Kirigakure.
In the third-floor conference room of the Mizukage Building, Kaede sat alone at one end of the oval-shaped table, pen in hand, writing something while speaking calmly.
On the opposite side sat the Grand Elder of Kirigakure, with several Kiri shinobi standing nearby. Mei Terumi and a number of elite Jonin from the village were seated along one side of the table.
"...That about sums it up."
After scribbling a few final lines, Kaede lightly tossed the pen aside.
The Grand Elder across from him looked tense, cold sweat forming on his forehead. He bit his lip and spoke, "Aren't these terms a bit too harsh, Hokage? Kirigakure also suffered significant losses in the war."
Kaede rested his intertwined fingers on the table, replying calmly, "You were the ones who started the war. If you have the will to initiate a war, then you must also be prepared to pay the price."
His tone wasn't harsh.
It was steady. Calm.
Yet those tranquil words weighed heavily on every Kiri shinobi in the room, suffocating them with tension and pressure.
"Just accept it."
Mei Terumi stood up and looked at the Grand Elder, her voice level. "We don't have a choice right now. Whatever he wants, we have to give it."
The Grand Elder remained silent.
Mei turned to Kaede and met his gaze. A strange glint flashed through her eyes for a brief moment before she calmly placed her hand on the table. "Go retrieve the summoning scroll for the Seven Ninja Swords."
The nearby Kiri shinobi exchanged uneasy glances, at Mei, then at the Grand Elder, hesitating, unsure what to do.
"Go."
The Grand Elder finally let out a long sigh.
Although a part of him still burned with pride and resistance, he couldn't make such a decision on behalf of the entire village. Ever since the Warring States Period, generations of Mizukage had worked tirelessly to build this village. He couldn't let it be destroyed in his hands.
Moments later,
A Mist ninja entered the room, carrying a large scroll on his back.
Inside the scroll was the master summoning formula for all seven ninja swords. Every individual summoning contract was rooted in this master scroll.
Kaede took the scroll and unrolled it slightly to examine it. After confirming its authenticity, he gave a small nod and stood up, holding it in one hand.
"Well then…"
"This war is over, for now."
His gaze swept across the room full of Kiri shinobi before finally landing on Mei Terumi. He gave her a faint smile. "You're impressive. I look forward to the day you become the Fifth Mizukage."
Swish!
Kaede's figure vanished into thin air.
Mei's expression remained calm as she watched him disappear, but her heart was anything but still. That one word of praise, "impressive", echoed in her mind. She couldn't help but wonder exactly what he was praising.
"Grand Elder?"
Mei pushed down the turbulent thoughts in her heart and turned to the old man beside her.
The Grand Elder stood up, leaning on his cane as he walked out. "Your judgment was correct. I'm just… unwilling to accept it."
"Who would be willing?"
Mei let out a sigh.
If Kaede had been born in Kirigakure, they'd be the ones negotiating from a position of absolute strength, and she probably would have already ascended to the Mizukage seat.
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Konoha.
Back in the Hokage Office, Kaede returned with a snap of his fingers, dispelling his shadow clone. He sat down and unrolled the summoning scroll for the Seven Ninja Swords.
After a quick examination, he pressed his hand to the scroll and channeled chakra into it, modifying one of the core formulas. The scroll was now sealed, cutting off all existing summoning contracts with any other ninja.
From now on, summoning the Seven Ninja Swords would require this scroll.
Poof!
Kaede formed a hand seal, and with a puff of smoke, one of the swords, Nuibari, the long needle blade previously summoned back by Kirigakure, appeared on the desk.
In truth, the easiest sword for Rin to wield would be Samehada, since it's a subordinate of the Three-Tails, and Rin is its Jinchuriki. But Samehada's main ability is absorbing chakra, which isn't that useful for Rin, she already has plenty of chakra as a Jinchuriki.
"Someone, come in."
Kaede picked up Nuibari and called out.
Whoosh!
Two shinobi appeared in the office. They weren't masked, but wore black cloaks with the number "1" emblazoned on the back.
These were members of Kaede's newly-formed "Thirteen Hokage Guard." The unit was still in its early stages and not yet active in formal operations. For now, they only existed to follow Kaede's direct orders.
"Call Rin over… no, never mind. Just bring this to her."
Kaede handed Nuibari to one of the two.
With a nod, the shinobi vanished.
Kaede turned to the other. "Inform Shikaku. I've signed a treaty with Kirigakure. The terms are…"
After Kaede detailed the agreement, the second shinobi also nodded and disappeared.
With everything settled, Kaede stood from behind his desk, rolled up the ninja sword scroll, and walked out of the office.
He headed to the innermost room on the third floor, placed his hand on the door. As it opened, intricate sealing arrays shimmered across its surface.
This was the Sealed Chamber,
The place where Konoha stored its Scroll of Seals and other vital items.
Kaede walked in and casually tossed the Seven Ninja Swords' summoning scroll into a corner. His eyes scanned the room and eventually landed on a scroll sitting on a display case.
The Scroll of Seals.
It contained Konoha's most dangerous forbidden jutsu and secret techniques.
Since becoming Hokage, Kaede had been swamped with work. He'd intended to study the Scroll of Seals at some point, but after leaving it here, it slipped his mind. Only now, while storing the sword scroll, did he remember it.
He reached out and took the Scroll of Seals, then returned to his office, sat down behind his desk, and opened it.
Now that he had reached the level of a Six Paths being, learning and practicing ninjutsu was nothing like before.
The Truth-Seeking Orbs were the fusion of all chakra natures: Wind, Lightning, Water, Fire, Earth, Yin, and Yang. Possessing them meant mastering every kekkei genkai.
Likewise,
Any ninjutsu based on those seven chakra natures could now be learned and used by Kaede, including the Shadow Imitation Technique, Mind Transfer Technique, and Partial Expansion Technique.
Though, aside from Partial Expansion, the others weren't particularly useful anymore.
Sealing techniques based on Yin Release, including Reaper Death Seal, were now trivial for him. After glancing through their hand seals and principles, he could wield them with ease.
The only category he couldn't naturally master was space-time ninjutsu, as it existed outside of the standard elemental system as an eighth chakra category.
And time-related ninjutsu stood even beyond that, as a ninth category entirely.
While spatial techniques had many basic applications like Summoning or Substitution Jutsu, and many users, time techniques had no such equivalents.
The Great Toad Sage's prophecy, the Priestess of the Land of Demons, Roran's Dragon Vein, Urashiki Otsutsuki's future vision, Momoshiki Otsutsuki's time freeze…
Including himself,
You could count all the true time-manipulators on one hand.
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria