The new peace agreement between Konoha and the Suna Federation was quickly signed. Aside from the clause about handing over Danzo, which was kept secret and not written in the official document, all other terms were clearly stated. Only the top officials of Konoha and the Suna Federation knew about Danzo's handover—even the commander of Kikyo City wasn't aware of it.
After the agreement was signed, the Suna Federation began recalling their ninja from the Land of Fire. Although some were driven out by Konoha's ANBU, many went into hiding, preparing for even greater upheaval. Konoha couldn't match the Federation in numbers and was struggling to cope, which is why they were so eager to secure peace.
Otherwise, continuing the war would have brought disastrous consequences for Konoha.
Once the Suna Federation had recalled most of their squads, Nara Shikaku brought Danzo to a prearranged location—a mountain hollow over ten miles southeast of Kikyo City. Accompanied by Kimimaro and a Root team, they arrived to find Fifth Kazekage Pakura and several squads of Suna ninja already waiting.
Upon seeing them, Maki, clearly impatient from waiting, said, "You're finally here."
"Sorry about that. We had to avoid drawing any attention," Shikaku replied, glancing at Danzo to imply he had been sealed into a powerless state and thus couldn't travel quickly.
To ensure the swift end of the war, Shikaku had even deliberately lied about the meeting place while in Kikyo City. Only he and the Suna Federation knew the true location. Though this betrayed the Third Hokage's final request, it was necessary for Konoha's survival.
Seeing the situation, Maki signaled the Suna nin behind him. Two sensory ninja approached Danzo. Kimimaro slightly moved aside, and the other Root members followed suit, allowing them to inspect Danzo.
With the Tongue Curse Seal in place, Root operatives now followed Kimimaro's orders. Though younger than Danzo, Kimimaro was ruthless. Any sign of rebellion would mean death. These ninja, with no official IDs, were the true darkness of Konoha, unable to return to the light unless ordered by the Hokage.
After thoroughly inspecting Danzo—who showed no signs of face alteration and whose body and brain bore expected seals—the Suna sensory ninja nodded to Maki and Pakura.
"We'll take him now," Maki said to Shikaku, who hesitated before nodding. Originally, he had intended to hand over only Danzo's corpse, but Maki insisted on a live body, even if Konoha sealed his brain.
In front of everyone, Kimimaro asked, "Now that we've handed him over, we're no longer responsible for what happens next, right, Shikaku-senpai?"
"Yes, Kimimaro, you…" Shikaku stiffened. Though on the surface it meant they were done, he was also subtly warning the Suna nin to watch Danzo closely.
To Shikaku, it was impossible for Danzo to submit so easily. As a longtime Konoha leader, his influence wouldn't disappear overnight. If Danzo planned to survive, it would have to be either with rescue from the Land of Fire or escape in the Suna Federation.
Kimimaro's words were likely a hint—not from himself, but possibly from Lady Tsunade.
The Suna nin seemed to catch Kimimaro's warning and promptly escorted Danzo away.
"Who would've thought the darkness of the shinobi world would fall so low. You used to command Root to trample other nations. Did you ever imagine this day would come?" Maki sneered at Danzo on the way.
Back in the day, two noble families in Kawa no Kuni that sided with the Suna Federation were slaughtered by Root. During both the Second and Third Shinobi Wars, Root had repeatedly tormented Sunagakure.
Danzo replied coldly, "You can only mock me at a time like this."
"Well, what can I say? Konoha's political scheming is beyond anything we can manage," Maki started, but Pakura interrupted him.
"Maki, enough. Stay alert."
If they killed Danzo now, the seal in his brain would destroy it instantly, giving them nothing. Taking him back and trying to remove the seal would be painful and risky, but potentially rewarding.
The Suna ninja treated Danzo harshly—not overly humiliating, but definitely with hostility. As the killer of Kaeko Sanki, punching and kicking him was standard. Though stripped of his position in Konoha, Danzo was only under house arrest back home. This was his first time facing such degradation. His expression grew colder, and his eyes darkened with hatred.
This journey was Danzo's only chance to escape. Once inside the Suna Federation camp, even the Hokage couldn't save him.
Every so often, the Suna sensory nin used jutsu to scan their surroundings.
Suddenly, one pointed toward the woods. "Enemies detected!"
No sooner had he spoken than five enormous black tigers emerged, roaring. These weren't real animals, but likely a jutsu.
A Suna squad immediately grouped up and performed a joint technique:
"Wind Style: Thousand-Faced Wind!"
Although the jutsu wasn't powerful individually, used in unison, it summoned a storm filled with countless tiny wind blades. The wind tore the tigers and surrounding terrain to shreds.
Once hit, the black tigers dissolved into pools of ink.
"Ink? Must be some kind of jutsu. Shin, how many enemies?" Maki asked.
Shin, the sensory ninja, responded, "Four total. The tigers came from a ninja a hundred meters south. The other three are scattered nearby, all within a kilometer."
"Only three? Yataro, Torikawa—your squads capture or kill them."
After confirming with Pakura, Maki ordered, "Move out."
Eight Suna ninja swiftly headed into the woods. Even their weakest were puppet masters at chunin level—more than capable of handling three Konoha shinobi.
Maki turned to Danzo. "Only three came to rescue you? Looks like the 'Shadow of the Shinobi World' doesn't have many loyal followers left."
Danzo sneered, "You'll never understand my plans. This world of chaos can only end with me."
The surrounding Suna nin glanced at him in disbelief. Why would a man so close to death speak with such delusion? Was it just a final moment of madness?
Click.
Just as Maki was about to retort, he sensed something beneath his feet. Instinctively, he formed hand signs.
"Wind Style: Blade of Wind!"
This was Maki's signature move. A 20cm wind blade formed in his hand and he stabbed it into the ground beneath Danzo.
Thud!
He felt the blade strike flesh. Someone was underground—an Earth-style user skilled in infiltration.
Suddenly, a ninja burst from the soil, his body emitting white smoke. Everyone paused.
The white smoke came from countless explosive tags covering his body.
"Scatter!!"
Pakura shouted, dousing nearby fireballs and using Body Flicker to escape with her guard. Others followed suit, fleeing or shielding themselves with jutsu.
Boom!!
The explosion shook the ground for kilometers. The blast was so close to the Suna camp that even the sentries there heard it.
Those near Danzo had used puppets as shields, but the blast still left them severely injured. Even those who escaped with Body Flicker were blown away mid-jump and landed dozens of meters away.
Pakura was injured too, though less severely thanks to her speed.
Eventually, someone stood and shouted, "Fifth Kazekage-sama!"
"I'm fine. Maki, fire a signal flare. Check on everyone. If anyone's critically hurt, treat them with healing tags."
Pakura approached the blast site—a crater over 20 meters wide.
The destructive power meant that Konoha ninja had hundreds of explosive tags on him.
He had drawn their attention, then sacrificed himself to kill Danzo, whose brain had been cursed. Or maybe to kill them all?
But that suicide attacker had clearly targeted Danzo. Even risking Maki's Wind Blade, he had hugged Danzo's body with explosive tags.
Pakura scowled. She had overlooked the danger below. Her goal was to kill Danzo, but this wasn't the outcome she had imagined.
"Are you alright, Kazekage-sama?" Maki and the others ran to her.
"Damn that Danzo. Damn Konoha. They never intended peace. We should go to war right now!" Maki fumed.
"We've already signed the peace agreement. If we go back on it, we'll look like fools. And Danzo wasn't part of the written agreement…"
Pakura suppressed her fury. Something felt off. She turned to Maki.
"Maki, is there any chance Danzo survived?"
"Survived? You think he escaped?" Maki considered it. Given Danzo's demeanor, maybe he had.
"We confirmed he couldn't use chakra. And with that explosion, even the God of Shinobi couldn't have survived."
Unless Danzo had some forbidden technique. But a jutsu that works without chakra? Maki had never heard of such a thing.
"Me neither," Pakura said, shaking her head.
"Maybe we can ask some of the former Konoha ninja who joined the Federation, especially the Uchiha. They hate Danzo. Might have intel," Maki suggested.
"Alright."
Pakura felt frustrated, but there was little she could do.
Soon, Yataro and Torikawa returned with three corpses. Judging by their suicidal actions, their brains had likely been destroyed by protective seals.
Not long after, reinforcements from the Suna Federation camp arrived and began treating the injured.
Once back at the camp, Pakura ordered a full retreat to the Federation.
Unless Danzo had a forbidden jutsu for resurrection, there was no way he survived. And they had no grounds to accuse Konoha or resume the war. After all, Konoha did hand Danzo over, and even warned them.
If anything, this failure was on their own incompetence.
Besides, the war had dragged on for months. Pakura's decision to start it during the Federation's growth phase was unwise. Without Elder Kaeko and his merchant guild's logistics, they couldn't have lasted this long. In the past, it was Konoha that specialized in attrition warfare.
Now that she had returned, it was time for Pakura to fulfill her duties as Kazekage and focus on developing the Federation.
(End of Chapter)