"Left, then turn right at the next intersection." Seiryu's shadow clone wandered through the small town, Tobi guiding him by whispering the directions in his ear.
Before long, the disguised Seiryu arrived at the rebel base.
"Lord Seiryu, the password is: he says 'the water runs clear,' you reply 'it cleanses the filth.'" Tobi whispered.
Following Tobi's instructions, Seiryu infiltrated the Kirigakure rebel base without any trouble.
"Captain Satake."
As soon as he entered the underground base, several rebel members greeted the disguised Seiryu.
Seiryu nodded to each of them and asked, "Is the leader here?"
"She's in her office," a clerk replied.
Seiryu nodded, found Terumi Mei's office, and knocked on the door.
"Come in." Terumi Mei's voice sounded from inside.
Entering, Seiryu immediately noticed that compared to their last meeting, Terumi Mei now wore a mask of exhaustion—her face was tired, her eyes ringed with dark circles, and her desk was covered with papers filled with writing.
Out of the corner of his eye, Seiryu glanced at the papers and saw that they all described things he'd done in Konoha, with Terumi Mei's own interpretations written underneath in delicate handwriting.
Just one glance told Seiryu a lot: some of her guesses about his intentions were correct, others were wrong, and some were simply overthinking.
For example, when Seiryu had hosted a banquet for the Fourth Hokage's faction, he'd used the traditional menu from the Fourth's era. Terumi Mei thought he did this to evoke nostalgia among the old guard, thus bringing them together around his ally Kakashi. Frankly, if he hadn't seen this analysis today, Seiryu wouldn't have even realized the menu had any significance.
Seiryu shook his head imperceptibly. Right now, Terumi Mei was acting just like a high school student obsessed with literary analysis, not realizing that rebellion isn't something you can accomplish by following the book.
"Hm? Jonin Satake?" Terumi Mei looked up and asked, "Is something the matter?"
"It's nothing urgent," Seiryu replied. "I just wanted to request a few more assignments for our squad. Lately, we've had too much free time."
"I understand your desire to contribute," Terumi Mei said, "but our operations are already large-scale. If we push any further, Kirigakure is bound to notice."
Seiryu's mouth twitched. Lady, Kirigakure already knows about you. If not for certain interests, you'd never have been allowed to set up this base.
"I understand." Seiryu nodded, then looked openly at the papers on her desk. "Leader, what are you studying?"
"I'm researching our village's greatest enemy—Uchiha Seiryu." Terumi Mei bit her lip.
Seiryu: …
Apparently, his fans wasn't that friendly toward him.
"Jonin Satake, what do you think of Konoha's Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Seiryu?" Terumi Mei suddenly asked.
"Uchiha Seiryu?" Seiryu, still disguised, put on a look of righteous indignation. "Of course I hate him! He killed so many of our comrades in the Third Ninja War, even friends I grew up with. I only regret that I'm too weak to kill him myself!"
Seiryu easily portrayed the grief and helplessness of a middle-aged man who'd lost everything to Seiryu and could never avenge himself. Tobi, possessing him and helping with the disguise, was inwardly impressed by the perfect performance.
But what Tobi didn't know was that, for a politician, such acting was the most basic skill.
Sure enough, Terumi Mei was silent for a moment, then tried to comfort him, "Jonin Satake, I understand how you feel. As a Kirigakure ninja, I also hate Uchiha Seiryu. Still, I think some of his methods are exactly what we need to learn right now."
"These past weeks, I've collected a lot of intelligence about him between the end of the Third Ninja War and when he became the Fifth Hokage. Many of our spies in Konoha died for this. But after reading all this, I have to admit: only by learning from him can we help Kirigakure escape its current crisis." Terumi Mei sighed. "It's ridiculous, isn't it? We want to save our village, but we have to learn from our greatest enemy."
"No, Leader, if it's for Kirigakure, anything is worth it," Seiryu said, pretending to be deeply moved.
"Still, the deeper meanings behind many of Uchiha Seiryu's actions are beyond me," Terumi Mei admitted, smiling with relief at his understanding.
Seiryu really wanted to tell her that most of his actions had no such deep meaning. If she kept overanalyzing, she'd fall into a logical trap.
"Uh, so what should we do now, Leader?" Seiryu asked.
"Our new Will of Water slogan has spread throughout the Land of Water. Now, more and more people who recognize the village's problems are joining us. I think it won't be long before, with the help of the surviving ninja clans I've won over with Uchiha Seiryu's tactics, we'll be able to march on Kirigakure and overthrow Yagura!" Terumi Mei said hopefully.
Seiryu: …
He sighed inwardly. This woman, learning by analyzing intelligence and guessing his motives, had only managed to scratch the surface.
Winning over civilians and surviving ninja clans was important, yes, but the even more critical issue was legitimacy!
How could she openly confront the Fourth Mizukage like this? If Seiryu was in her shoes, the first thing he'd do would be to publicly declare that the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, had been misled by traitors, and that the actions of these righteous people were to advise the Shadow and punish the wicked. That way, the rebellion would be justified as loyalists cleansing the government, not open treason.
If Seiryu, controlling Yagura, made a declaration, he could immediately label these people as traitors. No matter how loud their slogans, it would be meaningless.
Before he overthrew Hiruzen Sarutobi, didn't Seiryu still bow and observe proper etiquette?
Terumi Mei's group should be working to separate Yagura from the blood mist policy, pinning all the blame on a conveniently corrupt high official—claiming that person deceived the Mizukage. This would solidify their claim of loyalty to the shadow. No matter what Yagura said, they could say he was controlled by evil courtiers.
That way, once they did overthrow Yagura, Kirigakure's power could transfer peacefully. That's why Seiryu had pinned everything on Danzo back in Konoha.
Of course, Seiryu wasn't about to control Yagura and have him declare the rebels traitors. He wanted the Land of Water to fall into chaos. Declaring the rebels traitors would make things harder for them, but it wouldn't change the outcome—Yagura would fall anyway.
Given Kirigakure's current state, the people were already suffering under the blood mist policy. Even without Terumi Mei, others would have stepped up to overthrow the regime. After such bloody upheaval, it would be easy for the village to unite.
That was exactly what Seiryu didn't want. Kirigakure's geography made it too advantageous—a natural ocean barrier. If they solved their internal problems and got a halfway competent leader who understood offshore balancing, the Land of Fire would be under tremendous pressure, having to face two and a half major powers.
So, to Seiryu, the more chaotic the Land of Water, the better. He didn't mind giving Terumi Mei a little guidance.
After all, history had taught him: the most dangerous leaders aren't the useless ones, but the half-baked ones who think they know something.
"Wonderful, Leader! I believe we'll succeed. Once you become the Fifth Mizukage, I'm sure you'll lead the village out of darkness," Seiryu said enthusiastically.
"Satake, it doesn't matter who becomes Fifth Mizukage. I only hope the village becomes better," Terumi Mei said, emotional.
Seiryu: …
He nearly laughed out loud.
Satake Masato's position in the rebel leadership wasn't that high—just on the edge of the decision-making circle—but even so, he was an insider! Everyone was risking their lives here, and yet the leader wouldn't even dare admit to her own ambitions in private? Did she herself not believe she could do it?
Satake's status was akin to a Jonin squad leader in Konoha's inner circle. When Seiryu privately met with his own people, he never hid his ambition to become Hokage. If a leader can't give their followers confidence, the group will eventually fall apart—especially when their lives are at stake.
In other words, only when the leader has a clear goal can the followers imagine tangible rewards for success, and be motivated to fight for them.
Seiryu rubbed his forehead. At first, he thought Terumi Mei's careful study of his actions might help her learn something, and that he'd have to work hard to lead her astray. But now, he realized he didn't need to do anything—she'd overthink herself into trouble. All Seiryu had to do was drop the occasional encouragement, and the Land of Water would naturally head in the direction he wanted.
"Such nobility, Leader!" the disguised Seiryu said, bowing.
"Jonin Satake, please, you don't need to be so formal." Terumi Mei hurried over to help him up. "The future of the Land of Water and Kirigakure depends on all our efforts."
"Yes! I always believed, under your leadership, the village will see a new future," Seiryu replied, meaningfully.
…
After leaving the base, Seiryu returned to his small house, where White Zetsu detached from his shadow clone.
"How did it go? Did you get anything useful?" Black Zetsu asked as soon as Seiryu returned.
"A lot," Seiryu smiled. "Kirigakure has finally found the perfect Kage."
"You mean this Terumi Mei girl?" Black Zetsu asked, confused.
"That's right." Seiryu's smile was meaningful.
"So, what do we do next?" Black Zetsu asked.
"Turn up the pressure on Yagura. Force anyone with any strength left in Kirigakure over to the rebels," Seiryu said coldly.
"Why?" Black Zetsu didn't understand. Wasn't this strengthening the enemy? He'd worked hard to keep Yagura in play all these years.
"These rebels are a giant time bomb, with every new recruit more gunpowder. Their half-baked leader is the fuse. Since this bomb is destined to go off, the more gunpowder, the better for us," Seiryu smiled.