Letting out a long yawn, Terumi Mei opened her eyes and saw a can of iced green tea in front of her.
Linto was standing across from her, smiling, and said, "It's so late. Why aren't you asleep?"
"I can't sleep, ha—"
She was halfway through her sentence when she yawned again.
She took the green tea Linto offered and mumbled a thank you. She gulped down about half the can before letting out a satisfied sigh, like an old man tasting wine. Her sleepy eyes finally became a little clearer.
The night breeze was gentle, and Terumi Mei pulled her blanket tighter around herself.
"Sorry," Linto said.
"What are you apologizing for?"
"The day we arrived in Kyoto, I promised you we'd watch the fireworks show together at the Water Garden Festival."
"Yeah, we promised, but..."
Terumi Mei pinched the cold aluminum can between her thumb and middle finger, took a small sip, and said:
"No one expected so many things to happen tonight. As for the fireworks show..."
She nodded toward Oda Iekazu who was leaving.
"Thanks to him, didn't we get to see one up close?"
Linto realized she was talking about the cluster bombs under the Daimyo's mansion.
In terms of brilliance... under high temperature and pressure, the light of the explosion was pure white. It was indeed a grand "fireworks" display.
It was also because of that explosion that the real fireworks show at the Water Garden Festival was canceled.
They were worried that someone would use the noise of the fireworks explosions as cover to fight and cause new disturbances.
Enough had happened tonight; no one wanted the newly stabilized situation to change again.
Terumi Mei said, "I just feel a little unwilling."
"Unwilling?"
She loosened her blanket a little, revealing not her usual blue tight-fitting dress for battle, but a yukata with a white background and pink cherry blossoms.
Linto then noticed that Terumi Mei was wearing makeup. Her eyes and eyebrows were a bit softer than usual, her lips were bright red and full, and her long hair was pinned up with a golden hairpin. A strawberry bear, which she usually liked, hung behind the hairpin.
He remembered the secretive thing Terumi Mei had hidden in the closet before they left for Kyoto. It must have been this outfit. As Mizukage, she usually couldn't wear a yukata like this out in public to maintain her authority.
Terumi Mei pulled the blanket tighter again, resting her chin on her knees:
"I carried the clothes and jewelry all the way here, but I didn't expect so many things to happen. Fortunately, everything's been resolved. I stupidly thought—
'Ah, I can wait for the fireworks show to start.'
I got dressed and put on makeup, and then I heard people saying that the fireworks show was canceled tonight.
When I think about how I don't know when I'll be able to come to Kyoto again, and maybe I'll be in my thirties by then, an old lady..."
She looked up at Linto, her cheeks slightly puffed out.
"It's this kind of unwillingness. Can you understand?"
Linto nodded.
It's like spending a lot of effort kneading dough, chopping filling, and making dumplings, only to find there's no vinegar at home after cooking them and putting them on the table.
"So, I can't sleep."
Terumi Mei pointed to her eyes.
"If I lay in bed like this, I'd probably just stare at the ceiling.
Especially in an hour or two, when I hear the birds chirping outside the window, I'll realize the night of the Water Garden Festival is over, and I'll eventually become an unwilling ghost."
Linto thought for a moment.
"Wait for me here."
As soon as he finished speaking, he disappeared from Terumi Mei's sight. About ten seconds later, Linto reappeared, carrying a bucket of water in one hand and a handful of sparklers in the other.
"Will this do?"
"I thought you'd bring a big firework. This... well, it'll have to do."
Terumi Mei sounded disgusted, but she couldn't hide the smile on her face. She tossed the blanket aside, picked up a sparkler, and lit it with the golden flame in Linto's palm.
The golden sparks flickered, reflected in her smiling, squinting eyes, more dazzling than the stars across the sky.
Just then, the melodious sound of a shakuhachi flute echoed through the Daimyo's mansion again.
The tune was still "Wind." Linto sensed Oda Iekazu's "sad breath" in the melody.
Oda Iekazu sat on the tatami mat, playing softly.
Little Hideyoshi, who had been having nightmares and looked terrified, gradually calmed down when he heard the music representing his mother. A tear rolled down the corner of his eye.
After the song ended, all the sparklers had burned out and were thrown into the bucket.
"However, I've had a question since earlier."
Terumi Mei pointed to the bucket: "You can make fire with your bare hands, and I'm the Mizukage. Do we really need a bucket to play with sparklers?"
Linto shrugged: "Isn't it about the atmosphere? If it's just for the light and sound effects, I could take out Hidan's ashes and blow them up. It might be even better than the fireworks show."
"Then..."
Terumi Mei rested her chin on her hand, tilted her head slightly, and squinted at Linto:
"Is it pretty?"
"Yes, it is."
"Hmph."
Terumi Mei gave a knowing smile: "I was talking about the fireworks."
Linto looked at her calmly.
"I was talking about you."
Boom—
Terumi Mei heard the sound of fireworks blooming.
Linto reached out and pointed to her hairpin, makeup, and yukata, saying seriously, "It suits you very well."
She suddenly stood up, her face flushed red, put her hands on her hips, and laughed loudly:
"I see you have good taste. It's not for nothing that I prepared so carefully. You better remember my beauty!"
Linto thought for a moment and took a Polaroid camera from the ghost room and shook it.
Terumi Mei's eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously.
With a soft click.
They took a picture.
Linto took a marker and wrote today's date in the blank area below. He handed the photo to Terumi Mei.
"Come again next time."
"Okay, I'll try a different style next time."
"What style?"
Terumi Mei raised her chin, her eyes sparkling.
"A woman's secret."
...
At the same time.
Akatsuki organization base.
Nagato looked tired and coughed constantly.
He had just finished sealing the Three-Tailed Jinchuriki.
Sealing the Tailed Beasts into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path must be done carefully and according to the order of the 1st to 9th tails.
But that doesn't mean they have to catch them in order.
Now that the Three Tails and Two Tails have been killed by Linto, they've become wild Tailed Beasts.
Nagato's plan was to catch them first and seal the captured Tailed Beasts into humans, creating a Jinchuriki.
Like "batteries."
After the Three Tails and Two Tails are captured, they can formally attack Sunagakure Village.
Once the One, Two, and Three Tails are collected, they can be thrown into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path in one go, maximizing efficiency.
Otherwise, attacking the One Tail first would attract the attention of the major ninja villages in advance, which would not be conducive to the implementation of the plan.
As for where to find Jinchuriki candidates to seal the Tailed Beasts?
Naturally, from the descendants of the Uzumaki Clan.
When the Uzumaki Clan was destroyed, a large number of sealing techniques and bloodlines were divided up by the major countries.
Today, the increasingly mature Tailed Beast suppression techniques and perfect Jinchuriki training programs of the major ninja villages are inseparable from the Uzumaki Clan's legacy.
The major country's financial groups can provide Nagato with financial resources and manpower.
Nagato and the unlucky person who is being used as the Three-Tailed Jinchuriki, and who will likely be extracted from the Tailed Beast and die in a while, might be relatives if you trace back a few generations.
But, it doesn't matter.
In order to achieve his plan, Nagato doesn't even care about his own life, let alone distant relatives.
"Cough cough..."
Nagato coughed laboriously, his body shaking constantly. It took a while for him to stop.
Konan handed him a glass of water.
"Thank you."
Nagato took the water and gulped it down.
Konan looked at his thin face and said softly, "Kakuzu and Hidan are both dead."
Nagato paused for half a second as he drank. He finished the water in one gulp, gently put down the glass, and said:
"I know. The organization is two people short... I'll find a way to recruit more people."
Konan went around to face him.
"It's not about manpower right now, Nagato. What are you really thinking?"
"Are you really planning to confront Linto head-on?"
Nagato's Rinnegan eyes were like a pool of stagnant water. He looked at the bag hanging on Konan's waist, which contained a notebook she never let leave her side.
"If so, Konan, who do you help?"
---
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