Terumi Mei's words carried real conviction.
Naruto Uzumaki had to admit, this woman was indeed the Mizukage who could lead the Village Hidden in the Mist to rise again. How could she possibly compromise with rogue ninja?
The young Hokage frowned, his expression turning a bit sour. "If I'm not mistaken, Your Excellency, are you saying that for the sake of the Mizukage's and the Mist Village's dignity, you would disregard the civilians of the entire Land of Water and insist on continuing the war?"
"..."
Mei felt a headache coming on. What was with this kid, just throwing such heavy accusations around?
But she wasn't flustered. Mei glanced at Zabuza Momochi and said in a deep voice, "The Mist Village is not at fault in this matter. The fault lies with those who started the rebellion for their own power. They are the true culprits of the Land of Water's civil war!"
Hearing Mei's words, Zabuza became furious, his hand gripping the Executioner's Blade on his back. "Hey, what do you mean by that, woman! If the village's higher-ups weren't a bunch of incompetents, why would I have started this uprising!"
"The Mist Village has already been set right! The era of the Bloody Mist is over!"
"So what? Are we rogue ninjas supposed to just hide in dark corners and live out a miserable existence?"
"If you are willing to surrender, I will consider pardoning you..."
"Not needed! Lady Mizukage, if I wanted to, I could be sitting in your position very soon!"
Mei and Zabuza argued fiercely.
It couldn't be helped; the two of them never got along. The fact that they hadn't started beating each other's brains out at the negotiation table was already a show of great respect for Naruto Uzumaki.
Zabuza was Mei's junior at the academy. Back when Mei first heard of Zabuza, she thought there was something wrong with his head. Even if he was protesting the Bloody Mist policy of graduates killing each other, there was no need to kill all of his classmates, right?
Knock, knock, knock...
Naruto Uzumaki knocked on the table, his brow furrowed tightly. He said in a deep voice, "No matter what, the two of you can't reach an agreement, can you?"
"Hmph!"
"That's right!"
Zabuza scornfully crossed his arms, and Mei's face was also full of contempt. The two turned their heads away from each other.
Naruto rubbed the space between his brows and said in a low voice, "If this is the case, I'm going to lose face in the ninja world..."
"Lord Hokage!" Mei turned her head and said seriously, "If Lord Hokage is willing, once our Mist Village has dealt with the rebels, we are prepared to become Konoha's most loyal ally. We can cooperate with Konoha in all aspects!"
This was the solution she proposed.
If this young Hokage was truly willing to deal with the Mist Village in good faith, Mei wouldn't mind reaching a consensus with Konoha. She would even accept making some concessions in future treaties and cooperation. Everything she was doing was to stabilize the Land of Water and allow the Mist Village to rise again.
"We can do that too," Haku said, lowering his head seriously. "After Lord Zabuza defeats the false leadership headed by the Fifth Mizukage, we are also willing to become Konoha's closest ally. In the event of a future war, we would even dispatch troops to form a joint army with Konoha."
The conditions Haku proposed were also very generous. This was probably the biggest concession they could make.
The offers from both sides were merely attempts to get this Fifth Hokage of Konoha to stop meddling in the Land of Water's affairs and to save his own face. Of course, they also hoped to get Konoha's support later on, for example, with military supplies.
"I understand." Naruto sighed and softly offered his final opinion. "Konoha and the Village Hidden in the Mist are both villages of the Five Great Nations. Regardless of which of you achieves final victory, we hope you can shoulder the responsibilities of a great nation's ninja village."
He continued, "As for this mediation, I was too idealistic. Even if I can't stop the war between you, I still hope it can end as soon as possible and not affect the innocent civilians of the Land of Water."
"During this time, I will not interfere in the internal conflict of either side. However, upholding humanitarian principles and the responsibility of a major ninja village, I will dispatch some ninja to provide necessary protection to the civilians of the Land of Water and the merchants of the Land of Fire."
"Lord Hokage..." Mei subconsciously started to object.
Although she couldn't figure out what Naruto wanted to do by staying in the Land of Water, in her eyes, having such a devious Hokage remain had to be part of a conspiracy. His home isn't even near the sea, yet he's meddling so much... This kid should just go back where he came from!
However, Naruto raised a hand to interrupt her, a pleading look on his face. "Sorry, but if I just leave in disgrace, the entire village of Konoha will lose face. It might even provoke the war hawks in the village, leading to some unforeseeable consequences..."
Mei frowned. "This..."
This little blondie... is he threatening her again?
"No need to worry," Naruto said, lowering his head and continuing in a deep voice. "My most important purpose in the Land of Water is to investigate the Akatsuki... I've heard recently that the Mist Village's rogue ninja and jinchuriki of the Six-Tails, Utakata, has disappeared. I suspect it might be the work of the Akatsuki."
"Akatsuki?" Zabuza's expression changed. He nodded and said, "I heard that Kisame Hoshigaki, one of the former Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, is now a member of the Akatsuki..."
"Kisame Hoshigaki?" Mei heard another name that made her unhappy.
Back then, Kisame Hoshigaki didn't have a good reputation in the Mist Village, but he was a loyal follower of the Fourth Mizukage. Later, he inexplicably chose to defect. If Kisame hadn't defected, with his skill and experience, he could have at least become the commander of the ANBU after surviving the Bloody Mist era.
Mei had even fantasized that if the Bloody Mist era were to end one day, Kisame's strength and experience could have made him a contender for the position of Mizukage.
"That's right, Kisame Hoshigaki is indeed a member of the Akatsuki," Naruto nodded. "And Kisame, along with another S-rank rogue ninja from Konoha, Itachi Uchiha, has infiltrated Konoha several times. While I was away from the village, they even assassinated a high-ranking Konoha official."
Yes, they had previously killed Danzo Shimura.
Morally speaking, Naruto should probably thank Kisame. If he and Itachi hadn't killed Danzo, it would have been a bit more troublesome for Naruto to become Hokage...
Mei's and Zabuza's expressions instantly became serious. "Then, Lord Hokage, have you investigated their purpose?"
"Yes." The young Hokage shamelessly threw the blame onto the Akatsuki. "From what we can see, they want to steal secrets from all the villages to incite a great ninja war. They'll then take the opportunity to collect the Tailed Beasts and use their power to rule the ninja world!"
That part was actually correct. Those were the Akatsuki's original goals.
Zabuza's expression changed, and he slammed a fist on the table. "So you're saying, that guy Utakata's disappearance... it was the Akatsuki's doing?"
-----
Bonus:
Black Zetsu: Naruto Uzumaki, why do you blame everything on us!
Naruto: Was I wrong about any of it?
Black Zetsu: ...No, you weren't wrong...
Naruto: Then what are you complaining about?
Black Zetsu: I think there's a problem with our method of cooperation...
Naruto: What's the problem?
Black Zetsu: Why do we get all the blame, while the Tailed Beasts are yours, and the ninja world is yours?
Naruto: Maybe it's because... you guys aren't very smart?
Black Zetsu: ...