A special thank you to my patrons:
—Jacob Mooe, kevin Williams, Jose Sierra, Pasang Sherpa, Acedia, kurtis newman, Nhoxious, sediaz, Targaryen, King Scales.
You can read 30 chapters ahead of everyone on p@treon.
P@TREON - [email protected]/lessaservantofcosmos
(just replace the "@" with "a")
ps: Please support me on P@treon. I can really use your help!
————————————————————
'Smooth.' Kazuki inwardly gave Mei Terumi a thumbs-up. This masterful maneuver of shifting responsibility was truly formidable, completely shutting the Sand Village down. First, the war was orchestrated and instigated by the Akatsuki.
Second, before knowing the truth, the Sand Village's ninja had assassinated the Daimyo of the Land of Water. As the military force of the Land of Water, the Mist Village was obligated to wage war against the Sand Village. Don't give me any talk about "truth." Before the truth was known – forget our Mist Village – just answer this: if your Land of Wind's Daimyo was assassinated, would your Sand Village go to war or not?! Say it! Would you or wouldn't you?! Whether the assassination of a Daimyo would trigger a war still depended on the severity of the situation. But could the Sand Village even dare to utter the slightest objection? The Daimyo of the Land of Wind had been displeased with the Sand Village for more than just a year or two.
If anyone from the Sand Village dared to pragmatically suggest they needed to investigate and assess the severity first, they could look forward to being targeted even more fiercely by their Daimyo. Previously, they'd had their funds cut, forced to tighten their belts and pursue an elite-only path. If they truly pushed the Daimyo too far, he might even cut off their ability to follow any path, elite or otherwise. Thus, the Sand Village delegation didn't dare to refute Mei Terumi on this point. Even knowing she was being deliberately provocative, the words had been spoken. No matter how displeased they were, they could only grit their teeth and accept it. The consequences of offending the Land of Wind's Daimyo... couldn't be compensated for by a mere bit of war reparations.
"Mizukage, the fact remains that the Mist Village initiated this war," Rasa stated, knowing he could no longer remain silent. He shot his subordinate a look, signaling him to sit quietly and hold his tongue.
"And so what?" Mei Terumi leaned back and crossed her legs once more. "Regardless, the Mist Village did not deliberately start this war. Both sides are victims here. If we're truly going to be strictly factual, then let me ask you: did your Sand Village deliberately send people to assassinate our Land of Water's Daimyo?" Come on, let's mutually destroy each other. You accuse the Mist Village of deliberately starting the war, so I'll ask if the Sand Village deliberately assassinated the Daimyo. If you dare say yes, then I'll dare say the Mist Village deliberately started the war!!! Say what, my ass!! Indeed, women are always troublesome. The corner of Rasa's mouth twitched violently.
This question was even more fatal than offending the Land of Wind's Daimyo. It seems the village has indeed chosen a suitable Mizukage. Even though she's a woman, she's far superior to Yagura. Kisame watched Mei Terumi's formidable display of authority with surprise. If Yagura had possessed that kind of domineering force, the Mist Village wouldn't have been tormented to such a miserable state. Compared to Mei Terumi, Yagura was a classic case of a tender-hearted executioner. When it was time to kill, he'd kill anyone regardless of who they were. But when it was time to be hard, he'd inexplicably go soft.
"So, ultimately, this is all the Akatsuki's fault. Don't you agree, Kazekage?" Having said her piece, Mei Terumi didn't forget to kick the ball squarely into Rasa's court.
Extremely reluctantly, Rasa could only grunt in acknowledgment, tacitly conceding Mei Terumi's point. Because he had no other choice. This woman has one hell of a sharp tongue. Kazuki watched the spectacle with amusement. Unexpectedly, Mei Terumi suddenly turned her head and asked him, "So, does the Hokage's Advisor find my reasoning sound?"
Crafty woman, trying to drag me into the mire. "I wouldn't know. That question is best left for the Mizukage to ask the Hokage when she returns. I'm merely the Hokage's Advisor of the Leaf Village, not the Hokage."
Kazuki decisively kicked the ball back. Whenever a topic touched upon the Daimyo, it was best to speak sparingly and offer few personal opinions. Kazuki had no desire to become a second Shimura Danzo. If he misspoke and someone exploited his words, the Daimyo would absolutely leap high in fury. Even though his current relationship with the Uchiha was good, once suspicion crept in, all sorts of tricks could be played. Of course, Kazuki was no Shimura Danzo. If the Daimyo dared to attempt anything funny, Kazuki would just buried him.
"How sly!" Mei Terumi shot him a look of disdain.
"Right back at you," Kazuki retorted lightly, then promptly turned the tables and dug a pit for Mei Terumi.
"Although, could the severity of having patrol squads controlled possibly surpass that of having a Mizukage controlled?"
Come on, come on. Don't you like digging pits? Let me dig one for you first.
"Ahem!! Naturally, the two are not equivalent. But the nature of the incidents is roughly the same," Mei Terumi hurriedly interjected upon hearing this, shooting Kazuki a look that pleaded, Please don't cause trouble!
That's it? Truly, all bark and no bite. Rasa, meanwhile, simply frowned and remained silent. You're not even going to pick up on that remark? Fine. You deserve to be beaten. Signaling Kisame to pour him a cup of tea, Kazuki crossed his legs in imitation of Mei Terumi, casually pulled out a scroll, and sipped his hot tea while reading. Whatever the two villages were negotiating, he no longer cared to listen. As long as they didn't start fighting, it was fine.
The negotiations proceeded relatively smoothly. Rasa always managed to pinpoint the crucial points, but each time, Mei Terumi managed to deflect and diminish their importance.
Tsk, tsk, tsk... What exactly did you come here to do, Rasa? If this were Chiyo, she'd have ripped Mei Terumi's foundations right out from under her. Indeed, the Sand Village still needed Chiyo to be reliable. Pity she hadn't come along and had instead remained in the Sand Village. Without Chiyo, the Sand Village was bound to suffer significant disadvantages.
Fortunately, Rasa might not be a skilled negotiator, but he wasn't stupid. Seeing Mei Terumi growing increasingly overbearing, Rasa decisively called for a suspension, suggesting they resume the following day. Mei Terumi didn't press her advantage, simply signaling her subordinates to withdraw. Rasa also made no move to leave immediately.
Once the members of both delegations had departed, Mei Terumi's posture relaxed considerably. Her knee, sheathed in fishnet stockings, shifted to lean slightly toward Kazuki. She smiled and asked, "I wonder when exactly your esteemed village's Hokage will be returning?"
"Perhaps very soon. Or perhaps she'll need a bit more time," Kazuki replied, not wanting to be endlessly entangled in such topics. He took the initiative to pierce through the reason they had both lingered.
"The two of you stayed behind to probe the Leaf Village's stance on the Five Kage Summit, am I correct?" Although moments ago they had been arguing until their faces and necks were flushed, now that their subordinates had departed, the atmosphere between Rasa and Mei Terumi had noticeably eased. Being capable of becoming Kazekage and Mizukage, they naturally possessed some skill. Both were well aware that once the peace talks between the Mist and Sand concluded, the Stone Village would no longer be able to sit still.
"The Stone Village cannot hold out much longer," Rasa stated bluntly, pinpointing the Stone Village's painful reality.
"The moment the Sand and Mist peace talks conclude, Onoki will undoubtedly contact us, thereby convening a Five Kage Summit. Using the pressure of the summit, he will force a halt to the war with the Cloud Village." Both villages were locked in intense combat, neither yielding an inch. The Cloud Village could maintain this kind of stalemate for years. Could the Stone Village? Forget years – even a few more months would be a struggle.