"The Konoha ninja are here again!"
"Should we report this to Madara-sama?"
"Of course, idiot!"
"…What do you think their poop looks like?"
Four White Zetsu emerged from the ground, chattering noisily among themselves as they focused on Nagato's house.
These four White Zetsu had been assigned by Uchiha Madara to keep watch over Nagato, the bearer of the Rinnegan. Monitoring his condition was their responsibility, so naturally, Kizaru's unusual behavior—going in and out of Nagato's home twice in a single day—didn't escape their notice.
After a brief and thoroughly idiotic discussion, one of the White Zetsu was chosen and immediately slipped back underground to report the matter to Madara.
Inside the house, the atmosphere was much calmer.
After dinner, everyone had gathered in the living room and continued talking.
Tsunade and Kizaru answered Ise and Fūsō's questions one by one. After finally easing some of their worries, they made a promise: once the troops withdrew, they would take them back to Konoha as well.
With that settled, Tsunade and Kizaru didn't stay much longer. Since the war was still ongoing, neither of them could afford to remain away from Amegakure for too long. After saying their goodbyes, the two left Nagato's home and headed back toward the village.
On the way, they ran into Jiraiya, who had clearly been looking for them.
"Where've you two been?" Jiraiya asked the moment he spotted them. "Tsunade. Kizaru."
"Eating."
"Eating."
The two answered in perfect unison.
For a moment, they both paused, glanced at each other, then burst out laughing.
Jiraiya stood there with the expression of someone trying very hard not to regret asking in the first place. Then, forcing a smile, he said, "Ebizō from Sunagakure is here. He wants to discuss peace."
At that, the smile on Jiraiya's face became much more genuine.
More than anyone, Jiraiya hated seeing Konoha and Sunagakure continue bleeding each other dry.
"Where is he?" Tsunade asked at once, a smile rising on her face as well.
"In the reception room. Come on."
Without wasting another second, Jiraiya turned and led Tsunade and Kizaru toward Amegakure's reception room.
By the time the three of them arrived, Danzō had already begun speaking with Ebizō.
"Sunagakure launched a shameless surprise attack against us," Danzō said from the seat of honor, his tone cold and measured. "That sort of conduct is not something Konoha can simply overlook."
With those first words alone, he had already positioned Konoha as the wronged party.
Ebizo clearly wanted to argue.
But when his eyes shifted to Hanzo, who sat across from him in silence, expression unreadable, he understood at once that denial would accomplish nothing.
Hanzo had been Sunagakure's ally in the ambush plan, and now he was sitting here with Konoha.
If Ebizō tried to make excuses now, he might only provoke both Konoha and Hanzo.
And Sunagakure, having already lost the Third Kazekage and Chiyo, was in no position to withstand pressure from Konoha—let alone both Konoha and Amegakure at once.
The thought filled Ebizō with bitterness.
In the span of a single day, the Land of Wind—one of the Five Great Nations—had fallen so low that even Hanzo and Amegakure had become forces it needed to tread carefully around.
What humiliation.
Taking a breath, Ebizō rose from his seat, bowed deeply toward Danzō, and spoke with solemn sincerity.
"On behalf of Sunagakure, I offer Konoha my deepest apology for this attack. We are willing to provide compensation."
At that exact moment, Kizaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya stepped into the room.
A faint smile appeared on Kizaru's face as he walked in without hesitation and dropped into the seat to Danzō's left, right beside Hanzo.
Hanzo silently shifted a little, making more room for him.
Kizaru settled into the sofa with lazy ease, crossed one leg over the other, then smiled at Hanzo.
"Oohh, how kind of you, Uncle Hanzo~"
Hanzo said nothing, but his expression softened ever so slightly.
Kizaru's arrival naturally drew Ebizō's attention.
The moment their eyes met, Ebizō recognized him.
Shimura Kizaru.
Konoha's prodigy. Danzō's nephew. The man whose name had already shaken the battlefield.
The one who had defeated the third Raikage and responsible for the Third Kazekage's death—the blinding, terrifying force known as Konoha's "Golden Flash."
"So this is your village's Shimura Kizaru," Ebizō said as he turned his gaze back toward Danzō, his tone layered with meaning.
Danzō gave a dry chuckle, then said in a deliberately casual voice, "He's just my disappointing nephew."
Disappointing?
At that moment, Ebizō and Hanzo—who agreed on almost nothing—shared the exact same thought.
How shameless.
A man who had captured the Raikage and stood among the greatest contributors to this war was being called "disappointing"?
That kind of false modesty was enough to make anyone speechless.
"You're truly young and accomplished," Ebizō said, and this time the praise in his voice was entirely genuine.
Then he forced himself back to the real issue.
"Sunagakure is willing to do everything in its power to compensate Konoha for this attack. And in the future, we hope to form an alliance with Konoha, with Konoha taking the lead. From now on, our two villages will advance and retreat together."
The moment those words left his mouth, the atmosphere in the room shifted.
An alliance—with Konoha as the leader.
That was no longer a relationship of equals. It was submission in all but name. Sunagakure would become the younger brother, and Konoha the elder.
As expected of Ebizō, Sunagakure's strategist.
For the sake of a ceasefire and reconciliation, he was willing to set aside even part of the dignity of a great nation.
Whether it was Danzō or Hanzo, both men understood exactly what that meant.
If Ebizō truly signed such an agreement on behalf of Sunagakure, then once he returned home, he would be buried beneath criticism.
His reputation, his political standing—everything he had built in Sunagakure could very well collapse.
Danzō's face remained unreadable as he gave a faint nod.
"An alliance," he said slowly, "is often nothing more than a temporary concession from the weak to the strong. What I want to see is your true sincerity."
Fame mattered to Danzō.
But more than fame, he wanted tangible benefits.
This victory had been huge, and Kizaru had contributed more than anyone. His military achievements were too great to waste on empty words and symbolic gestures.
Danzō intended to squeeze the maximum practical value out of Sunagakure.
Only then could Konoha's shinobi see the rewards of supporting Kizaru.
He wanted them to understand one thing clearly:
As long as they stood behind Kizaru, they would all benefit.
Hearing Danzō's answer, Ebizō's heart sank.
Before coming here, he had prepared two negotiating strategies.
The first was to sacrifice face and prestige in exchange for reducing the actual compensation, preserving as much of Sunagakure's remaining strength as possible so the village could recover.
But now, through Danzō's response, Ebizō understood that Konoha's infamous "Darkness of the Shinobi World" had no intention of accepting symbolic concessions alone.
Danzō wanted real gains.
And that was exactly what Sunagakure could least afford.
The Land of Wind was poor to begin with, and Sunagakure—receiving far less support from its daimyō and nobles than other great villages—had always struggled for resources.
On top of that, the late Third Kazekage had been ambitious. In order to strengthen the village's military might, he had drained its reserves to the limit.
The current Sunagakure could almost be described as hollowed out.
There simply wasn't much left to give.
Suppressing the heaviness in his chest, Ebizō looked at Danzō and asked carefully, "Then what level of compensation does Konoha seek?"
Danzō didn't hesitate.
"Two billion ryō in cash," he said flatly, "and thirty percent of Sunagakure's mission quota for the next twenty years."
Ebizo's eyes flew wide open.
"Elder Danzō!" he burst out, no longer able to remain calm. "That kind of demand is far too excessive! If Konoha insists on such terms, then Sunagakure would sooner fight to the last than accept them!"
Danzō said nothing.
He merely shifted his gaze toward Kizaru beside him.
The meaning in his eyes was obvious.
Your turn.
Kizaru, who had been enjoying the show until now, immediately put on his usual lazy smile.
"Oohh~ how scary," he said in a dragged-out tone. "The whole village breaking like jade… that'd be quite a sight, wouldn't it?"
Then he turned slightly toward Hanzo beside him, smiling as though inviting a friend to join in on harmless small talk.
"Right, Uncle Hanzo~?"
Why are you dragging me into this?
Hanzo kept that thought to himself.
The truth was, Hanzo didn't want to push Sunagakure too far. Once Konoha eventually withdrew its forces, Amegakure would be the one left facing the consequences. Offending Sunagakure too deeply now could mean future retaliation later.
But under the combined pressure of Danzō's silence and Kizaru's smiling gaze, Hanzo had no choice but to respond.
"…Yes," Hanzo said at last, his expression calm. "I'd be interested in seeing that too."
Ebizo's face twitched.
He cursed Hanzo in his heart, then turned back toward Kizaru.
"So this is Konoha's position?" he demanded. "Sunagakure may be weakened, but we are not cowards who fear death!"
"Ahhh, yes, yes," Kizaru replied lightly, nodding as if indulging a child. "Every shinobi in Sunagakure is as fierce as a beast. So very scary~"
The sarcasm in his tone was impossible to miss.
Ebizō's face darkened instantly.
"You—!"
"Kizaru. That's enough."
Seeing the exchange getting too sharp too quickly, Danzō finally cut in.
If Kizaru kept going, Ebizō might really lose his temper on the spot.
After stopping him, Danzō looked back at Ebizō and said in a firm voice, "State your terms, Ebizō."
Ebizō drew in a deep breath.
His face took on the look of someone swallowing blood and bitterness together as he spoke through clenched teeth.
"On behalf of Sunagakure, I am willing to offer Konoha five hundred million ryō in compensation, along with fifteen percent of Sunagakure's mission quota over the next five years."
The moment he finished—
"Pfft."
Kizaru couldn't hold it in.
He laughed.
The sound immediately pulled everyone's attention toward him.
Ebizō's expression turned ugly as he looked toward Danzō.
"Elder Danzō," he said sharply, "is this how Konoha treats its guests?"
"Konoha naturally would not treat its guests this way," Danzō replied, though the dissatisfaction in his tone made it clear that he, too, found Ebizō's offer lacking.
Ebizō inhaled slowly, then exhaled as though forcing himself to tear away another piece of Sunagakure's flesh.
At last, with open unwillingness in his voice, he said:
"Eight hundred million ryō in cash, paid over three years… and twenty percent of Sunagakure's mission quota over the next ten years."
He lifted his eyes and stared straight at Danzō.
"This is Sunagakure's bottom line, Danzō."
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