Chapter 84: The Birth of a New Kage
"Let's not waste any time," the Third Raikage said. "The first item on the agenda is to recognize the Hidden Rain Village as a victorious power, with a status equal to that of the five great villages. From this day forward, Hanzo of the Salamander will be known as the Amekage. Who is in favor? Who is opposed?"
Hanzo's heart skipped three-quarters of a beat. He almost coughed up a cloud of poison gas. He looked at the other Kage, his face a mixture of hope and anxiety.
"Are you kidding me?!" Onoki was, once again, the first to object. "The title of 'Kage' is not something that can be given away so lightly!"
"Of course it's not," the Raikage replied. "It is a title earned by strength. As a victorious nation, Hanzo of the Salamander has the right to call himself Kage."
"I do not agree! And the other Kage will not agree either."
"We are discussing this out of respect for the hard-won peace. Did the first Kage of each of your villages need someone's permission to call themselves Kage? If you cannot accept this, then we can continue to fight!"
The Third Raikage and the Third Tsuchikage were at a standoff. The subject of their dispute, Hanzo, remained silent.
Hiruzen Sarutobi cleared his throat. "Lord Raikage," he said, "while the title of 'Kage' does not require another's approval, it does represent the recognition of the entire ninja world. It has great value and should not be bestowed lightly."
The Raikage leaned back and looked at the other Kage with contempt. "Have you all misunderstood something?" he sneered. "Do you really think I'm here to ask for your opinion? Of course I know the title has great value. Otherwise, how could it be a spoil of war for the Hidden Rain?"
"You..." Even Hiruzen was speechless.
"I am a reasonable man. We can talk. If we can't agree, I won't force it. We can just continue to fight."
The other villages were exhausted. The Cloud, on the other hand, had suffered no losses. They were ready to fight at a moment's notice.
What was lost on the battlefield would be reclaimed, with interest, at the negotiation table. For example, the right to speak.
Supporting the Land of Rain had been a long-term strategy of the "Special Strategy Division" for years. It was a nail driven into the heart of the lands of Wind, Fire, and Earth. A land of four wars is often the most important strategic location.
The Hidden Rain and Hanzo owed their current status to the unwavering support of the Cloud. And as a village on the other side of the ninja world, the Cloud had no conflicts of interest with the Rain, only shared benefits. As for the so-called "dividing of the pie," it wasn't the Cloud's pie that was being divided. What did he care? The ones who should be worried were the Stone, the Sand, and the Leaf. In fact, the Cloud would continue to support the Hidden Rain and Hanzo.
And for how long? Until the Stone, the Sand, and the Leaf were destroyed, or until the Hidden Rain, under the pressure of the three great villages, rose to a power that surpassed even the rapidly developing Cloud.
The Cloud had driven a hard nail into the enemy's doorstep from a thousand miles away. And as their benefactor and big brother, the Hidden Rain, whose strength, status, and economy all depended on the Cloud, would be an ally as loyal as they come.
In the end, under the Third Raikage's immense pressure, the motion was passed. It was noted that in the final vote, the first to be defeated, the Sand, had abstained, while the Fourth Mizukage of the Mist, Yagura Karatachi, had voted in favor.
In return, the Hidden Rain would have to cede some of its rights as a victorious nation. But Hanzo's lifelong ambition had finally been realized. He felt as if he had ascended to a higher plane of existence. His only regret was that he hadn't prepared an Amekage hat in advance. If he could have just pulled out a hat with the character for "Rain" written on it right then and there, it would have been perfect.
The craftsmen in the Land of Rain are probably not good enough, he thought. I'll have to commission one from the Land of Fire, a really expensive one. And a matching robe. No, two sets! No, three!
As his mind was wandering, Dana, from behind the Raikage, took out a sealing scroll. With a simple unsealing, a magnificent, shoulder-draped cloak and an Amekage hat appeared.
"Lord Hanzo," he said, "try this on."
The other four Kage were speechless.
Hanzo took the iron-blue hat, the same color as his mask, and saw the character for "Rain" written on it. He couldn't put it down.
This was both a gesture of goodwill to Hanzo and a message to the other villages: "He's with me." But the Third Raikage couldn't have done it himself; it would have been too aggressive. The youngest of them, Dana, was the perfect person for the job.
The rest of the agenda went smoothly. Though there were a few more heated moments, they were not as intense as the first.
The Cloud's war reparations were, once again, the familiar point-based system. The Sand was also familiar with it, as Hiruzen had used the same method on them when they had been defeated. They still hadn't finished paying.
The Cloud and the Rain, as the victors, demanded reparations from the other four. The Stone and the Leaf, as the directly defeated parties, had to pay the most. The Sand, which had not fought the Cloud at all and had only had one minor skirmish with the Rain, and had been defeated by Konoha early on, had to pay the least, mostly just promises and declarations. As for whether their previous reparations to Konoha were still valid, that was for them to discuss.
The Mist, for their early attempt to attack the Cloud, also had some responsibility. But the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, after a brief look at the point-based system, readily agreed.
The items on the scroll, measured in points, were mostly money, resources, and the things ninja cared about most: ninjutsu and secret jutsu. But there were other, off-the-scroll items that, at the time, did not attract much attention, but would have a profound impact in the years to come.
"The villages will not, in any form or for any reason, interfere with the normal activities of the Hidden Cloud Village, the Hidden Rain Village, or their related organizations, within their own countries, such as commercial activities or non-conflicting missions."
"The villages will not interfere with the cooperation of their own citizens or organizations with the Hidden Cloud, the Hidden Rain, or their related organizations, such as mission commissions or business partnerships."
These two clauses were a minor part of the Five Kage Summit, and no one paid them much attention. No Kage thought they would be seriously enforced. But their impact would be far-reaching.
At the end of Konoha's 40th year, with the conclusion of the Six-Party Talks, the Second Great Ninja War officially ended. The various nations, including the Cloud, withdrew their forces and returned to a state of normalcy.
After the war, the ninja world had a sixth Kage: Hanzo of the Salamander, the Amekage. Though the Hidden Rain was still in a precarious position, and its strength did not yet match its new status, Hanzo had taken a crucial step. His ambition was now fired, and he was ready to continue to build his village into a true great hidden village.
The title of the "strongest hidden village" had changed hands. The villages had begun to invest heavily in Jinchuriki research. And the internal discord caused by the war was slowly fermenting.
And in the Hidden Cloud, riding the wave of their great victory, a series of radical reforms began.