here specifically for the prisoner exchange, and now father just told Kakashi Hatake that they will be launching an attack before they can get the kid to safety.' Mei was fuming right now trying to figure out what her father aimed to accomplish. She was sure Kakashi was going to retaliate against this decision and threaten to break the alliance.
Kakashi didn't answer the question immediately but looked at Yoshiro's face for a few seconds. He understood that one question had numerous questions hidden behind it. Just when Yoshiro was almost sure that Kakashi is not going to answer it and Mei was almost sure that he is going to ask her father to cancel their plan and prioritize saving the kid, Kakashi said "I don't think splitting forces would be a good decision. Let's keep them together and fight them all at once. I am sure Moji will try to merge his forces with the stone shinobis so that he doesn't face too much loss in the fight or else he can be taken over by the stone shinobis the moment he shows any weakness. On the other hand Jiro, the man in charge of the stone shinobi forces only cares about his own victory so he won't mind his weak people being used as cannon fodder" Kakashi talked only about Moji and Jiro because that's what the bloodline clan leaders knew about. They were still kept in dark about their main opponents which were the cultists of Jashin.
Mei was confused as to why Kakashi suddenly forgot about the kid and Yoshiro was confused as to why Kakashi was confident in his and the other leaf shinobis' strength. They were strong but not strong enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with an army of the bloodline clans which were in thousands.
"Wouldn't that be too much to handle for you and the other leaf shinobis? There are kids with you." Yoshiro said to which Kakashi waved his hand and said "You have already used one question Lord Yoshiro…now it's my turn."
"Alright…seems fair. So what is your question?" Yoshiro asked. He had some ideas as to what Kakashi would ask and most of them included things related to the prisoner exchange day attack but Kakashi ask something that got both father and daughter thinking.
"If the bloodline clans win, then what? Who will become the Mizukage or will you all fight among yourselves to decide one? I am sure every clan leader covets that position, especially Riko."
"Uhh..." Yoshiro muttered as he thought about what Kakashi just said. He had just pointed out a very big thing that Yoshiro had overlooked. The hidden leaf will support the next Mizukage from the bloodline clan and if it turns out that the hidden leaf sees Riko or someone else more likely to become the next Mizukage, then they will give them support and even help them cement their position.
And helping and cementing another bloodline clan could mean that if Riko sees Yoshiro or Mei as a threat then he could ask the leaf shinobis to take them out as a price of the alliance. Yoshiro didn't think that Kakashi himself would ask questions that would be this layered.
'I really didn't think about internal conflict if we win this war with the Mizukage faction. Although Kakashi's question just now raised my blood pressure I am sure that Riko and Asami are sensible enough not to do something as stupid as this. I can't get caught in Kakashi's web like this. I truly underestimated him. He is a step ahead of his own father. The White fang was strong, but his son is strong and smart.' Thoughts continued to race inside Yoshiro's mind until he made up his mind and said
"I am sure the other clan leaders are as sensible as me and won't do anything that will weaken the hidden mist any further. So to answer your question…no we haven't thought of anyone who will become the Mizukage if we win the war but we won't make a decision until all 4 of us are satisfied with it."
Kakashi nodded as he got up and said "That is good for a temporary answer but you need to do more thinking on that. I will take my leave now." Kakashi said and had just turned to get back into the building when he stopped and looked back at Yoshiro and said "Since the time to war is so close I don't think there is a good time to give this to you." Kakashi said as he pulled out two storage scrolls from his flak jacket and handed them over to Yoshiro.
"What are these?" Yoshiro asked. He could see that they are storage scrolls but he didn't know what was inside them as they still hadn't made any demands from the hidden leaf regarding those compensations.
"Somethings that you need more than you realize. You have some rough days ahead Lord Yoshiro…now I will take my leave." Kakashi said and body flickered out.
Mei took one of the scrolls in her hand and asked "Did the hidden leaf send supplies for food and medicine for us?"
"Let's go to the mansion first and then talk about it." Yoshiro said and both he and Mei body flickered away as well.
When they both also disappeared from the roof, Kakashi appeared again. He didn't go back to his room but hid somewhere to see if they say something after he has left. But seems like Yoshiro knew something like this would happen so he didn't discuss anything with Mei there and ran towards his mansion with her.
Kakashi looked in the direction of the Mizukage faction and said "I am sorry Yami for selling you out like this but I can't trust you completely anymore. Not after knowing that Pakkun smelled you and Zabuza on the same person."
Kakashi disappeared from the roof after saying that.
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