He followed Ao who was bringing the Mizukage with him. It was a silent march. The Kiri Shinobi was soon accompanied by others asking him questions of what the ever living was going on, most already gathered due to the ruckus they had caused. Itachi himself stayed in the shadows, merged with them, it was what he knew best. 

Stay hidden. 

It had not been difficult to learn, with Taukikos and Gene's brilliance overshadowing him. That was what he liked when working with his friends, he was capable of doing things his way how he preferred them. Silently. Calmly. Patiently. More so than his Captain and friend who could switch from slow and undercover to a booming avalanche in a split second, or Gene who simply steam rolled what came her way with brute force. 

Internally, he accessed all the information he had on the various Clans. 

The Hoshigaki Clan. Water Jutsu users, shark like features, most have bluish skin, razor sharp teeth and grills on their bodies. That aside, they are known to be fairly skilled swordsman.

Hozuki Clan, they can turn their bodies into liquid, also water manipulation experts and their fair share of oddballs share the lineage. 

Karatachi Family, a family of skilled swordsman. Feared and considered nuisances during peace times, in times of war, one of Kiris albeight smaller but most influential Shinobi Families. Also, the current Kages family.

Last but not least, the Funato and the Daimyo Families. The Funatos are pirates and the Daimyo is the political force in the village. 

And then there are a few singular noteworthy Shinobi of great skill. 

Signing Itachi followed Ao who was speeding up more and more. Their First stop was at the Kages office, and then they toured the Clan. The sights were varying, some looked like glorious places, others simple but clean. Then they went from the various singular Shinobi. It were pitifully few, Itachi always thought it was strange how a Village like Kiri could end in such a state. 

The most interesting, and only noteworthy, one among the lone Shinobi was a woman called Mai Terumi. She was tall, pale skinned and had auburn hair till her ankles, she reminded him a small bit like Kushina. Someone quick to anger, sure of herself but loyal to the core.

Angling his body, he kept all of them in view. He gazed and looks he got were either full of animosity, hatred or in Mai Terumis gaze mild curiosity, almost interest. Almost he gave into the temptation of giving her a smile and a wink. 

At the Hokages office slowly everyone gathered together. People were talking and chatting with each other, loudly wondering what was going on. The meeting Table was fully occupied and, barely peeking over the edge, Gene was already sitting there. No one would have noticed how nervous she was. 

She had changed wearing a light blue Kimomo with cherry blossoms on it, her feet tangling and in Geta. Like Tsukiko, she preferred those when wearing Kimonos, not that Tsukiko ever wore something other than that in her seemingly endless black Kimono collection. The other Shinobi sat down, he noticed with mild interest the slender Blond woman that seemed not to be pale as a ghost.

Ao who was sitting in the Hokage Assistant Chair grumbled trying to gain everyone's attention. 

He had it maybe sooner than he liked when the first question thrown out loudly was from a corner. "Where is the Mizukage and why have you ordered us all here, Ao-dono." 

Itachi barely held back a faint smile from the tone of the man, this was going to be very interesting. 

"Calm down Ryokuro-san. I am about to explain, although I believe Yuki-san should start this." He said, and Itachis snorted. Way to throw the issue at us, but he picked the wrong people. She is Tsukikos Student and while she is nowhere near the menace herself, more than capable. 

"Thank you Ao-dono." Gene clapped her hands, smiling. She played her small and childish appearance like a well-placed piano. Anticipating, he found himself almost on the edge with curiosity. "As everyone knows, I am a former native of Kiri and I still have a few acquaintances here." She started off taking a cookie from the table and gleefully eating the piece while holding the aggressive anticipation that tingled in the air. "I noticed rather quickly something was off." Another bite. "And then I had a feeling of marionettes, the puppets I play with when watching the people. Pretty little dolls doing a macabre play." Cookie again. "Turned out it was more than just an impression. I mean it is not every day you see a Kage being used as a doll, a small little gear in some master plan no?" She smiled. "Especially not the Mizukage himself." Leaning back in the ridiculously large chair, she finished her cookie and watched chaos erupt in the room. Peoples exclamations hailed through the room and soon some were trowing insults and questions at Ao who just stared back at her. 

Itachi had to laugh internally. Now the ball is in his field, he made a mistake having Gene get off the first shot. She doesn't sugarcoat it, was to expect she would drop the bomb in the first few seconds. There is a reason Konoha council has a table budget and usually only comfort drinks and calming chamomile tea on the table when Tsukiko says she has to announce something. 

"Everyone, how about you calm down and let the poor man speak first." Itachi threw in from his corner, instantly provoking silence. As usual, they had forgotten or disregarded him with a monster like Gene in the foreground, and from how they acted he was certain they did not like it. He wondered where Shisui was...not far for sure, and Tsukiko would have gone rather under a carriage wheel than loosing consciousness in enemy territory. 

Surprisingly, only one person stayed calm the entire time.

Mai Terumi.