The neutral ground chosen for the ceasefire negotiations was a jagged, windswept plateau known as the Iron Altar, situated on the border where the Land of Rain met the Land of Earth. It was a desolate place, stripped of life by decades of border skirmishes, leaving only a monolithic stone table and the howling wind. To the world, this was the end of the Second Great Ninja War; to Kaito, it was merely a stage for his debut as a global power.
Kaito stood at the edge of the plateau, his hands tucked into the pockets of a new, customized black tactical vest that bore no clan symbol—only the spiral of the Leaf, which he wore with a touch of ironic flair. His Total Concentration Breathing was now a silent, golden current that warmed his skin against the freezing mountain air. The Sun Breathing integration had transformed his internal rhythm; he no longer felt like a machine, but like a localized star, radiating a confident, almost suffocating heat.
"You know, for a peace summit, everyone looks like they're attending a funeral," Kaito remarked, his voice carrying a cheerful, melodic resonance that cut through the whistling wind. He turned to Tsunade, who was adjusting her medical kit with trembling fingers. "Relax, Tsunade-san. If anyone tries to start something, I'll just melt their weapons before they can finish their hand signs. It'll be a great story for the Academy kids."
Tsunade looked at him, her eyes wide with a mixture of awe and exasperation. "Kaito, you are eight years old, and you are about to sit across from the Tsuchikage and the Raikage. Could you please, for the love of the Sage, stop acting like this is a picnic?"
"I'm just being honest," Kaito chirped, his grin widening into something sharp and predatory. "If they were stronger than me, I'd be worried. But since they aren't, I might as well enjoy the view."
Kagami Uchiha and the rest of Team Hiruzen stood behind him, their presence acting as a formal guard, though they all knew the truth. Kaito wasn't being guarded; he was the one guarding the village's interests.
The Arrival of the Brass
The first to arrive was the Third Raikage, a mountain of a man wreathed in a flickering cloak of lightning. He landed on the plateau with a crash that cracked the stone, his eyes instantly locking onto the "Anomaly" he had heard so much about. Beside him stood his son, A, already a formidable warrior, looking at Kaito with a mixture of challenge and confusion.
"So, this is the boy who walked through the Four Pillar Bind," the Raikage rumbled, his voice like grinding tectonic plates. "You look less like a monster and more like a pampered civilian brat."
Kaito didn't flinch. He didn't even take his hands out of his pockets. He simply tilted his head, his smile remaining perfectly, arrogantly fixed. "And you look like you've been spending too much time in a static-electricity generator, Raikage-sama. Does your hair always do that, or is it a special jutsu for intimidation?"
The Raikage's Lightning Armor flared violently, the ozone scent becoming thick enough to choke on. "Watch your tongue, whelp. I've ended entire bloodlines for less."
"And I've shattered Jonin-level summons for breakfast," Kaito countered, his voice dropping into a ruthless, low hum. "Shall we skip the posturing? I'm here to sign a paper, not to teach you manners."
The tension was broken by a low, dry chuckle from the other side of the plateau. Onoki, the Tsuchikage, drifted down from the sky on a platform of rock. He looked at the scene with a cynical, calculating gaze. "Now, now, Raikage. Don't let a child get under your skin. Though I must admit, Leaf... your 'Hollow Shadow' has a backbone made of something harder than stone."
The Negotiation: A Study in Arrogance
The leaders sat at the iron table. Kaito sat at the head, representing the Leaf in place of the Third Hokage, a move that had sent ripples of shock through the diplomatic world.
"The terms are simple," Onoki began, laying out a scroll. "Konoha withdraws from the Rain borders, and we divide the logistical routes through the Pipe Forest equally."
Kaito reached out, and before anyone could react, he gripped the edge of the iron table. His Steel Bone Density and the Roughness trait caused the metal to groan and flake under his touch.
"Equally?" Kaito asked, his voice bright and cheerful. "That's a funny word. I don't remember Iwa or Kumo holding the Central Dam. I don't remember your men defeating Hanzo at the Citadel."
He leaned forward, his eyes beginning to glow with the golden light of the Hinokami Kagura. "Konoha keeps the routes. You get to keep your borders. That's the deal. Anything else, and I might have to stop being so polite."
"You dare!?" The Raikage slammed his fist onto the table, his lightning-clad hand leaving a glowing crater. "You are a child playing at being a king! You have no chakra, no lineage, nothing but a trick of breathing!"
Kaito stood up slowly. The chair behind him exploded backward from the sheer pressure of his Conqueror's Haki discharge.
"A trick?" Kaito laughed, a ruthless, echoing sound. "Let me show you the difference between a ninja and a Sovereign."
The Sun Rises on the Altar
Kaito took a step. The stone beneath his feet didn't just crack; it vitrified, turning to glass from the sheer heat radiating from his Sun Breathing mastery.
"Hinokami Kagura... Solar Halo Dragon Dance!"
He didn't move like a human. He moved like a solar flare. In a blur of golden-red light, he moved around the table. He didn't strike the leaders; he struck the very air between them.
The Black Flash spatial distortion combined with the purifying fire of the Sun Breathing. A dragon of black-and-crimson flame roared across the plateau, incinerating the clouds and turning the iron table into a puddle of molten slag in under a second.
When the light faded, Kaito was standing in the center of the molten iron, his hands back in his pockets, his grin wider and more arrogant than ever. The Raikage's Lightning Armor had been stripped away by the sheer "Purification" property of the Sun Breathing, leaving the giant of a man gasping for air. Onoki's stone platform had crumbled into dust.
"Now," Kaito chirped, looking at the stunned world leaders. "About those routes. Do we have an agreement, or do I need to get serious?"
The World's Surrender
The Raikage looked at his scorched hands, then at the eight-year-old boy who was casually humming a tune while standing in liquid metal. He saw the Unbreakable Anomaly, the boy who had outgrown the very concept of a ninja.
"We... we agree," Onoki whispered, his voice trembling. "Konoha keeps the routes. Just... keep that fire away from our borders."
Kaito beamed, clapping his hands together. "Wonderful! I knew you guys were reasonable. Tsunade-san, do you have the backup scrolls? I think I accidentally melted the first one."
As the leaders signed the new terms with shaking hands, the "Hollow Boy" looked out over the horizon. The war was over. He had won the peace with the same ruthless, cheerful efficiency he had used to win the war.
> [System Status: Integration 7.5%]
> New Perk Unlocked: [Sovereign's Presence - Absolute]
> Current Status: The Sun of the Leaf.
> Points Awarded: 3,000.
>
As he walked back toward Kagami and the Sannin, his aura now a steady, warming radiance, Kaito knew the truth. The top brass didn't stand with him. They stood in his shadow.
"Who's for dango when we get back?" Kaito asked, his voice a bright, happy melody against the dying wind. "My treat. I think I just earned a very large bonus."
Tsunade looked at him, a small, weary smile finally touching her lips. He was a monster, he was a king, and he was the most arrogant person she had ever met. But as he walked away, laughing at a joke only he understood, she knew that for the first time in years, the world was safe.