The Third Mizukage was absolutely not a fraud or a decorative figurehead. To hold the title of Kage, he naturally possessed the strength of a Kage. However, the predicament he found himself in was born from helpless and unavoidable circumstances.
Hagoromo had marched deep into the Hidden Mist carrying a pile of scrolls, appearing like a menacing, ticking time bomb. But in reality, his little display was nothing compared to the true, unpredictable bombs that existed in every one of the Five Great Ninja Villages: Jinchuriki and Tailed Beasts.
Jinchuriki could indeed serve as a village's powerful combat force and weapon. But simultaneously, due to their instability, a village had to expend massive amounts of manpower, resources, and energy to monitor them. And even with all that, they'd still occasionally cause disastrous incidents. Therefore, they were a double-edged sword that hurt the user as much as the enemy.
From this perspective, that legendary figure who divided the Tailed Beasts leaving only the Nine-Tails for Konoha... it almost seemed like there was some dark psychological motive behind it. Perhaps he was influenced by his white-haired younger brother.
Although each village's attitude toward Tailed Beasts varied, a sense of vigilance absolutely existed across the board. For instance, Konoha never allowed Kushina to step foot on the battlefield. For another instance, right after the war ended, the Hidden Cloud began strictly controlling the movements of the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer B.
The Mizukage's fate was proof enough of the drawbacks Tailed Beasts brought.
Shortly after the Mist's Seven Ninja Swordsmen embarked on their final mission and left the village, the Mist's Six-Tails Jinchuriki went berserk.
Not only that, but its violent rampage just so happened to damage the seal on the Three-Tails. Thus, one disaster became two, and the Hidden Mist and the Mizukage found themselves facing a deadly combo of the Three-Tails and the Six-Tails.
After a grueling night of fighting, the incident concluded. The Six-Tails was resealed into a new Jinchuriki, a process that basically exhausted the last of the Mizukage's strength. However, the resealing of the Three-Tails, Isobu, was not achieved. It was currently roaming wild in a certain lake temporarily monitored by the Hidden Mist.
As for the Mizukage following this incident... well, in short, he could still breathe.
But it seemed breathing was all his life was reduced to now.
Because all of this occurred internally within the Hidden Mist Village, and because they implemented hyper-strict lockdown protocols immediately afterward, Konoha hadn't obtained a single scrap of related intelligence.
Recent unfavorable combat results against Konoha, coupled with various reasons causing severe damage to the Mist's overall strength, led to the rise of the Peace Faction within the village. An increasing number of Mist ninjas believed that simultaneously fighting both Konoha and the Hidden Cloud was an impossible task.
Accepting the arrival of the Konoha envoy could be seen as the Peace Faction suppressing the War Faction.
Given Mei Terumi's age, she naturally couldn't be the ultimate boss of the Peace Faction. However, she held a very high status, considered by the faction as a future Kage candidate, giving her significant influence.
Looking across the entire ninja world, Mei Terumi's situation was completely unique.
Furthermore, she herself hoped the Hidden Mist could withdraw from this war as soon as possible. Thus, there was no issue with her acting as the "Star of Hope" for the Peace Faction.
For a ninja like her, becoming the Mizukage in the future was inevitable; it was merely a matter of sooner or later.
Moreover, her strongest competitor no longer existed. Yagura held a status in the opposing faction equal to Mei Terumi's. However, when his faction sent him out to intercept the Konoha envoy, they probably never imagined that a ninja of Yagura's caliber would be counter-killed by a numerically inferior enemy.
Regardless of what Mei Terumi truly thought about Yagura's death—since she was preparing to become Kage, she had to preemptively think like a Kage, so losing a combat asset like Yagura was definitely regrettable.
But for the faction as a whole, harming the enemy was benefiting oneself. They were more than happy to see such an outcome.
...
Hagoromo didn't know the full details of what transpired, but through step-by-step deduction, the conclusion he arrived at could be considered correct.
A peace treaty signed under threat would never hold, because an agreement made against one's own will could be reneged on at any moment. Besides, Hagoromo didn't actually believe that such coercion alone could force the Hidden Mist to submit. Matters between villages weren't that simple.
The fundamental reason his plan could work was that Konoha's demands aligned perfectly with the demands of the Mist's Peace Faction.
That was why Hagoromo laid everything bare—to seek a more direct, higher-level dialogue. His target wasn't just Mei Terumi, but the people standing behind her.
Originally, Mei Terumi's purpose in seeking out Hagoromo was to inform him that he needed to continue waiting. The peace talks would have to be delayed before a result could be reached.
After all, the Peace Faction needed to thoroughly suppress the War Faction before a preliminary intention for peace could be established.
But Hagoromo clearly didn't have the time to wait for them to take things slowly. Once this incident was over, he had already made up his mind to return to the Konoha frontline against the Cloud and Stone.
Therefore, Hagoromo employed his own original theory: To settle a matter properly, you must first stir up a huge mess.
After a brief exchange with Mei Terumi, Hagoromo followed her group and, as wished, met with several Mist advisors, opening a much more direct line of communication.
The people sitting across from Hagoromo were undeniably the highest echelon of the Peace Faction.
Then, he proposed a suggestion that immediately struck a chord with them.
Achieving peace inevitably requires sacrifices. So this whole "suppression" business... it was too slow, and the results were too poor. Why not just be decisive?
The kind of "decisive" that leaves absolutely no lingering side effects.
It was impossible that the other party hadn't considered this idea beforehand. After all, the ideologies of the War and Peace factions were as incompatible as fire and water. But considering the bigger picture, the two Mist factions absolutely could not afford to fight each other at this juncture.
Absolutely no civil war. This was the consensus of both sides.
Having the leaders of the opposing faction disappear silently... it was a good option, but Mei Terumi's group couldn't pull it off.
But just because they couldn't didn't mean others couldn't—for instance, a certain someone who had just demonstrated a certain sealing jutsu.
Hagoromo could indeed "cooperate free of charge," but before he did, he had to secure the preliminary agreement for peace.
With the current Mizukage essentially incapacitated, once their scheme succeeded, Mei Terumi would likely soon become the Acting Fourth Mizukage. But to become the true Mizukage during wartime might still take a few years. Therefore, the ones truly calling the shots in the Hidden Mist right now were actually these advisors.
Regardless of what measures both sides were going to take against the leaders of the War Faction next, Hagoromo absolutely had to get the written intention for peace in his hands first, otherwise, the deal was off.
Hagoromo wasn't the only cautious one; the opposing side was even more so. Only after confirming Hagoromo's strength, and verifying and preparing a few things, was this reply letter concerning peace finally handed over to Hagoromo.
Next, all he had to do was fulfill his agreed-upon obligation with one big blast, and he could leave the Hidden Mist feeling satisfied.
So here comes the question: Wasn't Hagoromo just here to deliver a letter? Why did he bizarrely and accidentally end up participating in a neighboring village's coup d'état?
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