Chapter 4: Negotiations Broken?
Hearing this female voice, Qing in front of the cell lowered his head and stepped back.
A figure stood at the entrance of the dungeon. The pitch-black prison made the sunlight seem exceptionally glaring, allowing only a vague outline of the person at the door to be seen.
Brown long hair glowed with a fluffy halo under the sunlight, and her voluptuous figure gave a rough estimate of the woman's age.
Terumi Mei, a female ninja, powerful, possessing two bloodline limits (Lava Release, Boil Release), a mature and dignified woman who would soon become the Fifth Mizukage, currently a pacifist.
At this moment, Kirigakure was in chaos. The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, had recently died. Yagura was not only the Mizukage but also the Three-Tails Jinchuriki.
Jinchuriki, being like 'nuclear weapons,' were highly valued by every major ninja village. Most villages kept their Jinchuriki under strict surveillance. Yagura becoming both the Three-Tails Jinchuriki and the Mizukage was a testament to his abilities.
Now that Yagura was dead, the Three-Tails within him had not perished but had been released back into the wild.
Kirigakure losing the Three-Tails further dissatisfied the 'War Hawk Faction.' Coupled with Terumi Mei's pacifist stance, the village split into two factions.
One was the 'Pacifist Faction' led by Terumi Mei, which wanted to end the civil war, open channels for external communication, and trade with other great nations. Otherwise, the Water Country, an island nation in the sea, was too poor.
The Water Country had few resources and no foreign trade—an utterly bizarre nation.
While the other four great nations were at war, it was in civil war. When they were at peace, it was in civil war. When they were in conflict again, it was still in civil war. It was as if it were saying, 'You fight your fights, I'll fight myself. Don't stop me. Anyone who stops me gets hit.'
Even during the Third Great Ninja War, Kirigakure would occasionally go out to 'play,' ambushing when there was an advantage and retreating when there wasn't. Its inherent geographical advantage ensured other villages wouldn't actively attack it. Moreover, its constant civil war made its ninjas highly formidable, and most importantly, the Water Country was very poor.
Ask yourself: who would want to attack a country that is both poor and militarily strong? The answer is no one.
The Water Country usually had an attitude of 'Don't mess with me. I'm not easy to mess with, and I'm dirt poor.'
For such a country, the impact of civil war was predictable. It was manageable when a Mizukage was in power, but now without one, it was even more chaotic.
Besides Terumi Mei's 'Pacifist Faction,' there was also the 'War Hawk Faction' in Kirigakure. Their idea was also to end the civil war but to actively plunder other countries.
Both sides wanted to end the civil war, but they couldn't agree on which faction would take power. They were uncompromising over the position of Mizukage, so the civil war continued.
Terumi Mei's side had strong top-tier combat power. She herself was very powerful, and she had subordinates like Qing and Chojuro to assist her.
The War Hawk Faction had no leader. Their original leader was the Fourth Mizukage, and the reputation of the 'Bloody Mist' was earned by them or their predecessors.
Although these people lacked top-tier combat power, they were numerous, making up seventy percent of Kirigakure's total ninjas.
Terumi Mei's predicament was that she had enough strength but lacked sufficient ninja support. The Daimyo of the Water Country sat on the sidelines, refusing to intervene in the village's internal conflicts.
Terumi Mei couldn't kill all the War Hawk Faction members. If she did, Kirigakure would be severely weakened.
Thus, in this situation, combat power like Su Xiao's—belonging neither to Kirigakure nor any other village—became valuable.
However, Su Xiao had the 'glorious achievement' of assassinating the Fourth Mizukage, so it was natural for Terumi Mei to be wary of him.
Su Xiao understood this too. If they cooperated, it would be a relationship of mutual exploitation. He needed to escape his current predicament as soon as possible, at least leave the prison.
Terumi Mei walked into the dungeon, her brown hair falling in two strands crossed over her chest.
"Nice to meet you. I am Terumi Mei."
Terumi Mei had only heard of Su Xiao, never met him.
"Bai Ye."
Su Xiao looked Terumi Mei up and down. If this woman got within close range, she would be the one to die. Her close-combat abilities weren't that strong, as evident from the original work.
If they kept their distance, Terumi Mei could easily burn him to ashes.
Currently, Terumi Mei was about three meters away. If he suddenly drew his blade, he could potentially kill her on the spot.
Of course, Su Xiao wouldn't do that. Even if he could kill her, he wouldn't leave alive.
"You bastard..."
Qing suddenly stepped in front of Terumi Mei. He was a sensory type, and Su Xiao's gaze toward Terumi Mei made him sense something wrong.
"Qing, no need to be nervous."
Terumi Mei gestured for Qing to step aside.
"Lady Terumi Mei, he just..."
"I sensed it."
Terumi Mei's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly. She knew how strong Su Xiao was in close combat. The knife wounds on the Fourth Mizukage's corpse were the best evidence.
"What was your purpose in assassinating the Fourth?"
Terumi Mei spoke.
"Purpose? I was hired."
Su Xiao had already thought of a reason for assassinating the Fourth Mizukage.
"Who hired you?"
"I don't know."
Su Xiao's answer displeased Terumi Mei.
"Since you won't say, then stay here."
Terumi Mei turned to leave, but Su Xiao in the cell laughed.
"If you give me benefits, I can kill people for you too."
Terumi Mei paused, glancing at Su Xiao from the corner of her eye.
"I don't need an assassin. I need loyal subordinates. Forget it, I've been very busy lately, especially at night. I have to work late every day."
With that, Terumi Mei and Qing left the dungeon. The door was closed, plunging everything back into darkness.
"Reinforce the guards. Transfer two more sensory-type ninjas. Ohno, Moku, you no longer need to guard this place. You have other missions."
Qing's voice came from outside the dungeon.
"Why? That bastard in there assassinated the Fourth Mizukage. We must guard here."
"That's right, we're not leaving."
Arguments echoed from outside the dungeon.
"Under your watch, that guy killed all the prisoners. Stop making fools of yourselves. When it comes to prisoners, we have no factional differences."
After a long while, silence fell outside the dungeon.
Su Xiao sat in the cell. The negotiation seemed to have failed, but in reality, it had succeeded.
Around ten that night, Su Xiao opened his eyes in the darkness.
The Dragon-Slaying Flash appeared in his hand, and blade light flashed.
Clang, clang.
Tinkle. The broken iron bars fell to the ground with a crisp sound.
Su Xiao walked out of the cell. Bubu Wang followed behind, looking amazed, as if saying, 'Master, is it really okay to go out like this?'
Outside, over a dozen ninjas were on guard, including several sensory types.
Su Xiao walked to the dungeon door and pushed it open directly. It wasn't even locked.
Stepping out of the dungeon, the pure white moonlight illuminated the earth, faintly revealing the surrounding buildings. Su Xiao was located at the rear side of Kirigakure.
Over a dozen ninjas stood on both sides of the prison entrance, their eyes fixed on their noses, noses fixed on their hearts, all acting like 'blind men.'
From Qing's earlier words, it was clear he had already transferred the War Hawk Faction members. Those guarding the dungeon now were all Terumi Mei's people. Combined with Terumi Mei's words, her meaning was obvious.
Su Xiao didn't know exactly where to go, but someone would come to find him soon.