Chapter 170 - 168:Back To Kiri

"It's true that I love my village, but damn, I never thought I'd miss this dampness so much one day." Kishi exclaimed the moment they materialized in Kiri, breathing in the thick, salty air like it was a home-cooked meal.

"Yeah, I was starting to miss the village too."

"It's normal for a ninja to leave the village for a long time, but two days in Ame is enough to make anyone start missing home, even if home is Suna."

"Huh? About that, I'm not so sure."

Being back without having to cross the distance the way they did when they left, just the blink of an eye and one terrifying Hokage later, they were all in a good enough mood to complain openly about another village right in front of two Kage. That was the kind of luxury you earned after surviving a summit.

Akiko, very much aware that the most powerful person in the world was currently standing in her village and forming opinions, glanced at Azula. She still didn't have a clear read on what kind of person the Fourth Hokage actually was, and that uncertainty, as much as it pained her to admit, made her nervous.

"Hmm, the humidity is thick enough to swim through, but I suppose it's still better than the perpetual rain in Ame." Azula gave her honest opinion, making zero effort to hide her impression of Ame, which was apparently 'wet and annoying.'

Her familiar, unguarded tone let Akiko relax by a fraction. "After all, apart from Konoha, what village doesn't have a problem with their weather?"

"Don't worry," Azula answered, waving a hand like she was dismissing a fly. "I already have an idea of how to solve it, though it'll take a little more time."

She said it as if solving problems that had plagued villages since the oldest scrolls were ink was not just doable, but only slightly inconvenient. Like fixing a squeaky door.

Akiko desperately wanted to know what that idea was, but the middle of a street with ANBU lurking and civilians staring was not the place to discuss reshaping the climate.

The others who had accompanied her wanted to know even more, but it wasn't their place to chat casually with a Kage, especially the one who could end their entire village with a bad mood.

Just a few moments later, masked figures flickered into existence before them. Same uniforms, different masks, with no identifiers: the ANBU of Kiri. They dropped to one knee in perfect unison. "Lord Mizukage."

A small, genuine smile crossed Akiko's face. Good, appearing the second we arrived. It seems their vigilance isn't just for show after what happened last time.

"It's nothing. The Kage Summit is already over, and we returned early thanks to the Hokage's assistance." She gave them the short version, calm and professional.

But she knew they were still suspicious, brains probably spinning with scenarios where Azula had replaced her with a clone and this was all an elaborate trap. Fair concern, honestly.

But they also weren't stupid enough to act on suspicion alone without confirmation, which only further satisfied Akiko about their training.

"I declare the mission to Ame officially over." She decided to disband the team that accompanied her to Ame on the spot. "Since we returned earlier than expected, today and tomorrow are yours. Consider it vacation. But the day after, I want everyone's official report about what happened in Ame on my desk."

When she finished speaking, some of them nearly cheered. They didn't, because ninja self-control was a thing, but the effort it took to suppress their joy was visible in the way their shoulders twitched.

Vacation.

For the high-level operatives of the village, vacation was about as common as a year without rain in Ame, which was to say, a statistical impossibility. The Mizukage himself had to be present every single day. If he couldn't take a break, how could anyone else dare ask?

Turtle Mask, the ANBU chief, wanted to say something. He trusted his sensing abilities, but what if this was just an Azula clone disguised as the Mizukage, accompanied by a squad of shadow clones impersonating the village's high level, while the real Akiko was still trapped in Ame? The scenario was paranoid, he knew it.

But then, if she wanted to destroy us, why bother with the theater? He started hypnotizing himself into believing Azula would never pull something this convoluted, mostly because he wanted absolutely zero engagement with that demon. Or monster, or whatever the correct term was for someone who made other Kage want a Kage Summit by existing too hard.

Akiko, after the dismissal, didn't lead Azula toward the Kage building. Instead, she took her to the Yuki Clan compound. More precisely, to her own home.

Kiri didn't have a dedicated Mizukage mansion like Konoha's Hokage residence, with its convenient office-to-bedroom pipeline. Here, work was work and home was home, and the two rarely overlapped.

Along the way, Azula observed the village. More specifically, she observed how the villagers observed Akiko. "I have to say, it looks like you're settling well into your role."

Akiko caught her meaning immediately, but then she remarked on something that made her feel a twinge of embarrassment she'd never show. "I hope you won't take their gazes to heart. I'm doing my best to eliminate the lingering animosity, but after everything that happened, it'll take more time for things to truly settle."

She was talking about the way both civilians and shinobi kept glancing at Azula with her Konoha headband and that legendary white Hokage robe.

The looks were a cocktail of fear, anger, resentment, and a dozen other emotions that didn't have clean names.

"Hey, what do you take me for?" Azula asked, one eyebrow arched. "I'm not unreasonable. As long as they don't cross the line, I understand. I'm trying to build cooperation, bring peace to the world, which means asking someone to work alongside the person who may have killed his father. Expecting him to swallow his hatred and set his emotions aside for the greater good."

She paused, her voice steady and utterly genuine. "If I couldn't even tolerate a few dirty looks from people who have their reasons, no matter how ridiculous those reasons look from my perspective, then I wouldn't deserve to realize my ambition."

She meant every word. Azula held her people to high standards, but she held herself to even higher ones. That was the part that always surprised people who only saw the power and the pride.

It certainly surprised Akiko. For someone who had been worshipped since birth, whose strength justified every ounce of her status, tolerating even minor disrespect should have been beneath her. Especially an Uchiha. Weren't they supposed to be proud to the point of self-destruction?

As expected, I can't classify her with the rest. Akiko filed the realization away. Someone like her can never be judged or understood by normal standards. I still have much to learn about reading people.

Then, though she had no desire to sound like that bootlicking sycophant of a Kazekage, she still knew when a little honest praise was appropriate. "I'm relieved by your way of thinking. It can only be said that the world is lucky your power wasn't placed in the hands of someone like Ōnoki, or even Satō. Whether it's the First Hokage or you, Konoha has always possessed the greatest strength and yet never abused it."

She made sure to subtly drag Ōnoki and Satō, whom she privately considered her potential 'rivals,' down a peg in the process.

As for why she didn't mention A, she'd observed during the summit that Azula and the Raikage seemed to have developed some kind of strange, almost brotherly rapport. Bringing him up felt like stepping into territory she didn't fully understand.

Azula just smiled at her, offering no follow-up, perfectly content to let the conversation rest. And Akiko, cold by nature and not one to force words where they weren't needed, didn't push.

(END OF THE CHAPTER)