Even after Tsunade tore Hiruzen apart in front of everyone, the room still carried that strange, lingering aftertaste-half exhilaration, half discomfort. No one wanted to admit how satisfying it had been to watch, but satisfaction didn't erase reality. The major powers still had business to discuss, and in the shinobi world, grudges were only useful when they could be turned into leverage.
Once Dodai stepped in to smooth things over, Chiba followed the flow without resistance, giving the Raikage and Kumogakure their due face. Tsunade reined herself in as well-barely. Her posture remained proud, but her eyes still cut like blades whenever they landed on Hiruzen. The old Hokage sat there red-faced, coughing as if his fury had turned into smoke in his lungs, while Asuma could only sigh beside him and Nara Shikaku lowered his gaze, silent in the way a strategist became silent when he knew the decision had already been made.
The Yondaime Raikage took the central seat. Chiba, Mizukage of Kirigakure, sat to one side. Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure, sat opposite. Their escorts either stood behind them like shadows or took seats along the perimeter, watching, measuring, and listening for the smallest slip. Only now did the real diplomacy begin-the kind that didn't care about personal feelings, only outcomes.
The Raikage understood it perfectly: the conflict between Konoha and Kirigakure had already crossed the point of reconciliation. The fact that both the Hokage and the Mizukage had arrived at Kumogakure at the same time was proof enough of what they wanted. They were here to pull him to their side, and that realization fed his pride like a warm current. In this era, Kumogakure was the strongest blade on the field; whoever held it would shape the shinobi world's next chapter, maybe even decide its fate.
He smiled, slow and deliberate. "Hokage. Mizukage. Both of you coming to Kumogakure at once… what exactly is it you're here for?"
Everyone knew it was a ceremonial question, the kind asked with a straight face in order to preserve the ritual of negotiation. Hiruzen seemed to have recovered enough to speak without choking on his own rage. He steadied his breathing, carefully avoided looking at Tsunade and Chiba, and addressed the Raikage as if this were a clean meeting between equals.
"Raikage, I came to express Konoha's goodwill."
"Oh?" The Raikage's smile didn't change. "What goodwill?"
Hiruzen coughed once, then continued, posture stiff with restraint. "Though Konoha and Kumogakure have fought before-though there have been conflicts-we have also had periods of peaceful coexistence. In the shinobi world, cooperation benefits both sides, while war harms everyone. As Hokage, I wish to form an alliance with Kumogakure: mutual support, joint resistance against strong enemies, and the maintenance of peace and stability throughout the shinobi world."
He paused, as if he'd just offered something noble rather than something born of desperation. "I wonder what Raikage thinks of this."
The Yondaime Raikage nodded, pleased. "Well said. Kumogakure also values peace. We're willing to contribute to stability across the shinobi world." His eyes slid toward Chiba, amused, expectant. "And what does the Mizukage think?"
Chiba despised speeches like this-polished lies and hollow virtues, men wrapping blades in silk to pretend they were offering flowers. Still, he wore the correct expression and gave the correct answer, because even contempt had its proper timing. "My stance is the same," he said lightly. "Peace in the shinobi world is more important than anything. So yes-I also came to seek an alliance with Kumogakure."
Even if it tasted like ash, it was still a necessary line.
The Raikage threw his head back and laughed. "Both of you want to ally with Kumogakure? That's not something you see every day…" He leaned forward, the laughter thinning into something sharper. "Why don't we all ally together? Then wouldn't the shinobi world be peaceful?"
Hiruzen froze for a fraction of a second, as if the suggestion itself had slapped him. "Raikage," he said tightly, "to be frank-Konoha and Kirigakure are like fire and water. An alliance between us is impossible." He forced the next words out like swallowed glass. "I hope Raikage will consider carefully whether to choose Konoha… or Kirigakure."
Chiba's smile deepened-faint, almost mocking. Fire and water. Fitting, really, given the Land of Fire and the Land of Water. The Raikage tilted his head as if genuinely curious. "Hokage, didn't you just say this was for peace? Why can't you achieve peace with Kirigakure and develop together?"
Hiruzen's eyes hardened, and the bitterness in his voice threatened to spill over the edge. "Because Kirigakure has been pressing us step by step. Konoha has had no choice."
Chiba's tone stayed calm, almost gentle, which only made it more cutting. "Hokage, how exactly has Kirigakure been 'pressing' you?"
Hiruzen's temper flared like dry leaves catching fire. "You incited the Uchiha clan to rebel! You provoked the Hyūga clan into defecting! You even pushed Tsunade into betraying the village-how is that not aggression?!"
Chiba let out a soft laugh, as if the accusation had entertained him rather than offended him. "Ah. Those things." He shrugged, casual to the point of cruelty. "Weren't those their own choices?"
Hiruzen's face twisted. "You-!!!"
The Raikage raised a hand, cutting in before Hiruzen's rage could embarrass him again. "Hokage, try not to get angry so often. Be careful you don't ruin your health." Then he smiled, the kind that revealed teeth without showing fangs. "Here's what I think. Both of you seem sincere, and Kumogakure is sincere as well, but if we keep talking like this, it only puts us in an awkward position. So why don't the Hokage and Mizukage each explain exactly how much 'sincerity' you're bringing? Then Kumogakure can decide."
Chiba nearly laughed outright. So that was it: the Raikage wasn't mediating peace-he was hosting an auction. Hiruzen, naturally, had come prepared to pay.
"Konoha is absolutely sincere in forming an alliance with Kumogakure," Hiruzen said at once, eager to seize the initiative. "If Raikage agrees, our sincerity will be visible."
The Raikage's gaze narrowed, pleased. "And what exactly is it?"
Hiruzen hesitated, then clenched his teeth and forced the next words out. "Raikage may make demands freely. Wealth, resources, territory-whatever Kumogakure wants, Konoha can provide."
Even Asuma and Shikaku felt their stomachs tighten. It wasn't diplomacy anymore. It was submission-an open invitation for Kumogakure to treat Konoha as a bargaining chip to be carved up. And it wasn't even new. Back then, when Kumogakure attempted to seize the Byakugan, Hiruzen hadn't responded with iron; he hadn't declared war. Instead, he'd cornered his own shinobi into sacrificing themselves, turning loyalty into a death sentence. If things hadn't been handled that way, would the Hyūga have ever truly turned their hearts away from Konoha?
Now Hiruzen was doing it again-only worse.
Shikaku exhaled, slow and heavy. This was like trying to extinguish a fire by throwing wood into it. Kumogakure would take Konoha's concessions, grow stronger, and once it had eaten its fill, it would bite again. He understood it clearly, but he couldn't say it aloud, because this wasn't negotiation. It was Hiruzen's decision, and in Konoha, decisions made by Hiruzen were treated as fate.
The Yondaime Raikage finally allowed his smile to become real. "Good. Hokage truly has sincerity." Then he turned toward Chiba, already savoring the next price increase. "Mizukage-what about Kirigakure?"
Chiba's expression stayed polite, but his eyes cooled. So the Raikage really thought he could play them both, let them raise the stakes while Kumogakure walked away richer no matter who "won." Unfortunately for him, Chiba wasn't Hiruzen.
"Raikage," Chiba said evenly, "if Kumogakure wants peace, Kirigakure welcomes it, but sincerity should go both ways. I'm not as generous as the Hokage. I won't sell my village's interests, cede land, pay reparations, or sign humiliating treaties."
The room stiffened. Hiruzen's face darkened because those words slapped him in front of everyone, and the Raikage's amusement vanished because he hadn't expected this young Mizukage to remain so hard-lined even with the possibility of being surrounded. Did Chiba truly not fear Kumogakure joining Konoha and pulling Sunagakure into the same net?
The Raikage's voice lowered. "Mizukage… it sounds like you don't truly intend to cooperate with Kumogakure."
Chiba laughed openly, almost warmly, like the Raikage had just told a joke. "I think the one who doesn't intend to cooperate is you," Chiba replied. "Otherwise you wouldn't be hosting both me and Hiruzen at the same time. This little act-letting us bid against each other-Hiruzen might enjoy it. I don't."
He leaned back slightly, relaxed, and that calmness made the words sharper. "If Kumogakure wants to go to war with Kirigakure because of this, then we'll respond."
Shikaku and Asuma couldn't help the quiet sigh that slipped out of them. This-this was what a Kage was supposed to be: neither servile nor arrogant, clear-headed, firm, and reasonable. Compared to that, Hiruzen looked like a man begging at someone else's gate. No wonder Kirigakure had risen so fiercely while Konoha sank deeper into decay.
The Yondaime Raikage snorted. "Fine. If that's the case, then we're not speaking the same language. Mizukage-please, do as you wish."
Chiba stood without hurry. "Gladly."
Then he turned, and his gaze landed on Hiruzen like winter settling over a battlefield. "Hiruzen Sarutobi," Chiba said, voice calm enough to be merciful, "think carefully. To win Kumogakure over, you're willing to sell your village again-make an already weakened Konoha poorer, smaller, more desperate."
"Even if you gather Iwagakure and Sunagakure and go to war with Kirigakure… you'll still pay heavily. Because Kirigakure will focus its strength on Konoha. When you add what you're selling today to what you'll lose in war tomorrow, Konoha's end won't be far." Chiba paused, letting the implication settle like dust. "And your Hokage's seat? You won't be sitting in it much longer."
"Do what you will."
With that, Chiba took Tsunade's hand, and the two of them strode out of the hall without looking back.
Hiruzen was left speechless, but Chiba's words wouldn't stop echoing. Enemy or not, it was the truth. He had come to Kumogakure prepared to kneel if that's what it took to drag the Hidden Cloud into his war. He'd offered land, wealth, resources-pieces of Konoha's future torn out and placed on the table like meat. But even if Kumogakure agreed, would they truly fight with everything they had? Of course not. They would take Konoha's concessions and conserve their own strength, because that was what predators did.
Meanwhile, Kirigakure would concentrate everything on Konoha, because Konoha was the nearest throat to cut. A village already weakened by internal rot and external humiliation-how could it survive the trauma of a full-scale war? Add the losses together, and Konoha really might reach a point of life and death, and if that happened, Chiba would be proven right in the most brutal way.
A cold sweat seeped across Hiruzen's back. Why had he fallen this far? At what point had hatred for Kirigakure-and for Chiba-eaten away his reason until he couldn't tell strategy from spite?
He felt a chill crawl up his spine, and for the first time in a long while, fear outweighed anger.
After hesitating, he forced himself to speak to the Raikage. "…Then I'll take my leave as well. We can… discuss the alliance again later."
The Yondaime Raikage watched him with unreadable eyes and then ordered his men to arrange accommodations for both sides.
That night, in the residence Kumogakure prepared for them, Hiruzen summoned Asuma and Shikaku. He sat in silence for a long time before he finally spoke, voice hoarse and heavy, as if each word had to be dragged out of him.
"Asuma. Shikaku. What should we do now?"
Asuma had no answer-only the tightness in his jaw and the quiet frustration of a man watching his village bleed itself out through pride.
Shikaku sighed, the sound of someone who had long since learned that being right didn't mean being heard. "Hokage-sama… you understand what the Mizukage meant. His words were blunt, but they were accurate. If we sell our interests for Kumogakure's so-called support, it's nothing but feeding a fire with kindling. We'll be driving ourselves into a corner."
"Kirigakure won't let us go. And Kumogakure won't truly ally with us either," he continued, steady and precise. "Don't forget-historically, the village that has struck Konoha the hardest, and hated Konoha the most, has always been Kumogakure. The Second Hokage died to the Kinkaku Force-Kinkaku and Ginkaku, shinobi of the Hidden Cloud. In every great war, Kumogakure has always been at the front-aggressive, relentless. They tried to steal the Byakugan. They've pressed Konoha again and again."
"Kumogakure… isn't worthy of trust."
Hiruzen fell silent again, the quiet thick as smoke.
"But if we don't do this," he asked at last, voice low, "what future does Konoha have?"
Shikaku didn't soften the truth. "Konoha isn't in a state to wage war right now. If Hokage-sama can temporarily put aside hatred for Kirigakure, focus on letting the village recover, and allow the next generation to grow, then one day Konoha can rise again."
Hiruzen's gaze sharpened. "And if Kirigakure continues to attack us?"
Shikaku met his eyes, unflinching. "Then we fight to the death. But that is still better than cooperating with wolves and tigers-especially when they're demanding land and reparations from us."
Hiruzen sank into thought, the weight of years pressing down on his shoulders.
On the other side, Tsunade's mood was far lighter. She leaned back with a small, satisfied smile. "Chiba… those words you threw at Hiruzen just now-he looked like his brain stopped working."
Chiba gave a quiet chuckle, though his eyes remained clear and cold beneath it. "If he hasn't gone completely senile, he'll calm down and think. If he does, Konoha might still have a chance. And if he insists on charging forward…" His voice lowered, sharpened by certainty. "Then it becomes a matter of mutual destruction."
"At the very least, I can guarantee this-Konoha will die before we do."
He looked toward the dark mountain silhouettes outside the window. "As for Kumogakure… I never expected much. You saw the Raikage's face today. He wanted us to outbid each other so he could profit. You can't satisfy wolves like that. Feed them once and they only come back hungrier-with sharper teeth."
"Hiruzen is blinded right now," Chiba continued, quieter, more inward. "But someone like Shikaku sees clearly. It depends on whether Hiruzen will listen."
Tsunade nodded. "Kumogakure was never trustworthy. Even Ōnoki at least understands balance-alliances, interests, restraint. Kumogakure only thinks about swallowing what it can."
Chiba smiled. "Exactly. I'd rather speak with Ōnoki than waste breath pretending with the Raikage."
Meanwhile, inside the Raikage's office, the mood was far less pleasant. The Yondaime Raikage slammed a hand on his desk, irritation rolling off him like heat. "Tch. I wanted to squeeze both villages dry today, but that Mizukage Chiba-he refused the toast and drank the punishment instead. He didn't take the bait at all."
Dodai sighed. "He isn't Hiruzen Sarutobi. He's young, but his mind is flexible and calm. People like that are difficult to deal with."
Darui nodded slowly. "He's frightening. In that situation, if Kumogakure allies with Konoha, Kirigakure would be facing three major powers at once… and yet he stayed hard. Unshaken. Like he already had an answer for every outcome."
Even Samui, rarely generous with praise, spoke in her cool tone. "He's strong."
Then she looked at the Raikage. "Raikage-sama. What do we do next?"
The Yondaime Raikage's eyes sharpened. "We don't waste an opportunity like this. Kirigakure is troublesome, but Hiruzen? That old man is already confused-and the older he gets, the more cowardly and rotten he becomes. As long as our demands aren't too outrageous, he'll agree. We'll just earn a little less-nothing more."
Dodai smiled faintly. "You're right. With someone like Hiruzen, even if we 'concede' a little, he'll still crawl toward cooperation."
The Raikage nodded once, decisive. "Good. Then tomorrow… we proceed."
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