She'd expected a morgue. Stupidly, perhaps, considering the scale of destruction. Kirigakure shinobi were piling the bodies in a spot on the outskirts of town near the crematorium.
'That's efficient, but still depressing. Sounds exactly like Kiri at its best, I guess.'
Aiko moved a little faster, and hoped that the smoke coming out of the building was just from warming up the ovens and not evidence that they'd already started. She was… She was nervous about this. She had a lot, but she didn't know how far her chakra would go.
'I wish Sanbi-san had agreed to help.'
The grizzled civilian woman who was directing things looked up from her attempts to label bodies. She scowled at Aiko's questions, but must have decided that it wasn't worth arguing with the type of person who showed up to interrogate someone in her underpants.
"We've just gotten started," the old woman said flatly. "It takes time to heat up, and it is preferable to be able to contact survivors or at least know who we are burning."
"So, how many have you burned?" Aiko pressed. She finished her coffee and passed it off to Utakata wordlessly.
"Three, so far." The woman scowled up at her. "Now, go away. I have work to do. There are too many bodies to waste time talking. I must work, or we will all be breathing in corpse rot. Rubble will be the least of our problems if we allow such sickness in the village."
"Good point, stop working on it anyway." Aiko swallowed, ignoring the indignant reply. Three. She… She'd leave those for last. She didn't know if she'd have the energy for them. It was better to save as many people as possible, right?
Every way that she considered it seemed highly unethical. She didn't think she could save everyone. She wanted to, but she didn't think it was possible. How could she choose who should live?
'Honestly, I should be strategic about it. Get profiles, give preferential treatment to upper level shinobi and more valuable citizens.'
It seemed the most intelligent option. But that would waste time. In trying to optimize the aid, she would actually sabotage her efforts. Besides, it would… it would be really shitty to choose some people as more valuable than others.
So. Whoever she saw first, really. Possibly whoever was least damaged, so as to save her energy to help as many as possible. Luck of the draw, as it were.
Mind whirring, Aiko ignored the protestations and strode into the furthest section, where bodies had first been laid. She took a moment to glance back at her audience. Mei stopped, arms folded, and stayed back a distance. The gaggle of jounin she'd found were looking rather unimpressed at being called away from their work to watch a half-naked madwoman poke around corpses, but Aiko paid them no mind.
Utakata seemed most nervous. It might have been for her sake, or it might have been because of the black stares he was getting. He stood closest to her, but pressed his back against the fence border in what she recognized as an attempt to make sure she had room to conduct her summoning.
'Right. I should start.'
She clapped her hands together, and was a half second from beginning when a young jounin stepped forward. "So you're the new jinchuuriki?" he pressed. Aiko stiffened at the pointed once-over he gave her, skimming deliberately over the seal on her stomach. "I don't know your face. Why would we want a stranger to be our leader?"
'He's willing to point that out before Mei calls a vote?' Aiko paused. 'That one's not a total idiot. I should remember his face for later.'
She considered lying. Mei and Utakata had suggested it. It would smooth the transition.
'On the other hand, if they categorically refuse me, they might accept Mei. Better a failed Kiri nin than a triumphant foreigner, I would think.'
"No," Aiko said finally. "You don't know me because I'm not a Kiri nin. I'm an Uzumaki."
Mei didn't quite grit her teeth, but the sentiment was there.
The way the audience reacted to that was odd. Aiko had expected outrage. Derision, perhaps, or even disbelief that anyone would put forward such a ridiculous candidate. That was mostly how she felt, after all.
Most of the on-lookers had very purposeful lacks of reaction. The young man who had been questioning her looked shocked when her words seemed to register- maybe a little fearful.
'Wonder what he thought I meant. I can't quite tell what that reaction was.'
Just for the hell of it, she flickered the Rinnegan on without looking away and watched him recoil. But she didn't want to use that for longer than necessary so she quickly turned away, pulling her teeth across her palm for the blood sacrifice. By the time it dripped, her fingers already working through familiar seals. She slammed her palms into the ground and-
someone screamed. A civilian, possibly. She'd forgotten they were around. Aiko swallowed, not breaking eye contact with the death god as he grew up, up, up. He had emerged higher than she'd seen before. Not only his head and neck were above ground, but she could see his shoulders and half of his torso.
'What does that mean? Does he come up further every time that I summon him?'
She didn't know what that meant. She didn't really want to know. It didn't seem like it would mean anything good.
'Doing this with an audience is weird. I've only ever done this in front of… Actually, in front of Utakata both times. He doesn't count.'
"Good morning, kami-sama. Normally, I'd use names." Aiko gestured at the area around them, feeling a little stupid but trying to keep it off her face. She didn't look at anyone but the death god. "You don't need them, though, do you? I want these people back. As many of them as my chakra can buy."
His eyes bled purple, filling the white spaces between the concentric rings in his eyes. She couldn't breathe, she was inhaling but there was no air and the sky was shockingly vivid.
Someone gasped. She heard what sounded suspiciously like a weapon being drawn, but nothing came of it.
Aiko swallowed. Her head was spinning. The world was too bright and she was having an enormously difficult time keeping her eyes open. She must have lost several seconds there- dead people were sitting up and making questioning sounds, or staring as the late-bloomers began to breathe. A child on the ground was growing skin. The enormous man who had been shoved in the corner looked even bigger when a new bone shot out of his shoulder joint, jostling his neighbor. She blinked and focused on that. It was like what had happened to Fuu. The bone came first, then veins and cartilage sprouted. Muscle bled into place in the gaps and then grew over before changing consistency into adipose tissue and finally dermis.
She turned back to the death god. He was regarding her, sullen and implacable as ever. Aiko pressed her hands into her thighs and managed a decent bow. Somehow, she straightened without falling.
The death god might have given the slightest tilt of his head before he dematerialized.
Kirigakure was quiet. She surveyed the area. Almost all of the corpses were breathing now. Some were on their feet clinging to each other. Others were in what seemed to be a deep, healing sleep.
She counted four. Four people who still weren't moving.
'I failed.'
Plus the ones who had already been cremated. That was… There was no possible way. It would take days before her chakra returned to even half strength. By that point, all the bodies would be in such a poor state that it would be a struggle to restore even one.
And what about Zabuza? She hadn't even heard what had happened to his body. Probably nothing good.
'People are going to resent me for this. It seems unfair. It is unfair.'
There was a scuffling sound behind her. Wearily, Aiko turned.
The jounin who had questioned her was pale as marble and trembling. The sound she'd heard had been his knees hitting the ground. The others were following suit, but the person who stuck out was Mei.
Mei's mouth worked silently. She swallowed it quickly, but for a second she looked absolutely furious. The woman who should have been Mizukage faltered before she bowed. "Godaime-sama."
She was sworn in there, with blood congealing against her left hand and the weight of failure on her shoulders. It didn't seem real.
The rest of the day was a blur. There was screaming and crying when the formerly dead shinobi and civilians came stumbling out to help pull survivors from rubble and catalog damage. Word seemed to get around relatively fast, judging by the staring and whispers, but Aiko didn't have time to linger on that. With Utakata's help, she commandeered Yagura's family home as a base of operations. She would have preferred to spend time helping people, but it was apparent that she needed to sit down before she lost consciousness.
The things that helped with chakra exhaustion- bedrest, a talented medical ninja, nutritious food- were in short supply or just plain unavailable. Resources had been scarce even before two bijuu had toppled part of town. With the dire situation, she couldn't spare the time to lay down and sleep for a day, and Kiri's medical experts were inexpert enough that Aiko might not have visited them even if they weren't over-busy.
'I'll need to do something about that,' she decided tiredly. 'It's unacceptable. Konoha's medical care is much better. We don't have Tsunade, but we can be better than we are.'
Of course, other things were just as important. Housing had to be completed immediately. Businesses needed to be restored and staffed- something must be done about the food shortages, post-haste. They desperately needed an influx to the population- they needed civilians even more than they needed shinobi. And the Academy system would need to be re-designed from the ground up. There was no trust in the institution, which was probably why the enrollment numbers that Aiko found were so pitiful.
Kirigakure was being crushed under its own weight. It was a wonder that this wasn't common knowledge. How had Mei done what she'd done without letting on to their internal weakness?
'It took her years to gain healthy self-sufficiency. That's probably why she had so many dissidents. No matter what she solved, the other issues were just as pressing.'
What to prioritize? What could help the village cling to life while other improvements were in the works?
'Food,' Aiko decided. 'Food and social welfare. I can't rule over a city where people are starving in the streets.'
In the long term, Kirigakure needed to revitalize the seaweed gathering and fishing industry that had historically been their lifeblood, and restore trade for the many products that were not viable to produce internally. In the short term- they desperately needed an infusion of life-sustaining trade. Pity they didn't have the money to buy it.
'I'm getting off topic.' She fisted her hands in her hair and breathed deeply through her nose. She needed to focus. It was- that was hard, when all her body wanted to do was refill and rest.
It would probably help if she deactivated the Rinnegan.
Aiko stifled a snort at her own expense. Chakra exhaustion made her rather slow on the uptake, it seemed. Luckily, no one else was in the room at moment. "I'm such a bonehead," she mumbled. "No wonder I feel just as bad as I did then." She closed her eyes to shut off the Rinnegan chakra feed, and then opened them.
She froze.
In her mind, Aiko knew perfectly well that it was around noon. The sun was high overhead, and painting licks of heat across her shoulders from the open window. But the room was nearly pitch black. When she focused, she could see the papers that she had been reading. And by that, she meant that she could see white blobs with dark blurs of text.
'So that's not great.'
~~~
Things continued to be not great.
Once all the work for the day was done and she was finally alone, Aiko turned the Rinnegan off again and laid in the dark. It was night. She wouldn't have been able to see anyway. And yet, it was terrifying. She felt nauseous. She felt tempted to turn the Rinnegan back on, even as she slept.
'No. That's stupid. I'll regenerate chakra much faster without it.'
It wouldn't matter when she was asleep. It wouldn't matter once she was asleep. Aiko repeated that like a mantra until she did drift off. It was an uneasy sleep, punctuated by several brief periods of waking. She didn't know if it was day or night- so every time, she used the Rinnegan. It was still dark.
When the sun finally did rouse her, she knew it. The room had warmed and she could hear gulls.
"We need a solution." The chuunin administrative assistant put her hands on her lap to keep from fidgeting with the paper splayed out. "The numbers suggest that we will have to switch to half-rations sooner than later, unless you wish to re-open the borders."
Aiko pressed her lips into a thin line.
That was… not ideal. They desperately needed an influx of trade, yes. But the longer it could be put off, the better. Mist didn't have strong allies, and she was weak- another village could easily try to get rid of competition, or to make a name for themselves by crushing one of the major centers of power. The normal, common-sense thing to do would be to appeal to the Daimyo.
Pity that Yagura had murdered him and his household. The islands were only subject to the Mizukage, now. There was no one to go to for help. Any appeal to another nation would come at great risk, and it would not come cheaply. Since Mizugakure was unable to pay, she didn't want to think about what concessions they might have to suffer.
"Godaime-sama, there are other matters regarding upcoming international events." The chuunin paused for approval.
Aiko waved her on.
If it weren't for the way the younger woman never looked near the Rinnegan, Aiko might have thought the chuunin was perfectly at ease.
'She did work for Yagura. Most of his staff probably have excellent poker faces.'
The woman nodded. "Your predecessor committed to sending one genin team to the chuunin examinations being held in Konoha. It will be difficult to withdraw without losing international standing. People will wonder why."
Of course they would.
"We won't withdraw," Aiko confirmed distantly. Konoha. Whatever problems they might have, they'd never experienced widespread hunger in her lifetime. Fire country was blessed with more rich farmland than any other nation. They didn't cultivate it all, of course, but they certainly used enough to keep their people fed and trade a significant portion.
'That would be the country I would look to, optimally. I don't think it's just my history biasing me, either. Under the Sandaime Hokage, Konoha is unlikely to commit to aggressive action. They're less dangerous than the other powers, in that respect. And they're prosperous.'
It was amazing, in a way, that Orochimaru had managed to convince Sand to turn against them at the invasion. They had become strong in twelve long years of peace. But perhaps Sand had been desperate- they were not rich in resources, either. It could be that they had seen the raid as worth the risk.
'It did work out for them, to be fair. Even after they committed to the invasion, Konoha forgave them because they needed the allies. They ended up getting plenty of assistance after the fact. That hospital exchange program, and trade, and…'
Her thoughts trailed off.
Oh, no. It was too terrible. Sand was a good ally for Konoha, in the end. Once Gaara straightened his head out, he became a temperate ruler and a powerful friend. Interfering with that would definitely harm Sand, and probably benefit Konoha less than Sand could.
'But I'm not looking out for Fire country, or for Sand. I'm looking out for Mist.'
And what Mist needed was exactly what Konoha had.
She knew up-front that it was unethical. But it was her job, wasn'it it? And it seemed remarkably viable. All she had to do was be in the right place at the right time.
Honestly… It should be simple.
Konoha would certainly prefer to ally with Mist than Sand, after the invasion. They had only turned back to the former ally the first time around out of desperation. How easily would the Hokage jump at a good-faith offer by someone who hadn't recently colluded with Orochimaru?
With the kazekage dead, Suna would need that alliance desperately.
'But that sounds suspiciously like someone else's problem.'
"Saito-san," Aiko said. The chuunin startled when she realized Aiko knew her name. "Tell me about the genin team going to Konoha." She paused. "And their jounin sensei."
Saito gave her an incredulous look.
It turned out to be a good thing that she wasn't posing as a Mist-nin. A local would have known that genin cells under a jounin were not the default arrangement in Kiri. Mist still favored apprentice and master relationships to a larger degree than Konoha did.
'I should have realized,' Aiko thought with some chagrin. 'All the Kiri nin whose educational history I know anything about were either an apprentice or had one.'
She didn't know anything about Mei, of course. But Utakata, Zabuza, Haku, and Kisame had all come from that type of system. That seemed to indicate that was how things done in the upper echelons, for certain, and possibly on down throughout the system.
As she found out, apprenticeships were important precisely because they weren't guaranteed. In order to catch the eye of a powerful sponsor, a genin had to be promising in some regard.
The team they were sending to Konoha was not considered promising. They were an all-male cell ranging from 16 to 19 years of age. They were certainly chuunin level shinobi, but that was matter-of-course: Kiri would not send anyone to represent them who seemed likely to fail.
'I don't even remember them from the exams. They must not have performed well.' Aiko frowned up at the teenagers in her home office, cataloging the features she could see behind aquatic breathing masks. Not water chakra types, then.
They seemed… Well. To be perfectly frank, they seemed terrified. But that was most likely attributable to the fact that Yagura was the only Mizukage who they had served.
'Also, I did release bijuu that tore up the administrative and business districts,' Aiko thought fairly. 'That was three days ago. They probably remember.'
"I will be accompanying you to Konoha."
That statement, however mildly delivered, caused the tallest genin to break out in a cold sweat.
Aiko somehow resisted the urge to roll her eyes. That would probably be incredibly creepy with the Rinnegan. The awful, chakra-draining, headache-giving Rinnegan. The eyes that made her look like a total freak, but also allowed her to see.
"I will be acting in a capacity as your jounin sensei,in line with Konoha's sensibilities."
And at that, all three of them startled. Saito-san jerked as well, fingers white against her folders.
She did roll her eyes. "This is no longer about the Chuunin examinations. I have reason to believe that Sunagakure and a smaller village will be launching an attack on the event. Likely, at the culminating tournament. I expect at least one of you to make it through the elimination rounds to give us a reason to remain." Aiko looked at them, one by one. "We can use this opportunity. Be aware that the change in Mizukage is classified information. You will give no one reason to suspect that leadership has transferred."
Two of them nodded a little too enthusiastically. The last one couldn't seem to look away. The whites around his eyes were showing.
'I suppose an invasion might be a little shocking. They are genin. They probably haven't seen large-scale conflict.'
Because that made her feel a little bad, but mostly to seal the deal, Aiko sweetened the pot. "This mission is critical to Kirigakure's continued survival. If you impress me, you can look forward to more than a promotion."
And that was all it took.