บท 139: The Curse of Beauty
Living through these conflicts on the front lines makes me see things differently, and the distinct customs of the two groups were revealed in less than two days.
The Sunagakure group was led by their new Kazekage, Temari, who used the Water Country as a field to test the results of her training with Devil Fruit abilities. It didn't take much time for people to start calling her the Desert Claw, a title that made Temari grimace, especially when she knew that such a title couldn't simply be withdrawn once spread, and she would have to get used to it from now on.
She wasn't the only one; Samui also began to gain a reputation after consistently facing Kirigakure ninjas with swords and cutting weapons, catching them off guard with her own gained ability when they dropped their guard.
A good way to gain experience and confirm the techniques she devised, while being backed up by people who could assist her if needed. While Temari didn't abandon the large fan she was accustomed to since childhood, it seemed she used it only to perform large-scale wind techniques where raw power was more ideal.
Anko distributed some poisons for Suna's puppeteers, and they acted like children who had received Christmas presents while eerily applied the hidden weapons of their puppets.
Some poisons were lethal, but with a latent action that wouldn't explode until a few hours later. This resulted in several Kirigakure ninjas bandaging themselves and recovering safely, only for their faces to suddenly turn purple and blue before dropping dead. This caused enough commotion to expose their positions, thinking they were under attack, allowing trackers to send squads and teams to eliminate them for real.
Others were not lethal but caused really problematic effects.
Blindness, explosive diarrhea, strong sneezes, cramps...
There was a wide variety, and when a Kirigakure ninja was performing a technique to save their lives and suddenly sneezed with enough force to interrupt hand seals, they ended up dead before they could make another attempt.
Jumping between branches and suddenly going dark made it easy to break your neck with a bad fall; cramps that paralyzed your hands were practically a death sentence despite being temporary, and as for explosive diarrhea...
The name says it all; it caused Kirigakure ninjas to explode when they went to the bathroom. Literally.
As soon as the unfortunate victims started their business and relaxed, their comrades could only hear an explosion before running and finding their remains scattered around.
An arm on a high branch, a leg in that bush over there...
The paranoia that these types of poisons caused among Kirigakure ninjas is simply spectacular.
I swear I didn't give Anko those ideas, although... I suspect she might have found some of my lost notes. I remember jotting down some eccentric ramblings like super-fizzing blood, nothing really good for anyone.
Anyway, tonight, the camps of Kumogakure and Sunagakure received an arrow with a message attached to it. The Raikage even showed off by catching it in mid-air before landing in a Superman pose.
Yes, I was surprised too.
When did anyone use a bow in the series?
So weird...
But the point wasn't the bow, or even the arrow (which was of quite poor quality, I must add), but the message written on the note.
Both were identical and presented an unexpected scenario that made me raise an eyebrow.
As I could summarize after reading the note Temari showed me, it was basically a survey regarding whether certain people from Kirigakure could support them in the shadows to expedite the conquest, what rewards they could obtain once the conflict ended with their victory.
Things like keeping their positions and not being replaced or a well-deserved promotion.
A certain amount of money to rebuild their lives or expand their private lands.
Protection against possible executions by survivors when they find out or support so they can take over some businesses of the fallen clans.
Someone even set conditions to obtain some women with a specific Kekkei Genkai as concubines. The possibility of turning the current Mizukage, Mei Terumi, into someone focused solely on having children to increase the number of people with the double bloodline she possessed was mentioned, and they asked for a specific number of her babies to join their forces or clans.
A subtle way of saying they wanted to turn her into a breeding sow, quite cruel even for my standards. Temari made sure to note this issue for, let's say, "reforming" those who like to follow these trends.
And apparently, that "reform" involved using giant male pigs, horse aphrodisiacs, a lot of butter, and...
Frankly, I decided to ignore what it said and let her do what she wanted.
Although Kumo has a great interest in obtaining more bloodlines, they have never gone to such extremes to increase numbers. They tend to be more things like arranged marriages or clans with some harems.
At least, that's what they say.
Anyway, this left us wondering if it was a trap, if it was real, and in the case of the latter, how much we could leverage it.
"I think it's a real possibility," Temari proposed after the three Kages gathered in a tent near a damp forest. "No matter how cohesive they try to appear, there are always snakes that will try to put themselves first. While we can use some interests to move them, they can be useful."
"We can always be smarter than them," said the Raikage, raising his fist and shaking it. "If it's a trap, we kill them. If it's real, we use them... and then we kill them!"
Yes, that's a pretty effective approach and in line with his personality.
"I agree with the Raikage's approach; we just have to adjust the steps a bit," I suggested, earning a surprised look from everyone present. "We can end everything much earlier than planned, make those moles teach important parts of the local administration to trustworthy people, and then, after making them believe they are safe, clean them all simultaneously before putting your people in charge and ready to take on their role in a smooth transition."
Trusting those who betray for benefits usually isn't a good life plan because you never know when it will be your turn.
The ideal is to use them, make them unknowingly prepare their successors, and then make them have an "accident" so that said successors, your people, take over the positions they held.
If done correctly, people won't even notice the change, and by then, it will have been some time since the unfortunate accident, and nothing can be investigated even if they wanted to.
"And what will we do with the Mizukage?" Temari asked, frowning with crossed arms. "It would be a shame not to take advantage of a Kage-level powerhouse. Can't we convince her in some way?"
Well, Temari certainly still has that slightly innocent point of youth.
"No, and we can't let her go even if she submits," Enel slowly shook his head. "Mei is the symbol of a possible resistance, and we made it clear that when Kirigakure falls, there will be no more Mizukages. The infrastructure they have will be transformed into a large city for maritime trade and a fortress for our people to station and manage the place. Earth Country missions will be divided among you, and as long as I get my share of the profits and other things, you can do what you want."
"I see," Temari stopped frowning and sighed tiredly; it's clear that this little war after barely ascending to Kazekage has been a lot of pressure for her.
Although it certainly helped that I asked the scorpion clan to help them monitor the border, so that Iwagakure doesn't catch them by surprise and can return in time if necessary.
"The Mizukage is a dangerous and insidious woman," the Raikage stomped on the ground with his foot. "It is said that the reason she's not married despite her beauty is that no one dares to make a move on her for fear of ending dissolved. She's ruthless with whoever is necessary if it means Kirigakure will prosper!"
Enel refrained from making a grimace.
If I remembered correctly, Mei never ended up with anyone...
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Quick question: Would you risk a romance with Mei without having any kind of special power to protect yourself from acid or magma?
The type where you're a generic ninja at best.
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