The prerequisite for cooperation: intervening in Kirigakure!

After leaving the Hokage's Office, Shikaku felt a trace of respect for the Uchiha-and for Bai Ye-for the first time.

He had originally thought Bai Ye only wanted to rebel and would have no idea what to do once he became Hokage.

After all, Bai Ye had dumped everything on him earlier.

And then there was his plan to establish a New Council of Elders.

When Bai Ye delegated most of the work, Shikaku had assumed he simply did not know how to handle it.

It made sense...

The Uchiha were all a bunch of hotheads. Who would have thought a man of the pen would emerge from their ranks?

If they truly improved people's livelihoods, things would definitely be better than they had been in Konoha before, at least for ordinary people.

Clans like those of the Ino-Shika-Cho would benefit as well.

Bai Ye truly had the village's interests at heart.

He had been working to make the village better from the very beginning. It seemed Shikaku had been narrow-minded.

Even now, he still harbored some prejudice against the Uchiha.

He pushed those unnecessary thoughts aside and went to carry out Bai Ye's assignment first.

He would bring the Mist Ninja to the Hokage's Office.

Inside the Hokage's Office.

A flicker of surprise crossed Bai Ye's eyes when he saw Mei Terumi.

He had not expected Kirigakure's visitor to be her.

"I didn't expect it to be you."

Bai Ye was somewhat surprised. He and Mei Terumi knew each other.

They had encountered each other on the battlefield years ago.

During the Third Shinobi World War, Bai Ye had been one of the Uchiha active in the fighting.

Back then, his name had been another people knew besides Body Flicker Shisui's.

Although he could not compare to Minato Namikaze, he had still built quite a reputation on the battlefield.

After all, he had gone to war.

Even if Bai Ye did not want to draw attention, people were trying to kill him. He could hardly keep holding back, could he?!

And so, as his fame gradually grew...

His standing within the Uchiha Clan rose along with it.

The reason he enjoyed the same prestige as Shisui within the clan was that he had earned it through killing during the Third Shinobi World War.

Otherwise, without that prestige and strength, could he really have persuaded Uchiha Hui to choose him as leader with just a few words?!

Back then, Bai Ye had encountered an elite Kirigakure squad, and Mei Terumi had been among its members.

Although Mei Terumi had not been particularly strong at the time, and was not even the strongest in that squad...

Bai Ye had still taken notice of her as the future Fifth Mizukage.

"I never expected you to become Hokage, either!"

Mei Terumi gave Bai Ye a long look, suddenly feeling a chill against her neck.

That sensation...

It was back!!!

"I really should thank you for sparing my life back then!"

Mei Terumi touched her neck. Back then, Bai Ye's kunai had been only a few centimeters away.

All he had needed to do was push, and she would have died on the spot.

"No need to thank me. Who told your teammate to try to kill you along with me?!"

Bai Ye shrugged. To think the future Fifth Mizukage had nearly died at his hands.

But at the time, Bai Ye had indeed hesitated for a moment.

His greatest advantage was his knowledge of the plot. If he disrupted it then, would it cause a butterfly effect?

That moment of hesitation had nearly gotten him killed.

He had forgotten that in Kirigakure, killing a comrade was as ordinary as eating or drinking.

His opponent had intended to kill Mei Terumi along with him.

"Heh..."

Mei Terumi's lips twitched. I might have said that, but do you seriously think I'm thanking you?!

That had been the closest Mei Terumi had ever come to death.

Even now, remembering it gave her goosebumps. She often dreamed of Bai Ye's eyes, too...

"We've been through life and death together, so let's skip the pleasantries. Just tell me why you're here."

Sure, life and death. You live, I die.

Mei Terumi's lips twitched, but she did not dwell on the subject.

Deep down, she understood perfectly well. Wasn't that how the ninja world worked?!

You killed me, and I killed you.

She had not actually had much contact with Bai Ye.

Besides, she had come on a mission this time, so Mei Terumi naturally had little else to say.

She then handed Bai Ye the mission scroll Yagura had given her.

After reading its contents, Bai Ye nearly laughed.

Shikaku had already told him that they were inviting him to Kirigakure to discuss a few matters.

But now that he had read the scroll, he truly had not expected it to go even further than Shikaku had described.

Well, well...

Obito wants to lure me over there and kill me!

He also wanted to use Bai Ye's death and the Fourth Mizukage's death to provoke conflict between Konoha and Kirigakure, plunging the Shinobi World into chaos.

As it happened, Kumogakure was already itching to make a move.

Once Kumogakure joined in, Iwagakure would surely be unable to sit still either. That would put all four great nations at war.

And what about Sunagakure?!

Sunagakure was currently riddled with internal strife. Although it could no longer support a war, it probably would not pass up this chance to tear a chunk of flesh from Konoha.

Kirigakure also faced enormous internal tensions. Under the oppressive Blood Mist Policy, it needed an outlet.

And once the Fourth Shinobi World War began, every ninja village would be weakened again.

That would also make it easier for Obito to collect the tailed beasts afterward.

After all, once the ninja villages were weakened, collecting the tailed beasts would naturally become less difficult.

This had not happened in the anime because Obito had believed everything was under his control.

But Bai Ye's appearance and the drastic changes in Konoha had made Obito realize that he had to do something now.

Judging solely by the contents, there was nothing particularly suspicious.

But Bai Ye knew exactly who was controlling Kirigakure from behind the scenes.

"Is something wrong?!"

Mei Terumi looked at Bai Ye. He was simply staring at her without saying anything.

Mei Terumi did not know the exact contents.

Her assignment was to make absolutely certain that Bai Ye came to Kirigakure to discuss the matter in detail.

"Kirigakure wants to open up, so the Mizukage hopes our two villages can hold talks and establish a deeper cooperative relationship afterward."

For Konoha, cooperating with Kirigakure would not actually offer much.

For Kirigakure, however, cooperation between the two sides would be a tremendous boon!

After all, having gone through the Blood Mist era, Kirigakure was already a shadow of its former self.

That era had not lasted just a few years. It had continued for well over a decade, nearly twenty years!

It had begun under the Third Mizukage, but Kirigakure had only intensified it under the Fourth Mizukage.

What had originally been a policy of cultivating elite ninja had eventually turned into persecution of the Bloodline Families and increasingly brutal policies.

Kirigakure had long since begun showing signs of internal collapse.

To Mei Terumi, the Fourth Mizukage's change of heart was undoubtedly a good thing.

But...

The key was still Konoha's stance. If Konoha refused, all of this would be nothing but empty talk.

And...

In Mei Terumi's opinion, rejection was extremely likely!

"No problem. We can discuss all of that, but I have one demand-a prerequisite, you could say. If your side agrees, I'll come over for the talks!"

What!!!?

He would actually agree to come over for talks?!

Surprise flashed across Mei Terumi's face at Bai Ye's words!!

Wait?!

Did I hear that wrong?!

Bai Ye is actually willing to come over to discuss this!?

He's going to Kirigakure!

There's a precedent for what could happen!

And Bai Ye is willing to go?

Although Mei Terumi did not want anything to go wrong...

She also knew perfectly well how dangerous this was, mainly because even she did not know what Yagura was thinking now.

Yet Bai Ye had agreed so easily.

With just one condition?!

At that thought, Mei Terumi nodded and said, "Please, go ahead!"

"I need you to return the Byakugan that originally belonged to the Hyuga Clan. That Byakugan belongs to them, so if you want talks, please return that bloodline ability to us first. You don't have to answer right away!

I know you should have a way to contact the Mizukage quickly. Once you've spoken to him, come back and give me your answer. How does that sound?!"

The Byakugan!!!?

Bai Ye wants Ao's Byakugan?!

Kirigakure had gone to enormous lengths to seize that Byakugan years ago.

If that was what Bai Ye wanted...

After considering it for a moment, Mei Terumi nodded and said, "All right. I'll speak to the Fourth Mizukage!"

She knew perfectly well that this was no longer something she could decide.

Besides, his demand was not unreasonable.

But as for Ao...

As one of his former teammates, she did not know what making this request would make her.

But this was now a deal between Kirigakure and Konoha.

Konoha clearly held the upper hand. Kirigakure was the one asking for help. If they truly wanted to cooperate with Bai Ye, that Byakugan would most likely have to be returned.

After they finished discussing that point, Bai Ye had Mei Terumi leave for the time being.

They could talk again once she had taken care of her task.

Getting that Byakugan back would also give Hyuga Hiashi something to show for his support.

Back in the Land of Fire Capital, Hyuga Hiashi had chosen to stand with him.

Naturally, he would recover the bloodline ability that belonged to the Hyuga Clan.

Hadn't he said as much back then?!

He could hardly let the Hyuga Clan follow him only to fare worse than they had under Hiruzen Sarutobi, could he?!

Obito will probably agree to have Kirigakure return the Byakugan. After all, he wants to lure me there. He's probably already arranged how he'll kill me in Kirigakure.

But...

He probably doesn't know how strong I am. This is a perfect opportunity to intervene in Kirigakure. Planting a foothold there would be a pretty good outcome.

But Mei Terumi doesn't seem like someone who would obey orders. If I told her to merge Kirigakure directly into Konoha, she probably wouldn't agree. Besides, the person who actually controls Kirigakure afterward is Genji...

Judging by the anime's plot...

Kirigakure had most likely overthrown the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, after the Uchiha Clan Massacre, sometime before the story began.

Genji had then administered Kirigakure, and no new Mizukage had appeared after that.

Only at the time of the Five Kage Summit had Mei Terumi taken over as the Fifth Mizukage.

So even if he eliminated the Fourth Mizukage now...

The ultimate beneficiary would not be Mei Terumi, but Genji.

And as one of the founding elders of Kirigakure, Genji would be even less likely to agree to such a thing.

So if he wanted to control Kirigakure, it seemed he still had to start with Mei Terumi...

But there was no rushing it for now.

Bai Ye knew perfectly well that even though Mei Terumi had been called the disgrace of the Five Kage during their battle against Madara Uchiha...

This would still mean betraying all of Kirigakure. The resistance would be enormous.

So Bai Ye understood that he could not rush things.

As for the trap Obito had set for him, Bai Ye did not particularly care.

Although it would expose his strength, his opponent had already made a move.

It would hardly do for him not to respond. Besides, this was about more than simply revealing his strength.

It was more about flexing his muscles.

That would also make it easier for him to deal with the small nations afterward.

Then there was Konan's side of things.

His thinking was actually much the same as Bai Ye's.

Nagato hoped to use force to intimidate the Shinobi World, ensuring that no one would ever dare start another major war.

But...

After what had happened to Yahiko and Konan, Nagato could never trust Konoha again.

So telling them about this plan now was no longer an option.

His parents had died at the hands of Konoha Ninja in the first place.

From Nagato's perspective, every tragedy in his life had stemmed from Konoha.

That made convincing Konan and Nagato difficult.

But it was not impossible.

Konan was the key.

That meant the original plan could be adjusted.

Still, Bai Ye had no intention of asking Konan to come over.

Konan was currently wandering around Konoha, her feelings toward the village complicated.

As a war orphan, Konan had never forgotten what Konoha had done in the Land of Rain.

The Land of Rain had been turned into a battlefield, and everything it once had was reduced to nothing in the wake of that war.

Yet now that she had come to Konoha, everything she saw and heard made her wonder how wonderful it would have been if they, too, could have enjoyed such peaceful lives.

All they had wanted was to stay alive.

She had come to Konoha this time partly to gather intelligence and partly to negotiate a deal.

Given Konoha's prosperity, developing the Land of Rain would require cooperation with it.

If this had been the old Konoha, she would never have come. But now that she was here to gather intelligence on the village, Konan figured she might as well make the most of the trip.

She might as well take care of this matter too.

"Are you the one from Amegakure who came to discuss cooperation? It's rather strange, really. Don't merchants usually handle that? Why send a ninja to talk business?"

A voice pulled Konan from her thoughts.

But she paid no attention to what he had said. Only one thought occupied her mind: When?

When had he appeared beside me?

Here in Konoha, she had kept her guard up at all times.

Yet this man had appeared beside her without a sound, and she had not noticed him at all.

If he had attacked me just now...