The results of the Battle of River Country Castle reached Kazemori Masaki immediately. Upon hearing the news, he slammed his hand down on the table, startling everyone around him. Their Third Hokage rarely showed such strong emotion, but they could understand his joy.
"At last, there's a glimmer of hope that the war will end." Kazemori Masaki wore a faint, relieved smile. "The Land of Wind will certainly have to withdraw from the battlefield, and the Land of Earth cannot hold out alone. As for the remaining Land of Water, that goes without saying. An end to the shinobi world war is finally in sight."
"Yes, Lord Hokage. I believe the Land of Wind will send a request for an armistice before long," Yamanaka Takuma said. "Do you have any thoughts on the terms?"
Sunagakure Ninja Village had suffered a crushing defeat. Even if it requested an armistice, it would be doing so as the defeated party. A defeated side suing for peace naturally had little leverage, while the victorious Konoha Ninja Village could impose more conditions.
"I already have a preliminary draft. Send a copy back to the village and have the Hokage's cabinet check it for anything I've missed," Kazemori Masaki said, taking out the armistice terms he had drawn up.
Yamanaka Takuma accepted the document and read it carefully. Before long, he looked at the Hokage in surprise. "Lord Hokage, is this really what you intend? Do you have something else in mind?"
"No. This is what I intend. Sunagakure Ninja Village must accept, or we will refuse its request for peace. They're already in such dire straits that we can simply blockade them until they perish. We won't need to sacrifice many lives, either. It will only cost us supplies," Kazemori Masaki replied.
"What if they