The water changed. After a few hundred feet of swimming upwards from Kaizoku’s drowned tower, the water changed.
Previously, I could never tell when it did that but after nearly a week and a half of training in Kaizoku’s realm, constantly saturated and having to balance the overwhelming power of nature, I began to pick up on the tell. It was hard not to; it was like a noise returned, a whole lot of noise.
In Kaizoku’s realm— and I suspect in many other summon realms— chakra is a lot finer, more spiritually attuned than in the physical. In the Shinobi world, however, there was so much more noise happening, so many people wielding chakra, using it to live, kill, heal, create and all sorts of things.
I swam up the last few feet, and the sunlight pierced through the water. It wasn’t long before I burst out of the pond, gasping lightly for breath. I looked around and found I was right where I wished to be, under the little ecosystem of coral and tadpoles I created the first time I got a hang of Senjutsu. I pulled myself up so I sat on one of the little islands marking the pond, shaking my hair dry, and pulling my sandals off as I reacquainted myself with the real world, the world I had to live in. Except, as usual, I was hardly given any breathing space.
Soon after I’d taken off my sandal, I sensed a presence nearby. I was currently on Turtle Island, and there were few people who would choose to be here without my explicit presence: Harusame, Utakata and perhaps the Anbu appointed to watch over the young Jinchuriki. Rather, instead of any of them, it was—
“Mizukage-sama! You’ve returned?” Lord Funato croaked, wobbling forward, looking even frailer than the last I’d seen him.
“Lord Funato, what are you doing here?” I could hardly contain the surprise from seeping into my voice as I asked. The man was meant to be ruling over his reward, Yureisen, not disturbing the first, precious seconds of my return.
In a dramatic showing, he abandoned his walking cane and threw himself to the ground, bowing such that his temple very nearly buried itself in the earth. “My Lord!” he cried desperately. “There is trouble only you can resolve. Lord Karatachi is just in his ruling, and I will not besmirch that, but please, young Maita is only just beginning to live his life. He is passionate, he is caring, he means well. His actions cannot be taken as fully malicious without considering these extenuating circumstances.”
I was still very full of Senjutsu chakra that I wouldn’t feel regular ailments for at least a couple of days, but I swear I could sense the headache just daring me to keep going at this pace. Kaizoku was a thorough sparring partner, even with the full use of Isobu’s might. Even against my three-tailed version two states, he was an opponent that kept me on my toes and truly forced me to make use of Isobu’s full-tailed beast transformation.
It was an awkward first time, and each time after that was just as awkward but more so exhausting. The mental strain it took to manipulate a body with as many complexities as a Tailed Beast was not to be understated. I only managed to transform and spar with Kaizoku thrice, and each of those— even with senjutsu chakra empowering me— still drained me mentally.
I wasn’t sure I had the bandwidth to truly govern whatever problems Lord Funato was dropping at my feet at this moment…but I had no choice.
“Please, please calm down, Lord Funato, and tell me from the beginning just exactly what has occurred. I haven’t been present in the village for some time. I trusted my Lord Uncle as well as the Court of Unity to be sufficient in their judgments and governance. Speak plainly and do not omit the truth.” I made emphasis on the last parts, making sure he understood that if I found out he lied or conveniently left out something from his side of the story, I would not take it pleasantly.
Lord Funato, of course, vibrantly agreed to speak truthfully. I picked up my sandals and tied my hair back as I walked across the pond to meet him. He began to speak quickly, and his first words already had me on edge.
“It happened in the Sand Village during the Chuunin exams.” Lord Funato said “Maita was failed by an examiner, Proctor, who, through flagrant rules, made it so that surrendering was the only option. The surrender of one teammate cast forfeit on all. What kind of madness is that?”
I could hear that familiar Funato outrage creeping in through his otherwise desperate tone.
“A single cowardly shinobi ought to be culled, not left to cause the slaughter of the strong. Maita is not a failure, and he is not what Lord Karatachi and Lady Hozuki mean to paint him as.”
Ahh…I was wondering when the Hozuki would be mentioned.
I would love to say I was surprised at the Hozuki’s involvement, but there were few things that could cause Lord Funato to be so distressed he would apparently seek to find me everywhere to make an appeal. I took a deep breath and asked, “What do they mean to paint young Maita as?”
Lord Funato’s face twisted in a scowl. “They say he attempted to ruin our chances of proving ourselves at the exams. They say he is a saboteur and he does not wish the best for Kirigakuru, for his team. Yet he is not even the one who surrendered. The useless Kunoichi who did so has gone untouched throughout this ordeal. No one makes a single mention of the disgrace and shame she besmirches upon the name of the Mist with her actions. Yet everyone targets young Maita.”
He sucked in breath hard and continued in an almost whisper compared to his outburst, “I do not want to claim there is a bias against the Funato clan, but when things like this happen…I’m not sure what to think, Lord Mizukage.”
I didn’t have all the details yet, but I was beginning to paint a picture of the incident, and I had a keen sense of what this ordeal truly is about. Maita Funato was an orange haired Genin, just like many in his clan. I had paired him up, along with two other teams to participate in the Chuunin exams, ensuring that not only Ao but also competent seniors like Zabuza, Utakata, and, to an extent, Mangetsu himself were there to watch over the other greener teams.
Yet, if the Hozuki were being called among this ordeal, then I wondered how exactly Mangetsu was involved in this.
I sat by the koi pond, taking one stool and offering the other to Lord Funato, while I attempted to salvage some peace in the midst of the instant political raving by feeding little clumps of feed into the pond. It was a wasted effort, truly. I was already rather unhappy to learn that an incident had occurred in the Sand Village, a foreign village.
“Funato, I thought I asked you to be truthful. You’ve spoken of his accusers in plenty, but what has Maita truly done to deserve all this scrutiny?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at Lord Fūnato as his gritting teeth turned into a thin line of acceptance.
He could not manipulate me from the truth, not like he used to in the earlier days of my rule. Moreover, he lost much of the trust his councillorship bought him. Now he was just another man, and another clan head seeking help from the Mizukage.
I meant my words earlier. No matter the truth of it, even if this Maita was indeed being falsely accused by Uncle and the Hozuki clan, if Lord Fūnato omitted the single fact in an attempt to assuage the consequences that would rightly befall his clan, I would not take it lightly. I built the Court of Unity to handle these types of things expressly, and I hadn’t noticed how he failed to mention either Ao’s or Minako’s judgments.
Lord Funato spoke in a soft, subdued tone. “His team captain Ao tells me that young Maita attempted to…assassinate Mangetsu Hozuki while he slept in their common dormitory.” He took a breath and added. “Since Ao is a Confessor of the Court of Unity, he has reported judgments to Lord Karatachi as well as discussions with the Mediator Lady Minako. They have all proven that Maita meant to kill Mangetsu as revenge for the dozens he slew during the…”
Lord Funato sounded as if he doubted his own words as he spoke them. I bit my lip at the thought of just how terrible things had happened in the Sand Village. My first thoughts were to ask; “Was anyone hurt in the process of this assassination attempt? Were the Sand Village authorities involved in putting an end to this?”
Lord Funato shook his head furiously. “No, no! No foreigners were involved. In fact, even Mangetsu, not a single hair on his head was harmed. Maita was stopped before anything could escalate. He was misguided in his actions, and we as a clan have chastened him to understand that there are consequences for outbursts like that. That the you would not show kindness against infighting. I promise you, Lord Fourth, it will not happen ever again.”
I felt rising pity for Lord Funato. I had limited involvement in the running of the Court of Unity yet I knew very well— not only as the creator but as Mizukage— what sort of judgment my Uncle and the Court of Unity would have passed upon Maita.
Discharge.
These were indeed special circumstances, and I could understand why Lord Funato begged that I put them to consideration before passing judgment.
But I decided already…no more division.
The old me would have looked upon Lord Funato’s sincerity with the softness of a man with modern sensibilities, with a belief in second chances, even third or fourth, a strong belief in rehabilitation. However, I knew too well what fools rehabilitation made. I could not suffer the consequences just yet, not anymore. If I let go unpunished, then I would be going against my own self, my own laws, even if I was the all-powerful Mizukage, undermining my own rules and authority would serve no good purpose.
I shook my head dearly at him and simply said, “I am sorry, Lord Funato. There is nothing I can do for you, or Maita.”