Takumi smiled, not minding.
The bait had been cast.
Now it was a matter of when the fish would bite.
He had plenty of time to wait.
Moreover, the fish seemed impatient.
This was clear from how Anko kept glancing at him.
She was struggling internally.
On one hand, she couldn't accept having a special relationship with Takumi just to detoxify.
On the other, the Cursed Seal affected her too deeply, especially in daily life. The occasional sharp pain was worse than having several extra monthly cycles.
It was truly hard to endure.
The reality was as Takumi thought.
Anko was wildly torn inside.
'To remove the Cursed Seal, I have to... do that with him?'
'How can that be? I'm still a... no, that's not the point!'
'Is there any other way?'
'Hmm... he probably wouldn't agree.'
'What should I do?'
She rambled in her thoughts, also muttering under her breath.
Thankfully, her voice was soft enough that no one heard.
But Ino still noticed her abnormality.
"Anko-sensei? What's wrong?"
Ino came to Anko's side, concerned.
"Hmm?"
Anko turned, her face still faintly flushed. Mainly, she had been thinking about that, which made her body somewhat excited.
"Oh, it's nothing. Just some personal matters."
She quickly brushed it off to avoid being seen as some kind of woman.
"Really? If you're not feeling well, you must tell Takumi-kun."
Ino linked arms with Anko like a good sister. "Takumi-kun's Medical Ninjutsu is amazing. Even Tsunade-sama praises it."
"I know. I'll keep that in mind."
Anko couldn't bear to hear Takumi's name right now.
Just hearing it made her think of Takumi's bodily fluids.
Even though it was her imagination, it still made her face flushed.
"Huh? Anko-sensei, your face is even redder. Are you sure you're okay?"
Ino immediately noticed the change in her complexion and asked surprised.
"I'm fine, perfectly healthy. Really."
Anko quickly said. "Why don't you go keep Takumi company? Don't worry about me. I'm really fine."
"Alright then. Don't push yourself."
Ino reminded her once more, let go, and returned to Takumi's side.
Then she very familiarly attached herself to Takumi's arm, talking with a smile, almost coquettishly.
Takumi also responded with a smile.
Naruto and Shino were discussing something, and Naruto seemed very excited.
Shino remained very calm.
Anko withdrew her gaze, looking into the distance and sighing deeply.
"Sigh... Looks like I really need to think about this carefully."
Her eyes still held confusion, but within that confusion, there was also a hint of determination.
…
Land of Water, Kirigakure.
"...encountered an assassination attempt by the Akatsuki, the S-Rank Missing-nin Kakuzu defeated in direct combat..."
"...encountered an assassination attempt by Kumogakure, but luckily missed the timing as he was on a mission, and successfully suppressed local Rogue Shinobi..."
"...encountered an assassination attempt by Orochimaru. A vast Hiding in Mist Technique covered all of Konoha, but was ultimately defeated by Takumi..."
"...encountered an assassination attempt by the Akatsuki. Former Kirigakure's Shinobi, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Samehada wielder Hoshigaki Kisame personally attempted the assassination but was still defeated by Takumi..."
"...encountered an attack..."
In the Mizukage's office, Chojuro spent half a day briefly recounting most of Takumi's activities and circumstances since the Chunin Exams.
Even though it was a brief recount, it still took Chojuro most of the day.
Mei listened with a furrowed brow for a long time, only able to grasp that Takumi was very strong.
After all, his opponents were either S-Rank Missing-nin or famous, powerful figures.
Being able to defeat them directly showed how strong Takumi was.
But she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, so she still had some doubts about Takumi's true strength.
And not just her… the others were also unclear about Takumi's true strength.
When Chojuro finally finished his report, the advisor, Ao, immediately stepped forward sternly and said, "Mizukage-sama, Konoha's Takumi is too powerful. Moreover, he's still just a teenager. His strength will only grow."
"If we don't take this opportunity to nip him in the bud, Kirigakure might suffer immense losses in the future."
"Even Kirigakure could be removed from the Five Great Shinobi Villages!"
Ao's expression remained serious. His right eye was always covered by an eye patch, making him look quite intimidating when he frowned.
"Um..."
Chojuro, who had personally compiled the intelligence and even seen some parts himself, didn't agree with Ao's idea.
But he was naturally somewhat timid.
He didn't dare contradict Ao directly.
He wanted to say something but hesitated to speak up.
"No!"
Mei decisively rejected Ao's proposal. "Don't be alarmist. Konoha's Takumi is indeed strong, but can he be stronger than an entire village?"
"In my opinion, let it be. Kirigakure is in a period of rebuilding. Instead of meddling in external conflicts, shouldn't we focus on strengthening ourselves?"
Mei's attitude was firm, but Ao wasn't someone to back down easily.
"But the threat Konoha's Takumi poses to other villages is growing. If we don't act to prevent it, Kirigakure will truly deeply regret it!"
Ao said loudly. "Now is the perfect time! They just left the Land of the Sea. There's still some distance to Konoha. If we intercept him there, Konoha won't know who did it."
"After all, many in the Shinobi World fear and are wary of him. That's clear from the number of assassination attempts he's faced recently."
"Even if we kill him, Konoha will have a hard time tracing it back to us."
"Mizukage-sama, this action has all benefits and no harm. It's completely worth doing, even if there are some casualties."
Ao spoke persuasively. Seeing Mei's attitude seem to waver, he spoke even more enthusiastically.
But soon, Mei shook her head. "No! Without my permission, you cannot take people to assassinate Konoha's Takumi."
Although she hadn't seen him in person, she believed Takumi couldn't be a simple teenager.
"Alright! That's enough for today!"
Seeing Ao prepare to say more, she immediately raised her volume to stop him.
Not giving Ao a chance to react, she stood up and quickly walked towards the door.
"I need some fresh air. I leave this to you for now."
Before opening the door to leave, Mei turned and said, "Don't forget, I forbid it!"
Bang!
"Sigh..."
Ao frowned and shook his head.
This Mizukage was good in many ways, but compared to previous Mizukage, she had more indecisive ideas.
Maybe because she was Kirigakure's first female Mizukage?
Or was her personality just like that?
Ao couldn't figure it out.
Even though he had been advising Mei for several years.
"Um, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
Chojuro step by step sidled to the door, as if afraid of attracting Ao's attention, his voice very soft.
But to Chojuro's surprise, Ao just waved at him, not caring what he had just said.
'Really, always trying to get me to do these impractical things.'
Mei walked on the street, couldn't help but complain in her mind. 'If that Takumi was so easy to kill, why have those organizations and villages attempted assassination so many times without even injuring him?'
'Takumi is definitely a dangerous figure. That's undeniable.'
'Kirigakure has suffered too much damage recently.'
'The village's Shinobi should report to the Daimyo first thing, asking for funding.'
The more Mei thought, the clearer her train of thought became.
She clapped a fist into her palm as if having a sudden idea.
But the moment she looked up, she saw a huge advertisement on the building in front of her.
In the background, Takumi simply showed a perfect smile.
"Who is this? So handsome!"
Seeing Takumi's face, Mei couldn't help but be captivated.
She obsessively watched for a while before finally lowering her gaze.
Then she felt something was off.
'What's this? A poster?'
Mei was puzzled.
'This... I remember Takumi went to that country.'
Mei recalled Chojuro's report.
'Rescuing the Land of Snow's Princess?'
Mei frowned. 'Cast: Fujikaze Yukie and Takumi?'
'Takumi?'
'Must be someone with the same name. After all, Takumi is so strong, he must train very hard daily. Where would he find time to act in movies?'
With a relaxed and happy mood, Mei entered the movie theater, planning to watch a film to relieve her mental fatigue.
Soon, after a short wait, the movie began.
'...This princess is really willful. To avoid returning to the Land of Snow, she keeps running away.'
'But gets caught by the actor playing Takumi every time. Haha.'
Mei felt some disdain for Koyuki.
Mainly because Koyuki's evasive actions made her very dissatisfied.
She became Mizukage to take on responsibility and lead Kirigakure to a better future.
Not to become the Bloody Mist, a synonym for cruelty.
'The Ice Release Shinobi's strength is okay, but facing me, they probably wouldn't even have the will to fight, right?'
Mei laughed inwardly, grabbing a handful of popcorn.
'Hmm?'
Suddenly, she frowned.
She saw Takumi on screen rapidly forming hand seals.
Although she didn't know what seals they were, the final one was the Tiger seal.
"It's Fire Release!"