Chapter 262: Mei Terumī's Thoughts!
Mei Terumī and Ao walked silently toward the village through the curtain of rain. Both of their hearts were exceptionally heavy; countless words wanted to escape their lips, yet neither wished to be the first to speak.
"Are you truly prepared to do as that monster...as Uchiha Ikeizumi...says?" Finally, it was Ao, who had been silent all along, who could no longer restrain himself. In terms of age alone, Ao should be Mei Terumī's senior; however, in front of the current Mei, Ao, despite being an elite Jōnin, subconsciously placed himself in the position of a subordinate.
"...We have no choice." Mei Terumī's voice was exceptionally weary. It was not difficult to imagine the kind of pressure she was under at this moment, actively cooperating with a Konoha shinobi who had slaughtered over a thousand Mist shinobi.
Even more terrifying was that the Fourth Mizukage had died at Uchiha Ikeizumi's hands. Even if Yagura had lost all popular support, the righteousness associated with the title of Mizukage remained indestructible.
Moreover, she had no way to ascend to the throne of the Fifth Mizukage through the simplest and most brutal method...avenging the previous Mizukage. Without a proper title, her words would lack authority; Mei could already imagine how many people would stand up to oppose her next.
"That man is, after all, a Konoha shinobi. If we seek help from the three nations of Lightning, Earth, and Wind on the grounds that Konoha is attempting to annex the Mist..." Ao spoke with some lingering unwillingness. When facing Uchiha Ikeizumi's pressure directly, he couldn't even utter a word; but now that he was out of immediate mortal danger, his rather flexible mind had begun to work again.
The structure of the Five Great Nations in the shinobi world had endured to this day partly because none of the three Shinobi World Wars had produced a definitive winner, but also because all five nations shared a certain unspoken understanding.
No matter which nation gained the upper hand in a world war, it would quickly face relentless strikes from the other great nations...just as Kumogakure once risked crossing borders to attack Sunagakure, only to be ambushed by Iwagakure afterward.
The stronger Uchiha Ikeizumi's power and the more tyrannical his actions, the easier it would be to draw the wariness of other great nations.
The Mist certainly no longer had the ability to continue resisting Uchiha Ikeizumi, but in Ao's view, Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure would definitely be interested in weakening Konoha or even directly taking down a powerhouse like Uchiha Ikeizumi.
"Don't do anything reckless, Ao. That man...Uchiha Ikeizumi...is more terrifying than you imagine." Mei Terumī was slightly startled and subconsciously wanted to stop Ao, but when the words reached her lips, she changed her phrasing. "The Mist's losses over these years have been too tragic. Even if we successfully persuade those countries, with our current strength alone, it would be difficult to continue protecting the interests of the Land of Water."
"But if that's the case...if that's the case..." Ao subconsciously covered his right eye, where veins were bulging. Although he didn't know why that person hadn't acted yet, given his character of hating evil as an enemy, this right eye that Ao had fought so hard to capture might very well have to be returned.
"...Given Uchiha Ikeizumi's character and style, even if we do nothing, he will sooner or later become the public enemy of the shinobi world!" Mei Terumī gave Ao a somewhat helpless look. She naturally did not expect that a so-called "public enemy" status could do anything to Uchiha Ikeizumi, but at this stage, only such rhetoric could make the defiant Mist shinobi endure for the time being.
Not resisting Uchiha Ikeizumi to the end was for the sake of waiting for a better opportunity. Although this was an outright lie, it was barely enough to paralyze others in the village.
"I see! As expected of you!" The dejected Ao finally rallied his spirits. The current desperate situation was indeed terrifying, but as long as there was a glimmer of hope, an elite Jōnin like him would not be so easily crushed!
However, what Mei Terumī did not expect was that Ao...who she thought should have realized the truth...actually believed her fabricated rhetoric so easily. He even began to imagine how to borrow the power of the Lightning, Earth, and Wind nations to force Konoha or even Uchiha Ikeizumi to pay the price for today's actions.
"Go and gather the surviving shinobi first. Such a massive commotion has occurred in the village; recall all shinobi stationed on other islands as well!" Mei Terumī rubbed her forehead and spoke wearily. With the Mist's current military strength, it was no longer enough to maintain the framework of a great nation; they had to contract their forces as much as possible to avoid accidents.
Furthermore, Ao's performance forced her to begin re-examining her previous ideas. That plan of acting as Uchiha Ikeizumi's spokesperson and taking all the blame herself seemed somewhat ill-timed.
When even an elite Jōnin like Ao became so unstable under Uchiha Ikeizumi's pressure, her plan to retreat behind the scenes as a "sinner" and hand the village over to a new Mizukage after everything was over seemed a bit like wishful thinking.
"Leave it to me! Wait, where are you going?" Ao nodded steadily, but when he saw Mei Terumī preparing to leave, the emotions he had finally calmed down immediately began to tense up again.
With Ao's psychological resilience, he shouldn't have been this unstable, but the pressure brought by Uchiha Ikeizumi was like a mountain weighing him down. When Mei was there, he could tell himself to just execute orders; now that Mei was suddenly leaving, Ao instantly lost his footing.
"I am going to seek Genji's support." Mei Terumī looked back in the direction of Uchiha Ikeizumi. Previously, she hoped that through self-sacrifice she could return the Mist to the right track, but now it seemed that even Ao was unfit for heavy responsibilities. In the current Mist, besides her, there was likely no one else who could shoulder the name of the Fifth Mizukage. "I will be the one to succeed Yagura as the Mizukage!"
"...I understand. I will persuade the others to support you, Fifth!" Ao couldn't help but widen his eyes. He subconsciously wanted to voice an objection but couldn't find the words. It wasn't that he wanted to compete with Mei for the position of Mizukage; he simply felt that becoming the Mizukage at this time was not a good idea.
But thinking of the Mist's current situation, if no one took up the title of Mizukage, or if some reckless fool took the position, the consequences would be unthinkable!
"Quickly, we have no time to waste!" Mei Terumī simply pursed her lips, then hurried toward Genji's residence. She needed to persuade Genji as quickly as possible; only in this way could she become the Fifth Mizukage in the shortest time!
Meanwhile, inside the Hidden Mist Village, the remaining Mist shinobi had gathered together by unspoken agreement. Aside from those out on missions or guarding outer islands, more than half of the current total of fewer than five hundred Mist shinobi were present. The rest were either injured and had temporarily lost combat capability, or were so terrified that they chose to hide and dared not show their faces.
"Is everyone here?! Prepare for battle! We set out now!"
A Mist Jōnin with shark-like pointed teeth gave orders urgently. Having just rushed back to the village, he had not personally witnessed the previous battle. He only knew that an external enemy had invaded the village and, after defeating the Fourth Mizukage, had begun a massacre in the village.