The Terumi Family Complex

[Miyako]

THE TERUMI COMPLEX

The Terumi complex is a large, sprawling set of homes surrounded by a fence and the ocean. It has it's own shrine, which has fallen out of use in recent years in favor of the new Church. There is a local graveyard situated a short distance from the head house, where Terumi's have been buried for generations.

[Miyako]

It was an easy trip from the Rusty Kunai to her current location- her old home. She had been born here, raised here, and would eventually be buried here as well. So many memories filled her head as she looked upon her family grounds nostalgically. Her sister would hopefully follow her as she made her way past her home, towards the graveyard. Solemn, sad, she grieved quietly for her mother and father, departed from this world. She squeezed her sisters hand as they passed the gates into the graveyard. They were close once again, to their parents.

"It's been so long since they died, but each time I come here, the wound always feels so fresh..." she murmured quietly as she absently rubbed her side where her scar was located, though both knew she didn't speak of physical wounds. Finally, they stood before their parents.

"Mother... Father..." she whispered, her voice shaky.

[shirayuri]

Shirayuri didn't like to think about death. It was the anti-thesis to consciousness, life, and everything that made the mind what it was. The truth was when it came to the issue of life and death, the Church of Latter-Day Rising Mist had few answers. The Book of Hope mentioned the Pure World but only in passing. Some speculated that the Pure World was the Godly reality that man had lived before the commission of the Great Crime. Yet, the Church officially maintained an honest opinion of uncertainty. When asked by the faithful if one's loved ones were in a better place the High Shepherd of Kirigakure gave the honest answer she was capable of giving someone: "I don't know". The Church taught that when the time for ascension was near, humanity would be able to cooperate and unravel the mysteries of this reality. The Mist of the world would become familiar and with it the mysteries of life and death. Until such time the Church would minister to the living minds so that they may know peace while they are conscious.

The two arrived at the Terumi Complex. It was a grand structure befitting one of the most noble houses in the entire village. It extended beyond Miyako and Shirayuri to include a number of cousins, uncles, and in-laws who thought it prudent to marry into such an ancient family. The family graveyard was quiet but others had been there. The flowers and offerings were evidence that their parents commanded respect in the Clan's affairs. Miyako remarked that it had been a long time since they had passed and it was the truth. Shirayuri had thrown herself into propagating the faith but after many auditing sessions she had come to terms with the fact that Latter-Day Rising Mist was her way of filling the void that they left inside. Shirayuri placed an arm over her sister's shoulder as they faced their parents together.

What would they say?

Father did not approve of Miyako's sullen behavior after mother's death and he abhorred the "cult" that Shirayuri had joined at a young age. He had done his best after mom's death but the truth was that the tragedy had broken him. His skill as a ninja suffered and many in the Bloody Mist thought him and his household as an easy mark. Miyako proved them wrong. Shirayuri hardly remembered their mother but from what she could surmise from her auditing sessions, the woman was a beautiful paragon of charity and love. She had brought the best out of their father and if there any doubt where Shirayuri got her good nature from it was no doubt that it came from her mother. Shirayuri would like to think that Mom would have approved of her finding solace in the Church even if their father had hardened his heart to its odd ways. Either way, both of them would be proud that their children had become successful shinobi with their second eldest daughter as Mizukage of the entire village. When Shirayuri was given the position she swore that the days of the Bloody Mist would end. No longer would a weak man's family be considered spoils for the stronger. The Mizukage had made headway but tradition was harder to fight then people. No matter how powerful she and her sister was, their father's failure to protect them when they needed him most cast a mark of shame on their branch of the family. No one dared said it openly lest they face Miyako's wrath but many thought it as the sisters walked into a family meeting. It didn't matter to Shirayuri for their father had fought with honor and their mother passed bringing new life into the world. She was proud of them and always would be. She squeezed her sister's shoulder tightly to reassure her that all would be okay.

"They always loved us. To the very end."

[Miyako]

Bent over, she traced the names on the grave with her fingers, frowning softly. She spoke without moving, "They would be proud of you, you know. Their daughter, the Mizukage. Even Dad, regardless of how he saw the church. He'd be so proud of you. I know I am." She stood back up, and smirked at the other Terumi. "You have me to thank for that, of course. You'd never have had the guts to challenge that sour puss for the throne otherwise." She grinned teasingly at her sister, trying to distract herself.

[shirayuri]

Shirayuri couldn't help but smile. Humility was the mark of a good priest in the eyes of the Church. She was by far the most skilled user of Genjutsu in the entirety of the Hidden Mist and still retained the elements of Fire and Water Release which she had yet to perfect. The second eldest Terumi daughter had always been good at deceit and trickery but she loathed using it to destroy other people. Unfortunately in the ninja world such demands were not only common their fulfillment was a necessity. Shirayuri knew that father would be proud of her accomplishments but for some reason hearing that her big sister was proud filled her with more joy than anything else at the moment. The Mizukage blushed but shook the feeling off almost as quickly as it came. She remained stoic and raised an eyebrow at Miyako's playful comment. It certainly contained elements of truth as much as she hated to admit it. Now that she was the military leader of the village she had learned that decisive action was required but prior to that Shirayuri was quite naive. Even when the old coot had marked her a deranged "Witch of the Wetlands", Shirayuri wanted to beleive that he could be a good Kage if only he'd let the Church guide him.

It took Miyako, the Terumi Clan, and the Church's leadership to convince her otherwise. However most of the credit had to go to Miyako for consistently pressuring her sister to live up to her talents. Miyako worked Shirayuri in a way that no auditor or guide could. She played on her sense of justice and downplayed her longing for mercy and cooperation between the Old Guard and the Church. It took time but when all was said and done the Clan was united behind her for the position of Mizukage. The council could not stop then and nor can the various lords and barons around the Land of the Water. The victory was inevitable but the cost came at the price of so many minds lost. Some say there is an asylum underneath the Somatology Laboratory that contains the men that had opposed them via more violent means. Their minds utterly dashed as they convulsed in a fleshy shell that was as alien to them as they had been to the Church. Shirayuri and the Church took no pride in what they had to do. Those men were dangerous and sick. Many of them were directly responsible for a laundry list of crimes under the Bloody Mist and Shirayuri believed mercy extended to only those who were repentant. Yet, despite her reluctance in what she had done, the Mist seemed to love it. It was proof that the Church and their new Mizukage weren't soft. The street cred had been "earned" in some sense although there were others that remained unimpressed. It was this silent reflection that caused her to pause in answering Miyako.

"You're right" she said with a sad smile. "I never could have done any of this without you. Even when we faced off against the Seven Swordsmen. I didn't think I could do it..you know, that thing" She was of course referring to the institutionalization of many of the organization's senior members who had chosen to fight for the Old Guard. Their minds had been put to the metaphysical torch so to speak. Whilst Miyako ensured that if or whenever the brains recovered they would have few limbs with which to move. They wouldn't be a factor in the new village that was to be created. "But what we were up against. Those people, I didn't want to hurt them. But I would never let them continue destroying generations of shinobi with their wickedness". It was a somber statement but a true one. Shirayuri firmly believed them to be lost and under the sway of the Adversary. A mind was a terrible thing to waste but better it be destroyed than it be used to inflict misery on another. "You remember it right? The days of the Bloody Mist" Shirayuri didn't want to poison the atmosphere with such memories at this point she was speaking almost hypnotically as she had horrid flashbacks to the carnage of her Academy graduation ceremony.

[Miyako]

She remembered those days all too well. The horrifying days of constant bloodshed. Everything was so horrible then.

Screaming was heard in the distance as little bodies fell in the rain.

She remembered little Mitsu, who just wanted to protect Kirigakure with everything she had.

"Please don't, Miyako-chan!" The girl cried out in fear, holding a white bone in front of her defensively.

She remembered the light leaving her eyes.

The little girl ay there, blood seeping out from her pale body, staining the floor red with her crimson life. Her stomach had been melted off.

Miyako shut her eyes. It was over now. No one else would have to kill their friends. She let out of a soft sigh. "The seven swordsmen were almost worse. Those weapons were too powerful to remain in the hands of relentless murders like them. They were dogs, not even human anymore." Miyako felt like that sometimes still, too. Like a monster. But everything she did, it was for Kiri. "Do you remember?

[shirayuri]

Shirayuri closed her eyes as she shuddered. She had put most of her graduating class to sleep. It would be painless she told herself. They'd go to sleep and wake up in the Pure World. The young girl remembered forming the seals and executing a series of illusions, those that refused to fall unconscious were filled with the sudden desire to turn their blade on someone else rather than the quiet girl in the corner holding a seal. She stared as they wrecked havoc on each other completely oblivious to the fact that she had not yet even born a single scar. Those who slept had their throats slit as gently as she could manage but even if the throes of blissful illusion they gargled and awoke in a fury as the pain sent them back into reality just before their deaths. There was no such thing as a "clean kill". That is what the Academy instructors had told them before the graduation ceremony. The Bloody Mist was called the Bloody Mist for a reason. No matter how hard you tried your fellow classmates would bleed and their deaths would be agonizingly painful. No one in the Academy had the finesse to achieve a kill with minimal cruelty and bloodshed. The Council knew this and encouraged the slaughter as a means of psychological conditioning. Shirayuri had been audited countless times and she had audited hundreds yet the trauma that their collective conscious had endured could not be healed so easily.

"I remember" she said as a single tear dropped from her eye. It ruined the mascara but she didn't care about her make-up at a time like this. She wiped it instantly. No Kage, not even a religious one was afforded the luxury of tears. Least of all the Mizukage. She needed to be strong for this village.

The Seven Swordsman were the worst of the worst. Chosen from among those who had killed the most number of their classmates. They were renown for their brutality and savagery in warfare. Children, pregnant women, the elderly...it didn't matter to them. There were said to engage in rituals in so depraved that the Church had no choice to openly condemn them even in its earliest days. Shirayuri didn't like to liken the minds of animals to men. A man's mind would always be superior but it could be corrupted. "They were worse than dogs. They were demons". The Seven Swordsmen's weapons were a sight to behold and Shirayuri had been raised to fear them. But with the light of the Church backing her she felt no fear, only righteous anger. Some of the Seven Swordsmen laid down their arms when Shirayuri had become Mizukage. Only two...and a half. The third being split by his comrades for bowing down to a Witch. The other four went to war against House Terumi, the Church, and their supporters. Two of which were killed in combat and the other two remained in the asylum driven utterly insane.

Shirayuri had dreaded growing up ever since she heard about the graduation ceremony. She dreaded having to kill her best friends, she dreaded having to kill other people period. But even as father's spirit as a warrior perished with his wife, he was adamant that the two would become powerful kunoichi. The Terumi did not accept failure and Shirayuri feared his temper more than she feared her classmates. But in time fear would be replaced with faith. The faith that after all was said and done, humanity would change. The Adversary and his followers would be defeated and mankind was ascend into the stars. Man would become a God once more and he'd rule the universe with his spirit brothers for eternity. It seemed like the stark raving of a lunatic but it kept her going when she needed it most. In the mean time, there was a lot to do and little time to do it. The sisters had gotten their far together only by doing what was necessary. "We did what we had to do to put a stop to them. I don't regret any of it."

[Miyako]

"Neither do I/ Not a bit of it..." She trailed off, remembering eberything like it was yesterday....



FLASHBACK TIME MOTHERFUCKA!!!!!!!


They were in the middle of a light taijutsu spar. It was neither of their specialties, thus, it was the obvious choice for them to choose to fight with against the other. Miyako's right arm was in the air, the hand cupped and curved like the stinger of a scorpion. Her left weaved back and forward in front of her, trying to draw attention to the hand and fingers. It was a basic distraction technique. Her knees were bent and she leaned forward slightly, anticipating any movement. "You should be Mizukage, little sister." she spoke plainly, as she often did during their spars. It was a good way to release tension in their body and have a conversation at the same time, all while keeping their bodies in perfect shape.

"The Mist will die if nothing changes. It needs you." She began to shift towards the left in a circle around her sister, her feet and body not even moving as she used chakra manipulation to force herself in an arc over the lake's surface, not even a ripple of water signifying her motion. It was water walking to an extreme level.

[shirayuri]

[Le Flashback Mode On!!!!]

Shirayuri's stance was that of an amateur boxer. It was the best she could do really as the girl wasn't very good with physical combat. Miyako insisted on the sparring session as they could fight on an somewhat even playing field without having to rely on their strengths. The younger sister was much more frail and physically unfit than her older sister and she had the bruises to prove it. The goth was wearing mesh (her favorite fabric), black shorts, and ninja scandals. The intricate application of make-up was missing from her coutenance only because Miyako would go out of her way to muck it up as she always did when they fought. Although Shirayuri couldn't help but put a thin line of black lipstick on her lips if only so that she could have something to match with her raven dark hair. It was far from her more elaborate choice of attires but it fit for the occasion. Her eyes stayed on Miyako's core watching every detail of her sister's body for the slightest twinge of muscle. Miyako's basic distraction technique wouldn't work now that the kunoichi was far older and wiser. She preferred Genjutsu but was more than capable of holding her own with her bare hands now that she was a Jounin. What through her off was not some juvenile Taijutsu trick but her sister's bold comment.

"No" Shirayuri said adamantly. It was a subject that had come up often between them. As well as between her, the Clan and the Church. She was a master of Genjutsu and a fearsome opponent to even the strongest in Kirigakure. She had recently accepted the title of Low Shepherd and was studying the Water Element under the tutelage of a Church leader. It wasn't a question of capability, it was a question of respect.

"I can serve the Mist without starting a Civil War..." Shirayuri spoke but kept her eyes on her sister's movement adjusting her body accordingly and inching towards Miyako as she did. It would be a quick series of jabs, they wouldn't hurt a lot but if she could get Miyako off balance then there might be some hope that she wouldn't be at the receiving end of an ass whooping. The Low Shepherd breathed calmly as she felt the Mist encroaching on them both metaphysically and literally. "Old Man Shin and most of the council don't see a problem. But if we talk to them, if we can get them to sit down with the Church then may-" Shirayuri didn't finish her words. It was a pipe dream at this point. The vandalization of shrines, the lynching of priests, and the overall anti-Church platforms of Shin did the talking. He vowed to ramp up the Bloody Mist's traditions not gradually phase them out. The time for talking was at an end and Shirayuri knew that as well as she knew that Miyako liked to make the first move.

"It doesn't matter if I should be or not. Making a bid for it will only make things worst, its better to try and appeal to the common people to demand reforms rather than taking over village"

[Miyako]

Her black-painted lips pursed in a scowl as she suddenly shimmied forward rapidly, after shifting almost out of Shirayuri's line of sight. Air was displaced as the jounin moved rapidly towards her beloved little sister. Her hand, no longer waving flashed forward in a knife-handed jab to her kidney, though it would be a feint as her other hand, above her, also swooped in like a scorpion's sting aimed at the back of her head. Both attacks could be painful, but only if Shirayuri let them hit. Miyako knew her sister wouldn't. She shied away from violence, but she wouldn't just sit there and be attacked. No Terumi would.

"Old Shin is an evil man. If you managed to get him to sit down for talks, it would only be at a table where your throat was slit. We don't even need a war. Get a seat on the council, and we'll make a Vote of No Confidence. If you can get on the council, you can become Mizukage. Kirigakure NEEDS you, sister! The common people need you! They don't have the power to change this system, but we do. YOU do." Her knee drove up as well, leaving her on one foot, her left hand aimed at a kidney, the right hand aimed at her head and her knee at the small of her back. A three pronged assault, just like they would lead on the Mizukage. Her left hand, Herself. Her right, Shirayuri. Her knee would be the Church. The people would keep them grounded and support them, just like her left foot on the water. It was simple and efficient.

[shirayuri]

It only took a second. In a flash, Miyako was moving towards her and the slighest displacement of water and rushing wind told her exactly where she would strike. It was less an innate sense of precognition and was more an inherent familiarity with her sister's fighting style and the fact that she happened to be razor sharp focused. The Mist was almost upon them and the area outside of their immediate range was very cloudly. Shirayuri spun around and blocked the strike aimed at the back of her head and grabbed her sister's forearm with her free hand. She held her for a split second but was not strong enough to restrict the kunoichi's movement for any significant amount of time. Miyako had momentum on her side and she'd need to react quickly if she didn't want to end up on the ground in pain. In that moment the two had locked eyes and Miyako said something that would change the course of their lives forever. It was a tough thing to hear but it was resoundingly true. The Mist would not get any better under Old Man Shin's reign no matter how much the Church pleaded with the bitter shinobi he wouldn't stop until it was destroyed.

The sharp knee to the stomach was a bit unexpected but rather than tense up she went with the flow allowing the momentum to send her backwards. It was painful but Shirayuri could tolerate it without completely losing her balance. The so called "Witch of the Wetlands" merely winced and used her left leg as a support before throwing a haymaker to the side of Miyako's head. "Blocking Old Man Shin will set him off. Winning the council seat is one thing but if I seriously try to go for Mizukage, how many members of the Church will die? I can't be everywhere at once Miyako! I can't spiritually help my people and fight Shin at the same time!" Shirayuri was still young, she hadn't even come close to finding a suitor and the longer she remained in the Church was the longer she realized having a family of her own wasn't what she wanted. She wanted to minister to the people and serve them as a High Shepherd. How could she defend an entire village and run a Church at the same time? It wasn't possible. Deep down Shirayuri felt as though her sister was asking something far more important of her. The mere thought of it caused her to step forward again jutting out her elbow and trying to slam it into her chest to knock the kunoichi backwards.

"You're asking me to choose..." Shirayuri looked into Miyako's eyes. The words were said coldly. Kirigakure needed her but how best could she serve them? "Kirigakure needs me. But what do they need me to be? A military commander or a spiritual leader? You want me to choose Miyako...and you know I can't do that" It was the god-honest truth. As talented as the young girl was she did not feel up the challenge of taking on the responsibilities as both High Shepherd of Kirigakure and Mizukage. The subject had been broached between her and the current High Shepherd of the village. His answer was cryptic but contained truth.

When the Mist is upon you, you don't get to choose whose hand you hold and how you hold it.

Kirigakure was a complex village. A place where people longed for blood but fought in the name of peace. A village where they reviled in their sin yet still somehow craved redemption. They wanted to have their cake and eat it too. Far be it from a Shepherd to judge though. Shirayuri would need to lead them somehow. Her Church was seen as a strange cult to many. She would need to find to take their hands and guide them through the Mist. They might squirm, they might protest, they might yank their hand back but leaving them behind wasn't her decision to make. She would not move forward until she had them both in her hands. The most loyal of religious acolytes and the most stubborn of sinners. Anyone who try to cut her off from them with malicious intent would be destroyed without mercy. She swore these things to herself and yet...

"I can't do it Miyako. I can't be both. I'm a healer not a warrior"

[Miyako]

Her hands were released when her knee connected, sending the younger kunoichi back a few steps. She retaliated with a haymaker, one which would lay Miyako out if it connected. This time, the younger sister had the advantage. The jounin lifted both hands to block, but the blow still rattled her. She was a bit off balance, as her leg hadn't gotten back into a good position in time. Instead of just falling, she allowed herself to drop into the water below, vanishing into the dark, murky depths under them.

Suddenly, hands gripped the ankles of Shirayuri, and pulled hard, yanking her underwater while Miyako rocketed to the surface, using the element of surprise to drive her knee into her temple as she passed. The blow, underwater, would of course me muted, but it would still be effective if it worked. Completely dry because of of advanced use of water walking all over her body to repel the water, she spoke to where her sister was once standing. "Kiri needs you to be both. The day you put on that headband, you became both. And you must become both again, to finally heal yourself. Take a life in the name of justice, to atone for the lives you took to stand where you are today. Put down that murderer, so that you can save countless more." She paused, then strafed to the right, avoiding whatever Shirayuri was bound to be planning down there. "If you don't, then there will be no church. The people need a leader. You can lead the church and Kiri, and make them one."

[shirayuri]

Shirayuri's attack was successful but Miyako used the momentum to fall into the water itself. The Shepherd knew what was coming next and she responded in kind with a cartwheel away but it wasn't quick enough and instead of grabbing her ankles Miyako had managed to take a hold of her wrists instead pulling her into the depths but not before connecting a solid knee to the temple. Shirayuri saw stars and sank to the depths. They were people of the Isles, and so the Terumi could hear her sister from below the shallow waters. Shirayuri held her breath and reflected in the water. Shirayuri did not want the Kiri headband and all the baggage that came with it. She accepted it because her family wanted her to do just that and she did not yet know of another way to make it in this cruel world. Family was all one could count on in the Bloody Mist and even that was on the strict condition of absolute loyalty. If she chose not to participate in shinobi life she was useless to her household and that meant she'd be shunned and left to fend for herself in a village that consumed pretty little girls like candy. It was her duty to stand by her family but then she met the Church.

Shirayuri felt a joyful peace that she had never experienced before during her first auditing session. The priest had lulled her mind and the flashing scenes of trauma were worked through, understand, and cataloged. She made a fierce moral inventory of her mental state and through rigorous prayer and meditation she was able to eliminate them. Her mind was still a Mist but one she had grown to love and live in just as the Book of Hope dictated. But Miyako was right. This wasn't just about her. Like it or not, she had accepted Kiri headband. There was no changing the past and that meant she had a duty to the village that was just as valid as her duty to the Church. Miyako was moving around on the surface careful to avoid an counter-attack. But Shirayuri gave no sign of consciousness. No bubbles rose to the surface and the waters were eerily still. It was as though the Shepherd had drowned.

The Mist crept in.

The thick fog would envelope the area around Miyako so that it was difficult to see. Shirayuri sulked in the waters as she struggled with the facts Miyako had laid out. Shin could not get away with what he was doing. And even if being Mizukage and Great Shepherd tore her in two, she had to at least try. The two had to become one. United not in purpose but under her leadership. It wasn't just about the village's survival or the Church's survival. A village could be rebuilt. A Church could be replaced. When people died, they stayed dead. And so Shirayuri decided to be Kiri's all. If they needed a warrior she'd be that. If they needed a healer she'd be that. It wasn't going to be easy but it really was the only way to move forward in her life. It wouldn't be right to abandon either institution out of fear or some misplaced faith in the charity of others. Confident her decision, Shirayuri rose.

It was silent and she did so in a crouched manner from behind her sister. In a swift movement she performed a sweep kick before back flipping less than a meter away from Miyako. The water slid off of her as she used the same technique to stay dry. The Mist was thick but Shirayuri could see through it as clear as ever. "Okay..."

"I'll do it. But promise me this Miyako...Promise me that you'll do it on my terms"

She stood straight, hands balled into fist. She was hardly focused on the fight but the pent up aggression against the Bloody Mist's government was slowing pouring out. The infamous Terumi temper was reaching a boiling point.

"No violence. Not a single drop of blood unless they strike first. We take our case to the people with words not blades"

[Miyako]

It was slow, the mist's approach. So focused on her sister, the jounin was caught unawares as it rolled in slowly. She only noticed it when she noticed her sister had not surfaced. Just as she was about to go in to rescue her, thinking she might have drowned and that head shot had done more than she thought, there was movement. Miyako was too late to do anything about it as the sweeping kick connected and she face planted into the water. She scissored her legs in her sister's general direction, but had missed as he sprung back away after her attack had landed. The kunoichi was proud of her sister. Her taijutsu and stealth had really improved.

Slowly, she rose again, looking intently at the future Mizukage. Slowly, she fell to one knee, and bowed her head, her arm in front of her submissively. "I promise, no bloodshed. Not even a drop, Mizukage-sama," she lied.

FLASHBACK END

[shirayuri]

Shirayuri breathed a sigh of releif of her sister's agreement. She could be stubborn but Shirayuri wasn't about to budge on this issue of all issues. It had to be peaceful or what better were they? The people needed to see a Mizukage that aspired for peace but not at the price of unnecessary bloodshed. Shirayuri walked to her sister and took her hand, bidding her to stand up so that the two may see eye to eye. "I'm not Mizukage yet..." When Miyako met her eyes, the two would walk through the Mist together."Cmon, we have lots of work to do". Although one probably couldn't see it through the Mist, Shirayuri was smiling. It was not something the Witch of the Wetlands was known to do but a deep part of her wanted to be Mizukage. She wanted to be known as the strongest. But she wanted more than strength, she wanted peace.

FLASHBACK FIN

Shirayuri stifled a grin as she remembered how persuasive Miyako had been. The two were just a pair of Jounin from an old family. The thought of them taking on the Old Guard was considered a joke by a few in the Clan. But none of their siblings laughed and those close enough to their branch knew that once they had set their minds to it there was no stopping them. The Terumi fell in line and backed their own. The Church always supported Shirayuri but a few priests didn't like the idea of mixing politics and faith. The Shepherds overruled them and in a matter of months they were a force to reckon with. When Shin couldn't muster the support for Mizukage, he resorted to the lowest tactic he had available: Assassination. Everyone expected Shin to play his hand when he lost the bid for the position. No one expected the Seven Swordsmen to brazenly follow him in his quest. The tradition was that the Seven Swordsmen were mere extensions of the weapons themselves and that they served at the pleasure of the village's Kage. The corruption in the Mist was brought to full light when Yori of the Mist was brutally murdered by his fellow Swordsmen when he swore his allegiance to the Church. It was a dark time and it was her first test as the new leader of Kirigakure.

"That pact. We swore no bloodshed...Its proof that no matter how bad things get here. We will never be like them. They saw this village as a means to an end. And they'd torch Kiri if it meant they could be lords of its ashes. You don't regret it do you?" Shirayuri was of course referring to their elimination. In some cases physically and others mentally. She knew the answer but she craved reassurance.