The Third Mizukage wasn't some naïvely optimistic type who thought he could hit Konoha and conveniently rescue his own captives at the same time.
It was doable in theory, but the odds of the plan succeeding were very low.
Because those prisoners were very likely already taken back to Konoha.
By the time they finished off Habu Mokgetsu, Karatachi Yagura and that thousand Hidden Mist Ninjas would either be slaughtered by furious Konoha Ninja, or remain bargaining chips for an exchange.
Trying to break that many Ninja out of Konoha was way too hard; if we can't beat you, killing a bunch of captives is the easiest thing in the world.
"No, that's not right, I still have one more option." A spark of inspiration flashed through the Third Mizukage's mind.
Why was he so resistant to peace talks with Konoha, was he really dead set on going after Konoha?
No. It was because Konoha was extorting them by relying on the large number of hostages in their hands; signing a peace treaty would cost the Hidden Mist a huge amount of wealth, leaving the Third Mizukage with neither money nor reputation.
If he didn't cooperate with Hidden Rock and the others, and instead sold their plans to Konoha, using equal-status peace negotiations to demand becoming Konoha's ally…
Then not only would The Hidden Mist Village avoid bleeding money to ward off disaster, Karatachi Yagura and the others would be absolutely safe, not killed as scapegoats, and maybe they could even demand the return of all five lost Ninja Blades.
The only downside would be that Hidden Rock, Hidden Cloud, and Hidden Sand—the Three Great Ninja Villages—would suddenly have their favorability toward the Hidden Mist plummet.
But thinking it through, that wasn't really a problem, because he would have Konoha as an ally; the Hidden Mist becomes a snitch for Konoha, so Konoha can't just pretend they don't know them.
That way, this "second God of Ninjas" Habu Mokgetsu wouldn't be a threat to the Hidden Mist at all, but would instead become a huge asset.
"As long as Habu Mokgetsu can withstand the three villages joining forces, then this is actually the optimal choice." The Third Mizukage increasingly felt he ought to abandon the darkness and turn to the light.
Though Habu Mokgetsu was a Konoha Ninja, the Third Mizukage had great confidence in him.
A ruthless man who managed to capture most of the Hidden Mist Ninja Squad, including Karatachi Yagura, plus the Hidden Mist's support—three villages united might not be unbeatable.
With that thought, the Third Mizukage had Anbu summon Genji.
He could ignore the opinions of others, but Genji's he still had to take seriously.
The Third Mizukage shared his thoughts with Genji. "Genji, what do you think the Hidden Mist should choose?"
"Use our cooperation as leverage and stand on Konoha's side." Genji thought for a moment and replied.
If not for those more than a thousand captives, Genji would most likely have chosen to join Hidden Rock in crusading against Konoha.
With those thousand-plus captives, allying with Konoha naturally came with benefits for the Hidden Mist.
If they cooperated with Hidden Rock, win or lose, the lives of those thousand-plus prisoners would never be guaranteed.
If they cooperated with Konoha, there was a decent chance of victory; if they won, the captives would certainly be safe and sound, and they'd also gain Konoha's friendship.
Seeing that Genji agreed with his own view, the Third Mizukage quickly pushed the resolution through at a high-level meeting—on one hand contacting Hidden Rock to say he agreed to cooperate and send troops, and on the other contacting Konoha.
To show the Hidden Mist's sincerity, Genji volunteered to personally lead a team to Konoha to negotiate the cooperation.
When Onoki learned that all Three Great Ninja Villages had agreed to cooperate, he personally came to a small border town to preside over the meeting.
To make sure nothing went wrong, Onoki was planning to personally take the field this time.
Not only was he going himself, Onoki also invited the Third Raikage, the Third Mizukage, and the Fourth Kazekage to join the fight.
The reason was that what had happened to Habu Mokgetsu might prompt Konoha to send reinforcements, and Habu Mokgetsu knew the Flying Thunder God Jutsu; they needed enough top-tier fighters to team up and hunt him down.
The Hidden Cloud Village's desire to eliminate Mokgetsu this time was no weaker than Hidden Rock's. The Third Raikage was the first to reply, saying he would be present.
The Third Raikage didn't trust anyone else; he wanted to personally cut down Habu Mokgetsu to eliminate future trouble.
Right after that, the Third Mizukage also replied, saying he himself would appear at the encirclement site and personally lead the Hidden Mist Elite assassination unit in the mission.
Seeing that the other Shadows were all going, Rasa, who originally wasn't planning to go, changed his mind and decided to personally head to the Land of Grass to join in the fun.
With all the other Shadows going, if he didn't show up, wouldn't that make him look cowardly? As the only Fourth Shadow among the current Five Great Ninja Villages, Rasa felt he couldn't let The Hidden Sand Village lose face.
"Four villages' Shadows gathering just to kill one person—this is a first in the Ninja World, isn't it?" A smile appeared on Onoki's face.
The plan was proceeding exactly as he'd envisioned, and Onoki was in a very good mood.
So what if he had the bearing of Senju Hashirama? Snuff him out in advance and it's over; as long as he hasn't truly become the second God of Ninjas, there's still a chance.
At this moment Onoki was glad that from the very start of the war until now, he had unwaveringly gone after Konoha.
If he hadn't pushed Konoha into a corner, Konoha's leadership might have kept Mokgetsu hidden, using Wood Release sparingly, and only revealed his power after he reached a level close to Senju Hashirama.
To make sure Mokgetsu stayed in the Land of Grass and no accidents occurred, Onoki truly went all out.
Besides the primary battlefield in the Land of Grass, Onoki strongly advised the Hidden Mist to send troops once more to invade the southeast of the Land of Fire, drawing Konoha's attention and preventing the Konoha Ninja Squad in the Land of Grass from receiving too much reinforcement.
Similarly, Onoki suggested that the Hidden Cloud dispatch some personnel to operate along the Land of Rice Fields' border, to create the illusion that the Hidden Cloud still hadn't given up on opening up a front from the Land of Rice Fields, thereby distracting Konoha's focus.
As for the Hidden Sand, Onoki actually didn't suggest that they formally declare war on Konoha; he felt it would be better for the Hidden Sand to suddenly show up and hit Konoha with a surprise attack.
Because if Hidden Sand declared war on Konoha, then all four Great Ninja Villages would be in a state of war with Konoha, which might push Konoha into high alert and cause them to reinforce their borders.