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If we were to take stock of all the things Haori had done over the years… it's best not to. For the sake of the soul of this story, we need him to keep living.
He had helped the peace faction of the Hidden Mist solve their most important problems, and after causing a large-scale, long-lasting state of confusion among several Hidden Mist ninjas, he took the opportunity to leave the Land of Water.
Incidentally, some of his actions had a kind of curse-like effect. Even many years later, certain scenes would still appear in Mei Terumī's mind from time to time, unable to be shaken off.
In reality, it wasn't easy for Haori to create a clone to deceive his enemies while he was in the Hidden Mist. This highlighted the drawbacks of Konoha losing a Byakugan.
If it hadn't been for Ao's Byakugan, even if the Hidden Mist had used reconnaissance ninjas to monitor Haori, they wouldn't have been able to directly "see" his actions… The Byakugan was perfect for spying. It was a natural fit.
So, under that kind of surveillance, Haori had to be fast, accurate, and ruthless to find an opening to use the Shadow Clone Technique. He had to seize the opportunity.
After accomplishing all this, he returned to the Land of Fire without incident. After all, with the Hidden Mist in its current state, even if he had suddenly disappeared, and even if he had mocked them before disappearing, they didn't have the time or energy to do anything to him.
Because they had lost their leader, the Hidden Mist's war faction would probably be in disarray. The peace faction would take the opportunity to divide and conquer them, and they would try their best to stabilize the situation in the Hidden Mist, help Mei Terumī's ascension to power, and wait for the Third Mizukage to die. Although the Kage position was a succession system, it wouldn't happen that quickly. When Mei Terumī had truly grown into a mature woman, that would probably be when she became the Fourth Mizukage.
Although he wrote in his note that he didn't want to take the blame, Haori was actually prepared to take the fall. After all, it wasn't entirely his fault. Although it was a conspiracy between both sides, Haori was the one who ultimately took action. The current situation was simply exaggerating his less than 10% responsibility into 100%.
But this wouldn't affect the peace faction's promise. Because it wasn't a promise. It was the shared desire of the peace faction and Konoha. Peace was something that both sides needed.
......
"This is…"
On the Konoha front line against the Hidden Mist, Haori handed the document he had painstakingly obtained to Orochimaru.
"The Hidden Mist's reply to the Hokage's letter. It's a good response." Haori said, still looking quite relaxed and satisfied.
After all, the mission was considered a complete success, even though there had been some minor setbacks.
"Oh?" Orochimaru's tone was slightly doubtful. "Based on your mission deadline, I thought you were already dead in the Hidden Mist… It seems like all sorts of things happened in the Hidden Mist."
His words weren't very nice, but they were true. No matter whether the answer he got in the Hidden Mist was affirmative or negative, Haori was simply delivering a letter. He should have returned long ago. The fact that he hadn't returned was enough to explain some things.
Orochimaru wouldn't know that Haori, as a Konoha ninja, and to be more specific, a Konoha ninja who ran errands, had actually helped the other side to carry out a coup d'état and political assassination in the Hidden Mist.
"There were some unexpected situations…"
Haori began to recount the details of his mission, starting with how he accidentally discovered that the Mizukage he had met was actually Mei Terumī in disguise.
"So, the Mizukage really did have a problem?"
Orochimaru had quickly finished reading the reply. It was indeed the best response for Konoha. The only regret was that the only signatures on it were those of several advisors. The Mizukage's signature wasn't there. It was a bit suspicious in terms of its validity. But if Haori was telling the truth, considering that the Third Mizukage was no longer able to manage things, this should be the signature of the highest authority in the Hidden Mist.
"Although the specific situation is unclear, it should be true. I never saw the Mizukage or anyone who looked like him. If you were to guess in an extreme way, you couldn't rule out the possibility that the Third Mizukage has already died unexpectedly… If the Hidden Mist still has Konoha spies operating, you can strengthen intelligence gathering in this area. After all, I was in the Hidden Mist for too short a time, and I was always under strict surveillance." Haori responded.
While he was in the Hidden Mist, his actions were always strictly limited. He only had contact with a few ninjas, and they were all the kind of ninjas who would keep their mouths shut about important information. It was almost impossible to gather intelligence.
But even though there was no direct evidence, Haori could still basically confirm the Mizukage's situation. Because this could be confirmed in reverse – if the Mizukage hadn't had a problem, would he have let the peace faction run wild like this? It was ultimately up to him to decide whether to fight or negotiate peace, not the people Haori had met.
"Haori, this mission was excellent… This means my work will be finished soon." Appreciation and praise could be heard in Orochimaru's tone. But his gaze shifted to the side, so Haori couldn't see the expression on his pale face.
He must have been happy.
From this angle, plus Haori's own height, he could only see the back of Orochimaru's head… Huh, looking at it like this, was the Snake Sannin still a black-haired, long-haired beauty?
As for Orochimaru, he had things he liked to do and was more interested in than killing and fighting. If you had to summarize him with one characteristic, it wouldn't be the word "poison," but his obsession with jutsu.
All kinds of jutsu, especially those forbidden jutsu that needed to be researched step by step.
Now, because of Haori's role in this mission, Orochimaru would probably be able to return to his main job sooner than he had expected. It was even two or three years earlier than his original estimate.
Thinking about it, Haori, as a ninja, was actually a very proactive and efficient person. This could be seen from his previous missions. But this mission showed his autonomy, initiative, and judgment, which was unprecedented. The reason was that he had undergone some kind of transformation. The old Haori was, at his core, a… lazy person. The kind of lazy person whose brain was trembling.
As for what had happened to the Third Mizukage, for Konoha's spies, this wasn't the kind of mission that required high-risk reconnaissance. A Tailed Beast rampage couldn't be concealed. After the Hidden Mist's control was relaxed, the information was passed on. Konoha learned that the Third Mizukage had indeed been seriously injured.
This situation, where his power was greatly diminished, further confirmed the Hidden Mist's determination to negotiate peace.
Haori and the other side exchanged envoys again, holding a second and third round of communication. After that, they tacitly reached a ceasefire. The front lines of both sides basically went silent.
Later, on a small island between the Land of Water and the Land of Fire, Orochimaru and the Hidden Mist's representative, Mei Terumī, and the others held a formal dialogue. The framework for peace was basically established at that time.
Although true, "formal" peace would still take some time, this matter had been put on the right track. At this point, Haori had seen everything he wanted to see. So, after achieving his greatest goal, he had no reason to stay on this front line.
He had other things to do. At this time, a ceasefire and peace were naturally crucial. But considering the significance for the future, the latter seemed much more important.
But that's life. When you get something, you always lose something. And the importance and urgency of gains and losses are not determined by anyone's subjective consciousness.
This is even more true for ninjas. Many times, the choice doesn't exist for them. Helping each other is often difficult to achieve. More often, they have to rely on themselves, even Haori.
But for some things, are you able to resist, or are you unable to resist?
The word "fate."
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