The next morning came quietly.
Instead of celebration, instead of chatter in the Hokage Tower about the fall of Danzo and the dawn of a new era, there was only silence inside the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen stood behind his desk. Jiraiya leaned against the wall, arms crossed. Shikaku had both hands tucked into his sleeves, eyes half-closed but mind fully active.
Homura sat stiffly in the seat opposite Hiruzen. Kakashi remained near the window, posture straight, mask hiding whatever expression he wore.
On the desk, placed deliberately where all of them could see it, was a photograph.
Ren sat casually in the chair opposite Hiruzen, one leg crossed over the other, as if this were just another routine briefing.
The photo, however, was anything but routine.
It showed Ren standing in the center, flashing a peace sign.
Behind him were Kitsuchi and Yugito bound and unconscious and behind them, sprawled across the ground, multiple Stone and Cloud shinobi, defeated.
For several long seconds, no one spoke.
Hiruzen stared at the image then he rubbed his eyes slowly.
"When?" he asked at last.
Ren shrugged lightly. "Two days back, I think."
His tone was almost bored. "I got word that Kakuzu was heading toward the border and targeting dad. So I rushed there. You already know that part." He tilted his head slightly. "Kakuzu died, as expected."
He paused briefly.
"However while I was healing up afterward, these guys showed up in an ambush. Somebody tipped them off." His eyes flickered faintly. "You can probably guess who."
No one needed to say Danzo's name.
"Kitsuchi, Yugito, C, and a few hundred cannon fodders. Took a bit of time, but eventually I won."
He leaned back in the chair.
"I didn't bring them here immediately because Danzo's trial was coming up. If the village saw two major nations' shinobi and a jinchuriki captured, they'd panic. War hysteria is worse than reassurance."
"So I secured them in a separate location."
Jiraiya finally exhaled sharply. "So that's why the border skirmishes were so low." He scratched his cheek. "Cloud forces were poking around, but nothing serious. Just a formality. I thought it was strange."
He then glanced at Ren with mild annoyance. "You could've told me, you know. I wasted days guarding against a threat that didn't exist. I could've finished another chapter."
Kakashi's ears perked up slightly at the mention of a new chapter, but he kept quiet.
Ren shrugged again. "I wasn't sure they'd stay quiet. They could've doubled down. Could've gone all-in. Or they could do what Stone did, stay silent."
He tapped the edge of the desk lightly.
"It could've gone either way."
Shikaku sighed, eyes opening fully now. "Of course they didn't escalate."
He looked at Ren. "You threatened the Cloud's jinchuriki directly," Shikaku explained. "Not verbally, but psychologically."
He gestured toward the photograph. "You captured the two of them alive."
He looked back at Ren. "Then you made it clear, intentionally, that you're unpredictable."
Ren gave a faint smirk as Shikaku continued.
"If the Cloud lost their jinchuriki, their military balance shifts drastically. They'd be left with three Kage-tier forces at best. In S-rank combat capability? Maybe Darui."
He shook his head slightly.
"They can't risk that. Not against us. Not when we still have Hiruzen-sama, Jiraiya-sama, Tsunade, and now…" he glanced at Ren, "…you."
Kakashi finally spoke. "Couldn't they ally with Stone?"
Shikaku turned to him, not irritated, just analytical.
"No."
He spoke simply.
"Onoki remembers the Fourth."
The room fell slightly heavier.
"Minato left a psychological scar on Stone during the war. Ren…" he gestured lightly toward him, "…must remind them of that."
Shikaku continued.
"They would not risk facing someone who might recreate that terror. Not without absolute certainty of victory. And they do not have that certainty."
Homura finally spoke, voice cautious. "So you are saying the balance holds because they are afraid?"
Shikaku nodded once. "Yes." He added after a second, "And because Ren made it clear that he might do something irrational."
Jiraiya raised a brow. "Crazy, you mean?"
Shikaku didn't deny it. "Yes."
Jiraiya snorted faintly. "Well, he's not wrong."
Hiruzen watched Ren for a few seconds before finally speaking.
"So," he said slowly, fingers steepled together on the desk, "you want to handle the negotiations yourself?"
Ren nodded immediately, a faint glint flickered in his blue eyes.
"Yeah."
He didn't hesitate.
"Old man Homura and the negotiation team can come along. I'm not saying I'll go alone. But I'll take the lead."
He leaned towards the desk, resting a hand casually against it.
"They'll know what just happened in the village, Danzo's execution, Internal cleanup and the power shift. They'll think we're unstable."
A small smile tugged at his lips. "They'll test us."
Hiruzen's gaze sharpened slightly. "And you think your presence will stop that?"
Ren's smile widened just a little. "They won't dare try anything too wild if I'm there."
He tapped the photograph of Kitsuchi and Yugito lightly.
"And if they try to strong-arm us? Demand too much? Threaten sanctions or war?"
He straightened.
"I'll just get up and walk away."
Homura frowned faintly. "That would escalate matters."
Ren shook his head.
"No."
He said it calmly, almost lazily.
"They know those hostages are my personal hostages. Not the village's or the Hokage's."
His eyes flickered.
"If I walk away, they can't do anything. If they push too hard, they risk losing leverage entirely."
There was silence for a moment.
Hiruzen looked at Homura, then at Shikaku, then back at Ren.
"…Take Itachi with you as well," Hiruzen said finally.
Ren didn't even blink. "Sure."
He then turned and left without another word and the door clicked shut.
The office fell into thoughtful quiet.
Homura adjusted his glasses slightly.
"Strong-arming two major villages," he said carefully, "immediately after internal upheaval… is not wise, Hiruzen."
There was no accusation in his tone, only concern.
Shikaku, however, did not look worried. Instead, he turned toward Kakashi.
"Why do you think Ren wants to do this himself?"
Every gaze in the room shifted to Kakashi. Kakashi stood straight, one hand resting lightly at his side. His visible eye lowered slightly as he considered the question. After a few seconds, he answered.
"He wants to show them the new Leaf."
No one interrupted as Kakashi continued.
"Even when we had strength before… we rarely used it openly. We took a passive stance, defensive always, we endured."
His eye flickered briefly toward Hiruzen, though there was no disrespect in it. "But Ren doesn't want that image."
He lifted his gaze.
"If they try to pressure us, he wants them to know we have the strength, and the willingness, to respond in full."
A pause.
"He wants them to understand that we're not tied to the old ways."
Shikaku nodded slowly, though inside, he felt a small measure of relief. He won't need constant correction.
Hiruzen folded his hands together again.
"That's right."
His voice was calm, but there was weight behind it.
"In three years, Ren will take over from me."
He looked toward the window, where sunlight filtered in softly.
"That will mark the rise of a new sun over the Leaf."
He smiled faintly.
"This negotiation will be a preview."
He turned his gaze back to Homura. "If the other villages aren't fools, they'll understand what they're dealing with."
Homura considered that for a few seconds, "And Itachi?" he asked.
Hiruzen's smile deepened slightly, "He's the ice."
Jiraiya snorted from where he leaned against the wall, "Can't just have fire, huh?"
Hiruzen chuckled quietly, "No, fire alone burns too fast." He looked thoughtful, "Ren represents power and momentum. A willingness to escalate. Itachi represents restraint, precision and control."
He leaned back in his chair. "They balance each other."
Shikaku sighed, "Classic good cop, bad cop."
Kakashi said nothing, but his eye curved faintly.
Homura finally nodded once, "If this is to be the image we project… then we must ensure it is consistent."
Hiruzen's gaze drifted once more toward the window.
Outside, the village looked peaceful, children ran along the streets, merchants opened their stalls.
Life resumed as though nothing had happened.
Yet beneath that calm surface, a shift had occurred, a decisive one. Ren had not only removed Danzo, he had captured two villages' elites, he had publicly been named successor and now, he would walk into negotiations not as a subordinate, but as the future.
Hiruzen felt a strange mixture of emotions, relief, concern and something else, hope.
"Let them test us," he murmured quietly. "They'll find that the Leaf of today is not the Leaf of yesterday."
Jiraiya pushed off the wall and stretched. "Just make sure the kid doesn't start a war for fun."
Hiruzen smiled faintly. "He won't."
But then he paused.
"…Not without reason, I'm sure."
Shikaku exhaled slowly, "Then we prepare the documents, terms and possible concessions."
He glanced at Kakashi.
"And you. Start shadowing Homura-sama, negotiations aren't that different from battlefield tactics."
Kakashi nodded. "Yes."
As the discussion shifted into logistics, Hiruzen allowed himself one final glance toward the horizon beyond the village.
Ren had surprised him again and again. But this time, the surprise had been… reassuring.
The Leaf no longer just had strength.
It had resolve and perhaps, for the first time in a long while, courage to stand tall, instead of merely endure.
~~~
Another day slipped by quietly, almost unnaturally so.
Inside the Hokage Tower, however, things had been anything but quiet.
Homura led the formal negotiations team, with Shikaku sitting beside him for strategy. Scrolls had been drafted, revised, redrafted, and then revised again. Demands were listed. Counter-demands anticipated. Concessions prepared but hidden. Every clause was worded carefully enough to avoid loopholes, yet sharp enough to cut if needed.
Still, no one truly expected the first proposal to succeed.
After all, the first rule of negotiation was simple: ask for too much then haggle and the Leaf intended to ask for a lot.
On the morning of departure, the caravan gathered near the main gate in full ceremonial order.
The negotiators themselves were mostly older officials, men and women with sharp minds but not much battlefield strength left in their bones. Because of that, protection had to be more than symbolic.
Shikaku had assigned ten full jonin teams as escort. They were experienced and disciplined with no hotheads.
Ren, now temporarily acting as ANBU Commander, had quietly moved the entire Numbers unit into shadow positions along the route and beyond. They wouldn't be visible, but they would be there.
Truthfully, all of that might have been overkill. Because walking at the center of the formation were two figures no one sane would attack.
Ren Senju.
Itachi Uchiha.
Two of the Leaf's highest combat powers, walking openly in daylight. Still, this was a formal diplomatic procession and the appearances mattered.
So as the banners unfurled and insignia displayed the caravan departed the village in steady rhythm.
Villagers lined the streets, whispering among themselves.
"What's happening?"
"Is it war?"
"No… looks like diplomacy…"
No official announcement had been made beyond vague statements about "border stabilization." But everyone could feel something was shifting.
~
The first stop came only a few hours out.
It was a quiet forest clearing where Ren had hidden the hostages but he didn't even dismount.
He simply gave a small hand signal.
Moments later, shadow clones stepped out from between trees, dragging restrained figures forward.
Kitsuchi of the Stone.
Yugito Nii of the Cloud.
Along with several high-ranking shinobi from both villages.
Their conditions were… intact. They were not abused or humiliated. But restrained thoroughly.
Yugito's amber eyes burned with fury the moment she saw the Leaf delegation.
Her jaw clenched.
If looks could kill, Ren would've been ash already.
Kitsuchi, on the other hand, stood straight despite the bindings. His expression was calm and analytical, watching everything.
Ren gave them one brief glance, then looked away.
There were no taunts or any smug grin like when he was fighting, currently there was just indifference.
"Bring them," he said simply.
They were tied under guard at the rear of the caravan, heavily monitored by both visible escort and hidden ANBU presence.
Yugito snarled once under her breath but Kitsuchi remained silent.
~
The borderlands came into view by late afternoon.
It was wide open plain broken by scattered stone outcrops.
Ren had chosen this exact location deliberately. This was the same ground where the ambush had taken place. Where Stone and Cloud forces had thought they could overwhelm him.
The psychological weight of that choice was intentional to let them remember to let them stand where they lost.
As the Leaf caravan approached, they could already see tents erected in the distance the Cloud and Stone processions were waiting.
Their banners fluttered stiffly in the wind and even from afar, tension hung thick in the air.
The Leaf caravan halted at an equal distance, no one crossed the invisible midpoint.
For a long moment, the two sides simply observed each other then the Leaf began setting up their own encampment.
There were no glances thrown and no greetings exchanged, it was only formal silence. The air between camps felt like a drawn blade even before the negotiations had started.
Ren took one glance at them and a smile formed on his face, this too was a kind of fight, only a different kind of fight, but still a fight. Itachi who was besides him, reminded him, "We're not here to throw punches."
Ren nodded, "I know, this time, I'll throw words, it will be my first such experience, I hope it's fun."
Itachi just sighed but a small smile formed on his face, for a person who liked peace, this was the kind of fights he preferred the most, so he too was a bit excited.
~~~~~
{The rewards will come after the negotiations are over, since there are so many of them, I need some time to select the rewards for all of them, so enjoy the fight of words for now.}