Kinkaku and Ginkaku's ninja tools were the most important assets Cloud Village possessed. Some of them were even used to control the village's two Tailed Beasts... So if they returned everything intact, Konoha would be in a much stronger position in the upcoming negotiations.
Although Sanshao and the others recognized the immense power of the tools, they had never intended to bring them back to Konoha. Still, they didn't simply take them straight to Cloud Village, either. Instead, they hid the tools on the spot, along with Kinkaku and Ginkaku's bodies.
Then the group continued toward the Land of Lightning.
"Teacher Sanshao, I have a question. The rebellion at the alliance ceremony was certainly not Cloud Village's intention, but in the end, it was still a breach of faith on their part. So even if both sides need to repair their relationship, shouldn't Cloud Village, as the party at fault, take the initiative and come to Konoha? Why should we be the ones going to them?" As they traveled, Hanyu turned the matter over in his mind before finally voicing his question.
"Hmm. In principle, Cloud Village should take the initiative. But this isn't the time to argue over principles. In the incident, Konoha's losses were limited to the Second, while Cloud Village suffered far more. The rebellion was led by Kinkaku and Ginkaku and involved a group of Cloud Village's elite shinobi—the finest and most vital pillars of a shinobi village. The rebels killed many of their fellow villagers during the uprising, and the sacrifices Cloud Village had to make to put it down afterward are easy to imagine... In fact, the rebellion has left the entire village barely functioning. So the Third Raikage will have a much harder time securing his position than our Third Hokage did... At a time like this, we have no choice but to send another envoy." Sanshao explained.
It was a reasonable explanation, but Hanyu couldn't help feeling that Sanshao had gritted her teeth a little when she said, "Konoha's losses were limited to the Second."
Cloud Village's situation was indeed worse than Konoha's. In general, compared with the Land of Fire and its prosperous Hidden Leaf Village, the Land of Lightning and Cloud Village were a typical military power. For such a hardline nation to be unable to guarantee the safety of an ally who had come to negotiate an alliance would undoubtedly do serious damage to its reputation and credibility.
Sanshao and the others' mission felt a little like bearing humiliation for the greater good.
"Setting aside the fact that the two countries had already agreed to form an alliance, both villages have suffered losses and are dealing with internal turmoil. Konoha and Cloud Village both need stability at home. And with enemies like Iwagakure watching from the outside, neither side can afford to keep clashing and wasting its forces... With the leverage we have, we can help the Third Raikage stabilize Cloud Village's internal situation. So there shouldn't be any problem renewing the alliance." Sanshao thought Hanyu was worried about their safety, so she offered this explanation as well.
There was an Uchiha in the group, and considering their stop in the Land of Fields, Hanyu had a general idea of how they planned to help the Raikage stabilize Cloud Village. After thinking it over, he said, "Cloud Village has seriously damaged Konoha's trust by breaking the alliance. And if we're offering to help the Raikage stabilize his village in exchange, then surely we shouldn't settle for a simple alliance..."
"What do you mean?"
Hanyu gritted his teeth, then finally made his suggestion. "Demand that Cloud Village remove its defenses along the Konoha border and send its shinobi to the Land of Frost, the Land of Waterfalls, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Rain."
As soon as he finished speaking, the fast-moving group came to an abrupt halt. Sanshao, Mitokado Homura, and Kagami Uchiha all turned their eyes toward Hanyu.
The Land of Frost, the Land of Waterfalls, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Rain were all small countries wedged between the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire. Under Hanyu's plan, if Cloud Village's shinobi pushed all the way into the Land of Rain, they would face Iwagakure head-on while cutting off the route between Konoha and Iwagakure.
Once Konoha renewed its alliance with Cloud Village, its only remaining enemy in the Shinobi World War would be Sand Village. Instead of fighting three enemies, Konoha would only have to face Sand Village. Its entire war situation would suddenly become much clearer.
This kind of strategic plan had come from a "child" who hadn't even grown all his hair yet... As they say, those involved can't see the whole picture. Konoha had been so eager to restore its relationship with Cloud Village that it hadn't realized there was so much more to be gained.
But under everyone's sharp gaze, Hanyu now regretted bringing it up.
"Go on."
Since he'd already started, he had no choice but to continue. "If our arrival is important to Cloud Village, then this condition shouldn't be hard to meet. Cloud Village and Iwagakure are already sworn enemies, so this deployment would cost them little. The only reason they haven't taken this stance before is that they didn't want Konoha to benefit from their conflict. They also feared Konoha might cut their long supply lines at any moment... But if the two sides form an alliance, those concerns disappear."
"Of course, to strengthen mutual trust, Konoha should also reduce the number of shinobi stationed along the Cloud Village front. We could even leave the entire border with the Land of Earth under Cloud Village's control... As long as Cloud Village's shinobi don't enter the Land of Fire, it's all negotiable. In return, Konoha could help Cloud Village monitor Mist Village's movements. The two sides could even establish a new joint intelligence network focused on the Land of Water and share information from that front."
It was impossible for Konoha and Cloud Village to withdraw all their forces from their shared border. Even after forming an alliance, they wouldn't trust each other that completely. But under Hanyu's plan, they could leave a small number of scout shinobi along the border to keep watch and prevent either side from crossing over and breaking the alliance.
"That makes perfect sense. No... Our mission wasn't arranged this way, and we shouldn't complicate things unnecessarily. But... still..."
Hanyu's proposal had Mitokado Homura in a serious dilemma.
Hanyu's performance now was even more astonishing than when he'd actually used Water Release. Because... these were the kinds of problems the Hokage was supposed to think through and solve. What Hanyu was considering wasn't a ninjutsu or a tactic, but true strategy.
After much hesitation, the oldest of them, Sanshao, was the first to make up her mind. "We'll negotiate according to Hanyu's proposal. It adds some risk to our original mission, but compared with what we stand to gain, that risk is negligible."
It was a strategy capable of turning Konoha's current position in the war on its head. No one could help being tempted.
And so, before they entered the Land of Lightning, a new negotiation objective was put forward. The group stopped where they were and began refining their strategy, racing against time.
Half a day later, the group set off again.
As they approached the border of the Land of Lightning, a Cloud Village shinobi appeared before them. He was the one assigned to meet the Konoha delegation.
"Your numbers are off. You have one more person than you reported earlier." The shinobi surveyed the Konoha group and immediately spotted the problem... This squad was supposed to have only four people, but now there were five.
"The extra person is my student. He's a talented young man, and he can help us on this mission, so I brought him along for this confidential assignment... It shouldn't be a problem. In any case, our sincerity in seeking peace and an alliance hasn't changed." Faced with the accusation, Sanshao stepped forward to explain to the shinobi.
Praise should have been a good thing, but hearing this "praise" offered as an explanation to the enemy made Hanyu's face turn green.
He was beginning to regret speaking up earlier. Who knew whether Cloud Village would start paying too much attention to him because of Sanshao's explanation?
Sanshao noticed the subtle change in Hanyu's expression and realized that the young man was feeling the pressure.
Good.
Before you continue