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The Igawa family had only one son, Igawa Tai, who was practically the future head of the household.
Now that he had suddenly died, the impact on the Igawa family was no less than a massive earthquake.
After learning of her son's death, Igawa Bu's wife became inconsolable, threatening to take her own life and throwing the entire household into chaos. Bu, worn down by her grief, had no choice but to promise her that he would set aside enough time each week to be with her from now on.
As long as he was alive, having another son wasn't an impossible task.
But as the head of the Igawa family, he simply couldn't believe that his once lively and energetic son was now gone in the blink of an eye.
After the funeral, Bu returned to his son's room, tears streaming down his face.
"Terumi Mei… Midorima Asachi… Why couldn't you two just lie down and die quietly? Let Tai kill you! What value do you even have alive!?" Bu clenched his fists, his eyes burning with fury.
And then there was Zabuza—why didn't he just kill those two on the spot? Instead, he brought them back to Kirigakure… Was he deliberately mocking him!?
This is a crime… You're committing a crime…
The more he thought about it, the more enraged he became.
During the afternoon funeral, with the Mizukage, Yagura, present, he couldn't afford to lose his composure. But that didn't mean he was willing to let this go.
"...I have to kill them… No, there's no justification… But if I don't kill them, I'll never be able to quell this hatred!" Bu gritted his teeth, his mind consumed by the names "Midorima Asachi," "Mei Terumi," and "Momochi Zabuza."
Zabuza was the easiest to deal with.
Though his strength was undeniable—having slaughtered nearly all his fellow graduates during the final exam—his ruthless nature was well-documented. As someone in a position of power, Bu could simply assign him the most dangerous, high-risk missions.
There's no way he'll survive.
Mei Terumi, however, was trickier.
Her clan possessed a "Kekkei Genkai," and the bloodline alliances between such clans were deeply intertwined. For now, he couldn't touch her—unless he became the Mizukage himself.
That left Midorima—a nobody, a mere child with no background. His parents had been ordinary shinobi who had long since died as cannon fodder. Powerless and insignificant, disposing of him would be effortless.
"Tai, I won't let any of these three go unpunished. But… you'll have to give me some time." Bu clenched his fists, silently swearing vengeance.
Killing Midorima outright was an option, but it would put Bu at the center of attention—even the Mizukage might take issue with it.
His ambitions stretched far beyond just being the deputy commander of the ANBU.
Even in revenge, he preferred to remain in the shadows rather than step into the spotlight.
Yet, after a night of deliberation, he still hadn't come up with a plan that satisfied him.
The next morning, Bu's eyes were bloodshot. His wife, startled by his haggard appearance, began to wonder if she had overreacted these past few days.
Filled with guilt, she unexpectedly greeted him with a smile—something so rare that Bu was momentarily bewildered, even slightly disturbed. He wondered if he had somehow offended her again.
Did she find out about my visit to the pleasure house the other day?
Even as he left the house, the question still lingered in his mind.
---
The midday meeting was, in principle, mandatory for all department heads—including Bu.
When he entered the conference room, murmurs of surprise rippled through the crowd, followed by a hush. A few even feigned expressions of sorrow.
The ANBU was a high-authority division, and as its deputy commander, Bu was one of the most powerful figures in the village.
Given that he had just lost his son, it wouldn't do for them to appear too cheerful.
"Deputy Commander Igawa, there was no need for you to attend today. The Mizukage would have understood."
Bu glanced at the speaker—Hasegawa Shota, captain of the Sensor Division—and forced a smile.
"Tai was just another ANBU member. The only difference was that he was my son. Your division has also suffered casualties, Captain Hasegawa, yet here you are."
Hasegawa gave him a thumbs-up. "Sir, you truly are an inspiration..."
Bu smiled faintly but said nothing more, his hatred for Midorima and Mei growing even stronger.
Shimomura curled his lip and fiddled with his fingers, keeping silent.
Some people… it's better not to see them at all.
Just then, Yagura entered the conference room, followed by his assistant, who distributed documents to each attendee.
"Everyone, today's agenda is packed, so let's begin immediately. The first item is a research paper concerning medical-nin. The author is a recent graduate who has joined the medical division. He argues that the current medical-nin system must be reformed—that we should learn from Konoha and allow medical-nin to accompany teams on missions. What are your thoughts?"
Hasegawa was about to flip through the document when Yagura finished speaking, so he closed it again and glanced around. Seeing that most were only pretending to read, he cleared his throat.
"I believe Captain Shimomura's proposal is innovative. After all, medical-nin are part of the village, and we all hope the division can grow stronger—ideally becoming a cornerstone of Kirigakure, just like in Konoha. But the ANBU needs manpower, the Sensor Division needs manpower, the village guards need manpower, and logistics need manpower. Where will all these people come from?
"Moreover, medical-nin must master Yang-release chakra, correct? Your idea is commendable, but the number of shinobi capable of refining Yang chakra is limited."
Shimomura frowned. As expected, the discussion had turned to population.
He glanced at the Mizukage, but Yagura's eyes were half-lidded, offering no input. Shimomura coughed.
"Since none of you seem inclined to read the paper, I'll state my position directly. As you all know, Konoha once fought consecutive wars against Sunagakure and Amegakure. Those battles were brutal—many of Konoha's finest perished, and their population plummeted. Yet they still maintained the medical-nin system established by Tsunade-hime.
"After over a decade of effort, the most direct benefit Konoha reaped was evident in the battles two or three years ago. Despite facing Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure simultaneously, they held their ground. Without medical-nin continuously treating the wounded on the battlefield, the outcome might have been very different.
"If Konoha could uphold Tsunade-hime's system during their darkest hour, why can't we?"
"All you do is praise Konoha—if you love them so much, why not defect?" The captain of the Security Division glared at Shimomura.
The wounds of their recent war with Konoha were still fresh, and hatred ran deep.
"The Second Mizukage, Lord Gengetsu Hozuki, also adopted the Ninja Academy and ANBU systems from Konoha. Are you suggesting he should have defected as well?" Shimomura retorted coldly.
"You—!" The Security captain pointed at him, too furious to speak.
The Hozuki clan was one of Kirigakure's most powerful families—he wouldn't dare slander Gengetsu even if he had ten lives to spare.