Chapter 278 : peace talks
Land of Fire, Konoha, Hokage Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi put down the battle reports from various front lines and leisurely took a few puffs from his pipe.
The combat power of the other Villages was not to be feared; Konoha had already stepped one foot into the door of victory.
As Hokage, leading Konoha Village to face four opponents and still gain such an advantage, when he died and went to the Pure Land to meet the previous two Hokage, he would have the confidence to say that he had dedicated his life to Konoha.
"Now, it's about time to negotiate a ceasefire with the other Villages. Continuing to fight won't benefit anyone."
Koharu Utatane and Mitokado Homura, seated below, nodded, raising no objections.
The two of them were not aggressive hardliners; Konoha taking the initiative to negotiate and achieve a ceasefire as soon as possible was more to their liking.
If Danzo were still alive, he would probably furiously scold his three old teammates for being short-sighted and not knowing what was important.
At this moment, not only were they not beating a dog while it was down, pressing their advantage, and demanding exorbitant prices, they were actually giving the enemy a way out and helping them cut their losses in time?
But unfortunately, Danzo, who had been dead for two years, couldn't jump out from underground and point his finger at their noses, calling them cowards.
So, three documents requesting peace talks were still sent to Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Hidden Mist Village.
Land of Earth, Iwagakure.
Ōnoki finished reading the letter handed to him by his subordinate and casually placed it on the table, seemingly completely unconcerned.
His secretary proactively asked, "Sir, how should we reply?"
"No rush, let's wait a bit longer."
Ōnoki chuckled, "Iwagakure hasn't admitted defeat yet. Why should we stop fighting just because he says so?"
"But sir, we are indeed about to—"
"You don't understand Hiruzen Sarutobi. To quickly quell the war, he'll probably reduce the war reparations even further."
Land of Lightning, Hidden Cloud Village.
"Old man, you're already putting yourself in the position of the victor?"
Fourth Raikage Ay smashed his fist into the thick office desk, roaring, "No money! If you want a fight, let's keep fighting!!"
"Sir, this is already the third desk you've broken this month."
"Only three? What's wrong with that?"
"But today is the 5th…"
"Too talkative!"
Land of Water, Hidden Mist Village.
"It's about time."
The third Mizukage, Kirigakure Sei, muttered to himself, then instructed outside, "Recall Yagura."
...Land of Fire, Eastern Front.
"What? You said the Village proactively proposed a ceasefire, and Hidden Mist agreed? They even dared to set conditions for us?"
Hearing this news, Fugaku slammed his hand on the table, rising to his feet.
"We clearly have the advantage, why would the Hokage agree to a ceasefire? This isn't just demoralizing ourselves, it's boosting their morale!"
"And those shameless Hidden Mist Ninja, stirring up trouble in the Land of Fire for so long, now that they see they can't win, they just want to pack up and leave!?"
"So many Uchiha Ninja died in the east for nothing! Unless Hidden Mist pays a heavy price, no one is stopping!!"
"I say, Fugaku, don't always explode like an exploding tag at the slightest provocation. Hokage-sama hasn't agreed to any of their unreasonable demands."
Nara Shikaku waved his hand, secretly wondering if the taciturn, submissive Fugaku of a few years ago had truly been secretly replaced by the Uchiha Clan, as rumored.
"Furthermore, the peace talks are the result of Hokage-sama's careful consideration, which can reduce Konoha's sacrifices. Since this war began, not just the Uchiha, but the entire Konoha has lost too many people."
Out of respect for the strategist, Fugaku sat back in his seat indignantly: "Then it should be Hidden Mist coming to us begging for mercy! What is this now?!"
"Sigh…" Nara Shikaku couldn't possibly not know the consequences of doing this, but the Hokage's order had been issued, and he had no power to resist. "Let it be. The Eastern Front will temporarily cease hostilities, and ongoing combat missions should be stopped as soon as possible."
"No, I don't trust those Hidden Mist Ninja. What if they say they'll stop, then take the opportunity to launch a sneak attack?"
Fugaku, who had developed late-stage paranoia, would not agree: "The people cannot withdraw! They will guard the front lines! If they dare to make a move, the Uchiha will continue fighting!"
"Alright, I also think Hidden Mist might not be entirely honest."
Things indeed unfolded as Fugaku and Nara Shikaku expected.
Although Hidden Mist stopped overt operations, they were still secretly using elite squads to collect various classified intelligence and rare resources from the Land of Fire.
Nara Shikaku simply sent Naraku, Kakashi, Shisui, and others out, instructing them to capture the captains of these two elite squads alive... Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!
The girl with long reddish-brown hair seized the opportunity, spitting a stream of acid at Kakashi's profile, but the latter calmly dodged it with the Body Flicker Technique.
All the acid that missed its target splashed onto a rock, corroding the giant stone with a "sizzle" and white smoke, and half of it vanished in the blink of an eye.
The next second, the cry of Chidori resounded through the heavens and earth. The girl swiftly dodged to her right-rear, narrowly avoiding the electric arc, then immediately felt something was off.
Logically, "sōgari," renowned throughout the Ninja World, couldn't make a mistake when using Chidori.
It was obvious this guy deliberately missed; he had no intention of killing her.
As for the reason, either he had orders from his superiors to capture her alive, or he simply wanted to save her for last, to play with her enough before finishing her off.
Based on past intelligence, sōgari wasn't that psychologically warped, so the former possibility was the most likely.
"Damn kid! What a waste of such a handsome half-face!"
The girl cursed under her breath, estimating that if this continued, her subordinates would soon be wiped out by those Uchiha.
At that point, not only would she, as a lone commander, fail her intelligence mission, but she would also surely be captured and suffer humiliation in Konoha.
"What in the world is that unreliable Hozuki Mangetsu up to?! Where's the promised support?!"
On the other side, Hozuki Mangetsu, whom the girl had been muttering about for a long time, was currently held rigid and immobile with a long blade pressed against his throat.
Several Kirigakure Ninja lay scattered around, with Deng and Shizuku responsible for checking and finishing them off.
He was certain that this seemingly ordinary chakra blade could kill him, a master of the Water Transformation Technique, precisely because of the wielder's beautiful scarlet eyes.
This was a nightmare that every Kirigakure Ninja had, to varying degrees, felt fear and incomprehension about from the bottom of their hearts since the war began.
—But since they're fighting, why doesn't he just kill me?
—Scarlet Hunter rarely leaves anyone alive, right?
—Could Konoha truly want to cease hostilities with Hidden Mist, fearing a complete breakdown of relations?
Hozuki Mangetsu pondered, still feeling his guess was plausible.
Naraku didn't care what strange thoughts he was having. He simply put him to sleep with a Genjutsu: Kyoka Suigetsu, then used a special seal to restrict his Water Transformation Technique to prevent escape, tied him up, and tossed him aside.
The main reason for not killing him was Naraku's interest in the Hohzuki Clan's Secret Technique, wanting to study its principles.
Perhaps in the future, he could develop "Fire Transformation Technique" or "Lightning Transformation Technique" or something similar; they would probably be very interesting to use.
The secondary reason was Nara Shikaku's command to consider the overall situation.
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