"The surrounding area has been cleared, and all preparations are complete..."
Inside a low-lying building, Mei Terumi explained to Hagoromo.
Everything was in place.
This location was on the outskirts of the Hidden Mist Village, in a secluded area that rarely saw foot traffic. Further away stood a solitary, towering, cylindrical high-rise building.
That was the designated negotiation spot for the two factions.
In the past, the Peace Faction and the War Faction had held several talks there.
"Has my scroll been brought inside?" Hagoromo nodded and asked in return.
"It has been placed at the designated spot and thoroughly hidden. The targets have already entered the venue. You may act now."
Aside from Mei Terumi and Hagoromo, her three subordinates and two Hidden Mist advisors were also present. From their current distance and angle, they had a clear view of the situation across from them.
Several leaders of the War Faction had entered the negotiation venue, exactly where Hagoromo's Reverse Four Symbols scroll was hidden.
Inviting them for negotiations under the pretense of discussing their stance on Konoha and the intel on Yagura hadn't raised any suspicions. After all, the former was a continuous but fruitless topic of discussion between the two sides, while the latter was intelligence the opposing faction valued immensely.
Personally, Mei Terumi didn't feel much resistance toward what they were currently doing. If she were already the Mizukage, she might feel regret at losing capable ninjas like Yagura or the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. But for those useless, parasitic advisors who only took up space? They were merely obstacles to her future management of the village. If she could eliminate these obstacles in advance, she certainly wouldn't object.
"Then I'll begin."
As he spoke, Hagoromo clasped his hands—hidden within his sleeves—and began rapidly weaving signs. Because of the sleeves obstructing their view, the Hidden Mist personnel couldn't see his hand signs.
What they were doing now didn't mean the opposing faction would just easily follow Hagoromo's ideas. On the contrary, regardless of which faction it was, it was impossible for the Hidden Mist to truly trust a Konoha ninja.
Politics is just like that. Is there any village council without ugly political struggles?
It was akin to "you have the dirty tricks, and I have the gun." Hagoromo and the Peace Faction shared the same ideology and perfectly complemented each other's strengths. That was why they hit it off instantly and could act in unison.
As Hagoromo finished his hand signs, Mei Terumi and the others watched as a massive black sphere of light rapidly expanded from the center of that building.
The sphere of light swelled from a tiny black dot to an enormous size, and then rapidly collapsed from that exaggerated volume back into a single point.
The Reverse Four Symbols Sealing only existed for a few seconds, making Mei Terumi momentarily think it was an optical illusion. But when she looked at the building again, it was as if a giant had taken a massive bite out of the center of a French baguette.
Where the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing had swept through the middle section of the building, everything had completely vanished, leaving behind only smooth, curved edges and a massive spherical void.
Thoroughly annihilating everything within its area of effect—this was the greatest characteristic of the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing. As long as one was caught in this jutsu, death was inescapable.
Only after two or three seconds passed did a loud BOOM finally ring out. The upper half of the building, having lost its underlying support, crashed to the ground under the force of gravity.
Only then did Hagoromo utter three words:
"Mission accomplished."
Eliminating the leaders of the War Faction—who had constantly been an incredible headache for the Peace Faction—in this manner and in such a fleeting instant gave Mei Terumi and the others a sense of unreality.
However, aside from "mission accomplished," what other possibility could there be? As long as the targets had truly entered the sealing space, could they possibly escape the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing?
When the Hidden Mist personnel here fully processed what had happened—realizing this was the power of Hagoromo's sealing jutsu, and recalling that this guy carried over a dozen identical scrolls on him... everyone involuntarily backed away from him slightly, as if the extra distance could increase their sense of security.
"Your Excellency White Yaksha, we are deeply grateful for your cooperation. With this, peace between Konoha and the Hidden Mist is set in stone. Once Your Excellency returns to Konoha, both sides can initiate the next round of formal talks."
One of the Hidden Mist advisors spoke to Hagoromo in a highly polite tone. However, as he spoke, his gaze seemed to flicker shiftily, as if harboring some ulterior motive.
"It was nothing. Peace is our shared desire," Hagoromo replied, acting completely oblivious.
But the next moment, as if suddenly realizing something, his face instantly tensed up. He snapped his feet together, standing at attention, and then began spinning, reaching his arms out, and stomping his feet.
This sudden, bizarre series of movements caused all the surrounding Hidden Mist ninjas to rapidly retreat and encircle him from a distance.
"What is this?" "Is it Konoha-style taijutsu?" "Or is he preparing a new sealing jutsu?" "A genjutsu?" "Or is he performing some kind of ritual?"
"Ao!" Mei Terumi called out loudly.
"Yes!" Without needing specific instructions, Ao knew exactly what Mei Terumi's order was. His Byakugan had been activated long ago...
"There's nothing. He's not preparing a jutsu formula. His chakra is perfectly calm."
Because Hagoromo hadn't said a word, and they had absolutely no idea what he was doing—coupled with their fear of his Reverse Four Symbols Sealing—the Hidden Mist personnel could only watch Hagoromo's bizarre movements with intense, nervous vigilance.
For four continuous minutes, Hagoromo flawlessly danced the devil's steps without any interruption. But the moment his movements stopped, with a poof, Hagoromo vanished.
The chance to ask questions was completely gone. What he had just done became an eternal mystery in the history of the Hidden Mist.
"A clone? Since when?"
After Hagoromo disappeared, only a single sheet of white paper fluttered down.
After confirming there was no danger, Mei Terumi picked up the paper and saw what was written on it:
"The mission is accomplished, and I have evacuated early. To my friends in the Hidden Mist, please do not worry about me. Long live friendship, long live peace, long live the grand unity of all the ninja villages in the world! ... (P.S. I'm not taking the fall for this.)"
Mei Terumi and the others stared at each other in bewilderment. What the hell is this?
From beginning to end, they were utterly baffled. The person they were dealing with was completely unpredictable, never playing by the rules.
But Hagoromo himself had indeed left the area.
Even a Hyuga couldn't keep their Byakugan activated for 24 hours straight, let alone Ao. In the exact moment they left his room to come here, Hagoromo used the Shadow Clone Jutsu, sending his clone to participate in the operation while his main body stayed behind.
After everyone left, Hagoromo's main body sprang into action. He swiftly sneaked to the edge of the Hidden Mist's barrier.
The moment the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing was activated, he knew the mission was a success. He then violently smashed through the barrier and left the Hidden Mist without a shred of lingering attachment.
As for his clone's final mission, it was merely to buy him a little time. So he simply performed a full, uninterrupted rendition of some weird dance that left everyone scratching their heads. Consider it a consolation performance for traveling all the way to the Hidden Mist.
Those four minutes were more than enough for Hagoromo to run so far away that the enemy would never find him.
...
Although the Konoha envoy had come to the Hidden Mist secretly, and the ninjas who knew this could be counted on one hand, many of the Mist's "big shots" had just been assassinated.
To maintain the Hidden Mist's internal unity, the blame for this assassination would inevitably be pinned on Hagoromo's head. It was practically a certainty. Therefore, to prevent any accidents, he chose to evacuate early.
Even though he had already left, and the opposing side had no concrete evidence, they would likely still forcibly pin the blame on him. But it didn't matter. If he had to take the fall, so be it. He was safe now, and more importantly, the mission was accomplished.
Peace between the Hidden Mist and Konoha was arriving very soon.
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