"Go ahead and speak."
The Third Raikage couldn't just walk away like that. The Hidden Leaf's possession of information about Kinkaku and Ginkaku had completely caught him off guard, so for now he could only sit calmly and listen to Sansho's explanation.
"At first glance, it seems like Kumo needs to make major changes to its frontline, but in reality, that's not the case. All you need to do is redirect your forces originally deployed in the Land of Rice Fields and Sound Country toward the Land of Grass. After our two nations form an alliance, those regions wouldn't require such heavy military deployments anyway."
That was classic double-talk—Sansho had mastered the art of saying one thing and meaning another, the hallmark of political negotiations.
Originally, Kumo had already established defensive lines in both the Land of Waterfalls and Land of Frost. If they extended these defensive lines into the Land of Grass, they could effectively separate Konoha from Iwagakure. Such a small maneuver—who would've expected it to benefit Konoha so greatly?
However, there was one detail in Sansho's explanation that deviated somewhat from Haseo's original suggestion. She hadn't insisted too much on deploying Kumo's forces deep into the Land of Rain. For one thing, that would overextend Kumo's frontlines and create severe logistical difficulties. Additionally, unlike other minor countries, the Land of Rain had shown signs of emerging strength in recent years.
Though the Hidden Rain Village couldn't compare with the five great ninja villages, its power far surpassed most ordinary smaller hidden villages. Since this village was currently fighting wars against both Iwagakure and Konoha simultaneously, Iwagakure had no way to infiltrate the Land of Fire through the Rain Country route.
After thinking it over, Raikage replied, his tone measured yet skeptical, "If we really redeploy our defensive lines as you suggest, how will resupply work? Will Hidden Leaf provide us free supplies or allow our supply caravans to pass through the Land of Fire?"
"Absolutely not." This time it was Sansho's turn to reply firmly. Letting Kumo's supply convoy travel through the Land of Fire? What if something happened along the way? Leaving aside other concerns—if by accident Kumo decided to drop off their Eight-Tails or Two-Tails jinchuriki somewhere inside the Land of Fire? Imagine if these jinchuriki suddenly felt like transforming for relaxation during transit—could you blame anyone?
Even if such incidents occurred, for the greater good, Konoha would have no choice but to bite the bullet and absorb the losses—after all, the Hidden Leaf Village no longer had Hashirama Senju to turn to.
"Still," Sansho added, conceding further, "in emergency situations, we can sell supplies to your frontline at cost price. We could even consider delivering them directly."
Raikage shook his head. Frankly, his question about logistics had been merely a rhetorical jab meant to temper Konoha's negotiation confidence. Forget about cost-priced supplies—even if Konoha freely delivered food straight to Kumo's doorstep, would they dare eat it? Who'd be responsible if people died from poisoning?
Forget about all the backstabbing and mutual distrust. Don't call Raikage narrow-minded or dark-hearted. The truth was, such supply exchanges genuinely opened possibilities for poisoning—this was exactly how shinobi villages operated. Given such golden opportunities, if Konoha refrained from poisoning several Kumo ninjas, would they even deserve to be called Leaf shinobi?
"If you're concerned about Mist's movements, we could offer our assistance in exchange—we can help monitor them," Sansho quickly added when he saw Raikage about to speak. "We could even establish a joint surveillance organization to ensure intelligence sharing between our villages regarding Mist."
Raikage couldn't bring himself to say the words. At that moment, he finally realized Konoha's "suggestion" was no spur-of-the-moment idea but a well-planned move meant to force Kumo's strength toward Iwa. Worse still, Konoha had already come up with ways to help Kumo deal with the threat from Mist. If Raikage kept dodging now, it would raise doubts about his sincerity toward the alliance. After all, although Konoha's proposal benefited themselves, it wasn't necessarily bad for Kumo.
Raikage had no choice but to play along for now. "In principle, we can agree to your proposed frontline arrangements, but any final decision will depend on your explanation about Kinkaku and Ginkaku."
Sansho glanced toward Homura Mitokado and Kagami Uchiha. Seeing them slowly nod in approval, he began preparing to reveal news about the rogue ninjas. "This information is classified—it should be told to Raikage alone."
Such a request made Raikage realize that the matter involving Kinkaku and Ginkaku might not be simple. He kept only one of his men and dismissed the rest of the Kumo shinobi.
After all, this was inside Kumogakure; he had no worries about Konoha harming him.
"Before the Second Hokage's sacrifice, he successfully eliminated your village's rogue ninjas—Kinkaku and Ginkaku," Sansho finally revealed after most had left.
Kumo had already assumed the Hokage was dead. It was difficult to escape pursuit by numerous elite Kumo ninja led by Kinkaku and Ginkaku. But what shocked Raikage was that Kinkaku and Ginkaku were also dead.
At that moment, Third Raikage became consumed with rage beyond comprehension. The so-called serious negotiations from Konoha before were nothing but a farce—a mockery aimed directly at him. "I—WANT—THE—ROGUE—NINJAS—ALIVE! DEAD MEANS NOTHING! What was there even to talk about?!"
His eyes burned with a fierce, deadly intent. Kinkaku and Ginkaku had to be slain by his own hands; only then would his position as Raikage and Kumo's overall stability be secured. Yet now he was being told these two pawns had already been killed by the Second Hokage long ago—what a load of crap! Konoha actually expected them to go through with those talks?
"Wait!" Sansho hurriedly reached out to stop Raikage, who was turning to leave. Immediately afterward, Kagami Uchiha stood up, revealing his crimson Sharingan eyes with three tomoe each.
The guards around Raikage swiftly stepped forward, glaring at Kagami Uchiha with intense killing intent.
But Uchiha didn't reveal his Sharingan to start a fight—he wanted to prove that Konoha had the ability to accomplish certain things. He spoke directly to the Raikage, saying, "Kinkaku and Ginkaku are already dead. Quibbling over how they died won't help now. However, as long as we can prove they were killed by you, then it's as if they truly fell by your hand… If their corpses and those powerful ninja tools are brought back to the village, nobody will doubt the authenticity of you punishing rogue ninjas. Afterwards, your issues, Kumo's issues—all can be resolved."
Kinkaku and Ginkaku had already perished at the hands of the Second Hokage. But there was no shortage of methods to make others believe they had fallen at the hands of the Third Raikage—for example, the current situation involving the Sharingan before them and Uchiha's Genjutsu.
The Third Raikage could finally no longer suppress his fury. Intense lightning surrounded his body… These outsiders from Konoha actually wanted him to take credit for another's victory—the achievement of the Second Hokage? No proud strong warrior would ever allow such a disgrace to happen to himself.
"Raikage!"
Yet before he could strike, one of his guards placed a firm hand on his shoulder. In an instant, his companions' clear gaze extinguished Raikage's towering rage.
That single shout of "Raikage!" reminded A—the Third Raikage—of his true identity. He was neither just a warrior bound by honor nor simply a regular ninja; he was the Kage, bearing the fate of an entire village. The head of military affairs for a nation was fundamentally an important political figure, and sometimes, for the sake of village interests, they had to endure humiliation.
Now seemed to be the time when the Third Raikage must carry this heavy burden.
He slumped dejectedly back into his chair, saying to Sansho and the others, "Let's end today's negotiations here. I'll seriously consider your suggestion."
Never had he imagined being backed into such a humiliating corner by Konoha's negotiation team.
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