How long had it been since she last left the village?
Mei Terumī's memory was a little hazy. Being highly regarded didn't bring only benefits. Even someone like Yagura Karatachi had been manipulated from the shadows; for high-ranking ninja, nowhere inside the Hidden Mist truly felt safe anymore.
Yet no matter how strained things became, three years had already passed.
Zabuza's challenge had been meaningless. He didn't understand what the village really needed, nor did he grasp the current state of the ninja world.
Mei Terumī herself only half-understood. She couldn't find any answers within the village. Even if she told her comrades—those who acknowledged her—that the village would become completely different from what it once was…
For the village. For the shinobi.
She still had no answer.
"Please allow me to pay for this, Roshi-kun."
When she met Roshi again, Mei's attitude was even more courteous than it had been three years ago, with a faint touch of formality. After the official negotiations over the timetable were concluded, she had asked for a private conversation, and Roshi had agreed, choosing this secluded tea room.
Once they were seated, she immediately expressed her wish to treat him.
"While saving some money is certainly nice, Terumī-san, I hope what you want to discuss isn't going to be too troublesome?"
"If it's meant as a bribe, this much probably isn't enough."
Mei's lips curved slightly. "I know Roshi-kun is just making a point, but it seems you've grown more casual than you were three years ago."
"Hmm…" Roshi thought for a moment. "Maybe I've gotten older, or maybe I've just grown used to my current life."
"Isn't it because, as someone burdened with expectations and fighting on the battlefield, you chose a lighter attitude?" she asked with a smile. "I heard something along those lines once."
"Maybe it's true that I don't need to act so serious anymore to maintain my dignity in front of others," Roshi replied.
After the attendant served the tea and snacks, they quietly withdrew.
Mei lifted the teapot and gracefully poured for them both. In the quiet room, the sound of hot tea flowing into porcelain cups was unusually clear.
"Three years ago, I learned many things from you, Roshi-kun, and they gave rise to my doubts," she said. "When I couldn't find answers inside the village, I began to hope for help from you."
Roshi frowned. "The way you're putting this is making me more and more uneasy."
"What is a ninja to you, Roshi-kun?"
Mei lowered her gaze to the tea in her cup as she asked.
"...That's a pretty broad question." Even as he said so, Roshi relaxed a little and picked up one of the tea snacks.
'Hmm… very mild sweetness. Not bad.'
"Don't the Hidden Mist shinobi have their own answer to that?" he asked.
Mei nodded. "They do. It's more or less the same as the common view in the ninja world."
"Ninja are tools; ninjas are beings who endure everything for the sake of a goal."
"Do you see it differently?" he asked.
The kunoichi gently turned the warm cup in her hands, watching her reflection ripple on the tea's clear surface. "To abandon everything for the mission, to endure everything for the village… As someone others follow, I can't give them a different answer."
"Even if I tell them that the future will be completely different from the present."
Roshi rubbed his fingertips together, lifted his cup, took a sip, then cleared his throat.
"I don't have any profound insight to offer, so it seems your treat was wasted on me."
Mei felt a faint disappointment but only smiled. "Not at all. A private conversation with Konoha's hero is a reward in itself."
"When it comes to an idea that can't be flatly condemned—enduring and striving for a goal—I can't just judge it carelessly," Roshi said. "As for whether ninjas are tools… Mei-san, haven't the Mist shinobi already made their choice through their actions?"
Mei blinked, slightly taken aback.
"The reason they choose to follow you is because they believe the path you point to leads to a better future."
"All I can offer is this kind of nonsense," Roshi said, taking a napkin to wipe his mouth. "If you'll excuse me, I have another engagement."
Mei didn't answer right away. "Your answer really does sound like something an elder would say."
"That's why some people call me old-fashioned, Mei-san."
He stood, walked to the door, and set his hand lightly on the frame. "The answer you're looking for is in the hearts of those shinobi who trust you enough to follow you."
"Asking me is probably like seeking the Way from the blind."
"Next time," Roshi added as he left, "I'll pay for the tea."
The tea room fell silent again, leaving only the lingering scent of tea and Mei sitting alone. She lowered her lashes, staring at her wavering reflection in the cup, and remained motionless for a long time.
People's troubles only seemed to multiply with age. Even after living through adolescence a second time, some problems were simply unavoidable.
For example, the way he always insisted on handling diplomacy in private.
Or the way he'd already had tea yet now had to stuff himself with ice cream.
"Ugh... Samui, your name might mean 'cold,' but isn't this ice cream portion a bit too much?"
"This is a return gift for you, Roshi."
Under the awning of an outdoor ice cream stand in the Venue District, the Kumogakure kunoichi pushed a cup stacked with three towering scoops toward him. The cup in front of her was much smaller.
"A formal request for a meeting can't just be for a return gift."
"Because you're always accustomed to discussing Village matters with me in this kind of situation," Samui replied. "So, this is also a return gift."
"As for official business, please enjoy your ice cream first."
Roshi sighed and picked up the wooden spoon. The sweetness spread across his tongue, washing away the lingering bitterness of the tea.
"Does Kumogakure have any suggestions for this Joint Combat Exercise?" he asked, cutting straight to the point.
Samui didn't continue to tease him.
"Raikage-sama recognizes that the five-village alliance has a far more ambitious future ahead," she said, "but the current competition format can no longer draw out the alliance's full potential."
"Specifically?"
"Mainly in terms of commercial revenue." She gestured toward the bustling crowd around them. "Konoha's current arena can't attract any more tourists. Even if it's expanded later, it's still nowhere near enough to match the Ninja World's massive population."
"So?"
Samui didn't answer immediately. She simply watched him in silence as he lowered his head and went to work on the ice cream mountain.
At last, she spoke. "The competition format needs to change."
Roshi's hand stilled.
"Changing the format... When Sunagakure and Iwagakure joined, all we had to do was negotiate profit splits and minor rules. But changing the core competition system..."
"Isn't this exactly what you mentioned before?" Samui looked straight at him. "Embracing the future of the alliance."
"This isn't something a few envoys can settle by shuttling back and forth," Roshi said.
"Yes. Because this requires deep cooperation among all Five Great Ninja Villages—and the most direct, most efficient form of communication."
Outside the awning, the noise of the crowd seemed to recede all at once.
With the wooden spoon still between his teeth, Roshi murmured, "A Five Kage Summit."
"Precisely." Samui nodded. "This is Raikage-sama's wish. And we hope... to reach a consensus with Konoha beforehand."
—
"Even your appetite's turning into an old man's, Roshi."
The lights in the Senju house were dim and yellow. Roshi sat at the dining table, slowly sipping warm rice porridge from his bowl.
Tsunade lounged opposite him, one hand wrapped around a small sake flask, a plate of drinking snacks laid out in front of her.
"This is a work injury," Roshi said without looking up. "I'm putting this bowl of porridge on expenses."
Tsunade rummaged lazily in her clothes, then flicked a few coins onto the table. "Approved."
She watched him drink and then said, "The Five Kage Summit… the Raikage sure has ideas."
The last summit had been decades ago, back in the First Hokage's time, and it had revolved around the tailed beasts. If things followed the original course, the next Five Kage Summit would also be because of the tailed beasts.
"And we don't even know if anyone will object."
"How's Kumogakure planning to reorganize the competition system?" Tsunade asked.
"Change the current annual Joint Combat Exercise into a format with multiple host venues," Roshi replied. "In that case, it'll probably be similar to before, just that the Villages capable of hosting will take turns throughout the year."
"Oh?" Tsunade shook the wine pot, listening to the last of the liquid slosh inside. "Is the Raikage… jealous of the 'Western Exchange Event' Ōnoki started?"
"This isn't about being jealous of independent hosting rights." Roshi set his spoon down. "It's about what a continuously popular, core competition area outside the Village can bring to the Village's non-shinobi residents."
He began counting off on his fingers. "Massive job opportunities. Steady, real income. Restaurants, inns, handicraft stalls… all the supporting industries come to life around it."
"Even from a security standpoint, the permanent positions and posts that appear because of it mean another stable income channel for shinobi, aside from their missions outside the village."
"Kumogakure, Iwagakure, even the future Hidden Mist, and Sunagakure as well—their locations all have issues. When the Hidden Villages were first founded, safety and concealment came first. That also means they're a pain to get to in terms of transportation."
"Without a loud enough, long-term large-scale event as a signboard, it's hard for them to secure that kind of continuous, stable income."
Konoha had no need for that kind of gimmick.
Sitting in the most central, convenient location in the ninja world was already a natural signboard. Even without the Joint Combat Exercise, the Venue District outside the Village could keep its popularity on its own.
The spicy liquor slid down Tsunade's throat, but her eyes grew clearer.
"The Five Villages Alliance has basically turned into mutual support…" she murmured after a long silence.
"That's one way to see it." Roshi nodded. "If you're just thinking about maximizing the Five Villages Alliance competition benefits, then the ideal plan is to create an entirely new competition area in a neutral zone that's sufficiently open."
"Rebuild everything there, and all income—tickets, sponsorships, merchandise—goes into a public pool, then gets distributed according to an agreed ratio."
Tsunade snorted. "Unless it's right next to the Village, people inside the Village will still complain about it."
After all, when it came to job placements and personnel assignments, it was never just about money.
Take Konoha, for example. The Venue District being outside the Village was precisely why establishing the police force branch there went so smoothly. Even if the Uchiha were dissatisfied, at least the branch and the main force were separated, so conflict wouldn't flare up as intensely.
And it left much more room for future maneuvering.
Roshi scraped the last bit of porridge from the bottom of the bowl and put it into his mouth. The warmth slid down his throat and settled in his stomach. He exhaled slowly, a long breath of comfort.
"Let's discuss it according to the 'rotating host' plan first." Roshi set down the empty bowl. "We establish a standing organization to coordinate the schedule, set the rules, and allocate resources."
"Roughly, that means expanding the schedule, dividing it into competition zones, and then having a grand finale."
"We've already reached a consensus with Kumogakure. As for the rest, I'll go talk to Sunagakure."
After all, among the Five Great Ninja Villages, Sunagakure was the only one that objectively lacked the conditions to host an independent event.
Even with personnel from all five Villages gathered, they still didn't have enough confidence to maintain security on their own.
Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and the Hidden Mist each had two Jinchuriki, and their Kage were still alive and active.
Even the Hidden Mist—despite supposedly being ravaged by the Bloody Mist era—still retained formidable high-level combat power.
"Next is to wait for Iwagakure's and the Hidden Mist's views at the Five Kage Summit."
There was barely any sake left in the flask, and Tsunade finished it in one gulp.
She turned her head, looking around for a second pot.
"One is enough."
Roshi stood, picked up the empty bowl, and took the flask from her hand as well.
"You're really meddling, Old Man Roshi." Tsunade picked up an edamame pod and popped it open. "What is it that Mei Terumī from the Hidden Mist absolutely has to talk to you about in private… hmm…?"
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