The air inside the Mission Hall thickened until it felt almost solid.
Tsunade's gaze snapped onto Yugito, her chakra surging instinctively, pressure rolling outward like an invisible tide. Across from her, lightning crawled over Yugito's body in jagged arcs, the crackle sharp and unmistakable. Neither side spoke. Neither side backed down.
The first to react were the Sunagakure shinobi.
Pakura took a single step back, expression tightening. This was no longer a moment for internal ambition or rivalry. Without a word, she ceded command. Rasa responded instantly, fingers lifting in a subtle signal. Gold dust shimmered into existence behind him as he guided Pakura and the others into a tight defensive formation against the wall.
"We have no intention of intervening," Rasa said calmly, though the floating sand behind him told a different story.
Almost at the same moment, Kitsuchi led the Iwagakure squad into the hall.
They froze.
The standoff was impossible to miss.
Kitsuchi's eyes swept the scene once, then twice. No orders were exchanged, yet he and his men moved in perfect unison, retreating toward the opposite corner from Sunagakure. In moments, three forces occupied three points of the hall, forming an unspoken triangle of tension.
The silence stretched.
"Is Kumogakure planning to ignite the Third Ninja World War?" Tsunade demanded, stepping forward alongside Minato. The accusation landed like a thrown blade.
Near the entrance, Dodai felt cold sweat bead along his spine. He masked it well, signaling with one hand. The Hidden Cloud shinobi began to retreat carefully, inch by inch. At this distance, if Konoha charged with Tsunade and Minato at the front, they would be shredded before reinforcements could even react.
When Yugito made no move to advance, Tsunade held her hand. No attack order came.
Dodai exhaled only after rejoining Yugito's side, his voice low and tight. "Lord Yugito… that was reckless."
His eyes flicked toward the shaken Cloud shinobi nearby. As the Raikage's designated successor, Yugito should have consolidated, not provoked. Had the Leaf attacked, this squad would have vanished in moments—and without them, Yugito alone would never have been able to challenge Konoha.
Yugito said nothing.
Only now did he seem to realize how close disaster had come. Yet his eyes never left Tsunade. One of his subordinates, breathing hard, pointed silently toward the bounty screens.
Dodai followed the gesture.
At first, he only glanced.
Then his head snapped around.
The word Longevity Pill burned itself into his vision.
He read once. Then again. Each bounty drove the blade deeper. By the time he finished the last line, the smile that usually lived on his face was gone entirely. Chakra leaked from him unconsciously, sharp and hostile.
When Dodai turned back toward the Konoha shinobi, his gaze was as cold as drawn steel.
That reaction did not go unnoticed.
Qian Renxue shifted subtly, drawing closer with her companions. Kitsuchi and Rasa exchanged a glance and each brought several jōnin forward. When the bounty contents came into full view, sharp gasps rippled through the hall.
Chakra flared.
Sunagakure. Iwagakure. Kumogakure.
Without a word, they moved—closing ranks around the Konoha shinobi.
Tsunade's jaw tightened. "So now you're all targeting us?"
Dodai answered quietly, voice stripped of warmth. "Killing you makes the mission easier. That's reason enough."
He paused, then added, "Three villages join forces. We deal with Konoha first. The four pills are split evenly."
"Evenly?" Rasa cut in. "Who decides who gets more?"
"Whoever contributes more," Yugito replied, tone glacial.
"Iwagakure wants one Qingming Longevity Pill," Kitsuchi said immediately. "Coins can be negotiated."
Dodai frowned briefly, then nodded. "We settle the division after the Kage arrive."
"Agreed," Kitsuchi said.
Rasa inclined his head. "Fine."
Shikaku Nara's expression darkened—not at the alliance, but at the footsteps now echoing behind him.
Yagura Karatachi entered with the Hidden Mist shinobi, sealing the encirclement completely.
"All three villages working together?" Yagura said mildly, eyes glinting. "Interesting. What reward could justify that?"
Kitsuchi answered before anyone else could. "Four S-rank bounties. Two point three million sacrificial coins. Four Longevity Pills. Sixty years of life."
The last hope drained from the Konoha shinobi.
Surrounded by four great villages, there was no winning this by force.
Mei Terumī's eyes sharpened. Kisame's shark-like grin spread as he hefted Hiramekarei. Yagura struck the ground with his staff, chakra beginning to stir.
"Your names aren't on the list," he said calmly. "Give me a reason to let you leave."
Shikaku stepped forward, strangely composed. "Then tell us why the bounties exist."
Dodai's sneer cut deep. "Betrayal. Murdering an employer. Attempted robbery."
The words detonated.
Mockery erupted from the surrounding shinobi. Konoha faces drained of color.
Uchiha Yatsushiro roared, Sharingan spinning. Hizashi Hyuga's Byakugan burned coldly. Yet Shikaku saw it—the way Shinnosuke lowered his head, the way Tsunade didn't deny it.
Asuma's hands shook.
This wasn't rumor.
It was rot.
And it was dragging Konoha straight into the abyss.
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