"Life for a life—this is a reasonable demand." Nukai calmly swept his gaze over everyone, looking as if victory was already in his pocket. "Why are you all getting so worked up?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's silence only made the Cloud delegation more smug. The smiles tugging at their mouths grew ever more obvious.
Hyuga Hiashi only watched the Third Hokage. Even though this concerned his life and the very foundation of the Hyuga clan's survival, he still said nothing—only waited.
Just then, a crisp voice, sharp with anger, cut through the suffocating silence.
"Enough!"
Tsunade stepped past Hiruzen and walked up to Nukai. Flames burned in those amber eyes.
"You scum… you've got no shame at all!"
"What ceasefire agreement? This isn't a ceasefire—you're using the chaos like cover to loot the place. What do you think Konoha is, some soft fruit you can just squeeze whenever it suits you?!"
Nukai's expression changed. He hadn't expected anyone to tear off the mask so bluntly.
And to anyone listening carefully, those words sounded like they were also cursing another "soft persimmon" in the process.
"Last time it was Uzumaki bloodline. This time it's the Byakugan. You bandits really never learn!" Tsunade spat. "Go back and tell your Raikage—what the hell does Kumogakure think it is?"
The Cloud delegation's faces turned ugly. Nukai couldn't allow himself to back down—otherwise his "dead comrade" would have died for nothing.
"Tsunade-sama, we only want an explanation… can you bear the consequences of war?"
"Bear them?" Tsunade let out a cold laugh. "What a big attitude. Don't try to scare me. The consequences of war are equal. You should go back and ask your Raikage whether he can bear them."
Nukai clenched his teeth. "Tsunade-sama, I'm asking you."
Tsunade lifted a hand to lightly cover the corner of her mouth, as if a small "pfft" slipped between her fingers.
"I can answer you right now: I don't care."
"I alone can represent Konoha. I can represent the Land of Fire." Her eyes sharpened. "But you—can you represent the Raikage, represent Kumogakure, represent the Land of Lightning, and tell me you don't care too?"
An invisible pressure radiated from her, crushing the Cloud ninja until it felt hard to breathe. It wasn't chakra—it was the weight of what she was saying.
Hiruzen's emotions churned bitterly. Things had reached this point—if he still hesitated now, Konoha's authority would be wiped away, and he, the Hokage, would lose everyone's trust.
He stepped forward and stood before them all. In that moment, he found a trace of how he'd felt when he was younger.
Hiruzen let himself remember that feeling for the briefest instant, then spoke.
"To the representatives of Kumogakure: Konoha cannot agree to your demand. The ones who should show sincerity—prove you have no intention of provoking war—are you!"
In an instant, Nukai's face went deathly pale.
They had never expected this outcome. According to the intelligence the Raikage had obtained, Konoha was at its weakest: the Sannin were gone, the Fourth Hokage had died, the village had just suffered the Nine-Tails disaster—there was no way they would dare fight again.
But Tsunade—who wasn't supposed to be here—had suddenly appeared, and even declared a hard line. And now even the Third Hokage…
This… this isn't right. It wasn't supposed to go like this!
Cold sweat began to bead on Nukai's forehead. If Konoha truly still had the strength to fight, then Kumogakure's plan was completely ruined. Worse still, if they slunk back like this, then no matter how "brotherly" the Raikage might be, they wouldn't be spared punishment.
And just when the Cloud delegation found itself stuck between advance and retreat, something even more despairing happened.
As the "person involved," Hyuga Hiashi was the first to state his position.
"Hokage-sama, Tsunade-sama—no matter what, the Hyuga clan is willing to fight to the death for Konoha! The Hyuga are part of Konoha. Any enemy who dares offend Konoha must be prepared to pay the price!"
Nara Shikaku followed immediately. "Ino–Shika–Cho is the same."
Uchiha Fugaku wasn't about to miss this once-in-a-lifetime chance. "The Uchiha are part of Konoha too. If Kumogakure wants war, the Uchiha clan is willing to charge in at the front!"
One after another, Konoha's major clans declared their stance. Big or small, their voices nearly suffocated the Cloud delegation.
Nukai's expression grew worse by the second. He looked around, panic swelling in his chest.
He wasn't Tsunade. He couldn't say something like, "I can represent the Raikage's attitude—represent Kumogakure."
Nukai forced out a stiff smile. "Since Konoha's stance is so firm, we won't say more. But we hope Konoha won't regret today's decision. We'll return and report to the Raikage."
"Don't let the door hit you on the way out," Tsunade said coldly. "And remember—repeat my words to your Raikage exactly as I said them."
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the Cloud delegation left in embarrassment. Afterward, Hiruzen ordered the ANBU to follow them and ensure they were escorted all the way out of Konoha.
Once the Cloud delegation had fully gone, Hiashi walked up to Tsunade and bowed deeply.
"Tsunade-sama, thank you for speaking up for the Hyuga clan."
"I wasn't speaking up for you," Tsunade waved it off. "The Hyuga are part of Konoha. And I'm a Konoha ninja. That's all."
That's all.
Hiashi's expression turned complicated. Uchiha Fugaku felt the same.
Those words—only someone like Tsunade, a Senju, could probably say them so plainly. And yet… the Senju clan had vanished because of that very ideal. Was it really worth it?
Off in a corner not far away, two small figures were quietly celebrating their victory.
Hyuga Kiyonari and Hyuga Hinata stood together. They'd stayed in the corner the whole time, silently watching everything unfold.
When the Cloud delegation finally left, Hinata excitedly raised her hand and high-fived Kiyonari.
"Yes!"
But even as she rejoiced, a thread of worry still hid in her eyes.
She knew this was only the first stage of victory. Kumogakure's threat was temporarily defused—but another enemy was still waiting: the stubborn, rotten-thinking elders within the Hyuga main family.
Even if Konoha, under Tsunade-sama, didn't erupt into conflict now, as long as Kumogakure's "threat of war" remained, those people would never let Uncle Hizashi go.
Hinata stared at Kiyonari's profile and clenched her fist hard, her cheeks puffing slightly like a little bun.
Kiyonari noticed the change in her expression and asked with concern, "Hinata, what's wrong?"
"Nothing."
Hinata shook her head. This time, she didn't plan to drag Kiyonari into it.
This was a conflict inside the Hyuga clan. The one who should stand up… was her—the heir of the main family.