Amegakure, under its familiar overcast skies.
Casually strolling down the sparsely populated streets of the village was none other than the Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hōzuki, who had traveled all the way from Kirigakure.
Despite the strict security outside Amegakure—guards stationed every five steps and sentries every ten—none of that could stop the Second Mizukage, a man who could summon a giant clam for concealment.
Walking through this village of towering skyscrapers, Gengetsu felt as though he had stepped into the future.
The buildings stood in orderly rows, their exteriors adorned with dazzling lights reflecting off the glass windows. Between the buildings, transparent walkways connected one structure to another.
Through the glass of these walkways, Gengetsu could even catch glimpses of the skirts of young girls passing above.
"Ugh, the designer of this village must have been someone aspiring to be Hokage," he muttered to himself.
"This is so… utterly indecent and culturally inappropriate!"
Despite his disdain for the design, Gengetsu somehow produced a telescope from who-knows-where and began peering through it with a mischievous smile.
As he continued his "observations," his peripheral vision caught sight of a slender figure walking on one of the glass walkways not far away.
From a distance, the figure appeared tall and curvaceous, but was wearing a childish Lolita-style puffed skirt, complete with bunny-ear hair accessories—a striking contrast that exuded a peculiar charm.
"Hmph! Such indecency! I must sternly condemn this!" he grumbled, but his hands betrayed him as he adjusted the telescope to focus on the figure.
The next moment, Gengetsu's body froze. His hand holding the telescope trembled violently.
Shaking, he lowered the telescope, extended his right hand, and stabbed his index and middle fingers into his own eyes.
Squish! A faint sound echoed as his eyeballs fell to the ground.
As if still unsatisfied, he stomped on them a few times.
"Disgusting! Absolutely disgusting! How can something so vile exist?
A grown man wearing a puffed skirt… ugh!
And he didn't even shave his leg hair!
Ugh!"
Collapsing to the ground, Gengetsu dry-heaved. Thanks to his Edo Tensei state, his eyeballs slowly regenerated amidst a cloud of dust.
"Too disgusting! What's wrong with the people in this village? Are their brains full of crap?
Damn it, I'll never be able to look at puffed skirts the same way again!
This is nothing short of mental pollution!"
After a while, Gengetsu shuddered violently, finally managing to catch his breath as he shakily stood up.
Meanwhile, in the Village Leader's Office…
Rii, arms crossed and smirking, glanced at a trembling Hanzo of the Salamander.
"So, Lord Hanzo, isn't the puffed skirt much more comfortable than a ninja uniform?
No restrictions, allowing for more fluid taijutsu movements—especially leg techniques. Plus, the skirt provides excellent concealment, making your attacks even harder to predict."
Hearing this, Hanzo was so furious that his leg hair seemed ready to tie itself into knots.
Just listen to this nonsense! What kind of human being could say such things?
This woman is a devil in human skin!
Of all the people I've met, you're the most wicked! I, the Demi-God of the Shinobi World, hereby declare you the greatest scourge of them all!
Shaking with rage, Hanzo struggled to suppress the storm of anger within him.
"I… I'm heading to the battlefield. Take… take this outfit off me… now!!!"
Hearing this, Rii grinned widely, her face full of schadenfreude.
"Noted!" she thought to herself.
Her elder brother might always force her to study math, but he never failed to surprise her with these kinds of antics.
Amazing! Little sister is thoroughly impressed!
Back in the village, Gengetsu decided to keep his eyes focused straight ahead as he made his way toward the tallest building in the village center. He had a mission to complete, after all.
In the spirit of mutual benefit and trust, Rinjin and Gengetsu had struck a deal:
Rinjin would help Gengetsu drive Madara Uchiha out of the village and "straighten out" the Third Mizukage.
In return, Gengetsu would protect Amegakure until the war ended.
Although the end of the war was an uncertain prospect, Gengetsu didn't mind the arrangement.
First, he couldn't handle Madara on his own.
Second, he didn't want to live like a rat, sneaking around the village as a dead man.
Most importantly, he was the type who couldn't sit still, always itching to explore.
And Amegakure was the perfect place for that.
To the southwest lay the vast desert of the Land of Wind. To the northwest, the highlands of Iwagakure. To the east, Konoha.
But what intrigued Gengetsu the most was Iwagakure—the village protected by Mū. He was particularly curious about it.
Before long, Gengetsu arrived at the base of the village's central skyscraper.
It was a towering cylindrical structure that seemed to pierce the heavens.
Unlike the other buildings, this one wasn't connected to the ubiquitous walkways. It seemed that anyone wishing to enter would have to climb it floor by floor.
At the entrance, an elderly man with a white beard sat on the doorstep, puffing on a cigarette.
Just as Gengetsu was about to step inside, the old man raised a hand to stop him without even looking up.
"The village leader isn't in today. Come back next Monday."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Gengetsu asked instinctively.
Without a word, the old man tapped a wooden sign nearby.
Curious, Gengetsu turned to read it:
Village Leader's Office Hours: Monday to Friday, 2 PM to 5 PM.
"Office hours? What does that even mean?"
Driven by his curiosity, Gengetsu asked, "Old man, what do you mean by 'office hours'?"
The white-bearded man, cigarette dangling from his lips, glanced up at Gengetsu with a hint of annoyance.
"You don't know what office hours mean? Are you even from this village?"
Gengetsu laughed heartily and shook his head in response.
Seeing this, the old man clicked his tongue in irritation, removed the cigarette from his mouth, and explained impatiently:
"See that desk in the lobby? From Monday to Friday, the village leader works there. That's what we call 'office hours.'
Anyone in the village who feels wronged or encounters any injustice can come here to file a complaint!"
"And what about Saturdays and Sundays?" Gengetsu asked, his curiosity unabated.
"Of course, those are rest days. The village leader is human too, you know. She needs to rest!"
"So your village leader only does this? Doesn't she handle other matters? Isn't a village leader supposed to be incredibly busy?" Gengetsu asked in rapid succession.
He was genuinely taken aback. Back when he was Mizukage, he had been so busy he barely had time to breathe!
Hearing the barrage of questions, the old man shot Gengetsu a sideways glance and smacked his lips.
"Busy? Handling trivial matters?
If all those petty issues were left to the village leader, what's the point of having those so-called higher-ups? To lay eggs?
Our village leader said it herself: she represents justice and strength. She doesn't deal with problems—she deals with the people causing them!"
Gengetsu was stunned.
"Is… is this even allowed?!"
Then, out of nowhere, he felt a strange sense of déjà vu at this unreasonable style of governance.
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