Land of Iron, inside the inn.
In Uchiha Kai's private room, the Fourth Raikage's forehead veins bulged violently.
He ground his teeth, staring at Kai for a long moment before finally growling in a low voice.
"Uchiha Kai, have you lost your mind?"
"Do you even understand what you're saying?"
"Aren't you a shinobi of Konoha?"
"You're supplying ninja tools to my enemy—and cheaper than the Land of Iron at that?"
The Fourth Raikage couldn't hold back his roar.
Yes.
He truly couldn't understand it.
And that was perfectly normal.
Kumogakure was full of muscle-brained fighters.
The higher-ups might have some political sense, but strategic subtlety clearly wasn't their strong suit.
They could scheme, assassinate, kidnap bloodlines, and strike from the shadows without blinking.
But openly conducting business with an enemy nation?
Selling ninja tools to them?
To the Fourth Raikage, that crossed straight into treason.
However—
Faced with his fury, Kai remained utterly calm.
He merely glanced at the Fourth Raikage and spoke with faint disdain.
"I don't believe Kumogakure rose peacefully either."
"Did you truly ascend to the position of Fourth Raikage without shedding blood?"
"So it's the same logic."
"Enemies and allies aren't fixed."
"They change at any time."
"You know Konoha's situation even if I don't explain it."
"Compared to other villages, the Land of Fire is indeed wealthy."
"But internal strife?"
"No other village can match it."
"I won't go into details."
"Just know this—since I chose this path, I have my reasons."
"Didn't you say you wanted to repay me?"
"The terms are already laid out."
"You only need to decide—agree or not."
With that, Kai reached out, lifted his teacup, and drained it in one go.
Across from him, the Fourth Raikage's expression shifted slightly.
Surprise flickered across his face.
After a moment of silence, he nodded decisively.
"I accept."
"It's beneficial to Kumogakure, and it repays your favor."
"Why wouldn't I agree?"
"As for the details, coordinate directly with Mabui."
"I'll inform her."
"When your people arrive in Kumogakure, they can contact her in secret."
"She'll handle the arrangements."
Yes.
Without hesitation, the Fourth Raikage agreed.
From his perspective, refusing made no sense.
At this stage of the ninja world, Uchiha Kai's true objective was impossible to see clearly.
Not just Kumogakure—
Even Nara-level minds would struggle to grasp it.
In that case, why refuse free benefits?
Only later would he truly understand one truth—
What costs nothing is often the most expensive of all.
"Good."
"Pleasant cooperation."
Kai raised his teacup once more.
The Fourth Raikage followed suit.
And just like that—
Kumogakure was secured.
Kai's grand plan advanced yet another step.
...
The next morning.
The Five Kage Summit officially began.
Under Mifune's supervision, the leaders gathered and entered formal negotiations.
There were no accidents.
Everything proceeded smoothly.
Which was only natural.
The war had dragged on long enough that no village could afford to keep fighting.
Peace talks were inevitable.
Even Kumogakure—historically the most aggressive—only wanted time to recover after the death of the Third Raikage.
The new Fourth Raikage was strong, yes.
But on the scale of the entire shinobi world, he was still insufficient.
The only disputes involved the definition of victory and defeat, and the issue of compensation.
Kirigakure was the weakest.
It was also the only village that had been beaten by Konoha to the point of openly admitting defeat.
As such, it held the least authority at the table and accepted the compensation terms with minimal resistance.
As for the Three-Tails—
They tried to raise the issue.
But before Sarutobi Hiruzen could even speak, Kai cut them off coldly.
"I don't know."
"I didn't see it."
"Wherever you lost it, go look there."
"We fought on the battlefield, but never saw the Three-Tails."
"Konoha didn't take it."
"Why come to us for compensation?"
"And as for Nohara Rin—"
Kai's gaze sharpened.
"She's mine."
"Whoever dares touch her, I'll personally go to Kirigakure and wipe it out."
Strictly speaking, all tailed beasts originally belonged to Konoha.
When Senju Hashirama distributed them, it was in the name of peace.
But what had peace brought?
Since Hashirama's death, three great ninja wars had erupted.
Where was this so-called peace?
If distributing tailed beasts couldn't preserve it—
What was wrong with Konoha reclaiming them?
Faced with Kai's blunt aggression, Kirigakure fell completely silent.
More than anything, they feared him.
The name of the Uchiha bloodline was infamous across the ninja world.
And this particular Uchiha—
Who had killed the Third Raikage with pure taijutsu—
Was not someone anyone dared provoke lightly.
After that—
Sunagakure and Iwagakure.
They hadn't been completely defeated on the battlefield, so naturally they refused to pay compensation.
They were willing to admit defeat.
But nothing more.
Sarutobi Hiruzen agreed.
He wanted the war over—immediately.
He needed freedom to enact his plans.
Even if Konoha suffered a slight loss, he had no intention of dragging things out.
Only Kumogakure remained.
They refused to admit defeat.
Compensation was out of the question.
At most, they were willing to call it a draw.
Under normal circumstances, Konoha would never accept that.
Face mattered.
But—
The one in power was Sarutobi Hiruzen.
And all he wanted was to end the war as quickly as possible.
Between Danzo, Orochimaru, the Three-Tails issue, and the increasingly unstable Uchiha situation—
He needed to return immediately.
So even at the cost of prestige—
He agreed.
Thus—
The Five Kage Summit came to a successful conclusion.
...
But back in Konoha—
Unlike the calm of the Land of Iron, the village was anything but peaceful.
Ordinary civilians hadn't noticed yet.
They were still celebrating the end of the war.
But the major ninja clans had already sensed something wrong.
Even ordinary jōnin could feel it.
In the streets.
In the alleys.
ANBU moved openly.
Root operatives lurked in the shadows.
The Interrogation and Torture Division.
The Intelligence Division.
The Analysis Unit.
The Sealing Team.
The Hokage Building—
Everywhere was heavily guarded.
Lights burned through the night.
Even members of the Ino–Shika–Chō alliance and the Sarutobi clan could be seen constantly patrolling the streets.
All of it sent a clear signal.
And so—
The clans and civilian jōnin of Konoha quietly raised their guard.
The storm had not passed.
It was only beginning.
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