"To summarize, the shuriken launcher research is postponed."
In Vegeta's prison cell—correction, the fifth basement floor of Kazekage's office—Hii Kōri chewed dates and mumbled through his mission report.
He'd grown increasingly fond of this food lately. High sugar, easily absorbed, not too cloying—and most importantly, cultivable in Sunagakure. Truly top-tier stuff.
"Since it concerns the jinchūriki, priority is indeed higher."
Fingers steepled before his nose in a profound pose, the Third Kazekage emitted a muffled hum—actually concealing the fact that he was also munching away.
This time, he didn't mention the chūnin exams. Hii Kōri's strength was obvious to all; that earlier mention was just idle conversation.
"Oh, one more thing—shouldn't the prison guards be replaced?"
Tightening the scroll acting as his wrist guard, Hii Kōri produced paper and pen, casually tossing another pack of dates to the Third Kazekage while speaking nonchalantly.
Though "Vegeta" was imprisoned here, he loved this office—quiet, uncluttered, perfect for drafting designs.
"Oh? What'd they do to offend you?"
Accepting the dates and instantly eating like a hamster, the man who'd completely lost all "Kage" dignity in Hii Kōri's presence asked with interest.
Can't help it—eating makes one's tongue short. This kid constantly produced delicious stuff. Couldn't he snack while imprisoned here?
"'Offend me'? Do I seem like a kid who holds grudges?"
"You're not? That Rasa kid only 'ignored your plight' once when those girls clung to you, and ever since, every spar you pretend is real but actually beat him within an inch of his life, right?"
Talent-wise, Hii Kōri apparently surpassed Rasa. By normal logic, if taking disciples, he'd be first choice.
But Hii Kōri lacked Lightning Release. The Third Kazekage's main goal was passing down Magnet Release. Besides basics, he had nothing to teach Hii Kōri.
Taijutsu? He rarely used it himself. Ninjutsu? Wind Release? Probably inferior to Matazaburō. Sealing and barrier techniques? If he knew those, would he need the Uzumaki?
This kid occasionally proposed constructive ideas, inspiring him in return. Meanwhile, Rasa—his designated disciple—got spun like a top by Hii Kōri in spars.
Thinking about it, makes this Kage look useless. Damned.
Ah, so melancholy. Better eat more sweets.
"Slander! You're slandering me! I'm writing this down in my little book! Give back my dates—no more for you!"
So, Hii Kōri didn't actually take back the dates, but looked very seriously at the Third Kazekage. "To be honest, those small fry don't matter to me. But don't they take themselves too seriously?"
"What do you mean?"
"People think of jinchūriki as disaster-bringing tailed beasts and ignore them—that's fine, just show it's because they don't know. But prison guards are ninja, right?"
Hii Kōri looked up and sketched the sealing technique roadmap, and his tone showed that he was confused. "We know our village's sealing techniques are really bad, and the jinchūriki could lose control and get imprisoned, but they still shout at Master Bunpuku all the time?"
"Are those idiots plants from other villages? Or do they do it without being punished because they know Master Bunpuku won't be angry?"
When conversing with Bunpuku, he'd erected a soundproof barrier. But as the barrier's creator, if he couldn't freely choose whether to hear through it, that'd be ridiculous.
Those slack, negligent guards' muttered complaints—Hii Kōri heard every word.
Conflating jinchūriki with tailed beasts, pouring out malice, even cursing him, the visitor. Hard to understand where their hatred came from.
Did tailed beasts kill their whole families? If so, weren't they afraid of it rampaging again and killing their current families too?
As guards, not diligent. As ninja, lacking sense of awe. Truly wasting Sunagakure's rice.jpg
"Hmm..."
The Third Kazekage agreed with Hii Kōri's assessment. He didn't understand why the guards were acting the way they were.
"Direct dereliction of duty charges."
Vegeta looked very serious.
Bunpuku had been the Third Kazekage's stable for decades, and he had gradually become less interested in it. As Kage, he had lots of work to do.
He put thought and decision into everything, except for things like paperwork, development strategies and money issues.
If a ninja didn't go on missions for a long time, they would get really weak. As the highest-ranking combat power representative, he made sure he trained hard too.
I wonder if those guards had become careless?
Hii Kōri said that Bunpuku was the most stable jinchūriki, but he didn't believe it at first. He knew Sand's humorous sealing level better than anyone. But now, maybe not.
Even if they were to frame guards who had never been seen before, who would use a pretext that could be checked by simply visiting the prison?
"You're the boss. You decide."
Hii Kōri was not particularly invested in the situation. He was simply dissatisfied with the way the eminent monk had treated him.
He cared more about something else than the guards' fate: "What did we talk about before? If the sealing works well, will it let Master Bunpuku out of prison?"
"If it actually works, there's no harm in it. Almost no civilians in the village know Bunpuku anymore."
Jinchūriki were used to help protect the village in battle. Although Bunpuku himself couldn't fight, and was old, relying on Shukaku alone was still very powerful.
Even just releasing him to advance the next jinchūriki beat keeping him locked up.
***
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