Chapter 77

Kirigakure.

The weather was cloudy, drizzling and foggy.

Normal and familiar weather for the island Land of Water.

People gathered in a small square towards the north of Kiri. There were few of them, but they all occupied a high position in Kiri.

There was a monument in front of them. It was Kiri's memorial stone.

Not to say that the monument was small, but not every fallen shinobi received the honor of having their name imprinted on it.

This memorial stone paid tribute to fallen war heroes and great shinobi who contributed greatly to the village.

At the head of the crowd were two people.

Pooh! Pooh! Pooh...

The methodical blows of the hammer rang in the silence, and with the final blow, another name appeared on the rain-soaked memorial: Yoshiro Kinoshita!

Yudao calmly looked at the new name that had just been engraved on Kiri's memorial stone.

“With his heroic deed, Yoshiro Kinoshita earned a place on the memorial stone and brought great glory to the entire Kinoshita Clan...” Mei whispered solemnly next to the First Mizukage.

“Maybe...” he answered slightly gloomily.

-Are you sorry for Yoshiro? – Mei turned her head and asked curiously, feeling the gloomy notes in Yudao’s voice.

- Am I sorry? – he shook his head in response and explained his mood matter-of-factly. – Just a memorial stone, this place... made me remember old comrades.

Silence reigned in the square again.

- Mm, is the beautiful lady really worried about me? – Yudao raised his eyebrows dramatically and said jokingly after a short silence.

- No, not at all! – Mei hastily turned back to the memorial and said urgently, noticing Yudao’s sarcastic grin.

Of course, there was no real downpour, but the First and Fifth Mizukage did not get a single wet spot, despite the rain that continued to drizzle.

Would you say chakra or something else? Unfortunately no. Just behind Mei stood Ao with an umbrella, and behind Yudao was Zabuza. Both of them looked straight ahead, pretending not to hear Yudao and Mei's conversation.

Soon, having paid tribute to the memorial stone, the few gathered began to bow to the two Mizukage in turn and leave the cemetery square, until only the elder of the Kinoshita clan, Yudao, Mei and a couple of other shinobi remained there.

“Mizukage, Yudao-sama, I didn’t expect you to come in person,” the clan elder said with the utmost respect, but with undisguised tension in his voice.

“The fog remembers and honors the merits of any shinobi, this also applies to Yoshiro Kinoshita,” Mei answered solemnly.

Hearing such words from the mouth of the Fifth Mizukage, the elder who approached immediately relaxed, nodded in agreement and bowed gratefully.

Yudao, who was standing next to her, secretly smiled with the thought that Mei still had a soft and kind side.

– Have you heard about the shipping company from the Land of Waves, it was also run by a man named Gato? – then he turned to the elder.

He was taken aback at first, but still nodded in response, trying in vain to understand what the First Mizukage was leading to. Naturally, he had heard about a very rich and powerful tycoon named Gato.

“So, we were planning the seizure of this shipping company and decided to entrust this matter to your Kinoshita clan,” Yudao continued carefree, not paying attention to the elder.

– You don’t have to worry, Yudao-sama! My people will do everything in the best possible way!! – At first he was a little confused, but then the elder hastily answered with joy and maximum respect.

When all the words were said, the old man also turned around and left the square after the others, after once again bowing respectfully to Yudao and Mei.

“But this old man...” Mei frowned after the elder left.

- Why worry about a bunch of money? Moreover, as long as the Kinoshita Clan remains in Kirigakure, their wealth is the wealth of the village! – Yudao carelessly cut her off mid-sentence.

From what she heard, sparkles shone in the eyes of the Fifth Mizukage, as if she had just been told some very important truth.

Taking one last look at the memorial stone, Yudao turned around and slowly left the square side by side with Mei.

-What about the pressure on Konoha? – he suddenly asked.

“We have several options, at the end of the day we just want to apply pressure and not take advantage.” Besides, we need a reason to start a war! – Mei licked her lips predatorily in response.

From these words, poorly concealed excitement and anticipation were reflected in the gaze of Zabuza, who was walking behind him: “It seems that very soon the names of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist will once again thunder throughout the whole world!”

So the four slowly walking figures of shinobi gradually disappeared into this gray rainy fog of Kirigakure.

***

Konohagakure.

Hokage's office.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was still sitting calmly at his desk, but was clearly in a terrible mood.

Even his favorite smoking pipe was put aside.

And in general there was a gloomy mood in the office.

On the table in front of the Third Hokage lay an unfolded scroll with pitiful crumbs of information, from which it was not possible to form a complete picture of what happened.

Knock! Knock!

And then there was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” Hiruzen looked up from the scroll and said towards the door, putting on the usual expression of a good-natured and gentle old man.

- Hokage-sama! – Iruka immediately opened the door and, taking a few steps, bowed respectfully to Hiruzen.

- Well, what’s there? – he nodded in response and went straight to the point.

– Jounin Hatake Kakashi was seriously injured and is now unconscious. Fortunately, Jounin Might Guy led the team on a mission near the border, otherwise... - Iruka shook his head sadly, he did not continue, everything was clear without words, and then he tried to put on a smile and added, feeling the prevailing despondency. “But Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura have already woken up.” Their injuries turned out to be not so serious, and recovery will take little time.

Hearing these words, Hiruzen forced out a smile.