Ch207. Ao's decision

Rei sat alone in the dining room of the mansion, enjoying early breakfast after Ringo decided to cheer his night up after their little conversation about the Mizukage thing. Naturally, that meant Mei decided to join up and one thing led to another...

Hence Rei needed a very big breakfast to get back his energy and due to his schedule as the leader of his own hidden village, he was too used to waking up early to sleep in with the girls who were still deep in their dreams, snuggly hugging each other's naked form under the sheets.

As Rei was eating his scrambled eggs, suddenly Ao sat opposite him, putting a plate with buttered bread and some kind of fish on the table. Rei looked at him with a raised eyebrow, silently asking Ao what he wanted with his eyes.

"I came to talk." Ao gruffly said, making Rei roll his eyes.

'No shit sherlock.' He mentally grumbled but outwardly he simply sighed and continued eating. There was no harm in letting Ao talk and Rei had to admit he was quite interested in what the big bad rogue hunter wanted with the albeit smaller but certainly 'badder' rogue ninja.

"I had a very long night..." Ao slowly started with an expression that showed how unsure of what to say he was and Rei barely restrained a snort.

"Yeah, me too, buddy. I doubt our reason for staying up late was the same though." Rei mirthfully quipped but Ao simply ignored the jab.

"You see, I was always the guy sent to clean up disloyal pieces of shit like you." Ao indifferently stated. "Find, kill, get rid of the body. That was my job and I was good at it. And now, here I am, calmly talking with a person who could easily be at the top of my kill list. Funny, isn't it?"

"You mean the fact you think you got a chance? Yeah, it sure is." Rei nonchalantly shrugged.

Ao simply sighed in defeat. It was obvious to the man how uncomfortable he was with the current situation. 'It must be quite hard for someone like Ao to stomach not only hiring Kirigakure's rogue ninjas for help but also deciding to make one of them the next Mizukage.' Rei mentally summed up.

"The meeting yesterday... it got me thinking." Ao said in frustration as his shoulders sagged but his eyes didn't stop giving Rei a piercing intense stare even for a second. "I am no politician. I am a hunter ninja. I spend most of my life hunting and know the worth of power. I know exactly what you aim for with making Ringo into a Mizukage."

"Oh?" Rei playfully hummed.

Honestly, the second Ao started showing his feelings openly, Rei knew there is no need to worry about him despite the man clearly hating his situation. If he was really hostile, he would be all cold and glaring. Rei really didn't feel any need to hide his plan from the man the second he showed his frustration openly. It meant he made a decision. Rei had no idea what kind of decision but it was certainly interesting.

Then again, it was not like the clan heads would renege on the contract. It was too good for them to do that.

"I may not care for it but I know how the game is played." Ao started, pulling Rei out of his thoughts. "But it appears that yesterday I was the only one who realized you do not exactly play the same game as the clan heads."

Rei slightly leaned forward with a disarming smile, supporting his chin with his hands, and listened.

"It's sad, isn't it?" Ao bitterly frowned. Before Rei could react, however, he continued. "But I can understand it. The politics of Kirigakure were always corrupted. After so many generations of it, it is no wonder the clan heads simply don't get it."

"Eh, you will have to enlighten me, Ao. I never cared for Kirigakure's politics and definitely never got involved in them despite living in the village for over a decade in the past." Rei said, subtly reminding Ao that he was once Kirigakure's ninja and that he defected. For some reason, Rei really couldn't help himself. He liked the conflicted look in Ao's eyes every time it was brought up.

"Right..." Ao commented quietly but with a lot of sarcasm. "If you had no idea, you wouldn't try to exploit the clan heads' ignorance." Ao added, hating how smug Rei looked. Suddenly, he gained a sad look, "It's really vexing, you know? The clan heads are supposed to know better but... I am not surprised. With the formation of hidden villages, the clan heads became more of political animals, rather than people understanding the importance of pure strength. The heirs to the clans are mostly trained to quickly get jonin rank, getting so much preferential treatment it is not even funny. They no longer put as much importance on personal power as they do on politics. After all, S-rank ninja who normally could not be defeated by them are but a small annoyance once they use politics to make him a public enemy number one. That's why your plan is going to work."

"Yeah, I always found it funny how the clan kids liked to intrude on the academy graduation day, coming there already blooded, trained, and ready to kill while competing against scared kiddies with subpar training compared to them. But I digress... it's all for the prestige of their clan, no?" Rei added, causing Ao to wince.

"I always hated when the clan kids decided to participate in the academy graduation ceremony. Then again, that's one of the reasons why I am fine with what you are doing." Ao explained and Rei lifted his eyebrow again.

"What do you mean?" Rei's demeanor shifted.

"You know," Ao's expression bitterly scrunched, "I always found it wasteful to kill off at the very least fifty percent of the graduating class. So much talent wasted. So many late bloomers killed... and for what? Sure, Kirigakure was raising jonin-level ninjas quickly and efficiently but our numbers were always lower compared to other villages of the big fire. That's also the reason why we are regarded as the weakest of the five despite our numerous advantages. Take Suna for example. They have a cold war between the Daimyo and the Kazekage going on. The Daimyo has had them under an embargo for years now and yet, Kirigakure can still not measure up to Suna. It's pathetic." Ao looked straight at Rei, "Simply put, I am sick of it. Kirigakure needs a change. That's why I betrayed my own village and everything I ever believed in by joining the rebellion. Not because of the clans. These self-important pricks can burn for all I care. Especially after selling the village to you without even realizing it. No... what I want is a better Kirigakure." Ao stopped and took a deep breath as if he was about to make a life-changing announcement. "That's why... I want you to know that no matter how much I hate your traitorous ass, I am willing to work with you as long as you make Kirigakure into a better place."

Saying his piece, Ao stood up and went away while Rei amusedly watched him, 'In short, Ringo is his best shot at Kirigakure being improved after the civil war, huh? Looks like the fifth Mizukage will have her faithful secretary, after all. Who knew? Good for Ringo, at least she will have a person who can fill the paperwork for her!'