Uncle Aoto hovered, the chiding look he had on for my leaving the talent show didn't last long before he noticed my attention on the file he'd come with, "Are we alone?"
I was never alone, not really. I raised my hands and weaved through a quick combination of hand seals— Snake, Rat, Tiger— I clapped my palms together and my chakra expanded in a short dome of less than ten metres in diameter, the warbling effect briefly blurred the outside world to us before stabilizing.
"Woah, was that Silent Veil? When did you learn that?" Uncle chortled, unsure whether to be serious or brimming with eager pride as he sat on the stump beside me.
"Yes, and today." I said.
He raised a brow at me, his smile all but wiped away as concern quickly took its place. By the way his lower lip quivered I knew he had more to say on the topic of the [Shadow Clone] and my usage the past weeks. He'll say I'm distant even though there's more of me, complain we don't sit down for a drink anymore and moan about not knowing what's going on in my life.
All valid points that Uncle chose not to raise today, he took a deep, perhaps exaggerated breath and sighed like I was killing him, "Your anniversary is coming up soon, I hope you'll be in attendance. You look like you need a party."
My one year anniversary. I hadn't given it any thought since it was the last thing Kirigakure really needed, a celebration, for what? We were barely—
"Stop, don't do that." Uncle scolded, his eyes pinning me without a chance of denial, "You deserve a celebration, no matter what has happened or what you think should have happened. You have led us without fail, without tragedy, through war and again in peace. You have been our Mizukage, Yagura and your first year deserves to be celebrated and even thanked. Thank you, Yagura, for the burden and sacrifice you've made for our village."
As always, Uncle managed to find a way to pierce through my exterior, "I…just wish I'd done things differently." Like spilled the beans and not cared about the consequences, or paid more attention to the clans, the Kaguya and Yuki who even now I could barely process beyond the fact that they were docile and without trouble. But even more so the Nettou clan and god knows which other Kumogakure may have gotten to already.
"Differently? Hmmm…" Uncle scratched his chin in thought, his eyes on the far horizon of the Estate, where the roads carried curious clan children and adults at the border of the training grounds. Then he looked down at me, "If I were to criticize, I'd say the one thing you could have done differently, the one thing that might have changed how this year went…"
I glared at him, "Yes? What is it?"
"Oh, marriage of course! Children, grandkids, well, technically they wouldn't…no, grandkids!" He cheered, grin wider than ever as he wrapped an arm around me and shook me about, "Think about it! Right now, we could be making preparations for your son's naming ceremony or daughter, of course."
I was glad for the [Silent Veil Barrier Seal] because in his arms I looked nothing like a Mizukage, even less so as my misery crumbled against his mirth and a round of laughs escaped me, "Okay, okay! Hah, I get it, I won't beat myself up."
"More than that, Yagura, you should trust and appreciate yourself, you've done far more than most Kage have in a single year but beyond that, you've made your family proud. So proud."
I could tell he meant it, his voice cracked and he stopped shaking me, content to simply have me in a part bear hug. I nodded, "Thank you, Uncle, thank you so much. You've been the one person I can rely on for…everything." I thought about my next words rather carefully, pinching my nails as I swallowed the fact that once I said it, there was no going back. "I've been thinking…about getting married, about keeping my promise."
He gasped, "I knew you had it in you! Do you have someone in mind already or should I go ahead and order a line of women waiting for a chance at the esteemed Fourth Mizukage?"
My attention darted elsewhere at the thought of that— Am I actually ready? I need to find out one way or another anyway. "Just keep it modest and quiet, I don't want word getting out about this before…" Before Mei returns.
"Of course, anything." Uncle said and then, he handed over the file he'd come along with, "Hate to spoil the mood but…"
I unclipped the file and let the letter in it slide out onto my palm. The first thing I noticed about it was the wax seal and the insignia upon it, "The Hidden Sand?"
My heart skipped a beat. In my time I'd received messages from Daimyos and a handful of hidden villages, even Iwagakure who seemed reluctant to congratulate and console me on my new rank. But a majority of those letters were buried under the natural or seemingly natural isolationism Kirigakure had made its personality over the last two decades at least. And in relation to the Village Hidden in the Sand, we rarely ever communicated unless there was some bureaucracy involving a mission or an actual ongoing war.
I broke the seal and took out the letter itself, unfolding and swiftly parsing through the cursive, handwritten message. I read aloud for Uncle's sake, "To the esteemed Yondaime Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi. I extend my greetings and formally invite Kirigakure to participate in our upcoming Chūnin Exams. This will be an opportunity for our young shinobi to test their strength, gain experience, and foster relations between our villages.
"Sunagakure will provide accommodations for your teams and ensure a secure environment for the exams. I look forward to witnessing the skill of the next generation from the Bloody Mist. With respect, Rasa, Yondaime Kazekage. Village Hidden in the Sand."
I looked up at Uncle and found he didn't look surprised. He held a measured smile on his face and raised a brow at my attention, "What will you do? We rejected the last one from Iwa because, well, Lord Third had just passed and you, there was the incident with the Three-Tails."
"Why didn't I know that?" I muttered.
"It wasn't important and this, in comparison to planning your wedding…" he grinned.
I rolled my eyes at him and gave the offer some serious thought. It was just as the letter said, the Chuunin exams were an opportunity for the young shinobi to showcase their strength and gain experience, perspective. More to the point, it would be an opportunity to rub shoulders with other world leaders and seed interests in what Kirigakure has to offer, not to mention— It'll be an opportunity for me to discuss the Akatsuki, place another Kage on their scent.
"I doubt Konoha will be in attendance given…but perhaps Iwa and Kumo? What do you think?"
Uncle blinked, "Wait, you mean to attend in person? Oh…well, it isn't unusual to but for us, well, the last Mizukage that attended a Chuunin exam was Lord Second."
"I'm hoping other Kage will be in attendance and even if it's just the Kazekage, it might be worth the journey just to let him know the gravity of the threat the shinobi world is facing."
"Seems like you've made your decision." Uncle smiled, "But, I would keep my expectations low, Rasa doesn't truly expect any Kage to come over and your presence will add gravity to the news you bring. I just think you'll need more proof of the threat to convince Rasa of anything."
I shook my head incredulously and stood up from the stump, ready to pace again within the [Silent Veil] "Proof? I was personally attacked, Junichi was…kidnapped. And Konoha was blown up!"
"By their own out of control Tailed Beast," Uncle said, standing with me now, his hands trying to settle my rising emotions, "It's all circumstantial and I don't think Konoha will be so open about their Yondaime and half their village being destroyed because of a single, rogue Uchiha. It doesn't do them any favours and letting news like that slip to the Kazekage, their closest rival, isn't bound to result in a healthy future."
Their future doesn't get healthy for another sixteen years, they can take it. Growling, I paced side to side against the Veil. Uncle made good points, there wasn't any proof I could put forward that couldn't be countered by some roundabout logic or the simple hatred Hidden Villages have for each other. It was my word against a phantom's.
Wait… I stopped and spun at Uncle, "What if we do what we did for Konoha? Show them the way, let them see the truth for themselve. Amegakure has it all."
"Has what all?" Uncle asked, genuinely confused.
Right, I still have those secrets. I gulped the thought, it wouldn't work anyway, at most it would successfully bring the attention of the Hidden Villages onto Ame earlier but then that just means it gets turned into a warzone. I'd be proving Nagato's point about us.
But what was the alternative? Solve shinobi world peace? How? I can barely keep my clans straight. I took a breath and let it out immediately, there wasn't much I could do now but wait. I needed proof and I couldn't manipulate it into reality like I did with Konoha, that didn't exactly end well according to what my sleeper agents report.
Uncle walked up and placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder, "I know you're worked up about this masked uchiha, that's why you've been bouncing all over the village, you and your clones taking on every task available. On the plus side you're being loved and praised for it but…on the Uncle side, you should take it easy. Besides that jutsu being as dangerous as it is, there's a good chance the Kazekage already has an idea of what's been happening in the shinobi world."
Mouth agape, I looked up at Uncle and blessed him, "That's…that's so true!"
"Yes, yes it is." he said, proud of himself.
The Kazekage was as much Kage as I or Minato were and the Hidden Sand was one of the main participants in the decimation of the Hidden Rain during the Second shinobi war. He's a target too. Nodding to myself and putting up my smiling facade I said, "I'll pay the Hidden Sand a visit and since it'll be the first since…forever, we should make a good showing."
"Of course!" Uncle agreed wholeheartedly, "Now what do you think about that Kaguya boy? Kishi, I think his name was? With some training he'll be more than ready to showcase Kirigakure's new strength."
"He's not even a genin."
"You can change that, you can change anything, Yagura."