I sat in the serene environs of Turtle Island’s temple. One hand held an ink wet brush and the other held back my sleeve as I drew binding seals on the large sheet of paper Harusame provided me.

I’ve been Mizukage for about a month now…three months since I woke up in this world. Turtle Island has become the only place where I can have a day of peace without worrying about someone looking for me.

If there was someone searching for me, my location was known to few trusted ANBU. Asides from needing the required authority and clearance to question an ANBU about the Mizukage, getting all the way over to Turtle Island would be a challenge in its own.

This way I know whoever interrupts this soft tranquil of mine would do so only if it’s absolutely needed.

I took a breath and leaned away from the paper to give my curved back a break. Harusame hovered behind me, his eyes judging the worth of my work as he stroked his chin. He sat down and pointed at points on the signs I was drawing.

“This one is too long, this too short and this doesn’t look at all like the symbol meant to be there. An amalgamation of nonsense will give you nonsense, Yagura-sama.”

He snatched the sheet away, crumpled it and set it ablaze in his hand before providing another one from his stack. “Be generous with your strokes and consisted with how wet your brush is.”

I refrained from rolling my eyes at his words, I’d seen him use his fingers to draw a perfectly functional seal in seconds, I knew I’d need more than consistency to get a hang of [Fuuinjutsu].

He watched me intently as I stared at the blank page, filling it with the maelstrom of thoughts, ideas and wishes. He cleared his throat seeing I haven’t made a move to start drawing again and sat beside me, “Perhaps we continue with Tailed Beast taming?”

I looked up at him and sighed. I’d asked Harusame to prepare to loosen my seal almost entirely so I could press Yagura with the threat of Isobu’s release. Yagura wouldn’t allow Isobu to run loose through the Land of Water, plus, if he did get loose that would mean the end for both of us…or I guess just me.

I was fully prepared to go ahead with this plan because as I saw it, I’d have the best opportunity to talk to Isobu in that situation, Yagura couldn’t deny that as much as he wants. But the events of the past weeks have been…tiresome to say the least and I’m not comfortable leaving things unsettled to force a conversation with Isobu.

Reina sent her first report yesterday and even as I read her description of the small hut and mud-housed community the Kaguya left behind, I couldn’t help but wonder if she had any inkling what her clan head planned for her. It mattered a lot if she did, it meant she was willing to leave her position as ANBU commander to be…pregnant with Yagura’s child.

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I shuddered at the thought and quickly set it out of mind as I raised a faux smile to Harusame, “No, no, I need peace to think about things right now. I will let you know when we can begin Tailed Beast taming again.” I picked up my brush and held back my sleeve, “This is far more urgent.”

The day I exterminated the Kaguya at those docks I’d simply intended to temporarily seal away the chakra of whichever of them had the sense to surrender. Unfortunately, none of them did but my plans for sealing away their chakra remains.

I’d given thought to the Kaguya since I first met Eiko and read his report on their ability. It was one thing to remember its capabilities from what young Kimimaro expressed in the show but it was another thing entirely to have it broken down by a professional.

The Kaguya were dangerous folk. While I doubt Kimimaro has even been conceived at this time, the threat the clan posed to the Hidden Mist and the Land of Water could not be denied. And so while everyone figured the best thing to do with such a people was to exterminate them, I asked Harusame to help me seal away their Tenketsu.

It was my responsibility as Mizukage to not only protect the Hidden Mist but also the Land of Water, but Jason could only tolerate one necessary extermination. It is similar to what the Hyuuga clan do when they fight but Harusame assures me it will last years if maintained properly.

By sealing the Tenketsu of both young and old Kaguya coming to Kiri in this way, I’d ensure that none of them were capable of wielding their Kekkei Genkai against us, at least not until the second generation were born.

I was thinking far ahead because I could afford to do so. It was one of the few things that brought me to smile nowadays, thinking of how much time I have to plan and how much I can set in motion.

The second generation growing within a Kiri I rule over would ensure that the Kaguya’s dangerous bloodline is separated from the warlike mentality their exterminated ancestors had. I’d create capable shinobi, ready and willing to serve Kirigakure.

I just need to find a place for them to live now. Uncle said it was out of the question, he shut me down before I even had a chance to start convincing him of the advantages. But he had a good reason to reject them though. The Karatachi didn’t have a Kekkei Genkai and the environs to attend to the needs of those with Kekkei Genkai, whether sealed or not was not the same.

I hadn’t bothered asking Lord Funato, I could already see the rejection written all over his face. I knew if I asked Lady Megumi she’d demand I get dressed and wed her granddaughter that instant. I had nothing against her or Rina, in fact, I found Rina to be an attractive young woman with her head in the right place.

But marriage, sex, children, family. These things invoked stark reminders that I am not Yagura. Even though my being here was unintentional, I can’t bring myself to make decisions on that part of Yagura’s life, the parts that were unknown, the parts hidden without an answer.

And I also didn’t feel comfortable using women that way. Yagura would scold me for clinging onto my modern sensibilities but it’s those sensibilities I believe will change this nation.

“That’s…an improvement.” Harusame said, tilting his head side to side as he examined my latest attempt at the binding seal. While I wouldn’t be the one to place it on the Kaguya, I understood the dangers of using powers I didn’t fully understand, besides, [Fuuinjutsu] was an intrigue facet of Ninjutsu to study.

I set my brush down and threw my back against the grass, sighing at a frog leaping off one water lily to another. My first month as Mizukage was coming to a close and there was more work to do than when I started.

Should I fully accept the Hoshigaki offer?