"Should I accept Konoha's terms—focusing entirely on dealing with Iwagakure from now on?" After the Konoha representatives left the negotiation room, the Raikage asked those beside him.
"We absolutely must establish an alliance treaty with Konoha under our current circumstances—it's foundational. As for deeper matters, it depends on whether you, the Raikage, have the resolve to restore order in Kumogakure quickly... Although today's Konoha representatives acted rather forcefully, I doubt they'd try tying the alliance agreement directly to battlefield adjustments," the man replied after thinking.
According to a tradition spanning three generations in Kumo, the Raikage has always been known as 'A', with a partner called 'B' standing at his side. From B's response, it was clear he leaned toward accepting Konoha's proposal.
At this point, Kumo had no choice but to cooperate with Konoha. Otherwise, would they really ally with Iwagakure?
Compared to the village's destiny, personal emotions were insignificant. Claiming someone else's achievements did harm the Raikage's dignity—but did he ever consider how humiliating it would be for the Second Hokage and Konoha to admit defeat by Kinkaku and Ginkaku?
Everything must serve the greater good.
Meanwhile, after swiftly traveling all the way to Kumo and spending the entire day in negotiations, the Konoha delegation finally had a chance to rest. At their request, Kumo arranged accommodations within the same room.
While staying in Kumo, to prevent any underhanded moves, the five Konoha members needed to remain together at all times.
"Do you think Kumo will accept our proposal?" Inside their resting quarters, once confirming there were no surveillance measures left behind by Kumo, Homura Mitokado spoke up.
"Let's hope they make a decision quickly. The longer they delay, the less value our bargaining chips retain... We'll stay here for no more than three days. If there's still no decision by then, we'll secure the alliance pact and leave immediately." Sansho explained. Over time, Kumo would eventually suppress the rebellion and gradually stabilize. Once that happened, figures like Kinkaku and Ginkaku wouldn't matter anymore.
Although the Raikage appeared somewhat softened by the end of negotiations, nobody could predict what final decision he would make.
Therefore, Sansho allowed only three days for consideration—an extremely generous timeframe, in fact. If the Raikage hadn't agreed to Konoha's terms by tomorrow morning, he never would.
On the other side of the room, Haseo was explaining to Sakumo Hatake what Konoha's plan actually involved. Since early this morning, the boy had realized he couldn't quite follow the adults' conversations anymore—topics like battlefield logistics, war directions, and future developments were simply beyond his years, even if he caught fragments of them.
Haseo could only draw a simple map, pointing out the power distribution marked upon it while explaining Konoha's desired layout and strategy to Hatake.
Sakumo Hatake might have been a natural ninja, but his understanding of the bigger picture hadn't matured beyond his years. It wasn't until he saw the simple map showing Kumo's frontline almost encircling the Land of Fire that he finally grasped why they had requested Cloud to move its forces from the Land of Rice Fields to the Land of Grass.
"Haseo, you really know your stuff," Sakumo remarked after gaining a general understanding of things, especially considering this strategy had originated from Haseo in the first place. It wasn't quite admiration yet, but at this moment, he finally realized that this rookie ninja before him was indeed somewhat different.
Such a strategy couldn't possibly be proposed overnight without a deep understanding of the situation.
Normally speaking, an orphan who struggled with hunger and wore tattered clothes should merely count monkeys while starving in the forest, yet Haseo was actually paying attention to global affairs. And what's more, he could casually sketch out a world map.
"I do know quite a bit, but all this may be too intense for kids like you. I'll tell you more about it another time," Haseo said after explaining Konoha's intentions to Sakumo. Then he walked alone to a corner of the room and sat cross-legged to begin refining his chakra.
Once he felt his chakra had become sufficiently abundant, he formed the Tori [Bird] hand seal… usually the final seal used in Water Release techniques, essentially regarded as a signature for such jutsu.
After forming the seal, Haseo's chakra transformed into water nature energy, surrounding him with what seemed like a misty haze.
Because Sansho had previously introduced the Kumo shinobi in such a manner, even if unwilling, Haseo still needed to seize every moment to improve his abilities as a ninja… Although back then Sansho had only mentioned it offhandedly, and the Kumo shinobi had just happened to overhear it, Haseo couldn't afford to maintain such optimism. He always prepared for the worst-case scenario.
To be honest, when it comes to Water Release, the Second Hokage was definitely a worthy goal… If Haseo expressed this thought to others, he would surely be scolded for arrogance—the Second Hokage was an extremely powerful ninja—but within his mind, the former appeared merely as a "good" goal.
However, considering the standard by which Haseo measured others, his view wasn't wrong per se. Though undeniably powerful, the Second wasn't anywhere near as overwhelming as his own older brother or the prodigies who came later in Konoha.
If one disregarded the forbidden Space–Time Ninjutsu techniques developed by the Second and those unimaginably difficult space-time jutsu, the typical version of the Second Hokage wouldn't represent an utterly unreachable figure—in fact, for Haseo, it was something far-off yet attainable.
Taking into account the chaotic times Haseo would soon live through in the Ninja World, becoming a powerful ninja became essential just for self-preservation; yet considering the span of his career as a ninja, he didn't need to reach a ceiling-level strength either… After all, he was significantly older than the Sannin. When the era arrived where divine-level beings roamed everywhere, he would already be old and frail—or perhaps long reduced to a pile of white bones.
Dancing on someone's grave? So very Uchiha.
Was the Mother of White Zetsu... Otsutsuki? None of that mattered to Haseo right now. All he had to do was survive the Third Great Ninja War. Even the strongest enemies wouldn't top the Third Raikage he'd already faced today—at least, that's what Haseo believed for now.
So since he'd become a ninja, Tobirama Senju was the perfect goal for him.
Though he seemed to be drifting lately, Haseo had been quietly thinking about his path forward. After this long march, he hadn't found anything about being a ninja that truly bothered him, so it was time to make a firm decision.
Next, all he had to do was chase after targets as strong as Tobirama Senju.
Thinking this, his eyes drifted involuntarily toward Sansho, who was still deep in conversation with two others. Indeed, just as she had said earlier, there was a kouen (fated connection) between them.
From now on, he should cherish those connections even more.
Sansho was from the Senju clan, and her status within that clan was definitely no lowly position. Therefore, if she was willing to teach him Ninjutsu, it would be a rare opportunity for Haseo, an outsider.
At this moment, Haseo finally realized how lucky he was to have met Tobirama and arrived at Konoha in time.
He should feel nothing but sincere gratitude toward Tobirama Senju.
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