The atmosphere in the reception hall froze in an instant.
Yagura stood motionless where she was, her eyes empty and vacant, as if her soul had been pulled out of her body.
Suna's expression shifted sharply. He waved urgently for the two genjutsu specialists behind him to step forward and break the technique.
The two moved quickly, forming seals and pushing their chakra out, attempting to unravel the genjutsu holding Yagura.
But after several attempts, Yagura did not react at all.
"What is happening?"
Cold sweat beaded on Suna's forehead as he demanded in a low voice.
The two genjutsu specialists looked at each other. One of them gritted his teeth and said.
"Our dispelling. It is not working."
On Konoha's side, everyone's expressions were different.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, continued to draw on his pipe in silence. Smoke obscured his expression, as if none of it concerned him.
Hatake Sakumo's lips curved slightly, a trace of approval passing through his eyes.
Homura and Koharu both had their brows furrowed, clearly displeased with Chiya's aggressive move.
Teishi's face was full of outrage. He snapped his head up and glared at Chiya.
"Uchiha Chiya! You dare to make a move openly in a diplomatic setting? This is a provocation against the Land of Wind. Release the genjutsu immediately."
Chiya let out a quiet laugh and swept his gaze across the Suna-nin.
"A provocation? Your people made unreasonable demands of Konoha first. Now that you have been outmatched, you turn around and blame me?"
"Furthermore, the Land of Wind is the defeated nation here. Even if this is a provocation, what exactly are you going to do about it? Does the Land of Wind have the strength to fight another war right now? Empty bluster has no effect whatsoever on the Land of Fire."
His voice was not loud, but it carried an authority that left no room for argument.
Suna was left with nothing to say.
Teishi, hearing Chiya's contemptuous words, let anger override his judgment entirely.
"I am ordering you to release the genjutsu immediately. Otherwise, Sunagakure, the Land of Wind, will not let this go."
"Ordering me?"
Chiya's eyes turned ice cold in an instant.
"Who do you think you are to give me orders?"
Before the words had fully left his mouth, his Sharingan rotated slightly. The two genjutsu specialists had not even had time to react.
Darkness swept across their vision and they plunged instantly into a genjutsu world.
Both of them went rigid where they stood, their expressions freezing in place, identical to Yagura.
Teishi looked at Chiya, and a flash of fear crossed his eyes.
His body had stopped obeying him. His mouth fell open but no sound came out.
A sensation like phantom spikes driving through his body locked him in place, completely immobilized.
Suna and the last remaining Suna-nin, seeing this, went pale. All the arrogance they had shown earlier was gone without a trace.
They finally understood.
This young Uchiha Clan Head in front of them was even stronger than he had been on the battlefield. The kind of strength he possessed made it trivially easy to kill every last one of them in this room. It was far beyond anything they had imagined.
Chiya rose slowly, his gaze passing over the Suna-nin.
"Now. We can have a proper conversation about the terms."
Suna forced down his fear and said through gritted teeth.
"What do you actually want?"
Chiya settled back into his seat, his tone unhurried.
"A defeated nation should receive the treatment of a defeated nation. If the Land of Wind wants to keep fighting, the Land of Fire will be happy to accommodate. But once that war begins, if you ever want to negotiate the return of prisoners again, or if you decide you want peace, the terms will no longer be just three conditions."
"Our two nations stopped fighting, but to this day the Land of Wind has never formally and publicly acknowledged defeat. Is that right?"
"If you are not willing to acknowledge it, that is fine. We can simply keep fighting."
Suna still wanted to argue, but looking at his frozen companions, he finally lowered his head in defeat.
"These conditions. We cannot decide on our own. We need to consult the Kazekage."
"Fine."
Chiya nodded.
"But I am giving you one day. If there is no answer by this time tomorrow, the prisoners."
He paused deliberately, a cold smile touching the corner of his mouth.
"Will be staying in Konoha permanently."
Suna's whole body shook. He did not dare say another word.
He called the Sunagakure escort guards waiting outside to come in, had them collect their trapped companions, and the group made a somewhat panicked exit from the reception hall.
Once the Suna-nin were gone, the reception hall fell completely quiet.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, cleared his throat at last.
His gaze settled on Chiya, and he finally spoke.
"Chiya, your methods were a little extreme."
Chiya looked at Hiruzen with a steady expression.
"Hokage, Sunagakure bullies the weak and fears the strong. If we are not forceful, they will only push further. The dignity of Konoha will not be trampled."
Hatake Sakumo laughed softly.
"Clan Head Chiya is right. In the ninja world, strength has always been the measure of everything. If Sunagakure was bold enough to make unreasonable demands, they should have been prepared to be pushed back."
Homura frowned.
"But will this inflame tensions? What if Sunagakure makes a desperate move?"
"They will not dare."
Chiya cut him off.
"Sunagakure just lost a war. They are badly weakened. Starting another war would be their own destruction. If they intended to fight, they would not have sent envoys."
The Third looked at Chiya for a long moment and finally sighed.
"Very well. We will proceed as Clan Head Chiya has proposed."
Beside him, Homura and Koharu both froze, staring at Hiruzen in disbelief.
This was nothing like the outcome they had anticipated.
The following day.
The Sunagakure envoy team came again to the Hokage Building.
Suna's expression was even worse than the day before, but he did not dare show the slightest hint of disrespect.
"The Kazekage has agreed to Konoha's conditions."
Suna said the words with visible difficulty.
"The letter of defeat will be submitted within one week. The reparations will be paid in full over three years. The handover of the mining sites will be handled by designated personnel at a later stage."
Chiya smiled faintly.
"Would have been much simpler to do this from the start."
Suna kept his head down, fists clenched, but did not dare respond.
Yagura and the ninja who had been caught in the genjutsu were not released until well into the night.
When they saw Uchiha Chiya again today, the wariness had not yet left their eyes.
Yagura stood to the side, looking at Chiya, momentarily lost in thought.
She was young and new to the world, relying on her Scorch Style to go unchallenged throughout Sunagakure, recognized and cultivated by the Third Kazekage, the strongest in the Land of Wind.
She had never once imagined she could be defeated so completely, so thoroughly that she never even had a chance to make a move.
If this had been a battlefield, she would already be dead.
Chiya walked over to stand in front of her and looked at her.
"Yagura, you still have a long way to go. Go home and train hard. I hope the next time we meet, you manage to give me at least a little bit of interest."
Yagura came back to herself, bit down on her lip, and let the unwillingness flash openly in her eyes.
Looking at the sharp lines of Chiya's profile, the frustration in her chest only burned hotter.
'Damn genjutsu. When I get back to the village and find a way to counter it, next time I will definitely beat you.'
She held Chiya's gaze for one more long moment, then turned and followed Suna out.
"What a stubborn little girl."
Chiya watched the departing Suna-nin and shook his head with a small laugh.
Hatake Sakumo walked over from the far side, smiling.
"This negotiation was genuinely satisfying."
Chiya looked out toward the distance, his voice calm.
"This is only the beginning. The rules of the ninja world are ultimately written in strength."
Hatake Sakumo nodded in full agreement.
Diplomacy is ultimately nothing more than an extension of war.
When all is said and done, it always comes down to strength.
"Come on. It is a rare chance to get together. I bought some fish at home. Let us have a drink tonight."
Chiya did not turn down Hatake Sakumo's invitation and agreed with a smile.
"Sure. But I am bringing someone along."
"No problem."
The two walked together, talking as they went, and left the Hokage Building.
Time passed quickly, and word spread fast.
Sunagakure's capitulation raised Konoha's standing once again.
The attitudes of the major clans toward Chiya shifted in subtle but noticeable ways.
The Hyuga Clan in particular. Hyuga Sakusei even publicly expressed his admiration for the Uchiha.
And Chiya's name spread once more across the ninja world.
That evening, at the Hatake household, in the living room.
Uchiha Obito and Kakashi sat facing each other, staring each other down.
The two had already gotten competitive with each other during the warm-up laps at the training grounds last time.
Seeing each other again now, the mutual irritation was immediate.
The living room was silent. The two just stared at each other, and the atmosphere between them turned faintly strange.
Uchiha Chiya came out of the kitchen, tossed one of Hatake Sakumo's freshly fried shrimp into his mouth, and walked into the living room.
He took one look at the two of them squaring off like a pair of fighting roosters, stepped right up to them, and knocked each of them once in the head.
"Settle down. Both of you get into the kitchen and help."