Praise Him to Death

The ninja tools held by Ginkaku and Kinkaku were the most important assets of the entire Cloud Village; some of these items were even used to control the village's two Tailed Beasts. Therefore, if these items were returned in their entirety, the Leaf would occupy a much more favorable position in the upcoming negotiations.

So, despite recognizing the immense power of these ninja tools, Sanshao and the others never intended to bring them back to the Leaf from the very beginning. That said, they also chose not to simply carry them directly into the Cloud Village, but instead hid the tools along with the remains of Ginkaku and Kinkaku on the spot.

Following this, the group continued their journey toward the Land of Lightning.

"Teacher Sanshao, I have a question. Although the rebellion that occurred during the alliance ceremony was certainly not the intention of the Cloud, the nature of the incident remains a breach of trust by the Cloud toward the Leaf. Therefore, even if both sides need to repair their relationship, shouldn't the Cloud, as the party at fault, take the initiative to come to the Leaf, rather than us going to the Cloud?" While on the move, Hanyu pondered the matter repeatedly before finally asking the question.

"Hmm, in terms of logic, the Cloud should indeed take the initiative, but now is not the time to quibble over logic. In the previous incident, the Leaf's losses were limited to the death of the Second Hokage. By comparison, the Cloud's losses were far greater. The rebellion was launched by a group of elite Cloud ninja led by Ginkaku and Kinkaku—the very pillars and essence of the village. The rogue ninja killed many of their own comrades when they took action, and the sacrifices the Cloud had to make to quell this rebellion afterward can only be imagined... In fact, the entire operation of the Cloud is half-paralyzed because of this uprising. Thus, it is much harder for the Third Raikage to secure his position than it is for our Third Hokage... At a time like this, we have no choice but to send our liaisons once again," Sanshao explained.

This explanation was reasonable and sound, yet Hanyu couldn't help but feel that Sanshao was gritting her teeth when she said the Leaf's sacrifice was "limited to the Second Hokage."

The situation in the Cloud was indeed more precarious than in the Leaf. Generally speaking, compared to a nation and village of comprehensive prosperity like the Land of Fire and the Hidden Leaf Village, the Land of Lightning and the Cloud were typical military powers. For such a hardline nation to be unable to guarantee the safety of allies who had come to form an alliance would undoubtedly severely damage their prestige and national credibility.

The mission of Sanshao and her team felt somewhat like enduring humiliation for the sake of the greater good.

"Not to mention that the two countries had already reached a consensus on forming an alliance, even if it were just because both sides have suffered losses and are facing internal instability, both the Leaf and the Cloud have a need to stabilize their internal affairs. Plus, with enemies like the Iwagakure lurking outside, the two sides can no longer afford to friction against each other and waste their vital strength... With the chips we hold, we can help the Third Raikage stabilize the internal situation of the Cloud, so there shouldn't be any problem in re-establishing the alliance," Sanshao said, assuming Hanyu was worried about their safety.

With an Uchiha in this team, and connecting it to their stop in the Land of Fields, Hanyu roughly guessed how they intended to help the Raikage stabilize the Cloud. After thinking for a moment, he added, "Because of the prior betrayal, the Cloud owes the Leaf a great debt in terms of national integrity. Furthermore, if we use helping the Raikage stabilize the village as a condition, our demands shouldn't be as simple as just an alliance..."

"What do you mean?"

Hanyu gritted his teeth and finally voiced his suggestion: "Demand that the Cloud cancel their defensive lines facing the Leaf and order their ninja to insert themselves toward the Land of Frost, the Land of Waterfalls, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Rain."

As his words fell, the rapidly advancing team came to a sudden halt. The gazes of Sanshao, Mitokado Homura, and Kagami Uchiha all shot toward Hanyu.

The Land of Frost, the Land of Waterfalls, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Rain were all small nations sandwiched between the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire. According to Hanyu's proposal, if the Cloud ninja were to insert themselves into the Land of Rain, they would be in direct confrontation with the Iwagakure, while simultaneously cutting off the Leaf from the Iwagakure.

And once the Leaf re-signed the alliance with the Cloud, their only remaining enemy in this Great Ninja War would be the Sand Village—changing the situation from one-against-three to only facing the Sand, the entire war situation for the Leaf would suddenly become clear.

This kind of strategic arrangement was actually proposed by a "child" like Hanyu, who hadn't even grown his hair out yet... It was a case of being too close to the forest to see the trees; the Leaf had been so anxious to restore relations with the Cloud that they hadn't realized there was such an opportunity to be exploited.

But under the sharp gazes of the others, Hanyu now felt a bit of regret for saying such things.

"Continue."

However, since he had started, he had to continue the topic. "If our arrival holds great significance for the Cloud, then this condition is actually not difficult to achieve. The Cloud and the Iwagakure are already bitter enemies; this tactical deployment would be no loss to them. The only reason they didn't take this confrontational stance before was simply because they didn't want the Leaf to reap the benefits as a third party. At the same time, such a deployment would make the Cloud worry that the Leaf might cut off their overly long front lines and supply lines at any time... But if the two sides form an alliance, that concern would cease to exist."

"Of course, to enhance mutual trust, the Leaf should also reduce the number of ninja deployed toward the Cloud, and perhaps even hand over the entire front line bordering the Land of Earth to the Cloud's control... As long as the Cloud's ninja do not break into the Land of Fire, everything is negotiable. At the same time, as a reciprocal condition, the Leaf can help the Cloud monitor the movements of the Mist Village, and the two sides could even establish a new joint intelligence system regarding the Land of Water to share information from that direction."

It was impossible for the Leaf and the Cloud to completely withdraw their forces from each other, as they could not trust each other to that extent even after an alliance. But according to Hanyu's suggestion, both sides would only need to leave a small number of reconnaissance ninja at the borders to monitor each other and prevent anyone from crossing the line and betraying the alliance.

"It makes perfect sense, no... our mission wasn't arranged this way. Acting outside the scope is inadvisable, but... however..."

Hanyu's strategy left Mitokado Homura struggling significantly.

And Hanyu's current performance was far more surprising than when he had actually used Water Style earlier, because... such problems were always meant to be thought about and solved by the Hokage. The issues Hanyu was considering were neither ninjutsu nor tactics, but true "strategy."

After struggling back and forth, the eldest, Sanshao, was the first to make a decision. "We will negotiate according to what Hanyu said. Although it will increase the risk to our original mission, compared to the benefits it brings, this risk is negligible."

A strategy capable of overturning the Leaf's current war situation was too tempting for anyone to resist.

And so, before entering the Land of Lightning, a new negotiation and mission objective was proposed, and the group stopped in their tracks to begin racing against time to refine the specific negotiation strategy.

Half a day later, the team set off again.

As they approached the border of the Land of Lightning, a Cloud ninja appeared before them; he was the very ninja assigned to welcome the Leaf's party.

"Your numbers are wrong. There is one more than previously reported." The ninja scanned the Leaf's group and instantly spotted the problem... this squad should have only had four people, but now there were five.

"The extra person is my disciple. He is a talented young man who can be of help to us on this trip, which is why he is participating in this classified mission... This shouldn't be a major issue. Regardless, our sincerity in seeking peace and an alliance will never change." Facing this accusation, Sanshao stepped forward to explain to the ninja.

Being praised should have been a good thing, but the fact that this "praise" was being explained to an enemy made Hanyu's face turn green.

He truly regretted his loose lips earlier; who knew if the Cloud would focus too much attention on him because of Sanshao's explanation?

Sanshao noticed the subtle change in Hanyu's expression, and she knew the young man was feeling the pressure.

That was good.