Outside the Terumi Clan compounds,

Whoosh… ​​

Izuna flickers in front of the Clan compounds. The guards recognize him and let him in.

"Izuna-san… Fuji-sama is waiting for you. He has some important things to discuss with you."

One of the guards informs him.

Mmhm…

Izuna nods his head and enters the compound.

He senses Fuji's chakra signature and flickers towards him.

"Ao… I need you to deal with the rogue ninjas from the Noble clan. There are still a few remaining insurgents surfacing now and then."

Fuji orders Ao.

"Yes… Fuji-sama."

Ao nods his head and flickers out of the room.

Izuna enters the room.

"You were waiting for me… Dad."

Izuna smiles at Fuji.

"Ahem… who are you calling dad? You have yet to marry Mei. Anyway…"

Fuji clears his throat in embarrassment.

"I have an important task for you."

Fuji takes out a scroll from his pocket and passes it to Izuna.

"It has been one and a half year since the civil war in Kiri ended. During that time, many shinobi deserted the village. This scroll has a list of people who fled to Land of Fire."

"I see."

Izuna nods his head.

"I will take care of the matter."

Izuna assures Fuji.

He looks around for a while and searches around.

Fuji senses his gaze and answers him.

"Mei is in the Mizukage Office. She is still learning about the responsibilities of Mizukage. Elder Genji is assisting her with politics."

Haah…

Fuji cracks his neck and sits on the tatami floor.

"I don't want to burden her with too many responsibilities. Her mother's dying wish was to have a peaceful life for her."

Fuji closes his eyes as he reminisces some old memories.

He opens his eyes and turns to Izuna.

"I might not be as strong as you but if you dare to hurt my daughter's feeling then I would chase you till the end of the world. Even my ghost would haunt you for eternity."

Fuji has a serious expression on his face as he warns Izuna.

"Don't worry, dad! Her happiness would always be my priority."

Mmhm…

Fuji nods his head.

Whoosh…

Izuna flickers out of the room.

---------------

Inside Mizukage Office,

Mei is sitting on the Mizukage seat as she skims through the reports.

A frown appears on her face as she reads the report.

"The economy of the village has been on a decline since these past few years. The reign of the Fourth Mizukage sapped all of our resources."

She places down the report and rubs her forehead.

"The memories of the Bloody Mist still haunt the reputation of the village. No business executive is willing to invest their resources in our village."

"That's true…"

Elder Genji nods his head.

"To reform the village, we have to start from the internal policies and improve the image of Kirigakure in the eyes of the other nations."

"Hmm… but how? There are not many trustworthy people in Kirigakure and most of the higher-ups are corrupted."

Whoosh…

Izuna flicker inside the Mizukage Office.

The Anbu raises their guard as they surround Mei to protect her.

"It's fine! He is here."

Mei calms them down.

"Yo!… How are you doing?"

Izuna appears in front of Mei.

"Humph…" Mei angrily harrumphs at him.

"How many times have I told you to use the door to enter the office?"

"Well, it is faster this way."

Izuna scratches his head and chuckles.

"Anyway, jokes aside, I have a solution for your problem."

Izuna tosses the invitation scroll to her. Mei catches the scroll and curiously asks him.

"What do you mean? How can this scroll help Kiri with its reputation?"

"Open it up. You will get the answer." Izuna nods his head.

Hmm…

Mei opens the scroll and reads its content.

"A message from the Hokage…"

Her expression turns serious as he reads the content. She ponders for a while as she passes the scroll to Elder Genji.

"It has been a while since Kiri conducted its last Chunnin promotion exam. After the end of the chaotic civil war, the village lacked enough resources to conduct a chunnin exam.

The old method of bloody slaughter has left a bitter taste in the mouth of many of our elite shinobis. It's time for old rules to be replaced by the new one."

She turns to Elder Genji and questions him.

"Elder Genji! what do you think about this proposal?"

Elder Genji reads the scroll and nods his head.

"This might work…"

"Very well. Kirigakure will accept the invitation. It will help us improve our diplomatic relationship with the Land of Fire."

Mei takes out a scroll from her table and scribbles on it. Mei makes some hand signs and infuses her chakra and creates a seal on the scroll.

She tosses the scroll to Izuna.

"Kirigakure is ready for the collaborative chunnin exam."

Whoosh…

Izuna tosses the scroll in the air and stores it.

"With that out of the way, it's time for some serious business."

Izuna adopts a serious expression as his voice turns heavy.

Hmm…

Mei and Elder Genji's expression turns serious as they perk their ears to listen to the matter.

"Ahem…"

Izuna clears his throat and turns to Mei.

"So… after this, how about we go for a date? We can start with a mixed bath to relieve our stress and then we can walk among the streets of the Kiri as we try the local delicacy and later, we can have a candlelight dinner under the mellow and radiant moonlight."

Izuna stretches his arm in front of Mei.

"…"

Mei and Elder Genji silently stare at Izuna.

A blush appears on Mei's face as she hides it under her Mizukage hat.

Cough… cough…

Elder Genji coughs violently as he almost enters a seizure.

The hidden anbu members silently stare at Izuna as one of them takes out a diary from his pocket and writes something.

The other members turn towards him and questions him.

"What are you writing Hakuren?"

Ahem…

Hakuren clears his throat and replies.

"Every time Izuna-sama visits Mizukage-sama, he has a unique pickup line. Out of curiosity I tried it and proposed to my neighbor and guess what?"

"What?"

All of them perks up their ear.

"The girl liked it and accepted my proposal. Now I have made it a habit to write down every pickup line Izuna-sama uses in a diary."

He passes the diary to his fellow anbu members.

One of them grabs the diary and reads the title.

"A hundred ways to make a girl fall for you." He reads the title aloud.

"…"

All of them turn towards the anbu member.

"Destroy that diary this very instance or else…"

Mei clenches her fist as a lava ball appears in it.

Gulp…

"Yes, Mizukage-sama…"

The anbu member gulps his saliva and burns the diary with a fire release technique.

Mei nods her head.

She turns to Izuna and scolds him.

"You should stop with these pickup lines. They won't work on me anymore. Humph…"

Mei harrumphs at him.

"Well… isn't this reason you fall for me? If I remembered correctly, there was a certain someone who really liked my pickup line." Izuna smugly stares at Mei.

"Sss… stop… we won't talk about it anymore. As for your proposal, I accept it just forget the bathhouse part."

Mei places a finger on his mouth to shut him up.

"Ok! Fine with me."

Izuna shakes his shoulders.

Cough… cough…

Elder Genji coughs slightly.

"Miss Mei… we have a meeting with the merchant group regarding the new economic policy in a few hours. Please get ready for that."

Elder Genji reminds her.

"Well! I will take my leave now."

Izuna winks at Mei as he teleports from the Mizukage Office.

"This idiot…"

A slight smile blooms on her face.

Mei shakes her head as she turns to Elder Genji for the discussion of the incoming meeting.

-----------------

Whoosh…

Izuna teleports inside the Hokage Office.

"I am back."

"ORYAH…"

A punch greets him in return.

Boom…

He is sent flying out of the office as he breaks through the roof.

"HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU TO ENTER THROUGH THE DOOR?"

An angry Tsunade yells at him. She looks at the scattered paperwork as her anger rises by another notch.

"Tsunade-sama! We just recently fixed that roof."

Shizune tries to calm her down.

Humph…

"Cut it from his next mission pay."

Tsunade snorts as she collects the scattered paperwork.

------------------

A/N:- I have little to no experince with romantic writing. But I will try my best. The relationship will progress slowly with many funny bits like this. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Comment your thoughts on this chapter and suggest any improvements.