"Not at all!" Uchiha Yan smiled. "It did help. At least the Third Hokage has been reasonably polite to me these past few years. He hasn't thrown many obstacles in my way. Otherwise, I couldn't have grown stronger in peace, let alone learned a forbidden technique like the Flying Thunder God. It saved me a lot of trouble."
Tsunade sneered. "You call that polite? When wasn't he scheming to turn you into his tool?"
"You were just too smart to let him get away with it."
Uchiha Yan smiled faintly.
Kushina exploded when she heard that. "What? That old Third Hokage tried to hurt Yan too? I knew that old bastard was no good! Hmph!"
Reina nodded along, her opinion of the Third Hokage sinking to rock bottom.
"All right, don't be angry. They won't be causing trouble much longer." Uchiha Yan stroked Kushina's head to calm her, then turned to Tsunade. "Tsunade, you should get ready too. Konoha will be in your hands soon."
Tsunade waved a hand. "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing. I won't let you down."
She knew that, if not for her, Uchiha Yan would probably have used much harsher methods long ago.
Ten days passed.
Konoha's negotiation team, led by Utatane Koharu, finally dragged itself into the Hidden Stone Battlefield camp.
"Well, you certainly got here fast."
Danzo was already waiting at the camp entrance with a group of people.
The moment he opened his mouth, his words dripped with sarcasm. Everyone present heard it.
Many turned uneasy looks on Utatane Koharu and the others.
Their resentment was clearly building.
"Danzo, you—"
After spending ten days talking with the Third Hokage, Utatane Koharu knew perfectly well that Danzo had already switched sides.
But she had thought their decades of friendship might still