Yōkō arrived near the dam and hid in the woods on its side.
Yak quickly came over: "Squad Leader, it's not our target Yamashigeru. It's the Grand Custodians of the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind – their negotiations broke down!"
"Not Yamashigeru... Wait!" Yōkō said: "Who did you say? Whose negotiations broke down?"
Yak pointed towards a dock in the distance:
"Squad Leader, those two ships at the Low Valley Dock belong to nobles from the Land of Rain and the Land of Rivers."
"A Land of Rain noble is acting as witness. The Grand Custodians of the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind are discussing the water allocation from the Tsutamidani Dam here."
"The discussion broke down; both sides are dissatisfied with the water allocation."
"The Land of Rivers believes too much water is being diverted here at the Tsutamidani Dam, affecting the downstream flow of the Yoshimizu River."
"The Land of Wind believes they built the diversion channel according to the previous agreement with the several Daimyō, and there's no issue."
Yōkō stared at the two ships at the dock.
One ship flew the emblem of the Land of Rivers.
He didn't expect to see Koishi Chisa here again.
Yōkō said: "You continue gathering intelligence on the Iwa-nin Yamashigeru. I'll handle the conflict between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind."
"Understood, Squad Leader."
Yōkō formed hand seals, used the Earth Release: Fish in Earth Reflection Technique, and disappeared before Yak and the others.
Yak was stunned, thinking the Squad Leader's Earth Release is too strong, far stronger than mine.
After the Squad Leader entered the ground, I completely lost track of him.
Moving through the ground, the wide river, and the wooden ship hull, Yōkō entered Koishi Chisa's ship.
He didn't find Koishi Chisa immediately but saw two groups facing off tensely on the adjacent ship of the Land of Rain noble.
A face emerged from under the eaves of the ship's two-story tower structure – it was Yōkō's fox mask.
Yōkō looked towards the Land of Rain noble's ship.
On the deck, nobles from the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind were discussing in the rain.
The discussion yielded no results, and the guards each side brought nearly came to blows.
The Land of Rain noble to the side repeatedly tried to pacify both parties.
Water, the most useless thing for the Land of Rain, was a precious resource for other countries.
Under a large umbrella sat Koishi Chisa.
Koishi Chisa wore frameless glasses, making her features appear especially delicate.
What surprised Yōkō was that Koishi Chisa's hair was styled up.
For nobility, that was a symbol of a married woman or a mother.
Either she had married, or she had a child.
Yōkō's heart beat faster, a rare occurrence for him.
It was currently March, Konoha Year 41. He had left the Land of Rivers in April, Konoha Year 39.
It had been over a year and a half since he left Koishi Chisa. He didn't know what had happened to her.
Yōkō's hand materialized near a pillar. If the Land of Wind nobles threaten Chisa, I'll make them... make them experience the 'power' of the Iwa-nin Jōnin Yamashigeru.
Yōkō retreated into an empty room and unsealed an Iwa-nin flak jacket.
The Land of Wind nobles ultimately didn't resort to force. Persuaded by the Land of Rain noble, both sides withdrew.
Seeing Koishi Chisa was safe, Yōkō's figure vanished. He quickly went to the dam area, intending to investigate for Chisa.
There were gauge lines on the dam marking how much river water flowed through the diversion outlet.
These gauge lines were an important means for both sides to control the water volume.
Yōkō moved rapidly through the river water using the Ephemeral Technique, following the diversion channel all the way to the foot of the Yoshioka Mountain Range.
The limestone cave previously blocked by Battalion Commander Yellow Dog had been dug open again.
The Land of Wind had paid a considerable price.
River water roared as it fell into the cave.
Yōkō used the Ephemeral Technique, merging with the waterfall-like cascade pouring into the cave.
Descending about twenty meters, Yōkō suddenly saw five water outlets!
Besides the main large irrigation outlet at the top, there were actually five underground concealed pipes?
No wonder Chisa came here. The Suna-nin had secretly dug concealed pipes. Judging by their size, they were a full 3 meters high.
Yōkō followed one concealed pipe upwards and soon reached a certain point along the Yoshimizu River.
An extra opening had been created here, allowing river water to flow away from this point.
The Land of Wind had set up a small barrier here to prevent vortices from forming over the underwater pipe entrance.
After scouting four more times consecutively, Yōkō found the entrances to all five concealed pipes and marked them on a map.
He quickly returned to Koishi Chisa's ship.
Koishi Chisa was still busy late into the night, constantly calculating something on paper.
According to the dam's gauge lines, the water taken by the Land of Wind hadn't exceeded the limit. Yet, the water level in the main river channel downstream of the Yoshimizu River was far lower than expected.
No matter how Koishi Chisa calculated, she couldn't figure out why this situation occurred.
Just then, a whooshing sound came from above.
Koishi Chisa leaned back instinctively, thinking to dodge a kunai, but saw it was a scroll.
The scroll fell from the ceiling onto her desk.
Koishi Chisa stared at the ceiling. It showed no abnormalities, so why did a scroll suddenly appear?
She carefully opened the scroll and saw a map with five red circles marked near the Yoshimizu River.
Written near the red circles were: Underground Concealed Pipe Intakes!
Koishi Chisa was astonished. If there were underground concealed pipe intakes, then she had been completely looking in the wrong direction by focusing solely on the Tsutamidani Dam.
Who was warning her?
Chisa suddenly turned and saw a person slowly materializing on the wall panel of the tower ship behind her!
He was wearing a fox mask!
"Kōji... no, Fox! Is it you?"
After the war ended, Chisa had been gathering intelligence on Konoha.
She finally learned from Land of Fire nobles that an extremely powerful Anbu had appeared in Konoha, known as Copper Fox, whom the Land of Fire nobles called the Anbu's top fighter.
That Copper Fox was her Fox, the Fox who helped her build the hydroelectric power station!
He used the alias Kōji in front of her and wore a fox mask.
"Long time no see, Miss Chisa."
Chisa stood up abruptly, her chair falling to the floor.
The maid outside the door heard the noise and asked: "Miss, what happened?"
Yōkō felt a wave of relief. The maid addressed Chisa as 'Miss,' indicating she hadn't married.
Chisa said: "Have everyone leave the second and third floors of the tower ship. No one is to approach!"
Chisa walked slowly towards Fox, then quickened her pace the last few steps, throwing herself into Fox's arms.
After a year and a half apart, the bitterness in Chisa's heart made it hard to know where to begin.
Yōkō took off his mask, revealing his eyes and the lower face cover, then picked Chisa up.
He was about to head to the bed when Chisa said: "To... to the desk. Our reunion should be... just like when we parted..."
When they parted, Chisa learned of Fox's identity as a Konoha Anbu and had kept her back turned to her lover.
This reunion felt just as familiar, just the same.
Half an hour later, amidst waves and tremors, Yōkō was satisfied.
"Fox, why didn't you come to see me?"
"My missions are demanding, I'm sorry. Konoha ninja can't leave the village without a mission."
"Then... do you know our child is already 1 year old?"
Yōkō was stunned: "What?!"
One year old? He wouldn't have Byakugan or Sharingan potential, would he? I wouldn't be able to clear my name even if I jumped into the Nakano River.
***
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(Chapter End)