The next day, negotiations between Konoha and Kumo resumed once again.
"After careful consideration, we have decided to accept your conditions. In exchange for the 'fact' that Kinkaku and Ginkaku are eliminated, we agree to shift our defensive line toward the Land of Grass." Not long after the second round of talks began, the Third Raikage made this decision.
Homura Mitokado and Kagami Uchiha exchanged glances, each able to see the joy in the other's eyes. Actually, upon arriving at this secret chamber and discovering that only the Third Raikage and his guard from yesterday were present on the Kumo side today, they had already realized the situation might develop in a favorable direction for their side. They just hadn't expected the Raikage's decision to come so quickly.
In their imagination, even if Raikage truly accepted these terms, there should have been more back-and-forth negotiation between them. This must be a result of his personality—before making a decision, the Raikage might hesitate, but once he resolved something, he would not waste time on minor details.
Such decisiveness was naturally worthy of praise. Konoha's visit to Kumo yielded significant gains.
"In this deal, both sides got what they wanted. Our two nations can now be freed from mutual bloodshed. Looking ahead to future wars, the positions of the Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire will be clearer." Homura couldn't help but say.
"I hope so," said the Third Raikage. Although this negotiation appeared to be mutually beneficial on the surface, he couldn't shake the feeling that Kumo was at a disadvantage.
Soon afterward, both sides drafted an alliance agreement. It was then signed by the Third Raikage and Homura Mitokado, representing the Third Hokage, officially establishing the alliance between Konoha and Kumo. Then, both parties prepared another secret treaty guaranteeing Kumo would redirect its defenses toward places like the Land of Grass... although these under-the-table dealings wouldn't be formally recorded, their effectiveness remained unquestionable.
Once the official negotiations concluded, dealing with Kinkaku and Ginkaku became an urgent matter.
News about reestablishing the alliance with Konoha was immediately announced throughout the Hidden Cloud Village. The Konoha envoys, having completed their mission, left Kumo at midday in a hurry, clearly eager to report back to Konoha.
Not long after Haseo and his group departed from Konoha, Kumo's intelligence system "suddenly" discovered traces of rogue ninja Kinkaku and Ginkaku. Amidst the commotion, Third Raikage A led three elite ninja and, against the village's objections, hastily set out.
Raikage led his four-man team covertly into the Land of Rice Fields.
"Everyone stay alert—we're likely very close to Kinkaku and Ginkaku's location now. Their strength doesn't need explaining, so everyone must act cautiously from here on," Raikage said while secretly giving a barely perceptible nod toward B.
Upon receiving Raikage's cue, B immediately followed up, saying, "Yeah, though after consecutive battles, those two rogue ninja probably aren't in perfect condition either, so we don't need to worry too much..."
"Wait! What's going on over there?!"
While speaking, he suddenly turned his face toward another direction and let out a startled, furious sound!
His sudden reaction startled the other two in his group—they instantly followed B's gaze… only to find themselves staring straight into a pair of crimson Mangekyo Sharingan eyes.
As a line of blood tears slid down Kagami Uchiha's cheeks, the two ninja froze in place without making a sound.
"You arrived a little later than we agreed," Kagami Uchiha said, pausing briefly as he shut one eye and turned to the Raikage.
"Because of the elders back in the village holding me back, I was delayed," replied the Third Raikage. Being the village's Kage meant sacrificing freedom of movement—especially under constant scrutiny from the elders who held real power behind the scenes.
"Cut the chatter. Take me to Kinkaku and Ginkaku. And… these two won't wake up anytime soon, will they?" The Raikage pointed at his two companions.
"Think they'll snap out of a Sharingan-induced illusion that easily? Right now, they're trapped in a never-ending fight between you and Kinkaku and Ginkaku," Kagami Uchiha said, turning his gaze toward where the Konoha group stood.
Leaving the two comrades trapped under the illusion, the Raikage brought only B along as he followed Kagami Uchiha.
Within less than five minutes, the Raikage laid eyes on the long-craved Kinkaku and Ginkaku, and the several crucial ninja tools lying next to their corpses.
"It's definitely them," declared B immediately after arriving.
"What about the barrier?" asked the Raikage.
"The barrier has already been deployed," answered Homura Mitokado.
The Raikage nodded, then crouched beside Kinkaku and Ginkaku's corpses.
"We returned everything they carried untouched, although Benihisago and the Seven-Star Sword were destroyed during the fight with the Second Hokage. We already explained that earlier—I hope you understand," Sansho explained when noticing the Raikage kept staring at the broken pieces of the ninja tools.
Meanwhile, Haseo Yu silently shifted sideways a bit, trying to lower his profile. Honestly, what did any of this have to do with him anyway?
Of course, the Raikage couldn't possibly blame anyone over such matters. He gestured for B to gather the tools and fragments, then pressed both palms against Kinkaku and Ginkaku's lifeless bodies. Then… powerful Lightning Release surged through their corpses.
Though what he was doing looked just like beating dead bodies—and essentially was—his intention wasn't purely disrespectful. The Raikage's aim was to use Lightning Release techniques to cover traces left behind by the Second Hokage on these rogue ninja while obscuring their exact time of death… until finally, after their bodies had become partially charred, he ceased using his jutsu.
"Everyone, lend me a hand," the Raikage requested once he finished handling the bodies.
The others nodded and launched into a barrage of jutsu, obliterating the surroundings to create the appearance of a site where a fierce battle had just taken place.
Because barriers had been set in advance, even if one or two ninja were drawn to this remote area by the commotion, they wouldn't be able to break through the barrier and witness what was truly happening inside.
The trail of destruction stretched all the way to where Kagami Uchiha had cast a genjutsu. Then the Raikage arrived beside his two companions who were still trapped within the illusion.
"Two of you, sorry about this," he said, and without hesitation, he punched each Kumo ninja in front of him, knocking them both flat onto the ground—just like how they would have fallen the very moment they encountered Kinkaku and Ginkaku. That was why they'd watched the whole fight like bystanders.
After helping execute a series of techniques, the Konoha ninja no longer had a role to play here. Haseo and others then exited the barrier and withdrew toward the Land of Fire. At this point, their mission could already be considered a complete success.
"It's your turn now, B," ordered the Raikage after the Leaf shinobi had left. To him, it didn't look real enough. Since they'd decided to stage this whole scenario, it needed to appear as authentic as possible.
B nodded. Then wild and violent chakra surged from his body. As an Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, such information naturally needed to remain secret from Konoha, but with the Leaf shinobi gone, B was now unleashing his tailed beast's power.
Unfortunately, he wasn't a perfect jinchuriki. As the Eight-Tails' seal loosened and chakra continuously leaked out, he gradually began to lose control. The ferocious tailed beast clashed violently with the Third Raikage.
When the Raikage finally forced the beast back into B's body, he was already battered, and B lay near death. Kinkaku and Ginkaku possessed the ability to transform into the Nine-Tails, but now this battlefield overflowed with Eight-Tails chakra—how could anyone tell which chakra came from the Eight-Tails and which came from the Nine-Tails?
"You okay?" the Raikage asked his partner.
"Yeah, nothing serious," B replied. What kind of serious problem could there be? He'd only gotten roughed up pretty bad, that's all.
"Wake those two up, release the barrier, and... call for reinforcements from the village," the Raikage added, casting a glance toward the direction of Kumo.
This operation went against his personal will, but ultimately gave Kumo a major strategic advantage.
Meanwhile, unaware that the Raikage had continued making trouble at that location long after their departure, the Konoha group finished all their agreements, transactions, and exchanges. Bringing word of peace, they passed through forward posts and headed back to the Hidden Leaf Village.
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