Hell Valley

"A sick person was going to die no matter what. If I were the captain, I would prioritize the lives of the other nine."

Itachi expressed his thoughts in the simplest terms. Jiraiya frowned upon hearing them, while Shikaku Nara remained silent. The other Konoha shinobi present wore varying expressions; clearly, the question was shocking to anyone.

"I would choose to kill one person to save nine."

Hearing Uchiha Itachi's pure yet rational answer, everyone saw a rare smile appear on Danzo's usually gloomy face.

"A very clear answer."

Guo Wang stepped up to Itachi and placed a hand on his shoulder, seeming to treat him as an equal rather than a child.

"I look forward to the day we meet again."

As he brushed past him, he spoke in a voice so soft it was nearly a murmur. No one but Itachi heard it.

After a brief period of recuperation, Konoha's shinobi headed for the front lines once more.

Everyone knew that the Shinobi World War was about to enter its final phase, but the brutality unleashed by its final aftershocks exceeded the Five Great Nations' expectations.

In the end, the Tsuchikage had still underestimated the Raikage. Though the strongest Lightning Release Armor had been broken by Danzo, Third A remained the most powerful War Machine.

With him as the spearhead, the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki flanking him, Iwagakure's supposed force of thirty thousand shinobi simply could not stop Kumogakure's desperate march home.

Ōnoki had anticipated this, which was why he had specifically brought two Jinchuriki. He had hoped to use the Four-Tails' destructive power, second only to the Nine-Tails, and the Five-Tails' fastest God Speed, together with his strongest Kekkei Tōta, to kill Third A.

But something unforeseen happened. Early in the war, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki disappeared.

After serving as a Jinchuriki for twenty or thirty years, the hot-tempered Roshi had grown weary of war and no longer wished to live a life of slaughter. Taking advantage of this expedition, he fled Iwagakure.

A furious Ōnoki could only face the rampaging Third A, powerless to pursue and capture his old friend.

Even so, Iwagakure still held an absolute advantage on the main battlefield. Not only did they outnumber Kumogakure's shinobi by more than two to one, but Ōnoki's Dust Release was simply too destructive. Even the Lightning Release Armor at its peak could not dare take head-on a force that surpassed the Kekkei Genkai.

But at the critical moment, Namikaze Minato, whose instincts were exceptionally sharp, arrived. Though he did not join the battle between the two nations, the Tsuchikage had no choice but to divert part of his attention to Konoha.

Kumogakure, with no way out left, did not think so much. They focused solely on breaking through the enemy lines and fighting.

As one side weakened while the other gained strength, Iwagakure retreated again and again.

Just as Ōnoki made up his mind to wipe out Kumogakure completely, Danzo arrived with Konoha's army.

"Minato, go relay my terms to the Raikage."

Inside the nighttime command tent, Guo Wang, acting as commander, assigned an S-rank negotiation mission. Shikaku Nara, who had long been prepared, tossed a scroll to the blond young man.

It listed a total of thirty-seven conditions, ranging from sovereignty over the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Frost to livestock, fisheries, medicinal materials, gold, currency, food, Ninjutsu, technology, secret arts, population, and more...

If the Raikage agreed, Konoha would take sixty to seventy percent of the Land of Lightning's remaining postwar benefits.

"Lord Danzo, with the Raikage's temperament, he will never agree to these terms."

After reading the contents, Namikaze Minato spoke with a wry smile.

"I greatly admire men of backbone. If A is willing to take his subordinates with him into the Yellow Springs, then among the next generation of shinobi, he will surely become a legend."

From Konoha's standpoint, they stood to gain whether or not this agreement was reached.

If the Raikage signed it, that would naturally be best. If he refused, Guo Wang would not mind joining forces with the Tsuchikage to send a rival of their generation to his death first.

As for how Kumogakure's remaining interests would be divided after the Raikage died, they would see then whether Dust Release was stronger or the Mangekyo was more formidable.

"I will do my best. I only hope that after the Raikage sees the contents of the scroll, he will still be rational enough to speak with me."

Namikaze Minato put away the treaty document and was about to leave when Guo Wang added one final sentence.

"Just deliver it. If Third A agrees, have the Fourth Raikage personally bring this agreement back to me."

At those words, Jiraiya and Shikaku Nara, standing nearby, both twitched. Their gazes toward Namikaze Minato filled with sympathy.

Originally, they had expected the Raikage, battered by reality, to "carefully consider" the matter before reluctantly signing this "alliance treaty" after several rounds of bargaining. But once Danzo added that final clause, the deal was probably doomed.

And as the negotiation envoy, even with the Flying Thunder God, Minato likely would not fare well against the enraged Raikage father and son.

"Lord Danzo, should I accompany Senior Minato?"

Shisui Uchiha, wearing a fox mask, suddenly asked. Over the past few days, the two had fought from the same trench. Both were inheritors of the Will of Fire, and they felt as though they had met too late in life, already becoming friends despite their age difference.

"There is another mission for you."

Thinking Danzo was merely brushing him off, Jiraiya took over the conversation and laughed heartily.

"What mission? I've been lying in bed for too long anyway. Why not let this Sage stretch his limbs a little?"

After awakening the Mangekyo, Shisui Uchiha's strength had increased more than tenfold. His already exceptional Body Flicker Technique was now no inferior to Namikaze Minato's. If the two speed-type shinobi went together, they could easily escape even if they encountered the Raikage father and son.

In any case, Jiraiya, whose speed was somewhat lacking, would never in his life face the Raikage head-on by himself.

"For the coming shinobi army operations, I studied the map and found a strategic location nearby called 'Hell Valley.' It has caught my attention."

It was Shikaku Nara who spoke. He rose to his feet and explained to Jiraiya and the others what the staff headquarters had been doing these past days.

"I had Inoichi send a message to the village archives to look into this place. In the end, the Uchiha clan provided very detailed intelligence."

Upon hearing this, Shisui Uchiha vaguely understood. When he was young, he had heard his father mention the words "Hell Valley." It seemed to be a prison his clan had guarded before the village was founded.

"That place has an extremely powerful Barrier. Only strong Sharingan Dojutsu Power can open it and enter."

The threshold for "strong" was vague. Perhaps a Three Tomoe Elite Jonin would be enough, but given Danzo's character, he clearly could not trust Uchiha Fugaku and the others. Therefore, as Kagami Uchiha's grandson and Danzo's own disciple, Shisui was the most suitable person for the mission.

They couldn't exactly send the commander himself, could they?