Change Two

"Bee, do you think I should accept Konoha's terms? To go all out against Iwagakure in the future?" After the Konoha delegation exited the negotiation room, the Raikage asked the person beside him.

"Given our current situation, we need to conclude an alliance treaty with Konoha no matter what; that is the foundation. As for the further demands, that depends on whether you, as the Raikage, have the mettle to restore order to Cloud Village as quickly as possible... Although the Konoha people were very aggressive today, I doubt they would force the alliance agreement to be tied to a change in our front lines." After some thought, the man replied.

According to the tradition spanning three generations in Cloud Village, the Raikage's name is always A, and beside A there will always be a partner known as B. From the response of this partner, it was clear that he was inclined to accept the conditions proposed by Konoha.

At this moment, Cloud Village could only cooperate with Konoha; otherwise, were they to cooperate with Iwagakure instead?

Compared to the future and fate of the village, the Raikage's personal feelings were nothing. Falsely claiming credit did indeed damage the dignity of the Raikage, but he should also consider: was yielding the credit for killing Ginkaku and Kinkaku not also a humiliation for the Second Hokage and Konoha?

Everything must serve the greater good.

On the other side, the Konoha group, who had traveled rapidly to Cloud Village and negotiated tirelessly for an entire day, finally had a chance to rest. Per their request, Cloud Village had arranged for them to stay in the same room.

While in Cloud Village, to prevent the other side from pulling any tricks, the five members of the Konoha party needed to stay together at all times.

"Will Cloud Village accept our proposal?" In the resting room, after confirming that Cloud Village had left no surveillance measures, Mitokado Homura asked.

"In any case, I hope they make a decision quickly; the longer it takes, the less our leverage is worth... Three days. We will stay in Cloud Village for at most three days. If they haven't made a decision by then, we will only seek the alliance agreement and then withdraw," Sanshao said. As time passed, Cloud Village would eventually quell the rebellion and gradually restore stability; by then, bargaining chips like Ginkaku and Kinkaku would have no value at all.

Although the Raikage's attitude had softened at the end of the negotiations, no one could be certain what decision he would ultimately make.

Therefore, Sanshao only gave them three days. In reality, this deadline was already somewhat overly generous; if the Raikage had not agreed to Konoha's terms by tomorrow morning, he would never agree to them.

On the other side of the room, Hanyu was explaining to Hatake Sakumo what Konoha's plan actually entailed. Since earlier that day, the boy had realized he couldn't understand what the adults were saying. Battlefield logistics, the direction of the war, future trends, and the like were not things someone his age could grasp just by hearing snippets.

Hanyu could only draw a simple map, pointing to the distribution of forces on it to explain to Hatake the layout and strategy Konoha was seeking.

Hatake Sakumo might be a natural-born ninja, but his knowledge and understanding of the big picture were still limited to his age. It wasn't until he saw the situation on the simple map where the Cloud Village front lines half-encircled the Land of Fire that he finally understood why they were demanding that Cloud Village move its forces from the Land of Fields to the Land of Grass.

"Hanyu, you know so much." After roughly understanding all of this, and remembering that this strategy was first proposed by Hanyu, Hatake couldn't help but say this. It wasn't quite admiration yet, but at this moment, he finally realized that the rookie ninja before him was a bit different.

Such a strategy, if not built upon an understanding of the situation, could never be proposed overnight.

Normally, a homeless child who couldn't get enough to eat or wear would do nothing more than count monkeys in the woods while hungry. Yet, Hanyu was concerned with world affairs, not to mention that he could draw a world map off the cuff.

"I do know quite a bit, from DDF to AOA, I understand a little of everything. But these are too stimulating for a child; I'll tell you more when there's an opportunity." After explaining Konoha's intentions to Hatake, Hanyu walked alone to the corner of the room, sat cross-legged, and began to refine his chakra.

Once he felt that the chakra in his body was sufficiently replenished, he formed the "Bird" single seal with his hands... Most Water Style ninjutsu used this seal as the final one; it could be said to be the hallmark of Water Style.

After forming the seal, Hanyu's chakra began to transform into the water attribute, and his surroundings seemed to be shrouded in a layer of water mist.

Because of the introduction Sanshao had given about the Cloud Village ninjas earlier, even if Hanyu didn't want to, he had to seize the time to improve his skills as a ninja... Although Sanshao had only mentioned it in passing at the time, and the Cloud Village ninjas had only listened in passing, Hanyu could not be so optimistic. One must always prepare for the worst.

Frankly speaking, if one could take Water Style as a starting point, the Second Hokage was indeed a decent goal to strive for... If Hanyu said this to others, he would surely be scolded for being arrogant. The Second Hokage was an exceptionally powerful ninja, yet in his mind, the man was merely a "decent" target.

However, considering Hanyu's point of comparison, his thinking wasn't wrong. The Second Hokage was strong, certainly, but he wasn't exaggeratedly monstrous to the level of his older brother or the later Konoha genin.

If one set aside the forbidden techniques created by the Second Hokage and those space-time ninjutsu of unimaginably high difficulty, the Second Hokage in a normal state was by no means an unreachable goal, even if it was very distant for Hanyu.

Considering that the ninja world in the era Hanyu would live in was full of chaos, he needed to become a powerhouse just for self-preservation. But considering his active period as a ninja, he didn't need to be strong to that ceiling level... His age was already quite a bit older than the Sannin; by the time the era of gods walking everywhere arrived, he would long be old and frail, or perhaps even long-since turned to dust.

Dancing on graves, Uchiha? Mother of White Zetsu, Otsutsuki? Those were not problems Hanyu needed to consider or face. All he had to face was surviving the three Great Ninja Wars. The strongest enemy would not be stronger than the Third Raikage he had seen during the day... At least, that was what Hanyu believed for now.

So, since he had already become a ninja, the Second Hokage was a very good and suitable goal for Hanyu.

These past few days, although he seemed to have been drifting with the tide, Hanyu had actually been thinking about his future life plan. After this long march, he hadn't found himself uncomfortable with the ninja life, so it was time to make up his mind.

Next, all Hanyu had to do was move toward the powerful goal of the Second Hokage.

Thinking this, his gaze couldn't help but drift toward Sanshao, who was still communicating with the other two. Indeed, just as she had said earlier, there was a bond between him and her.

Now, Hanyu had to cherish this bond even more.

Sanshao was a member of the Senju clan, and her status within that clan was definitely not low. Therefore, if she were willing to teach him ninjutsu, this would be a rare and precious opportunity for an outsider like Hanyu.

At this very moment, Hanyu finally confirmed that being able to see the Second Hokage in the end and heading to Konoha at the right time was a very fortunate thing.

Toward Senju Tobirama, he should be filled with gratitude.