Mitsuki Kōmei had thoroughly earned the Third Mizukage's hatred; his continuous earning of money was more unbearable than the Mizukage losing money himself.
Anger surged in his heart, and malice grew in his guts. The Mizukage picked up a pen and paper and began writing letters to the Daimyos of Various Countries.
The letters repeatedly emphasized that Mitsuki Kōmei was taking money from their countries, making their countries poor, and would eventually control their countries' economic lifelines.
If he was allowed to continue his business, they would all be ruined sooner or later. The core idea was simple: the Mitsuki Kōmei Threat Theory.
The Mizukage incited the Daimyos of Various Countries, urging them to target him, close his shops, detain his staff, restrict the sale of his goods, and force him to hand over his formulas and production methods.
The Third Mizukage summoned Yagura and ANBU Ninja, entrusting them with the mission of delivering the letters.
"Deliver the letters I wrote personally to the Daimyos of Various Countries. No one is allowed to see the contents of the letters, especially those from the Land of Water Daimyo Manor."
That afternoon, Mitsuki Kōmei chuckled as he read the Third Mizukage's personal letter.
"It's really well-written. The handwriting is neat, the logic is clear, and it makes a fuss over nothing. It's a pity he doesn't write novels."
Mitsuki Kōmei finished reading the entire letter without the slightest worry. He returned the letter to Yagura, telling him to continue delivering it. Mitsuki Kōmei always felt that the Mizukage's actions were somewhat familiar.
"Young Master, I'm back! I missed you so much!"
Mitsuki Kōmei heard Guo Er's shout from outside the door, rushed out, and a small figure leaped into his arms. Mitsuki Kōmei continuously caressed Guo Er's back.
"It's good that you're back. It must have been hard on the journey."
"It wasn't hard, I just missed Young Master so much, every day!" Guo Er's small hands tightly clutched Mitsuki Kōmei's lapels.
Mitsuki Kōmei patted Guo Er's head.
"I missed little Guo Er too. Now that you're back, don't go out again. Stay home and rest well."
"No way, I still need to help Young Master with his worries!" Guo Er decisively refused. "Young Master, the item has already been delivered. He told you not to worry and guaranteed the mission would be completed."
Mitsuki Kōmei had no choice but to gently pinch Guo Er's little cheek.
"You've gotten thin. You must not have eaten well. Let's go! I'll take you for a good meal, and then you can rest for a few days."
The Mizukage's letters finally reached the Daimyos of Various Countries, who responded with countless Byakugan.
The Hidden Mist Village had not fallen out with the Daimyo, so they might seriously consider the Mizukage's proposal. Currently, sanctioning Mitsuki Kōmei was a thankless task.
Mitsuki Kōmei earning a lot of money was not very useful, and he faced numerous difficulties in training Ninja. There was also a possibility of forcing Mitsuki Kōmei to reconcile with the Hidden Mist Village.
Mitsuki Kōmei not only generated significant tax revenue but also needed to purchase their countries' goods and Materials, so the money ultimately returned to their countries.
The Daimyos of Various Countries subtly rejected the Mizukage's proposal, and the Daimyo of the Land of Wind even cursed the Third Mizukage.
"A dog baring its fangs at its owner and plotting behind his back, a treacherous wretch! The Hidden Mist Village should stop dirtying my eyes. Get back!"
"Mitsuki Kōmei is right. Disobedient dogs should be severely punished. Your funding should be cut off, and you shouldn't receive a single penny."
The Third Mizukage nearly spat blood. He tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice. Mitsuki Kōmei suffered no losses, while he was thoroughly scolded by the Daimyo of the Land of Wind. How dare he?
The Daimyos of Various Countries were indeed good-for-nothings, a bunch of useless people; no one understood his foresight. The Mizukage recalled how Mitsuki Kōmei had caused widespread complaints in Konoha Village recently.
"Useless Daimyos are unreliable. A pheasant cannot understand a Phoenix. As fellow Village Kages, Hiruzen Sarutobi must understand me."
The Mizukage picked up his pen again. He believed that as fellow Village Kages, Hiruzen Sarutobi would happily reach a consensus with him to target Mitsuki Kōmei together.
To bridge their relationship, the Mizukage addressed Hiruzen Sarutobi as "little brother." He stated, "We are both Village Kages, how can we tolerate useless Daimyos standing on our heads, messing around, and doing as they please? Let's deal with him together."
Mitsuki Kōmei found a small loophole in the message relayed by Yagura: the Mizukage's letter did not mention his name. Mitsuki Kōmei issued an order.
"Pass the message to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. Also, discreetly spread rumors in Konoha that Hiruzen Sarutobi does not allow villagers to buy goods from the Land of Water."
Hiruzen Sarutobi received the letter and quickly understood that the Mizukage was inviting him to deal with Mitsuki Kōmei. He neither agreed nor refused. The Mizukage's letter-writing campaign had already spread throughout the entire Ninja World, with countless versions circulating wildly.
"The Mizukage writes love letters to the Daimyos of Various Countries,"
"The Daimyo of the Land of Wind calls the Mizukage a dog,"
"The Mizukage writes a love letter to a dog,"
...Hiruzen Sarutobi understood, but the Daimyo of the Land of Fire did not. He sent an official, who arrived at Konoha full of vigor to question Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, what are you doing? The Mizukage wrote you a letter, why didn't you refuse? Do you also have other ulterior motives?"
The Daimyo of the Land of Fire had his own thoughts: "You, Hiruzen Sarutobi, are flirting with the Mizukage, calling each other brothers. Are you also trying to rebel like the Hidden Mist Village? I'm going to cut your Konoha's funding too."
Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't even appeased the Daimyo's envoy when the Konoha Villagers had already dug out dusty banners, repainted them, and paraded under the Hokage Building.
"Support Land of Water goods, drive away the Hidden Mist Village messenger!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi got a complete headache. He was minding his own business at home, and trouble came from above. Who did he provoke? Everyone was coming to bother him.
In front of the Daimyo's official and the Common People, Hiruzen Sarutobi tore the Mizukage's letter to shreds.
He immediately declared that he had no connection with the Mizukage, that Konoha Village would always be a friendly partner of the Land of Fire, and that he sincerely supported the Daimyo. He promised free trade in Konoha Village; they could sell whatever they wanted.
After saying all the conciliatory words, barely appeasing the Daimyo and the Common People, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately threw the Hidden Mist Village ANBU Ninja out of the village, saying, "Tell that jinx, that troublemaker Mizukage, not to bother me again."
The Mizukage was thwarted again. He didn't catch the fox but ended up with a stench. He secretly regretted it, thinking he should have just written a proper letter instead of trying to be so clever and profound.
The Mizukage took out pen and paper, thought for a long time, but didn't know who to write to. He couldn't come up with a solution himself, so he called for help, believing that three mediocre minds are better than one brilliant one.
"Attack! Night raid Daimyo City!" Taketori Rei suggested.
"Rob! Steal their Seal scrolls filled with money!" Hōzuki Yuzuki clenched his fist.
"Kill! Kill all the merchants!" Yuki no Tatsu Take said with Killing Intent.
"Who will deal with Kakuzu? If you push him too hard and he blocks the village entrance, what will you do?"
The Mizukage's single sentence silenced them. Relying on the Hidden Mist Village's barrier Formation, they weren't afraid of Kakuzu attacking, but they were afraid of him blocking the entrance. Ninja are also people, and they ultimately need to eat.
"Go back."
The Mizukage also realized that it was incredibly difficult for the Hidden Mist Village to produce a brilliant strategist. There was a severe shortage of intelligent talent.
The current Clan Chiefs of the major Ninja clans were not very clever; their minds were full of fighting, and their strength wasn't very good. Together, they would be easily crushed by Kakuzu.
The Mizukage was at a loss and prepared to temporarily give up targeting Mitsuki Kōmei, when an unexpected ally approached, proposing cooperation.
The Mizukage was overjoyed. The two hit it off immediately and began the second round of their conspiracy against Mitsuki Kōmei.