18 Chapter 18

The behavior of the Fifth Mizukage puzzled Yudao.

"Yudao... herself... clothes..." Mei lowered her head in embarrassment.

- M? – after the reminder, he slowly looked down and also became a little embarrassed.

The clothes, already torn to shreds during the last battle, completely fell apart from his recent movements.

"Ahem... ahem..." coughing awkwardly, Yudao reached out to Ao.

- This second! – he immediately understood what was required of him, and gave the First Mizukage his green haori with white trim.

Throwing a long haori over himself, Yudao shamelessly tore a strip of fabric from the bottom and tied it at his waist.

"Ready, let's go," he said carefree.

The haori was a little big, but it didn't restrict movement in any way, and as for the appearance... he didn't care.

At the same time, Mei stole a glance at him again.

Phew!

Then the three figures disappeared synchronously and, with the sound of cutting air, rushed through the dense forest in a certain direction.

But soon Yudao frowned: "Too slow!"

After so many years in captivity, he was eager to see what the village was like, get his bearings in time, and start planning.

It was possible, of course, to find out the date from Mei, but the fact is that every great village uses its own chronology. They won't use the founding day of Konoha as a starting point... and Naruto's chronology is inseparable from Konoha's chronology.

For example, the first season starts in the sixtieth year from the founding of Konoha, when the so-called "Konoha 12" graduates from the shinobi academy.

And the devil knows how to compare these dates with the calendars of other great villages.

Yudao himself during the Warring States Era was either in battle or on the way to battle, not caring about such insignificant things as chronology. Even if others mentioned it, it still went in one ear and out the other.

- Where are we now? – he asked May.

The First Mizukage could not immediately find his way around the once familiar terrain after so many years in captivity.

"We are still on the territory of the Land of Water, but for reasons of secrecy, the meeting with Orochimaru took place on a small island west of Kiri," Mei was surprised by the question, but still answered respectfully.

- Well then, hold on! – out of nowhere Yudao exclaimed, grabbing Ao with one hand and the Fifth Mizukage with the other.

Boom!!!

The very next moment, with a deafening roar, their figures turned into a flash, rapidly rushing towards the horizon.

Literally in a matter of moments, the world around the Fifth Mizukage, who had been picked up, first accelerated sharply, and then completely became blurry.

But neither Mei nor Ao felt the slightest strain, not even the most obvious one from air resistance.

The experienced shinobi's eyes gradually widened in shock at the approximate speed of their flight. Common sense dictated that the higher the speed, the correspondingly higher the load. But it was as if they were flying in a vacuum, without even a slight breeze.

Mei was not surprised at all in comparison, because as the Fifth Mizukage she had much more knowledge about Yudao.

It was believed among the people that the First Mizukage had the ability to absorb chakra, and only the other Mizukage had access to secret documents detailing his abilities.

***

Before the gates of Kiri!

Choujuro ran in circles in confusion.

A leader's unauthorized departure from his own village should not have any consequences, unless, of course, something serious happens during his absence, because no one has the authority to control the kage.

But recently the elder asked to invite the Mizukage to him through a messenger, under the pretext of discussing an important matter.

Since Mei was not there, he had to come up with an excuse.

And from the behavior of the elder's messenger, it became obvious that he was already aware of the AWOL Fifth Mizukage and her right hand Ao.

Probably the elder believed that his closest confidant knew where exactly the Mizukage was, so he sent a messenger to him.

But unfortunately... he didn't know, he really didn't know!

Out of hopelessness, Chōjūrō could only circle around the village gates, waiting for Mei and Ao.

Now he only hoped for the quick return of his Mizukage, otherwise they risked receiving another scolding from the elder.

With such depressing thoughts, Chōjūrō's gaze accidentally caught on a small dot on the horizon, rapidly rushing straight towards him.

The young shinobi's face changed sharply, but even before he could give a signal to the guards, a distant point instantly shortened the distance.

She came without the slightest rumble or wind, like an intangible ghost or illusion. One might even think that it came out of nowhere if Choujuro had not noticed the moment of flight.

- Ao? Mizukage-sama! – the guy exclaimed in surprise, getting a better look at the figures that appeared in front of him.

"Eh, after so many years... nothing much has changed," Yudao looked at the familiar village and said with a hint of nostalgia in his voice, placing Ao and Mei on the ground next to him.

And only then did Chōjūrō pay attention to the young man between the Fifth Mizukage and her right hand Ao, who immediately seemed inexplicably familiar to him. But no matter how hard the guy tried, he could not remember where he met this man.