Reincarnation

"Don't even think about the One's Own Life Reincarnation! I will never hand that jutsu over to you Konoha lot!" Chiyo refused without a moment's hesitation.

"Elder Chiyo... please, reconsider. We of Sunagakure..." Rasa tried to persuade her, but Chiyo silenced him with a wave of her hand.

The One's Own Life Reincarnation is my life's work; handing it over to you is impossible. However, I heard you say you intend to use this technique to save that Uzumaki Kushina, right? That means as long as the goal of saving her is achieved, it will suffice! Chiyo calculated to herself.

"Elder Chiyo, Kushina's life force is draining away too rapidly. Ordinary methods simply won't work!" Minato explained anxiously.

"No, I didn't say I would use ordinary methods. I will still use the One's Own Life Reincarnation, but I will not hand the technique over to you. It must be performed by us in Sunagakure. Just bring that Uzumaki Kushina here for treatment. Oh, and bring that Uchiha Gen along as well; I wish to question him in person!" Chiyo stated her plan.

"This... very well!" Although it was a pity not to obtain the One's Own Life Reincarnation, saving Kushina was what mattered most.

"Good. Since you have reached an agreement, let us discuss the terms. After all, there is no such thing as a free lunch!" Rasa agreed with Elder Chiyo's proposal, but he knew they couldn't skimp on the conditions.

"I want the White Fang's son!" Chiyo interjected without hesitation the moment conditions were mentioned.

"Uh..." Rasa.

"Hmm?" The gathered Sunagakure ninja.

"Impossible. How can Elder Chiyo go back on her word?" Minato was incensed. Other conditions might have been negotiable, but sacrificing a Konoha comrade to save his own wife? What kind of Hokage would he be if he did that?

"Elder Chiyo, perhaps you should choose a different request." Seeing Minato's firm expression, Rasa signaled to Chiyo on the sly. How much was the White Fang's son really worth? In the face of village interests, personal grudges had to be set aside.

"Elder Chiyo, we only require the One's Own Life Reincarnation to save a life; we are not asking to possess the technique itself. There is no loss to Sunagakure, so please, propose a reasonable request!" Minato urged tactfully.

Seeing the situation, Chiyo realized she would not be getting Hatake Kakashi. After a moment of contemplation, she said to the Fourth Hokage, "Fourth Hokage, please go and rest for now. We need to discuss this internally."

"Ah? Then... very well. Please, Elder Chiyo and Fourth Kazekage, provide your terms as soon as possible. After all, time waits for no one!" Minato had no choice but to withdraw.

"Rasa, what do you think?" Once Minato had left, Chiyo turned to the Fourth Kazekage.

"According to our intelligence, Uzumaki Kushina is the wife of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato. She also holds another identity: the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. This incident of life force depletion suggests that Konoha's Jinchuriki has encountered a major problem! We cannot rule out the possibility that the Nine-Tails has gone berserk, or perhaps even escaped!" Rasa analyzed.

"A Nine-Tails rampage is possible, but looking at the situation, Konoha must have already stabilized the matter. Otherwise, the Fourth Hokage wouldn't have the leisure to come running to us!" Ebizo analyzed.

"I believe it is more than that. The fact that Namikaze Minato brought this up to us shows he isn't afraid of intelligence leaks. This implies that Konoha not only suppressed the Nine-Tails but likely suffered minimal losses. Otherwise, they would have been far more secretive!" Chiyo offered her perspective.

"Personally, I think we should use this opportunity to propose an alliance with Konoha. We just finished a war, and our village is in ruins. We haven't even finished negotiations with Kirigakure yet. If we have Konoha as an ally, Kirigakure shouldn't dare to make any excessive demands!" Rasa suggested.

"An alliance? We only just ended the war with Konoha not long ago!" Ebizo said gloomily.

"So what? Didn't Konoha just end the war as well? Yet the Fourth Hokage still came running to us for help, didn't he?" Rasa argued, displeased.

"Rasa, we must consider the public sentiment!" Chiyo explained.

"That is simple. We will publicly announce that the Fourth Hokage took the initiative to request an alliance with us, and then we will disclose the resources we obtained from Konoha. I believe the public will have no reason to refuse. As for the resources, Elder Chiyo will have to negotiate that later, but since our village is not lacking in money, we should focus on other types of resources!" Rasa advised.

"Very well. However, since this is just to save one person, Konoha likely won't pay too much. Let us try to secure the alliance first. With a Konoha alliance, it will be much easier to pressure Kirigakure into peace talks!" Ebizo's expression relaxed.

"Sigh... let it be so." Chiyo said nothing more.

The subsequent negotiations between Sunagakure and Konoha went smoothly. Primarily, neither side wanted to continue fighting. Sunagakure had been defeated by Konoha and then stabbed in the back by Kirigakure, while Konoha had fought every major village and was now focused on peace. The Great Ninja War had only just ended; having an extra ally provided a sense of security. Konoha didn't expect Sunagakure to provide any military support right now, but having an ally was better than having an enemy.

October 10th, 48th year of Konoha: The Nine-Tails Incident; Naruto is born.

October 11th, 48th year of Konoha: The Fourth Hokage of Konoha visits Sunagakure in person and begins alliance negotiations.

October 12th, 48th year of Konoha: Konoha and Sunagakure successfully reach an alliance agreement.

To demonstrate friendly relations, Konoha agrees to donate a batch of supplies to Sunagakure and states that if needed, Konoha will provide strategic support to Sunagakure as circumstances permit.

Regarding Konoha gaining Sunagakure as an ally, the Raikage and Tsuchikage remained indifferent. After all, Sunagakure was in such a state that even if something happened, they couldn't possibly provide any support to Konoha. To Konoha, this alliance was currently nothing more than empty words and offered no real help.

Compared to the indifference of the Raikage, Ay, and the Tsuchikage, Onoki, the mood in Kirigakure was far less pleasant.

However, Obito, who was manipulating the Fourth Mizukage from the shadows, didn't care about any of that. If Konoha dared to interfere, he would fight them too; it didn't matter if they were crippled in the process.

If the high-ranking officials of Sunagakure knew of Obito's irrational mindset, they would likely weep in despair. One doesn't fear a strong enemy; one fears an irrational, brain-damaged one.

In a dark cave somewhere on the border of the Land of Rain...

"Have you identified the identity of that Uchiha?" Obito asked the White Zetsu beside him in a low voice.

"Ah, news has come from Konoha. That youth is named Uchiha Gen. He is 16 years old, and his parents died in the Third Great Ninja War. His public rank is Special Jonin, and he currently serves as a member of the Konoha Military Police Force." The chatterbox White Zetsu explained in detail.

"Special Jonin? Heh. A Special Jonin who can activate the Mangekyo and control a Complete Body Susanoo? Is he hiding his strength? Konoha? Uchiha? Haha, things are getting interesting now!" The masked man, Obito, laughed with Uchiha-style madness.

At the same time, in Konoha...

"What? You sold me out?"