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Commanding two separate Kekkei Genkai, she had effortlessly pushed aside all other competitors. With her clan exerting its influence behind the scenes and the Daimyo looking upon her with favor, Mei Terumi had smoothly ascended to power. She became the second female Kage-level leader in the history of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
Faced with Kazuki's question, the Mist Village envoy hurriedly answered, "Lord Advisor, the Mizukage dispatched me to deliver this invitation. She wishes to request that the Leaf Village step forward to mediate the war between our village and the Sand Village. The war was instigated entirely by the Akatsuki. Mizukage Yagura was also placed under their control, which led to the outbreak of conflict between our two villages. Now that everything has come to light, there is no longer any necessity to continue the war."
At this point, who the hell still wanted to fight? Forget the internal factions within the Mist Village – even the Daimyo wanted no part of it anymore. Mei Terumi herself was a staunch opponent of this war from the very beginning. Therefore, a ceasefire was the only natural course. It was just that while starting a war was easy, stopping one was also easy. But bringing it to a complete, definitive end?
That wasn't so simple. If your Mist Village wanted to stop, you first had to see whether the Sand Village was amenable. Thus, the Mist Village needed to request a power sufficiently formidable to command the field to step in and mediate, allowing the two great ninja villages to sit down calmly and negotiate peace. Without a third-party force intervening, the notion of the Mist Village and the Sand Village sitting down for peace talks was utterly preposterous.
That was why Mei Terumi had sent an envoy to deliver an invitation to the Leaf Village, requesting the Leaf act as an intermediary to mediate and facilitate negotiations. The Leaf Village didn't need to exert too much effort – merely stabilizing the situation would suffice. As for the specifics, the Mist and Sand Villages could slowly hash it out themselves. For the Mist and Sand to negotiate peace, the Stone Village, the Cloud Village, and the Leaf Village could all theoretically serve as intermediaries.
Among them, the Leaf Village was the most suitable choice. The Stone Village could barely look after itself – where would it find the leisure to manage such affairs? The Cloud Village was fully occupied with fighting the Stone Village. If you wanted a stable, appropriate heavyweight to preside, the only option was to turn to the Leaf Village. Furthermore, Mei Terumi knew that Rasa was deeply afraid of Kazuki – though she herself was also somewhat fearful. If Kazuki could be persuaded to step forward, the atmosphere for peace talks between the Mist and Sand Villages would certainly be significantly improved.
This woman, Mei Terumi, truly knows how to handle affairs. Smiling, Kazuki casually tossed the invitation aside and said to the Mist Village's envoy, "Return and inform your Mizukage that if she and Rasa can reach an agreement, I won't mind acting as an intermediary to help coordinate between the Mist Village and the Sand Village."
Voluntarily offering help was out of the question. Only once you two confirmed you could sit down and talk would I make an appearance. Don't expect me to go running to Rasa demanding he sit down for peace talks with you.
"Yes, my lord." Having obtained Kazuki's affirmative response, the Mist Village envoy obediently took his leave. However, the moment he stepped out of the Hokage's office, he couldn't resist shooting a final glare at Kisame before departing. Kisame, for his part, couldn't have cared less. Instead, he simply cracked a toothy grin.
After the Mist Village envoy had left, Kazuki tilted his head. "Do you think the Mist Village and the Sand Village can sit down and talk calmly?"
Shikaku, who had been accompanying Kazuki in the office, couldn't help but chuckle. "Sitting down for peace talks is a certainty. But doing so calmly? That's far less certain. That's precisely why the Mizukage requested the Leaf Village's help – to be precise, why she requested your help, Lord Advisor. I believe that with you present, both the Mizukage and the Kazekage will be able to remain perfectly calm."
"Ha ha ha..." Shikaku's words successfully drew a hearty laugh from Kazuki. But what he said was the absolute truth. Both Mei Terumi and Rasa harbored a certain degree of fear toward him. As long as he was present at the proceedings, no one would dare to stir up trouble. By inviting Kazuki to step forward and assist, Mei Terumi wasn't offering any material reward.
Rather, she was incurring a favor. A favor was not something easily repaid, especially a favor between villages. Once Kazuki demanded that Mei Terumi repay this favor, even if the Mist Village had to pay a considerable price as a result, Mei Terumi would have no choice but to grit her teeth and comply.
A favor – when you possess sufficient strength and confidence – becomes immensely significant. But if you yourself are not strong enough and cannot hold sway over the other party, then this so-called favor is worth less than dog excrement.
Beyond incurring a favor, the Leaf Village acting diligently as an intermediary would also enhance its prestige throughout the shinobi world. This was a win-win situation. Therefore, Kazuki wouldn't refuse.
"It seems the Mist Village hasn't dealt with Yagura permanently. Tell me, once the war between the Mist and the Sand concludes, do you think Onoki will jump out, rally them to his side, and pressure the Cloud Village?" Neither the Sand Village nor the Mist Village wanted to continue dragging out this meaningless war any longer. The Stone Village was in the same boat. The crucial difference was that even if the Stone Village didn't want to fight, the Cloud Village wouldn't agree.
The initiative was firmly held in the Cloud Village's hands. For Onoki to stop the war, the best approach was to rally other villages to his side, and then approach the Cloud Village for peace negotiations. Through this roundabout process, the Stone Village would once again have to pay a substantial price. Otherwise, Onoki would have no means of persuading the Sand Village and the Mist Village to support him.
Shikaku pondered for a moment, then stated with certainty, "The stances of the Mist Village and the Sand Village aren't what truly matters. They would, at best, merely make up the numbers. Only our Leaf Village can truly make its voice heard. Onoki's attempt to first rally the Mist and the Sand is merely groundwork – he needs them on his side to then properly invite our Leaf Village. Once the Leaf Village joins the equation, whether the Cloud Village is willing to cease the war or not, it will be forced to stop."
This was no joke. Even if the Cloud Village was teeming with powerful warriors, it couldn't possibly stand against the combined will of the other four great shinobi villages. At a moment like this, the Leaf Village's importance was once again thrown into sharp relief. Shikaku wasn't pondering the price the Stone Village would have to pay. What he was considering was whether the Leaf Village would choose to intervene at all. More precisely, whether Kazuki would make a move.
Having spoken, Shikaku lowered his head and looked toward Kazuki. Kazuki lifted his teacup, took a sip, and revealed a faint smile. "The Leaf Village has no need for a powerful neighbor."
Understood. Shikaku understood perfectly. The Leaf Village could act as an intermediary and lean in favor of the Stone Village – on the prerequisite that the Stone Village's vitality was severely damaged, reducing its threat to the Leaf to the absolute minimum. This signified that until the Stone Village and the Cloud Village had fought to the brink of mutual destruction, Kazuki would not accept Onoki's invitation – even if Onoki managed to rally both the Mist and the Sand Villages. The Cloud Village was mighty, but it was far too distant from the Leaf Village.
Even if hostilities broke out and they wanted to attack the Leaf, the sheer logistical attrition of moving forces back and forth would be more than enough for them to choke on. Thus, the Leaf Village's true adversary would always be the Stone Village. No matter how powerful the Cloud Village's forces were, it would be nearly impossible for them to traverse multiple nations to attack the Leaf. A naval assault was even more absurd. Therefore, having a weakened Stone Village as a neighbor was far more in line with the Leaf Village's interests. And so... let the Cloud Village and the Stone Village continue their fight. Only in this way would the Stone Village's strength be continuously whittled down. As for the Mist Village and the Sand Village, Kazuki could simply ignore them entirely.