“Kirigakure commands here, this island, that one and to an extent those western two.” The orange haired, shark toothed man jabbed his finger at five points on the map splayed out on my centre table— my desk was too cluttered for such a presentation.

Fuguki Suikazan was my acting Jounin Commander and the first person summoned when war is deliberated. Even if I haven’t consented to bringing Kirigakure out of the tumultuous peace it’s only begun to enjoy, it’s more than wise to have Fuguki, the man who understood our forces more intimately than I, a Yagura impersonator did.

“We share a measure of absolute control over the mainland with the Daimyo, but in a contest of strength or security, Kirigakure will win each time. The Daimyo’s armies are exhausted beating his rivals and title claimants into submission and thus the responsibility of the mainland’s security has been on our shoulders since before the end of the Third Shinobi War.

“Thanks to the war and our responsibility to the mainland, we’ve slowly lost influence over those far off western islands, one of which is where Lord Yakubi’s fief and the unfortunate Kaguya reside— Kurokami-jima

Fuguki reached over, easily circling the other end of the map with his finger, “This clutch of western islands are the Daimyo’s, the three closest to the mainland are unfortunately the ones rebelling. These two southern islands are taking advantage of the chaos to set themselves up with the Land of Tea’s Daimyo, or so I have heard. Only one of the three southern islands stands with the Daimyo, but they are militarily insufficient and will become a target sooner than a saviour.”

I leaned over the map, examining the southern islands looking to defect and I noticed something that made Fuguki’s accusations a bit…odd, “Aren’t these two…well, the way they’re drawn…”

Fuguki grinned, “Yes, you’re right. Those two, Shizukishima and Ryuujima, were originally part of the Land of Tea, but they belong to the Land of Water now, Mizukage-sama.”

I ignored his jibe, I could easily channel Yagura so much of what is meant to be common knowledge becomes so, but my head was already swishing about with information about the Kaguya and Yūki prisoners. Now I was getting a lecture about the Daimyo’s Lords and the Land of Water’s most pressing enemies.

More than anything I needed to juggle all this information myself, I needed to get used to this job, this world and if so there was no need disguising my ignorance about niche nonsense.

I narrowed at the map and thought out loud for the audience of my councillors, Fuguki and Raiga my ANBU Commander, “If the three closest to the mainland are rebelling, how haven’t they taken the capital yet? There’s no sea to cross, just a moderate strait to sail, they could storm the capital in days.”

It is Uncle Aoto that answers, arms folded as he stood over my right side and examined the map, “The current Daimyo came into power alongside Lord Third, both had vested interest in gaining as much as possible from the warring periods of their reign. And so, well, perhaps this information would be better coming from Lord Funato or Lady Megumi.”

I raised a brow at that and set my gaze on the two who looked amused and squirmed in their seat, “What am I missing here?”

They shared a look and Lord Fuanto’s stubborn frown set the ball in her court, “Troublesome Lords of the previous Daimyo’s court were…eliminated.” I didn’t miss her glance at Raiga as she said this. “It’s almost tradition at this point, there is always someone who thinks their station is far too small for them but when the time comes…they’re always willing to settle for less, or rather, more than death.”

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She shrugged, “Some were given ‘promotions’ that sent them off to some fief fighting off barbarians and pirates. Others had their entire line embellished by irredeemable crimes, forcing their personal militia’s to find work under more…favourable candidates.”

I sighed as I nodded, getting the gist of the political housekeeping that had gone underway each time a new Daimyo rose. I wondered if I was meant to do the same for Kirigakure and my sights settled on the stubborn old man that’s been the bane of so much progress, at least, in my stressed opinion.

“What happened to those favourable candidates? How did this war start if the Daimyo set the stage for his rule with our help? And how does any of this concern whether the capital is stormed or not?” I looked across the room for answers.

Uncle spoke up to answer my last question, “The most important thing to a Daimyo, especially ours, is to ensure his own security and power are never truly threatened. Crippling troublesome Lords early on would eliminate the obvious threats but ensuring a lasting reign requires more than your rivals head, it requires their children.

“Marriage alliances or princess prisoners make it possibly to live with your rival, but both are easily severed in death. No marriage? No kids? No alliance. No princess prisoner? No deference. What’s left now is to renew these alliances or renew the war.”

Fortunately, I had begun channelling enough of Yagura to understand Uncle’s terminology of ‘princess prisoners’. They were nothing more than glorified hostages and didn’t necessarily have to be a princess or even a person. In fact, it’s exactly the situation I have locked the Yuki clan in after gifting Hisako to the Funato clan at Uncle’s suggestion.

Lord Funato spoke up, “Besides that, the true reason they haven’t taken the capital is because they dare not. A direct invasion of the mainland would force Kirigakure into war as is our duty to the Daimyo. That is why they will try to steal the mantle by hopping islands, raiding and cursing the lands with their disobedience.

“The Daimyo cannot ignore this and so he sends his armies to meet them in battle instead, where the enemy has the upper hand. If he ignores them then they will quickly become independent of the Land of Water and behave as Shizukishima and Ryuujima.”

I let out a hum at that. It begun to makes sense, this war of theirs, and why Kirigakure was going to be the linchpin in it all. I stared at the map and asked Fuguki, “Where is Lord Yakubi’s fief?”

“Right here, Kurokami-jima, the land of dark folk.” He points at a small island awfully close to the Land of Fire. “The Daimyo’s enemies have had a field day raiding Yakubi, even taking to camping there with mercenaries and a clutch of ronin until Reina’s timely interference.”

Lord Funato took the opportunity to growl at the mention of a Yuki clansman, “An interference that was not ordered, hmph! She ought to explain herself better in person, she should return tomorrow with that host of…grrrr.” The thought of her returning with Kaguya infuriated him even more.

I would take pleasure in his stress and laugh in his face if I wasn’t stressed about her return as well. I was stressed in general really. Snuffing out the Yuki threat, real or not, was immediate thanks to the overwhelming powers being Mizukage granted me. But the potential fallout I’ll soon observe is what furrowed my brows more than anything. And now the Kaguya remnants arrive in a new land where Bloodline users have just recently been imprisoned and scheduled for execution. The Mizukage Estate wasn’t even nearly done with the planned renovations, there was limited space for what Reina reports as over a hundred migrants.

I need a break somehow.

Uncle sensed my tension somehow and patted my shoulder, “Don’t worry too much about the war, Mizukage-sama, we have no obligation to join unless the Daimyo calls for our service and he hasn’t.”

Lady Megumi chuckled, “Of course he hasn’t, he knows too well it will have a cost, what we have to decide now is what that cost will be.”

I recalled Uncle speaking of such a cost when I was seeking a place for the Kaguya in Kiri. Given his answers then, I figure there are much larger asks than simply a wider stretch of land. I wonder…