048 - Strategic Manoeuvering: Ensnaring the Mist
KIRIGAKURE
In a dimly lit chamber beneath the heart of the Hidden Mist Village, the air was thick with tension. The walls of the windowless room bore the signs of age, their stones marred by the passage of time and the vile secrets they held. Mei sat at the head of an ancient stone table. Her dark blue dress clung closely to her figure, and her crimson hair flowed like a river of smouldering flames down her back. To her right, Chojuro, her timid, yet loyal bodyguard, and the wielder of the legendary sword, Hiramekarei, watched the proceedings with a vigilant eye. To her left, Ao, his singular eye hidden behind an eyepatch, exuded an aura of suspicion as he stared unblinkingly at the Sannin and his associate. Seated hunchbacked beside her was Elder Genji, his gnarled hands gripping firmly on his equally gnarled staff.
Mei frowned as Orochimaru, the enigmatic Sannin, lounged lazily in the chair opposite her. She found his pallid skin and serpent-like eyes queer and, quite frankly, disgusting. The sinister aura that clung to him radiated palpably across the room further adding to her displeasure. At his side, his associate—quite the disheartening discovery—sat with a comfortable ease that mirrored the sannin. The Uchiha stared past a curtain of inky black hair, his bewitching onyx gaze locked placidly with her own.
Much to Mei's surprise and discomfort, his presence elicited a shadow of deference from the Snake Sannin.
Behind the two, a woman dressed similarly to the Uchiha stood stoically, her arms hidden by her flowing kimono sleeves as it rested over her stomach. The strange woman hadn't made a sound since the trio was first spotted and apprehended.
"Why are you here, Orochimaru?" Mei asked, folding her arms beneath her bosom as she leaned back into her seat.
"Me?" the sannin asked rhetorically. "Oh, don't mind me. Sasuke-kun just dragged me along to make sure you treat his proposal with the appropriate gravitas required of you. My purpose here is entirely ornamental."
Of course, Mei did not believe what the sannin said, the lie much too blatant to even be considered remotely believable. Still, she did not express her true thoughts on the matter, simply turning her gaze to face the Uchiha, curious as to what malicious scheme Orochimaru was up to this time.
"What is it you want, Sasuke-kun?" she asked letting her face assume a convincing facsimile of a smile.
The Uchiha blinked once, tilting his head innocently to the side in a manner that if she were a younger, more naive Mei a faint blush might have threatened to overwhelm her features.
She was more mature now so only a dusting of pink crept over her features before promptly fading away.
"Mizukage," the handsome boy began, "what if I told you I could elevate Kirikage's economy to the rival and surpass Konoha's in the next nine months?"
The room became still as every sliver of attention in the room seemed to converge on the Uchiha. Only the woman behind the boy remained unfazed. Even the sannin appeared surprised by the statement, forcing Mei to reevaluate her preconception of him as she could not reliably confirm if the snake was acting or not despite knowing fully well that he was.
In response to the Uchiha's bold claim, Ao scoffed just subtly enough for his reaction to not be considered a faux pas. Elder Genji on the other hand had little consideration for that, smacking the butt of his demon staff on the concrete floor in an obvious display of disapproval.
"Restraint. L-learn restraint. Y-you reach too high, boy," the wizened elder said, his voice stuttering from old age. Mei placed a consoling hand on the elder's staff, her eyes never leaving the Uchiha's placid ones.
"If you told me that, I would tell you you are delusional," Mei said to the boy. "Or a liar."
Surprisingly, the Uchiha did nothing but nod in response. "Kage," he spoke, turning a side-eye to the woman standing behind him.
"Yes, Uchiha-san," the obvious bodyguard nodded, pulling a scroll from her sleeve before walking forward to hand it over to Ao who in turn handed it over to her. Mei frowned as she unfurled the document.
"That is proof of my ownership of an exclusive defence contract covering ninety per cent of all the northern and central shipping lanes, ports and naval facilities belonging to the Jinrui Shipping Company for the next twenty years. You can have it verified if you want at a later time, but for the sake of our continued dialogue let us all assume it is authentic."
For a few moments, the room descended into another lull of sobriety.
"...That's impossible!" Ao stated with irrefutable conviction. The eyepatch-wearing shinobi turned to face Mei as he spoke. "Mizukage-sama, I believe it is time these criminals leave. Or better, are detained for attempting to swindle us in this manner."
Mei stared at the document in stunned confusion, her disbelieving eyes flickering between the Uchiha and the documents he offered to her.
"I hear from Jinrui that Kiri has been having issues securing a tangible defence contract with his company, something about the Water Daimyō meddling in a bid to keep the rebellious clans placated as well as keep The Mist from amassing wealth and possibly growing independent of his court. The contract in your hands covers assets outside the Land of Water's borders, hence beyond the Water Daimyō's ability to influence letting you circumvent all that."
"...How did you get your hands on this?" Mei asked. The scroll in her hands, if in the possession of a state-like entity had the ability to elevate such a country's economic prowess to terrifying heights. Invaluable, yes, but otherwise worthless in the hands of a single individual.
How did he get it?
"Jinrui owed my clan a favour," the Uchiha replied without elaborating further.
Mei stared at the boy for a long moment, before finding her voice again.
"What do you want, Uchiha-san?"
The boy's lips curled into a gentle smile.
"Accomplices, Mizukage-sama," he said, his gaze still locked with hers.
"I want accomplices."