Hagoromo lowered his head, a movement that concealed the flash of astonishment in his eyes. In that instant, his mind raced... Just what the hell happened to the Mizukage?
Regardless, by the time he raised his head again, his expression was completely placid.
"What is the Konoha Envoy's ultimate purpose in coming to the Hidden Mist?"
The Mizukage looked down at Hagoromo and asked the first question.
Mizukage, huh? Let's just pretend he's the Mizukage... but do "big shots" always like asking questions they already know the answers to?
"My purpose... to achieve peace between our two Great Ninja Villages. As the Konoha Envoy, I now present the handwritten letter from the Third Hokage to the Third Mizukage."
As Hagoromo spoke, he pulled a scroll out from his robes.
He kind of wanted to toss the scroll directly at the Mizukage to see if the man dared to catch it, but the moment he pulled the scroll out, an Anbu ninja had already appeared right in front of him.
Hagoromo had no choice but to hand the scroll to the Anbu.
Imagine if Hagoromo threw the scroll directly, but swapped the Hokage's letter for a Reverse Four Symbols Sealing scroll... That scene, hehe.
Even though it was the Hokage's handwritten letter, to prevent Konoha from tampering with the scroll, the Mist Anbu dismantled and thoroughly inspected it before handing it to the Mizukage.
Only after confirming it was just ordinary text with no trace of jutsu formulas did the Anbu hand it over to the Mizukage.
The Mizukage took the letter and quickly skimmed through it... The Hokage's message was actually very simple and formulaic. It was nothing more than a description of the current war and an explanation of the inevitability of peace. Therefore, he advised the Hidden Mist to achieve peace with Konoha as soon as possible.
"The grudge between Konoha and the Hidden Mist cannot be erased by the Third Hokage simply stating 'peace is inevitable,'" the Mizukage said with a gloomy expression after reading the letter.
Is that his entire reaction?
As his words fell, the atmosphere in the room instantly grew tense. Mangetsu Hozuki had already drawn his sword. If the Mizukage said just one more word, a coordinated siege would be unavoidable.
"The damage the war has inflicted upon both nations is equal. Originally, ninjas did not slaughter each other out of grudges. But the more the slaughter, the deeper the grudge, and the deeper the grudge, the more the slaughter... Regardless, whether for an individual ninja or the village as a whole, such emotions belong to the realm of sentiment. A ninja should be a rational and silent creature, and a Kage even more so. Judging from a rational standpoint, at this stage of the war, the financial and military power of all nations have reached their absolute limits."
"Therefore, an 'end' is inevitable. It will either come after both nations have exhausted their final reserves in a desperate gamble, or it will come before that. So, does the final bout of attrition and slaughter before peace actually have any meaning? Exactly what judgment should be made depends entirely on the personal will of the Third Mizukage."
"What Konoha desires is merely peace. In reality, no matter what happens, the only thing the two nations can obtain in the end is peace itself, and nothing more."
Hagoromo was unmoved by the opponent's threat. In truth, it was impossible for the Mizukage not to understand what he just said. But the opponent's judgment was also valid: a war wouldn't end just because of a single sentence from the Hokage.
At the same time, based on status, Hagoromo had no right or qualification to converse with the Mizukage as equals. He was merely a messenger delivering a message for the Hokage—assuming he didn't plan on causing trouble in the Hidden Mist.
Yeah, assuming.
But even without the qualification, he still spoke those words. However, that was all he could say; the one to make the final judgment could only be the Mizukage himself.
Yet at this moment, Hagoromo knew that regardless of how intimidating the opponent's aura was, the Mizukage before him was incapable of making any clear judgment on the spot.
"Lord Third..."
After Hagoromo finished his speech, the Mizukage seemed to fall silent for a very long time, until one of the advisors standing behind him spoke up to remind him.
"...Konoha Envoy, I have indeed received the Hokage's letter. However, the Hidden Mist's stance on the war can only be judged by us. Whether to continue the war or to realize peace with Konoha, as well as how we will handle you personally... I will provide the answer later."
After saying this single sentence, the Mizukage took the Hokage's letter and left, accompanied by the four advisors behind him.
Very quickly, only Hagoromo and the two Mist ninjas guarding him were left in the room.
"White Yaksha, please return with us."
The one who spoke was the fifteen-year-old Kisame Hoshigaki, who looked like a fifty-year-old.
"Understood..."
Even though he was about to face this so-called "handling," there was no apprehension on Hagoromo's face. Instead, due to a certain guess, he felt a faint sense of confidence regarding the current situation.
After Hagoromo returned to his original room, Mei Terumi arrived again with her four-man squad. This time, however, they appeared to be fully armed.
But Hagoromo spoke first. Even in the Hidden Mist, he intended to seize control of the situation.
"We just met a moment ago, and now you're already here to notify me of how I'm being handled?"
Hagoromo's words made the opponents visibly pause, and Mei Terumi's pupils shrank slightly.
"What do you mean by that?"
Mei Terumi had not appeared in front of Hagoromo just now. This "should" have been the first time both sides met in three days.
The room was neither large nor small. Hagoromo stood in the center, while Mei Terumi's four-man squad formed a loose encirclement around him.
Hagoromo didn't answer her question, but continued, "In the current Hidden Mist, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen have been entirely wiped out, and Yagura is freshly dead..."
Although the Mist already had ominous suspicions about these two pieces of news, they hadn't been confirmed yet.
Hagoromo stated it so definitively. Was it really true?
"Even more problematic is that the Third Mizukage is simultaneously compromised... In this state of crisis, do you still intend to fight both Konoha and the Hidden Cloud at the same time?"
Almost exactly as Hagoromo's words fell, Mei Terumi's kunai was thrust right in front of his eyes.
However, Hagoromo didn't dodge or counterattack. Instead, he raised both hands in a gesture of surrender, indicating he had no intention of fighting.
"Is the news that five of the Seven Swordsmen were wiped out and Yagura is dead... all true?" she asked, her expression cold and stern.
"The Seven Swordsmen died a month ago. As for how Yagura and his interception squad died, I don't need to explain that further, do I? After all, I was able to arrive at the rendezvous point on time, while his squad remains long overdue. It's not difficult to make a reasonable guess under these circumstances."
"However, Yagura belonged to an opposing faction and was deeply hostile to yours. For you, his death should be a good thing, so—"
"How do you know about the Third Mizukage?" Mei Terumi interrupted.
Hagoromo was unbothered. "As for the Mizukage... just a moment ago, I couldn't be certain of anything. But now, I am certain: something is indeed wrong with the Mizukage."
"For a ninja, you're overreacting."
Hagoromo used her reaction to confirm his own guess. This carried the suspicion of tricking an ignorant young girl, but in the ninja world, where friends and foes were clearly defined, whatever terrible things one did to an enemy were understandable.
Mei Terumi instantly realized that she had indeed been too emotional, which perfectly validated his guess... Fortunately, the opponent was still currently in the hands of the Hidden Mist.
"We didn't necessarily lack the intention to negotiate peace with Konoha previously. But you shouldn't have spoken about the Mizukage. Now that you've discovered the problem with the Mizukage, our previous decision is meaningless, because your ultimate fate can only be dying here."
Regardless of the situation, Mei Terumi could not allow Hagoromo to take intelligence regarding the Mizukage out of the Hidden Mist.
"I already told you, I have no intention of fighting. But you also can't just conclude that you hold the advantage because of that. Even though I am currently deep inside the Hidden Mist, at the very least, taking you down with me is something I can still accomplish."
"Take us down with you? In the Hidden Mist? You, with me?" Mei Terumi's tone carried a hint of mockery.
Hagoromo remained completely placid, ignoring her taunt. "No, you misunderstood. I wouldn't do something so petty. Please, think bigger..."
As he said this, his hands remained raised, but lightning began to crackle across his body.
Mei Terumi instantly retreated, ready to defend against Hagoromo's Lightning Style at any moment.
But just as Hagoromo had said himself, he truly had no intention of attacking.
He simply wanted to issue a pure threat. Perhaps none of the people present understood sealing jutsu, but that was fine. There was, after all, a Byakugan among them. Even if they couldn't read the jutsu formulas, they should be able to comprehend the sheer power contained within them.
Therefore, Hagoromo wasn't just throwing a wink to a blind man. Weapons of mass destruction can only frighten those who know their stuff. Cavemen wouldn't fear a nuclear bomb, because they simply couldn't comprehend what kind of bomb it was.
Iron Sand poured out of the gourd on his back, expanding vertically like the branches of a tree to fill the small vertical space of the room.
At the tips of the iron tree branches, fruits even began to grow—or more accurately, scrolls with dark red covers.
Then, as Hagoromo wove a hand sign, the volume of those scrolls instantly magnified dozens of times. One by one, they unrolled naturally, revealing a small portion of the dense jutsu formulas written inside.
Hagoromo's tone carried a sort of teasing banter. "I'm not taking you down with me, nor am I just taking your squad down. That would be too much of a loss for me... To be precise, I can take your entire Hidden Mist Village down with me..."
"A blessing to this wonderful world... Reverse Four Symbols Sealing..."
"Times twenty!"
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Stones are appreciated if you can spare any.
Vol 1 of this fanfic is already completed on patreon.
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