In her twenty-something years of life, Terumi Mei had never imagined she would witness such a scene: an enemy attacking the Village Hidden in the Mist, standing right outside the Mizukage's office window, and offering them a casual nod.
Naruto Uzumaki saw the dumbfounded people in the office, scratched his head with a hint of embarrassment, and explained softly, "I didn't expect to get from the main gate of the Mist Village to here in just one minute, either..."
"..."
Terumi Mei's expression darkened. "What are the ninja in this village doing?" she snapped. "Even if you ran at full speed, you couldn't get here in one minute!"
What's more, the entire village had several thousand ninjas stationed there. During a time of war, security couldn't possibly be lax. There had to be at least a thousand shinobi on guard. And yet, a defense of a thousand people was broken through by a single enemy in under a minute, who went straight for the Mizukage's building.
Even if it were a thousand pigs, a Konoha ninja wouldn't be able to catch them all in a day!
Naruto Uzumaki carefully opened the window and explained with a smile, "Lady Mizukage, don't blame your subordinates too much..."
Things have already reached this point, so why is this guy still being so polite? The young Hokage's courtesy only made the Fifth Mizukage's expression more furious. She immediately began to form hand seals. "Water Style—"
"Wood Style: Tree Bind!"
Naruto was faster. He simply clapped his hands together, and thick vines erupted from the floor, instantly binding Terumi Mei, Chojuro, and the other ninja in the office, suspending them in the air.
The young Hokage lowered his palms and waved a hand dismissively. "Alright, now. This is going to be my office in the future, too. I'd rather not destroy it..."
"You... you monster!" the brown-haired woman cursed viciously. This brat clearly didn't take them seriously at all.
Terumi Mei opened her mouth and spat a stream of acid, corroding the vines on her body and allowing her to drop to the ground. The anger on her face didn't fade. "Brat, do you think the Village Hidden in the Mist has no one left? Lava Style: Melting Apparition Jutsu!"
A ball of orange acid erupted from her mouth.
A giant chakra hand shot out from Naruto Uzumaki's golden cloak, grabbed the glob of acid, and threw it against the wall. The stone was melted through in an instant, creating a large hole.
Through the hole, they could all see the situation outside. Groups of Mist ninjas were rushing toward the Mizukage's building to provide support, only to be engaged by Yamato and the Hokage's guard unit.
Terumi Mei noticed the battle outside wasn't as one-sided as she had feared. She wiped a trace of acid from the corner of her mouth and smiled with satisfaction. "Brat, surrender now. There's a price to pay for charging in deep alone!"
"Oh?"
The young Hokage smiled. He suddenly spread his palm toward the hole and shouted, "Wood Style: Cutting Technique!"
"You dare!" Terumi Mei spat out another mouthful of acid in a mix of shock and anger.
Countless dense wooden spikes shot out from Naruto's palm. A rain of spikes fell from the sky, pinning one Mist ninja after another to the ground. Even though Mei had launched her own attack, it was too late to stop his jutsu. With a single technique, the pressure on the Hokage's guard unit outside was greatly reduced.
"Wood Style: Wood Golem Jutsu!"
Without hesitating, the young Hokage summoned a towering wooden golem that rose from beneath his feet, carrying him with it. Its enormous body instantly crushed the entire Mizukage building.
Compared to the Village Hidden in the Mist, the Wood Golem was a true behemoth. In all their years, the Mist ninja had never seen such a ninjutsu. Its sheer size was enough to crush their will to resist. The Wood Golem was even larger than a fully-formed Tailed Beast. What was even more frightening was the dense chakra radiating from it, a constant reminder to every ninja that this was no mere illusion.
Sure enough, the Wood Golem threw a single punch at the ground, setting off an earthquake that instantly crushed a group of Mist ninjas.
In the face of such a technique, numbers had lost their meaning. No matter how many ninjas from the Mist Village came to support them, their power was insufficient. They were just sacrificing themselves in vain.
Absolute power brings absolute deterrence.
Terumi Mei stared at the Wood Golem, lingering fear in her eyes. Her voice became hoarse. "Is this... the legendary Wood Style of the God of Shinobi...?"
"..."
At that critical moment, Chojuro drew the Hiramekarei from his back and shouted, "ANBU, get Lady Mizukage out of here! I'll cover the rear!" He was willing to sacrifice himself for her. In fact, any Mist ninja would do the same for their Mizukage.
However, a slender hand landed on his shoulder. When Chojuro turned, he saw that a resolute expression had returned to Terumi Mei's face. The Fifth Mizukage said softly, "Chojuro, a Mizukage's purpose is to protect our village."
After speaking, she leaped onto the Wood Golem's body, shouting orders as she went. "Chojuro, you are the future of the Mist! Now, lead the ninjas and organize a full retreat!"
"Lady Mizukage!"
"Don't waste time!"
Terumi Mei ran between the Wood Golem's legs, dashing toward its head. "I now issue my final order as the Fifth Mizukage of the Village Hidden in the Mist! I designate Chojuro to serve as the Sixth Mizukage and shoulder the responsibility of protecting our people. Remember, the most precious part of the village is not this place, but the people who live in it."
"..."
Chojuro dropped to one knee, tears streaming down his face. Since being appointed as her guard, he had always been cared for by her. He couldn't tell if his tears were from sadness or from pure admiration. Perhaps it was both.
But there was no time to waste.
Chojuro gritted his teeth, looked back at the towering Wood Golem and Terumi Mei upon it, and waved his hand to gather the ANBU. "Everyone, with me! Arrange for the civilians to take shelter and organize the village's ninja forces!"
"Hey, Chojuro, you're not really going to abandon Lady Mizukage, are you?" one of the ANBU asked.
"Impossible!" Chojuro shook his head forcefully. "First, we gather our ninja. Then, we send word to recall everyone on missions outside the village. They will come to support Lady Mizukage!"
He refused to believe that tens of thousands of Mist ninjas couldn't defeat one person. During the Great Ninja War, the Third Raikage, known as the strongest spear and shield, was eventually worn down and killed on the battlefield by tens of thousands of Iwa-nin.
Just as Chojuro's ambition began to stir, Naruto Uzumaki looked down with a bored expression at Terumi Mei rushing up the golem. "Hey, hey, Lady Mizukage, there's no need for such a do-or-die attitude. I'm not going to kill you..."
"But I will kill you!" Terumi Mei put her fingers together, her eyes sharp.
Naruto beckoned with his hand. A wooden dragon shot out from the Wood Golem's body, snatched Terumi Mei from its surface, and brought her before him.
The young Hokage rubbed his brow. "When you say things like that, do you even believe them yourself? Just now, when you were about to let Chojuro succeed you, did you consider that the title of Sixth Mizukage would only bring him disaster?"
His voice grew heavier. Vines shot out, binding Terumi Mei tightly within the wooden dragon's mouth.
Naruto slowly approached, looking directly at his captive. "From now on, there will be no more Village Hidden in the Mist, and no more Mizukage. Do you want Chojuro and the ninja he takes with him to live forever as fugitives? I want peace in the ninja world. You, on the other hand, seem to want the entire Land of Water to live forever in a state of war, right?"
"...You monster," Terumi Mei cursed, her face filled with resentment. She hated her own powerlessness and the enemy's overwhelming strength. The Fifth Mizukage snorted coldly. "Hmph. Is your so-called peace just having Konoha occupy the entire ninja world? Using the name of peace to fulfill your own ambitions!"
"It's not a bad method, is it?" Naruto wiped his hands and looked at her. "If you can propose a better one, perhaps I'll give it up."
"..."
Terumi Mei fell silent. It was a question no village leader in history had ever been able to answer. How could she possibly know?
"Your so-called peace requires sacrificing the Village Hidden in the Mist?" The brown-haired woman suppressed her anger and said in a low voice, "Such peace is achieved through your power, not recognized by everyone!"
"Is that so?" Naruto laughed. "Because of your village's cruel history, the civilians of the Land of Water would be happy to have Konoha occupy it. A village as brutal as the Mist has no reason to be preserved. Ninjas as cruel as yours have no right to continue living as they have."
"Everything was for the village to survive," she said, her head lowered. "If Konoha faced the same situation, they would make the same choice, wouldn't they?"
"Not a chance." Naruto's face was confident as he smiled. "From the moment I became Hokage, I would never let Konoha become like the Mist."
After speaking, he raised his hand to stop her next words. "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's get down to business. Make your choice. Should I slaughter all the ninjas and villagers of the Mist, or will you order them to surrender to Konoha?"
-----
Bonus:
Terumi Mei: The entire ninja force of the Village Hidden in the Mist… couldn't even hold out for a minute!
ANBU: Lady Mizukage! The Konoha ninjas are too strong! They're capturing prisoners everywhere! There's even a squad wearing our headbands heading this way!
Terumi Mei: Thousands of ninjas in the village… that's thousands of pigs. A Konoha ninja could chase them for an hour, a day—even longer—and still wouldn't catch them all.
ANBU: Then why don't you go, if you're so tough?
Terumi Mei: I will. Watch and learn, your Mizukage leads the way. Chojuro, gather your men and follow me!
Yamato: Which unit are you from? We're Mist ANBU.
Chojuro: We're the Mizukage's personal guard! Why are you back here again?
Naruto Uzumaki: I knew I'd run into Konoha ninjas again. Lady Mizukage… old acquaintance of mine.
Terumi Mei: Are they trying to trick me? I know all the ANBU here—and I don't recognize that voice. Prepare to release ninjutsu!