The silence that followed was absolute.
Thousands of Kumogakure shinobi stood frozen, barely breathing. Their Raikage and Azula had fought to a standstill, and now they waited, praying their Raikage wouldn't choose to back down.
It was finally A who spoke, breaking the silence.
"You fought me at full strength without holding back or restraint (believe it). And yet..." His eyes narrowed. "I've killed enough men to know when someone wants me dead, and you didn't. Why?"
Killing intent wasn't some mystical aura; it was something very simple.
Men who'd spent their first decade learning to end lives and every year since either taking them or running from those who would, they knew.
Every Kumo-nin present had felt it: Azula could have burned them to ash according to what she had displayed in her fight against their Raikage before A ever arrived and vanished with her Flying Raijin without a problem.
She did none of these things.
And now their Raikage confirmed what they'd all suspected but couldn't believe: she hadn't been trying to kill him either.
What the hell was happening?
Azula laughed.
"War is stupid." She smiled, and it wasn't cruel. It was almost... fond. "People deserve better than to feed my flames. And..."
Her gaze swept across the Kumo-nin standing behind him, ready to die for him, worthy of the village with the least rebels. "You've built something worth admiring here. I'm not in the business of burning beautiful things for no reason."
In Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi sneezed violently during his meeting.
A heard what she didn't say. I respect you and respect your village. I want to conquer it intact.
This woman wanted possession without destruction. There was a difference, and he respected her enough to recognize it.
But he scoffed anyway because pride demanded it.
"Don't insult my intelligence, Uchiha. You didn't cross half the continent, fight me to exhaustion, and now just... what? Want to hold hands? What is your real goal?"
Deep down, in a place he'd never admit existed, hope stirred.
He remembered Hashirama Senju, a time when the world held its breath not from fear, but from possibility.
Before Madara fell to darkness, before the wars resumed their endless cycle, there had been a moment when strength meant something other than destruction.
Azula was no Hashirama. She burned things for sport, apparently, but she also hadn't burned his things.
He'd spent his entire life never hoping in anyone but himself. An Uchiha? For peace? The very idea was almost offensive.
Almost.
Azula watched the emotions flicker behind his eyes, too fast for anyone else to catch, but she'd been reading people like scrolls since she could talk.
Oh, she realized with genuine amusement. He's a big tsuntsun?
She didn't answer his question directly because she wasn't begging or pleading for him to submit; she was convincing him with her Talk no Jutsu. There's a difference.
So instead, she asked her own question.
"You felt it too, didn't you?"
"During our fight. That moment when winning stopped mattering and you just... fought. When was the last time anyone made you feel that alive?"
"Your point?" A asked, very confused.
"My point is simple," Azula said, her voice carrying absolute certainty despite the glares burning into her from every Kumo-nin in the room. "I don't want to destroy your village. Unlike that one built on betrayal and bloodlust, I think Kumo has potential."
She didn't flinch under their hatred because her position was absolute, and they all knew it.
"I'm going to build something neither you nor anyone else has managed: a world without war for the next hundred years, a world without lies or manipulation. You can feel it too, can't you? The truth in what I'm saying."
She paused, then smirked.
"The question isn't whether you trust me. It's whether you trust yourself enough to bet on something other than fear."
So that's it, Tsunade realized, a genuine smile tugging at her lips. Not world domination, but something even bigger.
If Azula announced tomorrow that she planned to rule everything, Tsunade would believe it without hesitation. That kind of goal just came with different perks, like war and elimination.
But A understood something Tsunade missed.
Her tone told him everything. This girl was asking him, the most volatile Kage in existence, to surrender in such a way no one else would dare.
No one except someone utterly insane.
Like her.
And the terrifying part was he was actually considering it. Joining her made more sense than partnering with that miser Onoki and the cowardly Kazekage.
A never hesitated. Once he chose, he chose.
"Kumo withdraws," he announced. "No alliances with Iwa or Suna. But don't expect Konoha to get everything it wants."
Translation: We'll follow your lead, but give me some face in front of my people.
Azula's eyebrows drew together. This was what she wanted, but not quite. She didn't want followers.
She wanted obedience, the kind Kiri gave. If she ordered the new Fourth Mizukage to appear tomorrow, she'd appear.
But it doesn't matter, she decided, planning something. They'll surrender completely soon enough.
There was a reason she handled Kumo differently than Kiri. These weren't shinobi in the traditional sense; they were warriors at heart.
Black-hearted, yes, but proud.
Forcing them would mean endless rebellions, wasting her time chasing them across mountains.
Better they come willingly.
Or discover exactly why no one refuses the Fire Princess twice.
"Okay, I will give you a day to think about it. Be ready, negotiations will start tomorrow." She didn't want to blurt her terms in front of thousands of Kumo-nin because she knew that if she did, it might touch their pride and complicate things.
•••
And so, Azula and Tsunade walked right out in front of thousands of stunned Kumo-nin with not a single soul brave or stupid enough to get in their way.
As for why not just zip out of there with the Flying Raijin? Well, Tsunade glanced at her companion, taking in the torn clothes, the sweat-soaked hair, the slight tremor in those shoulders.
Azula looked ragged, and she honestly looked hilarious.
The moment they were alone, Tsunade lost it.
She doubled over, clutching her stomach, laughing. "Oh hahaha, I haven't seen you this messed up since—okay, actually, I've never seen you this messed up. Totally worth skipping the fight and just watching you enjoy yourself."
Azula rolled her shoulder, the joint popping back into place with a satisfying crack. A slow, sideways smile crept across her face. "It's been years since I had a real challenge. Shame he couldn't push me to my absolute limit, though."
Tsunade's laughter faded. Her eyes drifted to the tiny, perfect point in the center of Azula's forehead.
"Then why didn't you go all out?" Tsunade asked, suddenly serious. "That whole thing with A and the Cloud village… that wasn't you. The you I know wouldn't have been so… nice?"
She cringed at the word. Nice? Azula? But compared to her usual standards? Yeah.
Azula pursed her lips, considering. "It's not that deep. My research on the Sharingan has been conclusive for a long time now. To evolve it, to awaken the Mangekyō… it's not about sorrow or killing your best friend. It's just about emotional swing."
She started walking again, Tsunade falling into step beside her. "Problem is, people like us, the ones born with a certain… yin control, like the Nara clan, we don't do huge emotional swings. I honestly thought fighting A would get my blood pumping enough. It did, but it wasn't enough."
A shadow flickered across her face as she thought about a certain old hermit, holed up in some cave, probably watching all of this go down on a TV made of pure chakra.
"Plus," she added, quieter now, "gotta keep some cards hidden. You never know when a ghost from the past decides to crash the party."
But Tsunade wasn't listening anymore. Her brain had snagged on one thing: emotional swing, excitement, and awakening the Mangekyō.
A slow, dangerous grin spread across her face.
So… me accidentally flashing her in the bath got her more worked up than throwing down with the Raikage? She preened internally. Take that, you muscle-bound oaf. I win.
Feeling the sudden silence, Azula glanced over. Tsunade had that look, the one that meant she was cooking up something insufferable.
Azula decided not to ask because ignorance was peace.
"The Land of Frost," Azula announced, changing the subject. "Their spas should be empty with all the border fighting. Perfect time for a hot spring."
Because the Land of Frost was freezing, and the only thing keeping merchants brave enough to visit was the promise of a good soak. The Daimyō understood business.
Tsunade perked up. Then deflated. "Wait. If the spas are empty… does that mean their casinos are closed too?"
Azula pinched the bridge of her nose. "That's where your brain goes?"
What could she say? Gambling was Tsunade's one true vice—an addiction, a release, a beautiful disaster. Azula just shook her head, a flicker of something soft and determined in her eyes.
Someday, she promised herself, watching the blonde scheme beside her. Someday I'll do something about it.
But for now? A hot bath sounded like heaven.
(END OF THE CHAPTER)
Bath time, should I add a little bit of snu snu?
But honestly, tomorrow is the last day of Ramadan, the day after is celebrating with family, then three days after celebrating, I will return to the University, so I will be very busy in the next few days, hope for your understanding.