"Here's to a pleasant partnership, my dearest friend. A."
Hoshino Maki stared at the screen, now blank, and repeated the final word.
"Lord Tsuchikage, wasn't he being rather rude?"
Hoshino Maki complained to Ōnoki, who stood beside him.
"I think he was already being very gracious. If the opportunity had presented itself, I have no doubt he would've come all the way here to give you a hearty Lightning Plow Hot Blade."
Ōnoki rose to his feet, his expression unchanged.
It was the fifth day of negotiations between the Three Great Ninja Villages. Since Cloud and Stone had formed an alliance, the Cloud Ninja had sent the Iwagakure Ninja the latest communication equipment to make discussions easier. The Sand Shinobi had no such equipment, so Hoshino Maki had to travel to the Iwagakure front to communicate with the Cloud Ninja alongside Ōnoki.
Of course, given Hoshino Maki's cautious nature, this definitely wasn't his real body. It was a puppet.
This upgraded puppet was nearly indistinguishable from a real person in its construction. Only its bones were somewhat different, and unless someone belonged to the Hyuga Clan, it would be difficult to tell.
"Pleasant partnership, Lord Tsuchikage."
Ōnoki shook Hoshino Maki's hand. "Pleasant partnership. With you on our side, our pressure will ease a little."
"Jiraiya can put that much pressure on the Iwagakure Ninja?"
Ōnoki hesitated, then said gravely, "Jiraiya alone isn't the problem. The problem is that Konoha has too many top Jonin. The Inuzuka Clan and Aburame Clan Ninja always manage to find us and see through our ambushes. Then the Shimura Clan men bring the Anbu to assassinate our people. Many of our best Ninja have died without us even knowing how. But we don't have the means to counter them, and the few outposts we've taken aren't worth much."
They seemed to be advancing triumphantly, but in reality, they were on the back foot.
A coward might have heard that both allied forces were losing ground and started having second thoughts.
Hoshino Maki only sneered inwardly. The old man wasn't telling the truth about a single thing. If they were really losing, would he still be holding the front line against the enemy?
He would've sold out the Cloud Ninja and gone home long ago.
No, given his nature, he'd have stabbed the Cloud Ninja in the back first.
Sure enough, Ōnoki continued, "How about this? Your forces launch a surprise attack on Jiraiya's troops from behind, while we attack from the front. We'll catch them completely off guard and wipe out Konoha's Western Front forces. Then the entire Land of Fire will be meat on our chopping block!"
As he spoke, he floated into the air and patted Hoshino Maki on the shoulder.
Hoshino Maki looked tempted, too. "I'll report this to the Elder Council. That meat does sound awfully tempting."
Ōnoki nodded in satisfaction. "Then I'll wait for good news."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Hoshino Maki got up to leave.
As soon as Hoshino Maki had disappeared from view, the genial smile vanished from Ōnoki's face. "Kitsuchi, what do you think?"
"I think he was just humoring us. He seemed easy to deal with, but he didn't make a single concrete promise."
Kitsuchi, who had been serving as his guard, spoke in a low voice.
He might have looked rough around the edges, but as the Third Kazekage's son, he had picked up some sense for reading people.
"What would a promise matter anyway? Would Ninja let an agreement tie their hands? The important thing is that the Sand Shinobi Village put him in charge of the negotiations. That means his opinion can greatly influence the Elder Council's decisions. I never thought that bunch of old fossils would listen to a young man."
Ōnoki shook his head in disappointment. His son still had a lot to learn. He couldn't possibly entrust the village to him with any peace of mind.
"Contact our agents in the Sand Shinobi Village. Have them spread more stories about the generations-old feud between Konoha and the Sand Ninja. Buy drinks for people whose relatives were killed by Konoha. They'll have plenty of grievances to air."
"Yes, but..." Kitsuchi hesitated. Ōnoki furrowed his gray brows. "If you have something to say, say it."
"The agents sent word earlier that the cost of living in the Sand Shinobi Village has been climbing. They've nearly spent all the funds we gave them and are asking the village for more. You told them to wait in the nearby oases. If they gather everyone there again, I'm afraid we won't have enough time..."
Kitsuchi knew that even though he was Ōnoki's son, openly questioning one of his decisions would earn him a severe reprimand.
Sure enough, Ōnoki flushed and glared at him. "Are you questioning my decision?!"
"No, no!"
Ōnoki took two deep breaths, then paused. "Forget it. Go get Han."
"You want Han to go? What about the rear?"
"It's fine. The Sand and Cloud are allies now. There won't be a problem at the rear in the short term. Burning those damned bugs and dogs to death is the top priority."
Ōnoki seemed to remember something. "Oh, and hire a few Rogue Ninja to disguise themselves as Konoha Ninja and attack Hoshino Maki. Make sure none of our people are involved."
Kitsuchi was puzzled. Those Rogue Ninja couldn't kill Hoshino Maki, so he didn't understand why his father was going to all that trouble. Still, he nodded.
The next day.
"And that concludes the preliminary intentions and terms of the alliance."
Hoshino Maki closed the document and looked at the assembled elders.
"I heard you encountered assassins on your way back?"
Moyuzi spoke up.
Hoshino Maki calmly shook his head. "They were just Rogue Ninja looking to make a quick buck."
Moyuzi nodded. The war had only further eroded the already fragile order of this world, so this sort of thing wasn't surprising.
Suddenly, a jarring voice spoke up.
"Seems like there's still too little in this for our side."
An elder from the Kazekage faction had spoken, indirectly criticizing Hoshino Maki for handling the matter poorly.
Now that they were rivals, he had no reason not to nitpick.
Hoshino Maki raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then what else do you think we should ask for, sir?"
The elder cleared his throat. "The Iwagakure Ninja took so many of our ore contracts. We could make them cancel those. The merchants wouldn't dare do anything to them anyway. The Cloud Ninja should also hand over a few treasures."
He went on for a while, but eventually ran out of ideas and nodded. "That should do for now."
Hoshino Maki nodded, then tore up the Alliance Document in his hands. The rip made everyone in the room freeze.
"I'm not capable enough to meet your demands, sir. I'm willing to accept responsibility for my poor handling of the matter and go to prison to await the Elder Council's punishment. I only hope you can shoulder this important task and secure the benefits you mentioned for the Sand Shinobi Village."
As he spoke, he tossed the document to the ground, turned, and strode away.
The elder's face turned ashen. He knew his own abilities. He was good at finding fault—and very good at it—but he had little skill at getting anything done.
If word got out that the alliance between the Three Great Ninja Villages had fallen apart because of him, costing the village a great deal, Chōjūrō's people would seize the opportunity to make trouble. It would be a serious headache.
But he was a highly respected elder, and he couldn't bring himself to beg a junior to save face. The atmosphere froze.
Sajiu kept signaling to Rasa. Rasa sighed inwardly. Did I take a seat at this table just to clean up after old men?
Despite that thought, he stood and hurried after Hoshino Maki.
A while later, Rasa returned and whispered something in the elder's ear. The elder looked troubled. After hesitating, he finally nodded with difficulty.
Only then did Rasa leave. Before long, he returned with Hoshino Maki, and everyone continued discussing the deployment as if nothing had happened.
"Qu Zhen, got a light?"
At a post on the western border of the Land of Fire, two Ninja on guard duty puffed clouds into the cold air as they lit traditional cigarettes.
The first snow had fallen here the previous night. It hadn't piled up thickly, but it had dusted the ground with a thin layer of white.
Qu Zhen shielded a match from the wind and lit it. He held it out to the other man's cigarette and lit one of his own.
"Phew."
The Ninja took a deep drag and smiled contentedly.
"Captain, how much longer do we have to patrol? There isn't a soul around here."
The captain blew a smoke ring and waved a hand. "Aw, Qu Zhen, you're new here. You don't understand yet. There's no one around our southwestern corner, but it's safe. Just look at the northwest and the east. They're fighting like crazy. These days, staying alive is what matters most."
He squinted again, savoring the pleasure the nicotine brought.
Qu Zhen was young. Hearing the captain say something so different from what he'd been taught at the Ninja Academy, he bristled and said, "I was recognized as a genius at the Ninja Academy. I should be on the battlefield, fighting to protect the village. I'd make a real difference on the eastern front."
The captain smiled but said nothing. If Qu Zhen were really a genius, why would they have sent him here?
But he didn't argue. Everyone had been young and reckless once.
He took a deep breath. The cigarette at his lips quickly turned to gray ash, which scattered in the cold wind.
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a black figure speeding toward them through the silver-white landscape. His gaze sharpened.
"Enemy attack—!"
The captain shouted at the top of his lungs and struck the bronze gong beside him with all his strength. Its clang quickly rang through the entire outpost.
"Qu Zhen, run!"
The captain swallowed, pulled out a Kunai, and stepped in front of him. His voice trembled, but his resolve did not.
"No! Konoha has no deserters! I'm staying to hold the enemy back!"
Qu Zhen looked panicked, but he still mustered his courage, gripped his Kunai, and stood beside the captain.
"Idiot! That's Pakura! We don't stand a chance against her, understand?! Get the hell out of here! Now!"
The captain shoved Qu Zhen away, yelling fiercely.
As the figure drew closer, the distinctive clothes told the Konoha captain exactly who he was about to face.
They were stationed along the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers, supposedly to guard the Land of Rivers. But everyone knew the Land of Rivers didn't even have a Ninja Village, so there was nothing to guard against. Their real purpose was to keep the Sand Ninja at bay.
Pakura, one of the Sand Ninja's rising stars, was no stranger to them. And because they knew who she was, they felt all the more desperate. The only thing they could do was get word of the Sand Ninja invasion back to the village.
"Did you hear me? Get out!"
"Yes!"
Qu Zhen clenched his jaw, his muscles trembling despite himself.
As the only Ninja at the outpost proficient in Wind Release and Taijutsu, he hadn't expected to be the sole person chosen for such an important mission.
But there was no time to steady himself. He grabbed the railing of the watchtower and leapt down. With a push of his foot, he shot away like an arrow loosed from a bow, retreating toward the village, where a Konoha base was located.
Just as he was about to disappear into the woods, he couldn't resist looking back. What he saw nearly stopped his heart.
Pakura had the captain by the neck, holding him high in the air. The once-burly man had become a dried-up corpse, limp and lifeless.
At the same time, cries of battle and screams kept reaching his ears. Two streams of hot tears slipped from the corners of his eyes and streamed behind him in the wind.
Qu Zhen sniffed. The captain had entrusted everything to him. He didn't have time to grieve.
"Would you like a tissue?"
A gentle voice suddenly came from beside his ear, and Qu Zhen's body jolted. It was as if he'd fallen into an icy abyss.
Before you continue