Chapter 188: The Intrigue and Power Struggle Surrounding the Peace Talks
"Konoha truly is a powerful and wealthy place, Third Hokage."
Facing A head on, Hiruzen smiled warmly, the kind of smile that made people relax, and made enemies want to grind their teeth.
Inside, he was already cursing.
That brute actually came to Konoha in person. Did he not fear he would not make it back out?
The war between Kumogakure and Konoha had only recently ended. Under normal circumstances, peace talks were straightforward. Kumogakure would send representatives, present their terms, and the Leaf would negotiate accordingly.
Hiruzen had been prepared for that.
What he had not prepared for was the Fourth Raikage himself showing up at the Land of Fire's border like he owned the road.
Even worse, A only revealed his identity right before crossing into the Land of Fire. That single move forced Konoha into a long, tense internal discussion about why he came, what he wanted, and whether this was an opportunity to kill him.
Of course, the suggestion to assassinate the Fourth Raikage was shot down immediately.
Danzo, the one who brought it up, left the meeting in a sour mood. He even called Hiruzen a coward more than once afterward, clearly regretting that the village did not take the gamble.
"The Fourth Raikage's courage is admirable as well," Hiruzen said aloud, taking a slow puff from his cigarette.
Smoke drifted through Konoha's streets.
A forced a smile and looked around. Villagers stared openly. Some watched him with curiosity. Others glared with raw hatred, their resentment so obvious it could have been a jutsu of its own.
Those people rarely lingered long.
Masked shinobi would appear, guide them away, and the street would return to a tense calm.
The dark underside of the Leaf, and the reach of Root, did not care whether a citizen's anger was justified.
"Hahaha! I came to negotiate," A said, laughing loud enough to shake the air. His thick muscles trembled with the motion. "Kumogakure's shinobi forces are ready as well."
It was a threat dressed up as confidence.
A was not worried about Kumogakure's safety. B was still stationed with the Land of Lightning's shinobi army, and the village also had the Two Tails Jinchuriki. Even if someone tried something foolish, Kumogakure would not collapse.
Fugaku said nothing.
He was only here as an observer. Unless the Third Hokage called on him directly, he had no reason to speak.
Still, A's words left him conflicted.
On one hand, being threatened on their own soil was humiliating.
On the other hand, considering how Konoha had treated the Uchiha, a small, ugly satisfaction stirred in his chest.
But the clan was still in Konoha. If the village suffered, the Uchiha would suffer with it.
If the skin is gone, where does the hair cling?
Fugaku understood that truth well.
Yet when he thought of Shisui's situation within the clan, his mind drifted again.
He did not know whether Shisui's path was right or wrong, but remaining in Konoha, the strongest village in the shinobi world, felt suffocating. The village was like a massive net, trapping the Uchiha like fish in deep water.
It was trying to drag them into every problem, every compromise, every stain.
What should I do?
Fugaku's distress sat heavy behind his eyes.
Danzo, meanwhile, wore an icy expression that made his mood obvious to anyone with sense.
Hiruzen glanced at A again, a hint of helplessness flickering across his face. Offending Kumogakure and risking a new war was not a price he was willing to pay.
So he swallowed it.
Still, he could not simply let A swagger through Konoha without consequence. If he did, Danzo would be pleased, and that was its own kind of headache.
More importantly, too many eyes were watching.
So Hiruzen smiled wider and struck back with words.
"I heard Kumogakure was attacked by the Heavenly Demon," he said pleasantly. "Do you need Konoha to send a construction team to help with repairs?"
A's expression turned grim in an instant.
"Hmph. What are you so smug about?" he snapped, teeth grinding as he remembered how much money the village had been forced to pay. "You were attacked by the Heavenly Demon too, were you not?"
Hiruzen laughed, as if he had heard a joke.
"But our village was not attacked."
A took a deep breath.
If he let this continue, that old fox would repeat that sentence every chance he got, and the insult would spread with it.
So A forcibly steered the conversation back to the peace talks.
Hiruzen's smile faded into something sharper. This part mattered. It was the village's lifeblood, its reputation, and its future.
That night, bright moonlight washed over Konoha.
In the darkness beyond the barrier, an enormous figure moved, and a pair of blood red eyes opened like a curse.
Back in Orochimaru's base, Shiori delivered her report with urgency.
"According to our informant, the Fourth Raikage was discussing compensation with the Third Hokage when the Eight Tails launched an attack from outside Konoha that very night," she said.
Kenichi's expression went blank.
So why did the Eight Tails attack Konoha?
Then Shiori's tone shifted slightly, emotion breaking through her usual control.
"And it was confirmed that the Sharingan appeared in the Eight Tails' eyes."
Kenichi froze.
Sharingan?
Mangekyou?
At the moment, only one person in the shinobi world came to mind as someone capable of forcing a tailed beast into submission.
Obito.
But it still made no sense.
That was B, the Eight Tails Jinchuriki, a perfect host. Before Naruto earned Kurama's approval, B was widely considered the most stable and complete Jinchuriki alive.
Even Obito had waited for Kushina's childbirth to act, because only then would the Nine Tails seal weaken enough to exploit.
So where did he find the nerve and power to seize control of the Eight Tails at its peak?
"Sharingan?" Orochimaru's interest finally surfaced, sharp and real. He did not care about Konoha being attacked. He had already betrayed the village long ago.
What caught him was the method.
"The three tomoe Sharingan cannot do that," Orochimaru said, eyes narrowing.
"I have heard that Madara, Hashirama's close friend, had far more powerful eyes," Orochimaru continued, rising to his feet. "The Mangekyou Sharingan."
He paced slowly, thoughts moving in circles that always returned to the same point.
He had worked with Danzo many times. He had handled countless Uchiha samples. But among everything he had ever obtained, the highest level he could confirm was the three tomoe Sharingan.
He had never once seen the Mangekyou up close.
That meant he could not say with certainty what kind of eye had controlled the Eight Tails.
"Teacher," Kenichi said, "do you remember the night of the Nine Tails?"
He did not need to explain further.
When the Nine Tails rampaged that night, there was a moment when its eyes held the Sharingan as well.
That had been Obito's doing.
Even when control was broken, Kurama's hatred for Konoha would have driven it to continue destroying the village anyway.
But the Eight Tails was different.
B would never be ignorant of what an attack like that meant. If the Eight Tails struck Konoha, then only one possibility remained.
B had been manipulated.
"Yes," Orochimaru replied. "When the Nine Tails first appeared, it also had the Sharingan in its eyes."
"Then it was the same attacker," Kenichi said, voice firm.
He was almost certain it was Obito.
Unfortunately, besides Kenichi himself, the only ones who knew Obito still lived were Black Zetsu and the true White Zetsu, Tobi.
No one else would believe it.
Kenichi had nowhere to say it.
What he could not understand was the purpose. Why waste so much energy controlling the Eight Tails to attack Konoha?
To stir war between Kumogakure and the Leaf?
That would not work.
Nagato had not begun the tailed beast collection plan yet. Kenichi did not believe Obito was unaware of that.
So what was Obito trying to do?
For the first time in a while, Kenichi felt events slipping out of his control.
In his mind, his presence might have created minor changes, but the overall direction of the shinobi world should have stayed stable.
His plan had been simple.
Lie low. Build strength. Then, when the time was right, strike Obito and Black Zetsu with a decisive surprise attack and shatter the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan completely.
After the shinobi world unified, he would push technology forward, draw out the hidden Otsutsuki threat, elevate the level of life itself, and drag this world toward the stars.
To Kenichi, the universe sounded far more appealing than endless village politics and knife in the back power games.
"It seems the shinobi world is about to enter another turbulent period," Orochimaru said calmly.
The report also noted that Konoha's damage was not severe. Their defensive barrier had just been upgraded, and with the Third Hokage and the Fourth Raikage intervening, the situation never reached irreversible disaster.
Unfortunately, the intelligence ended there.
It only stated that the Eight Tails vanished suddenly, and afterward, Konoha declared martial law. The message itself had been transmitted at great risk.
"If a real fight breaks out, the leader will start assigning those annoying missions again," Kenichi said with a shrug. "I would rather things stay quiet. Kakuzu alone can make money."
He genuinely disliked being sent out on pointless tasks. Too much movement, too little value.
Then he remembered something else.
"By the way, teacher, how is Hidan doing with what I gave you before?"
When he had gone to Yugakure, he had brought Hidan back and handed him over. Kenichi did not know how far Orochimaru had taken the research.
Orochimaru's eyes lit up, excitement flashing across his face.
"Excellent," he said. "His body is extremely peculiar. I extracted something remarkable from his spinal cord."
He led Kenichi toward a sealed laboratory.
The door opened.
And the moment Kenichi stepped inside, he saw it.
Hidan's head, pale and ashen, submerged in nutrient solution, floating like a grotesque specimen that refused to admit the concept of death.
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