Negotiations Under Extreme Pressure, Sosuke Carves Up the Hidden Leaf's Territory

Violent currents of chakra raged through the ruined Hokage's office. The Ruyi Jingu Bang in Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand let out a deep hum as chakra of five different natures intertwined around his body into a visible aura, sending shattered wood and severed limbs soaked in blood flying across the floor.

The pressure of a peak Kage-level powerhouse bore down like a tangible mountain upon the young man in white standing amid the forest of corpses and rain of blood.

Faced with this thunderous killing intent, Sosuke did not retreat even half a step. Instead, an exceedingly dangerous curve rose at the corner of his lips. His left hand still steadily cradled the sleeping Kushina Uzumaki, while his right held the wooden kunai pressed against Danzo's carotid artery. Rather than withdrawing it, he subtly flexed his wrist and pushed it another fraction forward.

Sshhk.

The sharp wooden tip sliced through the dry skin of Danzo's neck without resistance. Crimson blood instantly welled up and dripped along the dark brown wood grain onto Danzo's tattered collar.

"Urgh..." A pained, despairing groan escaped Danzo's throat. The "Darkness of Shinobi," who had once wielded immense influence in Hidden Leaf's underworld, now had legs that trembled uncontrollably. His one remaining eye was filled with utter terror of death. He could clearly feel that the wooden spike was less than a sheet of paper away from severing his carotid artery.

"Go on, Third Hokage." Sosuke's gentle voice was especially clear amid the gale, carrying a chilling calm. "Let me see whether the famed 'Professor of Ninjutsu' can save this old dog's life from my crude Wood Release strangulation."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's grip on the staff suddenly tightened, veins bulging across the backs of his hands. He stared fixedly into Sosuke's unruffled eyes, trying to find even the slightest trace of bluffing.

But he failed.

There was not a hint of fear in Sosuke's gaze. There was only an indifference that treated all things as insignificant, along with the madness of someone eager for his prey to resist. Hiruzen Sarutobi had no doubt that if he dared take one step forward, Danzo's head would hit the ground before his staff did.

What made Hiruzen Sarutobi even more wary was the layer of emerald Yang Release aura surrounding Sosuke. That inexhaustible, overwhelmingly domineering chakra fluctuation was even purer than what he had felt from the First Hokage back then.

If they truly fought here, not only would Danzo certainly die, but the entire Hokage Building, even half of Hidden Leaf, would be reduced to ruins beneath this terrifying Wood Release. The front lines had only just won a great victory. If a civil war of this scale erupted within the village now, Hidden Leaf's very foundation would be destroyed.

"What exactly do you want?" Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was terribly hoarse, his chest heaving violently. The raging chakra storm around him finally began to weaken, little by little, under the weight of reality.

The moment the light on the Ruyi Jingu Bang dimmed, the old man who had ruled Hidden Leaf for decades lost this clash of wills completely.

A trace of contempt flashed through Sosuke's eyes. He knew the weaknesses of these so-called higher-ups too well. Once driven to the edge of a cliff, these old foxes, accustomed to compromise and balance, would never have the courage to perish together with their enemy.

"That's more like it." Sosuke chuckled and turned his wrist slightly, drawing the wooden kunai at Danzo's neck back by half an inch. "Killing this old dog would only dirty my hands. Keeping him around means that when something shameful happens in the village later, there'll at least be someone ready to take the blame, right?"

Danzo's face instantly flushed purple-red at those words. Humiliation and rage nearly made him crush his yellow teeth, but forced by the lethal chill at his neck, he did not dare utter a single word in rebuttal.

"State your conditions." Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed the Ruyi Jingu Bang heavily against the ground, his aged eyes fixed on Sosuke. "You made such a huge commotion tonight and even publicly slaughtered Root. You certainly did not do it merely to vent your anger."

"As expected of the Third Hokage. You're a smart man." Sosuke casually dispersed the bloodstained wooden kunai, turning it into specks of green chakra light that faded into the air. Carrying Kushina in one arm, he stepped through the thick blood on the floor and slowly walked to the Hokage's desk that had been split down the middle.

"My condition is simple." Sosuke looked down at Hiruzen Sarutobi, his tone carrying an unquestionable dominance. "Starting tomorrow, the entire eastern region of Hidden Leaf, from the far bank of the Naka River to the edge of the Forest of Death, will be designated the Senju Clan's absolute autonomous territory."

The instant those words were spoken, Hiruzen Sarutobi's pupils contracted sharply, and even his breathing stopped for a moment.

"You're insane!" Hiruzen Sarutobi roared furiously. "That is nearly one-fifth of Hidden Leaf's territory! You are splitting the village apart!"

"Splitting it apart?" Sosuke seemed to have heard the greatest joke in the world and burst into laughter. His laughter echoed through the blood-soaked office, filled with extreme mockery.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, have you sat in that position for so long that your brain has turned muddled?" Sosuke abruptly stopped laughing, his gaze sharp as a blade. "Hidden Leaf was built jointly by the Senju Clan and the Uchiha clan. Every blade of grass and every tree on this land was nourished by the flesh and blood of my Senju ancestors! I am merely taking back my own backyard, and you dare talk to me about splitting the village?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was left speechless, his old face alternating between green and white.

"And another thing." Sosuke ignored his embarrassment and continued with even harsher terms. "Within the Senju Autonomous Territory, I alone decide every law. Anyone, including ANBU, Root, and even the Hokage's personal guards, who dares step even half a foot into the territory without my permission..."

Sosuke leaned down slightly, met Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes, and enunciated three words one by one. "Show no mercy."

"That's impossible!" Danzo, having only just caught his breath from the shadow of death, could not help roaring again upon hearing such humiliating terms. "Hiruzen, you absolutely cannot agree to this! Once this land is ceded, the Senju Clan will become a state within a state. Hidden Leaf's orders will never reach them again!"

Slap!

Sosuke backhanded him with a resounding slap from afar. The powerful gust sent Danzo spinning half a circle on the spot before he crashed heavily into the wooden spikes behind him. Half his face immediately swelled up like a pig's head.

"When the master is speaking, since when does a dog get to interrupt?" Sosuke did not even glance at Danzo, keeping his eyes locked on Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Third Hokage, you have no capital to refuse." Sosuke clapped his hands, and his tone returned to its usual gentleness. "The western front has won a great victory. The Senju Clan's reputation among the civilians is at its peak. The Uchiha clan has already bowed to me. And Hidden Leaf's strongest medical system is now in Sister Tsunade's hands."

Sosuke lowered his eyes to the red-haired girl in his arms, a cruel smile curling across his lips. "What's more, the Nine-Tails jinchuriki is mine now as well. What do you have to negotiate with me? These Root corpses nailed to the walls?"

Every word was like a heavy hammer smashing viciously into Hiruzen Sarutobi's spine.

He looked at the ravaged office, at the Root elites who had died miserable deaths, then at the young man before him, whose strength was unfathomable and methods were vicious beyond belief. He knew that the tide had turned.

The Senju Clan was no longer the fallen noble clan they could knead and shape at will. An ancient beast that had grown fangs had completely broken free of its shackles.

"Fine... I agree."

Those few short words seemed to drain all the strength from Hiruzen Sarutobi's body. He instantly slumped, as though he had aged ten years. Turning around, he found a blank highest-authority scroll amid the wreckage, bit his finger, and with trembling hands wrote an order ceding the territory before stamping it heavily with the Hokage's seal.

The fall of that seal meant that the Hidden Leaf higher-ups' absolute control over the Senju Clan had become history.

With a casual gesture from Sosuke, the scroll floated lightly into his palm. He opened it and glanced over it. After confirming there were no errors, he tucked it into his sleeve.

"A pleasure working with you, Third Hokage." Sosuke turned around, his white haori cutting a sharp arc through the night wind. Carrying Kushina, he headed straight toward the gap in the wall he had blasted open.

"Sosuke." Just as he was about to step out of the office, Hiruzen Sarutobi's hoarse voice came from behind him. "By doing this, are you worthy of the First Hokage's original purpose in founding Hidden Leaf?"

Sosuke's steps paused. He did not turn around, merely tilting his face slightly and leaving the aged Hokage with an utterly cold profile.

"The First Hokage's Will of Fire could not protect the lives of the Senju Clan, nor could it protect my woman."

"From today onward, I decide Hidden Leaf's rules."

As his words fell, Sosuke leaped into the air and transformed into an emerald streak of light, vanishing completely into the deep night.

Only a suffocating stench of blood remained in the Hokage's office. Danzo slumped in the pool of blood, clutching his swollen cheek, his eye flashing with extreme malice. Hiruzen Sarutobi sat dejectedly in the ruined chair, looking at the waning moon obscured by dark clouds beyond the window, his hand holding the pipe trembling faintly.

They knew this was only the beginning. That incomparably domineering young man would never be satisfied with merely an autonomous territory.

Meanwhile, after bringing Kushina back to the Senju Clan Grounds, Sosuke settled the sleeping girl properly before pushing open the door to his bedroom.

Excessive use of his perfected Sage Body and Wood Release had allowed the suppressed divine corrosion to show signs of resurfacing. Several dark brown wooden patterns faintly emerged on the back of Sosuke's left hand, bringing a piercing pain.

Just as he was about to sit cross-legged and regulate his breathing, a fair, soft arm carrying a faint medicinal fragrance suddenly reached out from the darkness and wrapped around his waist from behind.

"You caused quite a commotion tonight..." Tsunade's languid, faintly reproachful voice whispered beside Sosuke's ear. Her warm breath brushed against his neck, carrying a heat that brooked no refusal.