Major events were constantly unfolding in the Land of Water: the Daimyo's assassination, civil war negotiations, and the establishment of a new Daimyo.
If it weren't for the troublemaking brat named Naruto Uzumaki, Mei Terumi was confident she could have kept the situation under control. As long as the Mist Village remained stable, the Land of Water would naturally stabilize with it. Though a beautiful woman, Mei Terumi was undeniably a hardliner, with methods tougher than those of most men in her village.
Yet now, she had encountered someone even tougher.
In his quest to unify the ninja world, the young Hokage's stance was even harder than hers. He seemed determined to either force the Mizukage to submit or provoke her into a war. At the same time, he was using the situation to stigmatize the Mist Village, pushing the civilians of the Land of Water to accept Konoha's rule.
Mei Terumi frowned and said in a low voice, "Lord Hokage, there are still many mysteries surrounding the assassination of His Highness the Daimyo..."
"The witnesses and evidence are all here."
Naruto Uzumaki pointed at the Daimyo's wife and son, then casually threw down a Mist ninja headband. The headband was brand new, looking as if it had just been made.
"..."
The Fifth Mizukage's eyebrow twitched. She wanted to explode right then and there. Couldn't you at least make the evidence look convincing? Trying to get a conviction with a brand-new headband?
Even if the Mist Village had killed the Land of Water's Daimyo, what business was it of Konoha's? This brat, Naruto Uzumaki, was infuriatingly meddlesome.
Mei simply ignored his point and changed the subject. "When does Lord Hokage intend to leave the Land of Water?"
"Hmm, perhaps after your war ends?" Naruto spread his hands, his face a picture of helplessness. "After all, I've already made a promise to everyone. I can't damage the Hokage's prestige, can I?"
"..."
Mei Terumi couldn't help but roll her eyes at him. You little brat, what prestige do you even have?
Mei was silent for a moment before she couldn't resist reminding him, "Our war with the rogue ninja forces will last for several more years. If Lord Hokage is away from Konoha for that long, won't you be neglecting your political duties?"
"It's fine. Lady Tsunade will help out."
"..."
Mei's expression soured again. She had, of course, heard of Tsunade—the woman known as the world's strongest female ninja and its greatest medical ninja.
Naruto looked at her and continued, "Besides... Lady Mizukage, do you really think I would let your civil war drag on for several years? When necessary, I might take forceful measures to end it, which could include... the use of highly destructive jutsu, like the Tailed Beast Bomb."
The corner of Mei's eye twitched, and her expression froze.
Ever since the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, had died and the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, Utakata, had defected, the Mist Village had been without the power of a Tailed Beast. Naruto's threat was incredibly effective. Mei couldn't think of a single way for the Mist Village to counter a Tailed Beast Bomb from Konoha.
There was no way at all.
Even without a Tailed Beast, in a conventional war, the Mist Village could only rely on the sea to defend against an attack if Konoha got serious.
"Alright, I was joking," the young Hokage said with a smile, soothing her emotions before adding, "But I also hope that Lady Mizukage won't treat that as just a joke. When necessary, I will be serious."
"I understand." Mei Terumi clenched her fists, suppressing her anger. "In two days," she said in a deep voice, "I will consider Your Excellency's proposal to mediate the war."
-----
Time passed quickly.
The eyes of the entire Land of Water were focused on the Daimyo's residence. This was the first formal dialogue between the rogue ninja forces and the Mist Village. All the civilians pinned their hopes for an end to the war on the mediation of Konoha's Fifth Hokage. This even included a portion of the ninjas themselves.
The Land of Water had endured too much pain. It desperately needed a peaceful and stable environment to reclaim its position among the five great ninja villages.
Inside the Daimyo's residence, the Konoha ninjas were responsible for protecting the former Daimyo's wife and son, which effectively made the young Hokage the master of the residence.
Zabuza Momochi naturally arrived with Haku. He didn't have many trusted subordinates and only truly trusted the boy. Mei Terumi sat down with Chojuro, the young candidate she was carefully grooming to be the next Mizukage.
"Hmph, I only have one opinion!" Zabuza Momochi scanned everyone present and stated his demand coldly. "The war will absolutely not stop until I become Mizukage!"
"Then there's nothing to talk about," Mei said, rolling her eyes at Zabuza. "The Mist Village has no history of a rogue ninja becoming Mizukage. It never has, and it never will. Otherwise, anyone could betray the village just to claim the title of Mizukage!"
This was her bottom line. If not for Naruto's threat, she would never have agreed to this mediation. After all, ever since the Six-Tails Jinchuriki had disappeared, the Mist Village had been gradually gaining the upper hand on the main battlefield.
"Hold on a moment," Naruto interrupted their budding argument. He knocked on the table and asked Mei softly, "If Mr. Zabuza is willing to cease hostilities, what conditions would Lady Mizukage be willing to offer?"
Mei didn't answer directly. Instead, she asked Naruto, "If a Konoha rogue ninja wanted to surrender to you, Lord Hokage, what conditions would you give them?"
She didn't dare answer directly. Offering terms that were too weak or too strong could be problematic. It was better to turn his own question back on him. Everyone in the ninja world knew that Konoha's rogue ninjas were the most dangerous. Setting aside the small-time defectors and early ones like Hiruko, just Orochimaru of the Sannin and Itachi of the Uchiha clan were enough to give Konoha a massive headache.
Naruto frowned. Of course, he couldn't say that Konoha's two strongest rogue ninjas were already working for him, having returned to the village's side.
After a long silence, the young Hokage said in a low voice, "Sorry, I can't answer that question, because Konoha is different from the Mist Village."
Thinking she had gained the upper hand, Mei smiled charmingly. "We are both villages of the five great nations. What's so different?"
"Very different." Naruto began counting on his fingers. "Konoha is currently brimming with talent. Two of the three Sannin have already returned to the village. Even if I were to die in battle here, Konoha has many people who could succeed me as Hokage. So we don't care about the combat power of rogue ninjas and would naturally deal with them severely... But what about the Mist Village?"
These words made Mei's face turn pale.
Yes, Konoha was brimming with talent. Even if a Hokage died, they could choose the next one at any time. But the Mist Village's talent had withered away. If she were to be assassinated, the entire village couldn't produce a single other ninja capable of becoming Mizukage.
Am I… just humiliating myself?
Mei Terumi stared intently at Naruto Uzumaki, her nails digging deep into her palms. She said, word by word, "The Mist Village may not be as powerful as Konoha... but our will is the same. The Mist Village will absolutely not compromise with a traitor!"
-----
Bonus:
Mei: Your Konoha has just as many rogue ninjas as our Mist Village!
Naruto: True, and their quality is much higher. Any one of them could destroy the Mist Village.
Mei: ???
Naruto: Am I wrong?
Mei: But they could also destroy Konoha, couldn't they?
Naruto: They can't anymore.
Mei: You don't care about them?
Naruto: The village has so much talent, we don't mind losing one or two...
Orochimaru: Then why did you go to all the trouble of having someone use Kotoamatsukami on me???
Itachi Uchiha: Then why did you go to all the trouble to recruit me???
Naruto:Sigh, as long as Sasuke doesn't defect, I don't care who the rogue ninjas are...
Sasuke: ...