"Alright then, we'll leave the rest in your village's hands. Here is the deposit for the mission. We won't take up any more of your time."
After confirming the key details of the mission one last time and handing over the agreed-upon deposit on the spot, Menma stood up, looking satisfied.
"Ah, please, allow me to walk you out."
Shibuki and Suien politely escorted them all the way to the exit. As they watched Menma and Karin disappear down the path leading away from the Hidden Waterfall Village, Shibuki couldn't hide the excitement on his face.
This was the first major diplomatic negotiation he had successfully concluded. To the young Shibuki, this mission represented a huge win for the Hidden Waterfall—promising not just financial profit, but invisible political benefits as well.
"Leader, is it really appropriate to just accept this mission? It involves the Hidden Leaf, after all. One slip-up, and the Hidden Waterfall could be sucked into a vortex we can't control," Suien said, glancing at Shibuki with a gloomy expression.
His point wasn't entirely without merit. However, in the current ninja world, villages fought tooth and nail for market share. Even if the mission touched upon internal issues within the Land of Fire and the Hidden Leaf, compared to the tangible profits, wasn't the risk worth taking? There is no such thing as a free lunch, after all.
In reality, Suien was mostly just being a contrarian.
He had his eyes on the Leader's seat. He was dead set on overthrowing Shibuki, so why would he want to see Shibuki stabilize his rule by racking up political wins?
"Suien-san, it's already a done deal. Besides, didn't we ask for Elder Aotaku's opinion earlier? Since we've accepted the mission, we will execute it according to the rules."
Shibuki showed a rare moment of backbone, speaking to Suien in a stern, serious tone.
This unexpected pushback made Suien's expression turn ice-cold instantly.
The conversation inside the hall had already annoyed him; now, being told off directly made his anger spike. But they were standing at the main gate, and Shibuki was still technically the Leader.
Suien forcibly suppressed his rage. He let out a cold snort, turned around, and walked away without another word.
'Don't give me an excuse, Shibuki... And you old geezers, don't push me. If you make me desperate, I'll burn this whole village to the ground!'
As he walked away, a ruthless glint flashed in Suien's eyes, his mind filled with murderous intent.
Shibuki watched Suien's retreating back with a helpless look. Given his personality, he didn't like being so tough. To be honest, he actually shared Suien's worries about the risks.
To put it simply, Shibuki was the type who wanted everything to go smoothly and peacefully. But this mission offered too much gain for the village—and for him personally. Remembering the teachings of the previous Leader and the advice of Elder Aotaku, Shibuki shook his head and clenched his fists.
'I definitely won't let them down!'
---
Leaving the internal drama of the Hidden Waterfall behind, Menma and Karin had already successfully navigated the winding path away from the main gate.
Once they were completely out of the Hidden Waterfall's territory, they released the Transformation Jutsu, reverting to their true appearances.
Thinking about how smoothly the trip had gone, the corners of Menma's mouth curled up into a handsome arc.
"Menma, I still don't get it. Why did we need to go to the Hidden Waterfall?"
Karin was still confused. She couldn't wrap her head around Menma's actions. Of course, this was because she didn't know the full extent of his plan yet, so a lot of what he did seemed pointless to her.
"Heh. We went to the Hidden Waterfall for the sake of the future setup, Karin. Like I told you before, we need a stable home base. Orochimaru's place is just a temporary stop. You don't trust Orochimaru, and honestly? Neither do I. We're just using each other. So, I need to make preparations in advance. This trip was just a recon run to test the waters."
Menma chuckled lightly, revealing his intentions to Karin without holding back.
"Oh!? So that's it? Does that mean we're going to join the Hidden Waterfall later? But we went in disguise... won't that be a problem?"
Karin nodded as if a lightbulb had gone off, but then frowned with a new question.
"It's hard to say right now. We'll have to see. That Leader, Shibuki, is somewhat interesting, but it depends on how things play out. Nothing is set in stone," Menma said with a laugh.
Because of Shibuki, because of the Hero Water, and most importantly, because of the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki, Fū, the Hidden Waterfall was Menma's top draft pick. If there was a chance, Menma would do whatever it took to bring the Hidden Waterfall under his control in the future. He knew how difficult it would be.
But no matter how hard it was, he had to do it.
It was one of the most solid options he had. As for the result? That was up to fate. He didn't have a lot of time, but he didn't have too little, either. Three years was enough to change everything.
"Oh? Then what was the deal with that mission you gave them? And the people you told them to find? Who are they?"
Karin nodded, half-understanding, then her eyes went wide as she remembered something else.
"Oh, that? That was just going with the flow. We couldn't just walk into a ninja village and ask to meet the Leader without a valid reason, right? Plus, it's a long-term mission. It gives us an excuse to contact the Hidden Waterfall periodically and make further arrangements. As for the people... one is a promise I made to Shido to find the descendants of Lord Kubisaki, the former Daimyo of the Land of Neck. And the others? I'm looking for scattered members of the Uzumaki Clan, along with a few other specific individuals."
Menma paused for a moment before continuing.
"I see!" Karin replied with a nod.
"Like I said, how things unfold from here depends on the choices we make—and the choices they make."
Menma turned around, his gaze seeming to pierce through the layers of mountains to look back at the heart of the Hidden Waterfall Village. A faint smile played on his lips.
"Let's go, Karin. Time to head back."
"Right!"
With that, both of them flared their chakra. Running side-by-side, they sped back toward the Land of Rice Fields in the east.
---