Preparing for Peace Talks

Inside the Hokage Office in Konohagakure, Konoha's top brass were holding a meeting.

With a bang, Danzō slammed his hand down on the table and roared, "Hiruzen, why are we stopping the offensive against Sunagakure?"

Shimura Danzō was furious. Everyone around him instinctively shrank back, afraid of being caught in the blast of his anger.

"Why?" Hiruzen Sarutobi sneered, fixing Danzō with a sharp gaze. "Danzō, don't you understand? If you don't, then have Sakumo and Orochimaru explain it to you again, Commander."

Others might fear Shimura Danzō, but Hiruzen Sarutobi did not. He was the Hokage now. He had to consider the bigger picture and could not care only about Shimura Danzō's feelings.

"Give me a little more time. I'll definitely find a way to break through Bunpuku's sandstorm. We don't have to negotiate peace so soon, do we?"

Under Hiruzen Sarutobi's piercing gaze, Shimura Danzō lowered his head and did his best to soften his tone.

"You can't break through it. And if you can't, do I have to keep our forces tied down at Sunagakure indefinitely? Never mind Iwagakure—Kumogakure's forces have been stationed along the border the whole time. If we suffer a setback and can't mobilize our shinobi in time, Kumogakure will definitely take a bite out of us, and Iwagakure will kick us while we're down." Hiruzen Sarutobi pressed relentlessly. "When that happens, who will pay for the losses? You, Shimura Danzō? The Shimura Clan? Or me, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his voice with every word, and by the end, he was outright shouting.

He was deeply disappointed. His old comrade-in-arms was beginning to lose sight of the situation.

Shimura Danzō returned to his seat and lowered his head in silence. The young Hiruzen Sarutobi was no longer someone he could suppress.

Seeing this, everyone else lowered their heads as well. They did not dare meddle in the affairs between those two close friends.

Even Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Kagami Uchiha were no exception.

"Shimura, I know what you're thinking, but there's no helping it. That's Bunpuku, the only perfect Jinchuriki at present. With Shukaku's Chakra reserves and the terrain of the Land of Wind, the pressure on us is too great. If we can't take them within ten days at most, we'll have to face Sunagakure's desperate counterattack.

"When that happens, neither Iwagakure nor Kumogakure will let us off."

Seeing his old friend slump back into his seat in despair, Hiruzen Sarutobi eased his tone and hurriedly consoled him.

He still had plenty of things for his old friend to do.

"Don't worry, Hiruzen. I know what takes priority. You should discuss the other matters first."

Shimura Danzō forced a smile and pulled himself together as he replied.

For the first time, Shimura Danzō felt just how important power was.

He needed power—power that even Hiruzen Sarutobi could not ignore.

He no longer wanted to be talked down to.

"Mm."

Seeing Danzō's attitude, Hiruzen Sarutobi revealed a satisfied smile. As expected of his good friend; he still understood him.

"Sakumo, you will travel to the Land of Wind and negotiate the next steps with Sunagakure.

"Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Tsunade, lead troops to the Land of Rain. According to intelligence, Mu has sent people to the Land of Rain.

"Kagami, lead the Uchiha and the other Konoha Clans to the border with the Land of Lightning. Do everything in your power to hold them back."

Hiruzen Sarutobi issued his orders swiftly.

He kept Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu in Konoha to help him guard their home base and provide support at any time.

As for Sakumo, Orochimaru, and the other two, he sent them all out.

Danzō's confrontation with him this time had made Hiruzen Sarutobi realize that he could not rely solely on his fellow disciples. He also needed a more steadfast group of people to support him.

And was there anyone more suitable to be truly loyal to him than his own students?

There was not.

In Sunagakure, Yunqing watched the painfully slow progress of the tree-planting and forest-building project and felt as though his mind was about to twist itself apart.

This was simply too frustrating.

For the sake of the project, every Jonin in Sunagakure had begun studying Water Release Chakra as a secondary discipline.

But it still was not enough. The efficiency was far too low.

"At this rate, when will we ever see any results?"

Watching the Sand Shinobi below work hard and spit out great mouthfuls of water, Yunqing's expression turned somewhat ferocious.

"Hehe, Lord Kazekage, there's no use being anxious. Water Release was never our specialty to begin with. Besides, things have already improved greatly."

Ebizo spoke with a chuckle beside him, his whole face crinkling into a smile like a chrysanthemum.

He had lived for decades, but he had never been this happy.

"Go on, Elder. What good news have you brought?"

Yunqing yawned, then turned to look at Ebizo.

"Konoha and Iwagakure have sent word. They are preparing to negotiate peace at the border."

Ebizo replied with a smile.

Yunqing narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Ebizo. "What do you think they mean by this? Three-way peace talks? They sure came up with something ridiculous."

"Pressure. Konoha and Iwagakure must have formed some sort of alliance long ago. Bunpuku is holding the Konoha front, while the border shinobi led by Suke are holding Iwagakure. With the advantage of terrain, neither side can mount much of an offensive. They can no longer endure it."

Ebizo analyzed things bit by bit. They needed to be careful.

"Since that's the case, our chance to make a fortune has arrived. Prepare all those supplies of ours that are already 'useless.' Oh, right—how are the gifts I told you to send to the daimyo coming along?"

Yunqing and Ebizo exchanged a glance, then both burst out laughing.

They were sending the daimyo a grand gift. Since he refused to provide them with supplies and even sold them to other nations to use against them, they would let him learn what true supernatural deterrence was.

In Daimyo City of the Land of Wind, the daimyo and a group of nobles were flying into a rage.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it! None of our goods were left behind! What the hell is Sunagakure good for?"

The fat daimyo roared at the people kneeling below him.

"Lord Daimyo, we sent word to Sunagakure. They said the war had caused too much damage and that they had no time to spare, so they hoped that you would dispatch Samurai yourself to handle it."

The noble below pressed his forehead to the floor and spoke rapidly, as if his mouth had been borrowed and would have to be returned shortly.

"No time to spare... Hmph, hmph, hmph. Fine, leave. Since the war is already over, cut off military trade with Iwagakure and Konoha."

The daimyo returned to his seat and said this between heavy breaths.

Upon hearing those words, the nobles hurried toward the exit, afraid that if they moved too slowly, the daimyo would call them back and assign them another nerve-racking task.

"Oh, right. Reassign the missions near the regions bordering Konoha and Iwagakure to me."

Just as the nobles were about to leave the hall, the daimyo's shrill voice still reached them.

"Yes, Lord Daimyo."

The others answered promptly.

After the nobles and servants left, the daimyo sat alone in the seat of honor and muttered, "Were it really bandits, Konoha, and Iwagakure who did this? Why do I feel like Sunagakure was the one that robbed us?"

"Lord Daimyo, I believe Sunagakure was the culprit. They are already too poor to keep the pot boiling, and you also reduced the number of missions assigned to them. For the sake of their so-called dignity, they had no choice but to do this."

Scarface stepped out from a corner of the hall and spoke to the daimyo with fervent conviction.

"Surely not. The Five Great Nations agreement is right there. Sunagakure shouldn't dare to do such a thing."

The daimyo spoke hesitantly.

Yet the gleam in his eyes revealed that he already believed Scarface's words.

He knew what he had done during the war, and he also understood Sunagakure's intelligence-gathering abilities. After all, that was their specialty.

"Lord Daimyo, please trust me. Leave the investigation to me."

Scarface sighed. He knew his "great undertaking" would not be so easy to accomplish.

"Go."

The daimyo answered softly.