Miyu's POV
Looking at the base entrance, holding a bag of blood, I walked in without thinking, heading straight for the commander's camp.
"Hey, wait," I heard the guard say, but he didn't actually do anything; his words were just a polite way of justifying his attempt to stop me, but he didn't lift a finger for who I was.
With barely contained fury, I pushed past all the ninjas around me, knocking some of them over, but my intention was to get to that idiot, so I ignored everything; I'd apologize later if the opportunity arose.
"Stop, you have to—AH!" the guards tried to stop me, but with two well-placed punches, one to the stomach and the other to the jaw, I knocked them out.
The moment I opened the doors to the camp, I saw Orochimaru stuffing an animal, in this case, a bear. Why? I don't care. I only saw how its eyes widened when it saw me; Seeing me approaching at full speed, it could only shield itself with its arms to receive my blow.
The entire camp, or rather, Orochimaru's personal laboratory, was destroyed, and he himself was brutally thrown to the ground, his arms completely broken and in a completely unnatural position.
"Always so explosive, Miyu-kun," Pedumaru said in his usual mocking tone.
I simply kicked him in the face, shattering his jaw and sending him crashing into a tree.
The surrounding ninjas were in shock, unsure what to do—whether to defend their commander or let me hit him—but one thing was clear: no one wanted to mess with me when I was furious.
Pedumaru's mouth opened colossally, and another Pedumaru emerged, covered in slime, completely unharmed, but with a decrease in his chakra.
"What kind of rebellion is this, hitting a commander like this?" he said, trying to threaten me, but I ignored him.
"I'm not hitting a commander; I'm hitting an incompetent. Instead of doing your job as commander, you let the whole place fall into ruin; you abandon your men to their fate; you have to rely on other units to help you; and above all, you assign impossible or suicidal missions—and for what? So they'll leave you alone in your sexy dungeon. You're pathetic, haven't you noticed?" I retorted.
The whole place fell silent; practically the entire base was watching and listening to the confrontation between the two of us.
"Your words are as sharp as ever," Pedumaru commented, but with an awkward laugh.
At that moment, Jiraiya and Minato arrived. The former practically ran to intervene in the fight, while the latter went to where his students were, not far away, watching the whole spectacle.
"Stop for a moment," Jiraiya said, panting. "There's no need to fight, especially not here and not in a war zone."
The perverted sage was trying his best to hold everything together, but I didn't care; I severed all ties with Pedumaru a long time ago, so if he died, all I'd do is mock him and laugh at his grave.
The reason I don't do that is that, however strong he was, there's no valid reason to kill him yet, and public opinion still matters when making my plans. If I killed him, I'd just be seen as an impulsive woman who killed one of the best ninjas and a disciple of the Third Hokage in a fit of anger.
They'd see me as a troublesome, angry, erratic woman, and they'd be afraid of me—the exact opposite of what I want.
There's no need to waste my energy on garbage like that; it's a shame that a ninja who isn't even qualified to command a single squad is a candidate for Fourth Hokage. In my humble opinion, the worst possible choice." My words instantly wiped Pedumaru's goofy grin off his face. "And just so you know, I didn't come here to talk; take this."
With that said, I tossed the bag of blood to Pedumaru; the bag was torn, so the Third Raikage's head was visible to everyone, mainly so that the assassination's success wouldn't be recognized by Orochimaru but by us.
"That's the Raikage's head!" one of them exclaimed.
"How is that even possible?" another asked.
Pedumaru simply stared at the Third Raikage's head with a hint of horror.
"Mission accomplished, we've done our part; now do yours." "If Kumo doesn't end the war against Konoha within a month, then I will personally search for all your hidden laboratories and destroy them completely, leaving nothing inside, regardless of the importance of what's inside," I warned him.
I saw how, for some reason, his face went even paler than it should have been. Killing him was one thing, but destroying his entire life's work was another; from his perspective, that was worse than death.
With that said, I turned and left. Everyone in front of me made way for me, just like Moses parting the Red Sea.
...
I looked at the sky and lit a cigarette; it helped me calm down for a moment, taking my mind off the smoke in my lungs and how it would come out, while my genes repaired any damaged cells in that very instant.
(Note: Kids, smoking is bad; don't do it).
Right now I was outside the base, since I didn't want to be there and be seen as some kind of freak or something, not to mention that the further away from that pedophile, the better.
Thanks to his stupid mission, one of my best friends died, just to fulfill a whim that was supposedly impossible.
There was no need for this mission, but the commander asked for it to lower enemy morale and raise ours. It was stupid; the worst part is that, since Pedumaru asked for it, the higher-ups agreed.
I have to do something about those four, but I can't while Hiruzen is in power. I'll just have to wait for Minato to take over so I can intervene.
"I thought you wouldn't smoke again after the mission," I heard the voice of the perverted sage who appeared out of nowhere and leaned against a tree.
"It's in the post-mission phase, so it's not completely over yet," I replied.
"And when does that post-mission phase end?" he asked.
"When we're done mourning the dead," I answered, leaving my response unspoken.
I watched as birds flew freely through the heat, something I'd always longed for, but if it had to be this way, sacrificing friends, it felt like it wasn't worth it.
"I didn't think you and Kosuke..."
"Don't misunderstand, Jiraiya," I interrupted. "With so much time together, training, missions—both completed and failed—and quality time as comrades, it's normal to feel this way; if you or Minato died, it would be the same. I just need time to process my feelings, nothing more."
Jiraiya just sighed.
"Well, I also came to tell you that the team is temporarily disbanding; I've been sent to Suna to investigate what's happening with the Kazekage's power shift, while Minato will be sent to Iwa to support the unit," he informed me.
"And what about me?" I asked.
"Given your actions, both in the past and now, you were summoned by the Konoha council to discuss what they will do with you," he explained.
"Heh, I see," I said simply, stubbing out my cigarette and leaving Konoha immediately.
Jiraiya didn't stop me; he just stood there, watching me leave.
...
I was sitting in a chair, staring at the ceiling, thinking about life, or at least I wanted to, since there were four old fogies scolding me.
"Who do you think you are, doing all this, going over your superiors?" said Koharu, whom I'll now refer to as Old Fog 1.
"On top of that, going over the other authorities? You're lucky we haven't branded you a lost ninja," said Homura, now known as Old Fog 2.
The old monkey just stared with a look of utter disappointment, as if I had committed a sin and had to pay for my crimes.
The only one who wasn't doing anything was Danzo, who, oddly enough, was the only one who seemed to show what he was thinking and understood his position.
"Yes, after everything the village has given you, this is how you repay it, by further fueling the war and creating friction within the allied lines; you should be punished," recounted Old Man 1.
"You're right, he should hand over half of his clan's jutsu along with a hefty sum of money for all the trouble."
"That's true; what you're saying makes sense; there are also those seals and techniques, not to mention those subordinate clan ninjas he has. We're no longer in the Warring States period; you should sever ties with them and make them completely independent," added Old Man 2.
I was just listening to all this in disbelief, which, at least to me, was ridiculous, as if everything I did hadn't benefited the village.
I looked at the old monkey who, to my total disappointment, was just standing there listening without doing anything, without intervening in his companion who was showing his fangs.
"In fact, she's already of marriageable age; we should arrange a political marriage to further unite the clans. I have my youngest son, who could be a great candidate."
That was the last straw.
"And what if I refuse?" I said simply, causing everyone to fall silent.
The only one who made any kind of movement was Danzo, who smiled at this.
He knew what I was going to do and what might happen, but he didn't care, since if for some reason I managed to kill the three of them, he could pass me off as a rogue ninja and, since the position was available, become Hokage himself. He didn't care about the lives of his comrades, which is why he didn't stop them; he was waiting for me to attack.
"What did you say?" asked Old Man 1.
"You old hag, what I said was, 'What if I refuse?'" I reiterated.
At this, the three old men erupted in anger.
"How dare you speak to us like that? Do you want us to carve you like a rogue ninja?" warned Old Man 2.
"DO IT!" I shouted to everyone in the room, making their faces go from anger to disbelief. "Do it! I've done so much damage to the village, and I have no respect for worthless old hags who do nothing. There's corruption in the village; none of you do your jobs properly. you're all failures, one more than the other."
"MIYU!!" yelled the monkey-like old man. "HOW DARE YOU SAY ALL THAT? DON'T YOU THINK?"
"AND DON'T YOU THINK?" I returned the question to him. "Everything I've done for the village: I followed your instructions and your orders; I participated in the war, I halted Suna's advance, I controlled the Jinchuriki; I weakened Iwa incredibly; I aided the allied lines of every unit, and I killed the Third Raikage on a mission approved by you, and these are things I only did during the war. Think about everything else, and at no point have you defended me, you piece of trash Hokage."
My words left the old monkey speechless.
"Everything I've done, and all this time these two have been robbing me and my clan and doing things I don't want, you haven't defended me once. Am I a threat to you now? Are you going to kill me or send me on another suicide mission?"
"No, I didn't mean to," the old monkey tried to justify himself, but I wouldn't let him.
"But you know what? I don't care. Do whatever you want. Keep defending these pieces of trash who have enough evidence of embezzlement, corruption, and mistreatment for the Fire Daimyo to have his head cut off. But like I said, I don't care. Now make the announcement that I'm a rogue ninja, but I'm not leaving here. I'm taking everything that's mine, my clan members, my things, both personal and clan belongings. And tell me, is there anyone who can stop me? And I don't mind destroying the village; the people I care about are at war, so with a..." "A SIMPLE MOKUTEN JUTSU CAN BLAM THIS VILLAGE WITHOUT A SINGLE VILLAGE ALIVE, AND WITHOUT ANY POSSIBILITY OF ANYONE EVER SURVIVING."
Let's leave Daiki and Makoto out of it; I can pass them off as members of my clan without much trouble and take them with me, since I invested too much in them to just let them die like that.
The three old men said nothing.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Give the order right now; I know for sure that, at the very least, two of you will be dead if that happens," I said, looking at the two old codgers.
"I think we're exaggerating, in both senses," Hiruzen said, somewhat agitated. "I hadn't planned on doing any of the things my advisors suggested; let's just leave it at three months' suspension from the shinobi forces and a small fine for the damage to the unit."
I knew I was going to end up with my tail between my legs; As much as I might want to, I'm too valuable an asset to lose, and even worse as an enemy.
"Like I said, I don't care, but what do the advisors say?" he replied, shrugging and looking at the old men.
"It seems reasonable to me," said Old Man 1.
"Same here," said Old Man 2.
"It seems fine to me," the mummy replied.
"Good, that's the verdict; now you can go. I have some things to discuss with my advisors," exclaimed the old monkey.
I stood up and stretched out; I think it was a good way to vent. They might keep me under constant surveillance now, but I didn't really care. It's a small price to pay for telling them the truth.
I just gave Hiruzen a quick glance and left.
The old monkey is no longer fit for the position; he's easily influenced, lets his colleagues do whatever they want, and doesn't punish as he should. Hiruzen is becoming increasingly disappointing, but they can do whatever they want as long as it doesn't affect me or my plans; I don't care.
------------------------------------------------------------------
This chapter is a bit of a rant, perhaps; I just want to show the level of power and importance Miyu holds right now, enough to prevent her from doing something crazy in the village and to keep her calm as an ally, nothing more. Maybe I exaggerated, perhaps, but I just got carried away. If Hiruzen could forgive Kumo's attempted assassination of himself and his attempt to steal the clan's heir, then it makes sense that he would forgive Miyu or try to calm her down to prevent hatred or animosity towards the village.