It actually surprised me on how close I came to just killing them both.
The plan was simple, I knew that Kirigakure wasn't that stable at the moment, so I would show up and encourage Mei to leave, I was calm enough to realize that just removing Kiri from one day to the other would be a terrible idea.
It would lead to countless deaths and an instant war as everyone from big to small moved to claim as much of the Land of Water as possible, which would be bad for literally everyone that wasn't the higher ups of those factions.
And while I would never claim to be a pacifist, I liked to believe I wasn't the kind of monster that would look at thousands of deaths caused by my own actions and say, 'Oh well, sucks to be you.'
But I came so close to just crushing both of them, they didn't care that they were, in their eyes, invading a peaceful country, they just cared that it was ordered by people that they didn't like, I wasn't expecting them to be heroes, but it was still disappointing sometimes how apathetic people could be.
I did go a bit overboard in the end, though, I feel like I could have been much more efficient in how I convinced them, but fuck it, I was pissed.
So now, with everything settled, I focused back on The Order.
Everyone was doing so well, the Otogakure war was... honestly? Pretty easy, it wasn't really even a war, we did lose a few people, but I knew that Orochimaru was neglecting his village, it was just a side project to help him, not a proper Shinobi village, his people were weak.
Not to mention, we had the element of surprise and that it was pretty easy to plan around his plans, once I was confident in taking out Orochimaru, the rest was clean-up.
But this fight with Kiri was a whole other game, this was an established power fighting a newborn faction.
Even if Kiri competing with the spot of weakest village with Suna due to Obito holding a grudge, it was still a Great Village, I was expecting casualties to be higher, especially since I was thinking of letting The Order handle it without much interference, but I would decide once I saw how strong the Kiri army was.
Fucking Obito, I was tempted to just go up to Zetsu and strike a deal, just so I could kill the bastard sooner, but no, it was unfair to all the people in Kiri that agreed with the war, they would not be spared because I had bigger fish to fry.
Besides, I doubt Zetsu would accept such a deal, he was way too cautious to just trust me, better let things play out until Kaguya's revival, and then kill the bastard.
I would say I regret starting the Otogakure war, but letting Orochimaru have any time to scheme would have been a bad idea.
The benefits from winning that war were massive as well, long term I just got two, maybe three, hopefully four, future Clans.
Karin was already growing fond of The Order, but considering her background and circumstances, that wasn't surprising.
Jūgo was already going to stay here forever, he got attached to Shun and the Crow Clan incredibly quickly, which again, considering his background, was not surprising.
Suigetsu was a work in progress, but my plan was to have Zabuza beat him up until he liked us, that would probably work, right?
That whole thing was on hold for now, since the invasion was going to happen soon, so all the military officers were busy with preparations.
And lastly, Sasuke was a definite maybe, I could see him staying, he was having fun with that weirdness singularity that is Gozu and Meizo's restaurant, that place even confused me half the time.
But... he could also go back to Konoha, I would not underestimate Naruto's dog like charisma.
So Karin was a yes, Suigetsu was a likely yes and Jūgo was a definite yes.
I just didn't know if Jūgo was actually capable or willing to start his own Clan, the idea of him getting together with someone was something my mind did not want to imagine.
Actually...
He did have the gentle giant thing going on...
I should stop thinking about this because this thought process was starting to lead to places I didn't want to visit.
I refuse to become the annoying matchmaker, absolutely not, that was reserved for annoying aunts and uncles.
To avoid the evil places my mind was wandering too, I focused back on The Order and everything that needed doing.
***
Sasuke was walking down the street, almost running, he wasn't the only one rushing about either, everyone around him was busy as well.
This entire city reminded him of a hornet's nest that had been hit with a stick, which was not an unfair comparison, Kiri had certainly stirred up the metaphorical hive.
He was angry about it, he was happy here, just as he started truly getting into the rhythm of his new life, someone had to come and threaten it.
So he was going to help defend Wave.
He spotted the restaurant in the distance, it was closed and empty, but Sasuke didn't care about that.
With barely restrained frustration, he pushed open the door, ringing the bell at the top.
But instead of seeing the usual sight of Saiken manning the counter and Gozu and Meizo cooking up some random food for today's menu, he found himself staring at three people sitting down at one of the tables.
Gozu and Meizu looked serious, but they were still calm, while Saiken seemed more resigned than anything else.
"You're late." The latter said bluntly, gesturing to the seat in front of them. "Sit."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow but did as he was asked, slowly sitting down and glancing between the three.
Sasuke was coming here to tell them that he was going to be leaving the restaurant to help with the defense, but it seemed like they already had an idea of that.
"What's going on?" He asked bluntly.
Gozu leaned back in his chair, tapping his finger on the table lightly.
"The restaurant is closing for now, at least until this war is over." He said calmly. "Me and Meizo decided we are volunteering, which will probably end with us fighting."
That was not what Sasuke wanted to hear, he had hoped all three of them stayed well away from the fighting.
"Couldn't you stay back? You don't have to fight." Sasuke tried to argue, but even as he spoke, he already knew it was pointless.
If anything, these two were stubborn, and slightly insane.
"Nah, kid." Meizo said, his usual loudness absent from his voice. "There are two outcomes here, if Kiri wins, then it's over for us, we haven't exactly been hiding it, but we are Missing-Nin from there, so It's either sit back and hope The Order wins or do something about it."
Sasuke wasn't surprised that they were from Kiri originally, they hadn't exactly hidden that they were Shinobi.
"And we aren't the type that just sit back." Gozu followed up. "We like it here, this place is our home now, and we will fight for it."
Sasuke was silent, trying to think of a way to convince them otherwise, but he came up empty.
Saiken spoke up after a moment.
"You're going too, aren't you?" He asked Sasuke quietly.
Sasuke was silent for another moment, before nodding.
"I was coming here to tell you guys." He admitted. "I... I like it here."
"Of course ya do! Our restaurant is the best!" Meizo boasted loudly, but even his boast lacked its usual volume and strength.
"I'm going too." Saiken spoke again, drawing all attention to himself. "I can fight too."
"No."
"Absolutely not."
"Fuck off, twig."
Sasuke, Gozu and Meizu immediately denied him.
"What? Why not?" Saiken asked indignantly.
"The restaurant needs someone to look after it."
"You aren't good at fighting."
"Too soft."
The three of them spoke up together, overlapping each other.
Saiken frowned and stood up suddenly, slamming his hand on the table angrily.
"I am the strongest one here!" He said furiously. "If anyone should stay back, it's you three!"
Meizo raised an eyebrow and smirked slightly, leaning forward threateningly.
"Oh really? Ya want to test that?" He asked aggressively, staring Saiken down.
Saiken's arm did that weird boneless swing he sometimes did and smacked Meizo in the face with surprising strength.
Before Sasuke could even blink, Meizo leaped over the table and slammed into Saiken, sending them both tumbling onto the ground as they grappled and fought.
Gozu watched quietly for a moment before standing up.
"If I had to guess, that means we're all fighting." He said bluntly, entirely ignoring the two idiots fighting on the floor. "Let's meet back up here in two hours, get everything you need for a fight."
Sasuke reluctantly nodded, before looking back at the pair fighting on the floor.
Gozu and Sasuke both sighed simultaneously.