Setting aside everything else, Terumi Mei's diplomatic mission to Konoha had proven to be an excellent beginning for her career as the Fifth Mizukage.
At the very least, she had demonstrated tremendous effort and competence in her first major assignment as the village's leader.
Ever since Terumi Mei had returned to Kirigakure with news of the successful negotiations with Konoha, the achievement had indeed generated considerable praise and enthusiasm throughout the village.
Merchants in Kirigakure had already begun forming trading caravans and making preparations to travel to Konoha for new business partnerships and commercial cooperation.
In the past, this type of normal business activity had been strictly forbidden due to Kirigakure's isolationist policies and the bloody reign of terror that had characterized the village for so many years.
It was fair to say that it would have been considered a miracle if even one-third of the ten trading caravans that departed from either Konoha or Kirigakure had managed to reach the other village's territory safely.
In reality, although Kirigakure was geographically isolated across the seas, the village actually possessed quite an abundance of valuable natural resources and unique products.
The same was true for Konoha Village, which was situated on the most prosperous and fertile land in the entire shinobi world and was extraordinarily rich in diverse resources and materials.
If genuine business exchanges could truly be established and maintained between the two villages, it would undoubtedly prove beneficial for both parties involved. However, such cooperation had been virtually impossible to achieve during Kirigakure's dark period as the Village Hidden in the Bloody Mist.
But now the situation was definitely moving in a positive direction, and Terumi Mei deserved significant credit for making this progress possible.
It was safe to conclude that Terumi Mei's position as Mizukage was now completely secure and well-established.
Therefore, Shihouin Naraku looked at Terumi Mei with a somewhat puzzled expression, unable to understand what she was sighing about so deeply.
"The difference between Kirigakure and Konoha is so enormous that it's honestly quite disheartening," she said with a wistful tone. "I wonder how long it will take before Kirigakure can become as vibrant and prosperous as Konoha."
If you never venture outside your own village, you can never truly comprehend how vast the world really is.
Terumi Mei had certainly understood intellectually how severe Kirigakure's losses had been over the years, but it wasn't until she had witnessed the remarkable prosperity of Konoha Village with her own eyes that she fully grasped just how devastating those losses truly were.
"If that's really what you're concerned about, then there's honestly no reasonable way to make such a comparison," Naraku replied thoughtfully.
He felt that Terumi Mei was perhaps overthinking the situation. Konoha's current prosperous state wasn't something that had developed recently or overnight. Instead, the village had endured countless hardships, challenges, and gradual improvements over many decades to achieve its present level of success and stability.
"If Kirigakure could really surpass Konoha so easily, then all the tremendous efforts and sacrifices made by Konoha's shinobi over the years would have been completely meaningless and wasted."
"It's going to be a very long and difficult road for Kirigakure to catch up to where Konoha stands today."
Terumi Mei parted her red lips as if to respond, but ultimately said nothing in reply.
Although what Shihouin Naraku had said was rather harsh and blunt, his assessment was undeniably accurate and realistic.
Kirigakure's problems ran far too deep and were too deeply entrenched to be easily reversed or corrected. It would be nothing more than wishful thinking to expect the village to develop rapidly and dramatically in a short period of time.
What she had accomplished so far was barely sufficient to get the village back on the right track and pointed in a positive direction. It would require the dedicated support and hard work of countless people in the future to truly restore Kirigakure to anything resembling its former glory and strength.
Thinking about this daunting challenge ahead, a powerful fighting spirit began to rise within Terumi Mei's heart!
Becoming the Fifth Mizukage was merely the beginning of her journey. Terumi Mei had no intention of giving up so easily on her dreams for her village!
Naraku naturally noticed the subtle but significant changes in Terumi Mei's demeanor and expression.
According to the normal course of historical development, Terumi Mei's ideas and planned actions were indeed correct and well-reasoned.
Unfortunately, within just a few short years, the entire shinobi world would be thrown into chaos and turmoil, and Kirigakure would not have nearly enough time to develop peacefully and rebuild its strength.
If Kirigakure were to be dragged into another major war during this crucial rebuilding period, it would be an extremely long time before the village could hope to recover from such setbacks.
The sound of rustling leaves and gentle footsteps filled the air as Kirigakure's diplomatic delegation, led by Terumi Mei, successfully crossed the border of the Land of Fire and entered the territory of the Land of Grass.
The Land of Grass was naturally defenseless against any activities involving Konoha Village, and they wouldn't dare to take any hostile action even if they wanted to.
It would be one thing if they attempted some minor trickery or political maneuvering, but the Land of Grass simply lacked the courage and military strength to actually stop or interfere with Kirigakure's delegation.
This was especially true considering that the war between Konoha and the Stone Village had ended not very long ago, and the physical and economic scars inflicted upon the Land of Grass had not yet completely healed.
Shihouin Naraku continued to escort Terumi Mei and her delegation all the way to the border of the Land of Earth, and they moved quickly across the territory of the Land of Grass without any significant delays or complications.
Looking at the various traces and remnants of recent warfare scattered throughout the Land of Grass, Terumi Mei's beautiful face became very serious and somber.
This was exactly what happened when a nation lost its power and ability to defend itself!
If a shinobi village did not possess sufficient strength to protect itself and its interests, it would inevitably be bullied and taken advantage of by stronger neighbors.
Konoha and Iwagakure had fought each other fiercely throughout the territory of the Land of Grass, but what could the shinobi of Kusagakure possibly do about it? What would they dare to do?
Their only realistic option had been to keep their heads down, stay out of the way, and wait patiently for Konoha to finish its conflict with the Stone shinobi before they would have any chance to begin cleaning up the ruins and devastation left behind in their homeland.
If there wasn't such a convenient buffer zone positioned between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth, the Land of Grass would have been completely conquered and divided between the two major powers long ago!
Terumi Mei secretly strengthened her resolve that she would never allow her own country to become like the Land of Grass, where anyone with sufficient power could bully and dominate them.
Therefore, her reconstruction plan could only succeed – failure was simply not an acceptable option!
"We've arrived!" one of the escorts announced.
The figures of the entire group landed gracefully at a temporary camp that had been established near the border of the Land of Earth.
Shihouin Naraku looked up and observed that Kirigakure's advance contact personnel had indeed arrived at this location as planned. He wondered briefly when exactly they had managed to reach this position.
He watched with interest as several masked Mist shinobi emerged from the makeshift camp, approached Terumi Mei with obvious respect, and offered formal salutes to their leader.
"Mizukage-sama, everything has been prepared according to your instructions!" one of them reported.
"Excellent!" Terumi Mei responded with approval.
She then asked with a serious and businesslike expression, "Where is the official invitation letter from the Land of Earth?"
"Please examine it, Mizukage-sama!" the shinobi replied, producing the document.
"Very good."
Terumi Mei accepted the invitation letter, but rather than opening it immediately to read its contents, she carefully secured it within her clothing. Then she turned around to face Shihouin Naraku and offered her sincere gratitude:
"Thanks to Lord Naraku's protection during both legs of this escort mission, those enemies who were lurking in the shadows and waiting for opportunities were completely unable to launch any kind of sneak attack against our delegation!"
"The complete safety and success of this mission is entirely due to Lord Naraku's exceptional skills and vigilance!"
"It was nothing special, just following my assigned orders," Naraku replied with a dismissive wave of his hand, showing that he didn't particularly care about Terumi Mei's expressions of thanks.
He felt no particular concern about Kirigakure's potential hatred or gratitude toward him.
His decision to eliminate the Fourth Mizukage Yagura and his choice to protect the Fifth Mizukage Terumi Mei had both been made according to his own personal judgment and goals. If Naraku hadn't wanted to take these actions, no one in the world could have forced him to do so.
"Lord Naraku has had many conflicts and disagreements with Kirigakure in the past. The reasons behind these conflicts are extremely complicated and complex. However, in my capacity as the Fifth Mizukage, I, Terumi Mei, humbly request Lord Naraku's forgiveness for any past grievances."
Terumi Mei bowed slightly and offered her formal apologies as the leader of her village.
Why was she going to such lengths?
Was this really such a significant matter?
And wasn't this approach perhaps a bit too humble and self-deprecating?
To be completely honest, from the very beginning of their interactions, it had been Shihouin Naraku who had caused problems and inflicted damage upon Kirigakure, yet now it was Terumi Mei who was apologizing to him.
It seemed that this demonstrated the clear benefits of possessing overwhelming personal strength and power!
"I have no ongoing conflicts with Kirigakure as an institution, so if that's how you choose to frame the situation, then I have no objections to your perspective," Naraku replied, accepting her gesture.
He chose to accept Terumi Mei's offer of reconciliation. It was quite flattering and respectful to have such a beautiful and powerful woman acknowledge fault in such a humble manner before him.
Seeing him accept their Mizukage's apology so casually and without any reciprocal gesture of respect, the corners of several surrounding Mist shinobi's mouths twitched with barely contained irritation. Some even placed their hands on their weapons, preparing to react aggressively at a moment's notice.
In the eyes of these loyal Mist shinobi, Terumi Mei had already shown tremendous humility by bowing her head as the Fifth Mizukage, and even Shihouin Naraku, despite his reputation as the new God of the Shinobi World, should not be so dismissive and rude in response.
"Mizukage-sama..." one of them began to protest.
"Thank you very much for your understanding and graciousness, Lord Naraku!" Terumi Mei interrupted smoothly.
She completely ignored the concerned words of the Mist shinobi behind her and stood up straight with a genuinely sweet smile to express her appreciation.
"My Mist shinobi will take responsibility for the remainder of our journey, so Lord Naraku won't need to continue working so hard on our behalf!"
"That arrangement works perfectly for me!" Naraku agreed readily.
"Please give my respectful regards to the Hokage once again when you return to Konoha."
"You can count on it!" he assured her with a final nod.
With their business concluded and farewells exchanged, the escort mission had officially come to its end.
----------------
You can read advanced chapters here: patreon.com/GregariousLion