Then, Mei saw Fire Release Ninjutsu spreading across the screen.
"Wow, the special effects are amazing!"
Mei's eyes sparkled as she kept shoving more popcorn into her mouth, not caring if she would gain weight.
The movie continued.
Soon, it reached the Land of Snow's scenes.
The audience in the theater gasped from time to time.
"So cool! Just like a real Shinobi!"
Mei's eyes were practically shooting out hearts.
Watching Takumi's flawless, handsome face on the big screen, her heart couldn't help but stir.
'One punch blasted the enemy away! So strong!'
'And the special effects are incredible. It was a real person before, then instantly turned into a prop the next moment, with no sense of pause.'
Mei kept praising the movie's production.
But she was mostly admiring Takumi's flawless face.
He was just too handsome!
In the movie, Takumi led the team forward.
Destroying the murder train from a distance.
A massive Fire Release fireball filling the sky.
Blowing up the enemy's base.
Even unfreezing the ground without doing anything, revealing the soil again.
And so on.
These scenes were dazzling. The audience gasped with every grand scene.
Finally, after a long time, the movie ended.
The creative team immediately took the stage.
Of course, only the director, cinematographer, and such.
The actors weren't there.
"Thank you all for enjoying our movie."
Amid thunderous applause, the director uncle kept bowing in thanks.
This lasted a full five minutes.
Then the director uncle began thanking the major sponsors, discussing some difficulties during filming, and answering a few audience questions.
The entire process took half an hour.
The crowd gradually began to disperse.
At that moment, Mei, who had been waiting for a while, immediately jumped onto the stage.
"Director, the movie is very well made."
She started with a compliment, then asked her question. "But aren't the actors coming? Especially the actor playing Takumi?"
"Huh? Miss, you have great looks. Would you like to sign a contract and try acting?"
The director uncle immediately brightened upon seeing Mei. "I bet you want to become a big star like Fujikaze Yukie, right? Believe me, I can make you a big star!"
"Being a big star is not for me."
Mei, praised by the director, covered her mouth and laughed. "I'm usually too busy. No time for filming."
"But I'd really like to meet the male lead. Could you introduce him?"
She was now deeply enchanted by Takumi's handsome face, like a little fangirl.
"The male lead? Probably not."
The director shook his head.
"Why?"
Mei grew anxious.
She thought, 'I waited an extra half hour for this?'
"Is he not feeling well? Or is there another reason?"
She kept pressuring the director uncle. The strong pressure made him retreat a few steps.
"Uh, neither."
The director uncle scratched his head. "Because he's not an actor."
"Not an actor?"
Mei was stunned. "If he's not an actor, how does he have such excellent acting skills?"
"Because it was all shot on location."
The director uncle puffed out his chest proudly. "This movie was almost entirely shot on location. Especially later, those battle scenes were the real deal."
"All... real?"
Mei first frowned, then reacted.
"It was all real?!"
Her eyes slowly widened, her mouth forming an 'O' as if she could fit an egg inside.
"The scenes I thought were special effects... you're telling me they were real?!"
Mei's eyes were full of disbelief.
"Yes, correct."
The director uncle also sighed emotionally. "Thankfully, Takumi-kun was strong enough. Otherwise, we might have filmed a tragedy. Fortunately, the outcome was good."
"Fujikaze-san successfully became the ruler of the Land of Snow. Takumi-kun successfully completed his mission and returned to Konoha. We also got a good movie. Truly something to celebrate."
The director uncle looked relieved.
Back then, deciding to continue filming was a gamble.
If he had lost, he might have lost his life too.
Fortunately, he won.
"Wait, you said he is that Takumi? Konoha's Takumi?"
Mei finally fully understood.
She suddenly pointed at the now-dark screen, her face full of shock and incredulity.
"Of course."
The director uncle said. "He is Konoha's Takumi-kun. Very handsome, right?"
"He's really Konoha's Takumi? And he's that handsome?! No, that's not the point!"
Mei shook her head, discarding scattered thoughts. "He has such immense strength? No wonder so many assassination attempts failed."
She thought of Ao's earlier proposal to organize an assassination, and her expression immediately turned ugly.
'That bastard Ao. He doesn't even know the enemy's strength, yet he dares to make such an unreliable plan.'
Her face shifted between dark and light, which startled the director uncle before her.
'A promising talent, but seemed a bit unstable.'
The director uncle regretfully shook his head and turned to leave.
A pair of hands like iron clamps grabbed his shoulders, preventing him from turning.
"Is there... something else?"
The immense strength made the director uncle realize this woman with an excellent figure must have an unusual identity.
"I wonder when the next showing is? I'd like to invite someone to watch it."
Mei said with a forced smile.
"Of course, no problem. The next showing starts in ten minutes."
The director uncle immediately said.
Actually, there wasn't originally a next showing, but he was afraid if he said that, he'd be torn to pieces.
The pressure Mei gave was too strong.
After all, she was a Kage, her presence was naturally overwhelming.
"Is that so? Then I'm relieved."
Mei released the director uncle, a gentle smile immediately appeared on her face, as if the person who had just grabbed someone wasn't her.
Five minutes later.
"Mizukage-sama?"
Ao, dragged to the movie theater by Mei, was utterly puzzled.
He had so much work to do.
But was suddenly brought here by Mei.
"You've been working hard recently, so I'm rewarding you with a movie."
Mei said with a smile. "I just watched it. It's very good. I highly recommend you see it too."
"Really?"
Ao relaxed his brow. "If Mizukage-sama recommends it, then I'll watch it."
Then, the movie began.
At first, it was somewhat uneventful.
But by the middle, battle scenes suddenly unfolded.
Back and forth, the battles were very heart-pounding.
Then came the awe-inspiring scenes delivered by the male lead.
"Truly brilliant special effects. Looks just like real."
Ao couldn't help but marvel, but then laughed at his own remark. "But how could that be? I've never seen anyone use such a huge Fire Release fireball."
"If I'm not mistaken, the hand seals sequence should be the Great Fireball Technique, a very popular Fire Release Ninjutsu in Konoha."
"Alright, the movie's over. Time to get back to work, Mizukage-sama."
Ao turned and saw Mei looking at him mischievously. "Mizukage-sama?"
"If, and I mean if, what you saw in those scenes were real, what would you do?"
Mei suddenly said. "If that actor isn't an actor, but actually Konoha's Takumi, what would you do?"
"Impossible!"
Ao immediately retorted. "It's just a movie."
"But the director told me personally it was all shot on location."
Mei continued. "And didn't Chojuro's report have a line about Takumi going on a mission to the Land of Snow, suppressing a rebellion there?"
Ao's expression gradually turned pale, cold sweat quickly pouring from his forehead.
His heart raced, but his hands and feet turned ice-cold.
"Mizukage-sama?"
He was so nervous his lips chapped. The thought that the movie scenes might be real made him tremble all over.
"Now, are you still thinking about assassination?"
Mei's voice floated lightly into Ao's ears.
"That... please let me consider carefully."
Ao immediately hesitated, no longer as adamant as before.
"Fine, think carefully. If you still think an assassination is necessary, I'll approve you going alone."
Mei said slowly. "Of course, before you leave, you must leave your Byakugan behind. That's the village's precious asset."
The implication was: you will definitely die if you go, so don't take the Byakugan, which the village put tremendous effort into obtaining.
At that, Ao's last bit of doubt vanished.
He was certain Mei wasn't joking.
If he really insisted on assassinating Takumi, Mei would definitely do as she said.
This was also a tactful way of telling him not to do something stupid.
"I've considered, Mizukage-sama."
Once he understood, Ao immediately made a decision. "I believe we need to gather more and more detailed intelligence to make an accurate assessment."
"At this stage, our collected intelligence is insufficient. We should not act."
Ao lowered his head.
"Not going to consider carefully?"
Mei looked at him playfully.
"No, this subordinate has already thoroughly considered."
Ao immediately shook his head.
"Good then."
Mei nodded. "Go attend to your duties. I need to rest."
After sending Ao away, Mei's expression also turned serious.
She had Ao watch the movie partly to dissuade him from impractical ideas.
On the other hand, she wanted to see if there was a possibility of forming an alliance with Konoha.