Chapter 74

*Yawn* "Sometimes I regret the ability to teleport." I said as I was laying in a hammock between two trees I intentionally made bigger so it could be seen from far away

Chizu was using a fan to keep me cool as we were in the middle of the desert while Hizashi was surely looking at me with a hopeless expression that he kept hidden behind his mask, staying silent a little bit further from me.

Today was the day when Suna and Konoha would sign the peace treaty and send a team from each village to meet at the entrance of the desert in the Land of Wind.

While the team from Konoha was composed of myself, Chizu, and Hizashi, I knew that Suna's team was led by the new Kazekage and three other shinobi with Pakura amongst them.

Suna actually asked me once for the One-Tails back as they were scared of what would happen to their village without it, a gutsy move from them that was quickly discontinued when they heard how the war ended against Iwa.

Now that they knew how Konoha's relationship with the three other villages was, they no longer wished to try and anger us as they shouldn't fear any upcoming attack from them, meaning that they would be safe as long as they are on good terms with us.

They also put the blame wholly on the Third Kazekage, saying that they didn't wish for any war at all.

It was a blatant lie but I didn't care about it.

Nonetheless, I finally sensed them coming three minutes and thirty-two seconds late so I got up from my hammock and morphed my clothes into my Hokage's attire before standing between Chizu and Hizashi.

"My apologies for being late, something unexpected came up while we were on our way." the Fourth Kazekage who I recognized as Rasa explained as he arrived in front of us with his three 'bodyguards'

"I never expected you to be punctual so it doesn't matter." I replied before creating a table made of wood along with two seats facing each other

Prompting him to sit by pointing at the seat, he kept his poker face and sat at the same time as I did, not trying to be more disrespectful since the terms of the peace treaty could still be changed to make Suna even more at a disadvantage.

"Konoha's demands might be too difficult for Suna to be fully accepted... That's why the Suna council and I would like to show you a possible alternative." Rasa directly said as he took out a scroll and gave it to me

Knowing that the scroll wouldn't have any weird effect, I opened it and read the content which was exactly what I expected from them as I smiled inwardly but kept my poker face.

"...That is indeed an interesting offer, but is it really so unimportant for you to give it away?" I said as I looked back up to him while he chuckled before replying "This is nothing for us, and we were certain that the Hokage would like it more than what was originally intended."

"And you would be right about that, fine, let's end this." I declared as I put my stamp on the scroll while Rasa's was already on it

Now that the treaty was signed by both of us, Rasa smiled before saying "As written, we will provide Konoha's with the goods in three days, and for the rest..." he paused before snapping his finger which made one of the three shinobi following him send a needle on Pakura who suddenly got paralyzed as they surely gave her some kind of poison that would activate with a certain stimulation

"We will give it to you now." he added as Pakura fell on the ground, unable to move while she could only glimpse the backstabbing stare that the Kazekage gave her before falling unconscious

Smiling back at him, I raised my arm and Shiromari's maw appeared as his tongue wrapped Pakura before swallowing her whole, making Suna sure that I was only interested in getting her Kekkei Genkai for myself.

'They would be half right though' I thought as she would end up working for me which put her Kekkei Genkai to my use as well

"This ends our meeting." I first said as I got up from my seat before adding "I hope that our village will keep a decent relationship starting today." as I raised my hand for a handshake that he quickly accepted while he replied "For our respective village wellbeing indeed."

When it was finally over, Hizashi and Chizu moved near me right before I teleported the three of us away.

Now that I got what I wanted, there was no need for me to stay here any longer.

All I needed now was to convince Pakura to join me once she wake up, something that shouldn't be too troublesome.

*A few hours later*

"Urgh... What happened?" a girl with green and orange hair mumbled as she woke up in a comfy bed within Shiromari's body while holding her head

"You finally woke up, girl." I said as I saw her suddenly stiffen before taking a defensive stance as she tried to find a Kunai or anything to use as a weapon on herself but to no avail

"I took the liberty to take your weapons and tools from you just in case you hurt yourself with them... Your chakra is still working however, just don't try to burn the place, I'm not the kind of angel to have his wing melted." I said as I kindly smiled and had a completely carefree stance to ease her a little bit more

She needs a few seconds to recover from what happened, at least enough to be capable of listening and understanding me.

"Did I just got-" she then exclaimed after a while but I interrupted her by declaring "Betrayed, discarded, offered? All three of them, and by your so beloved Sunagakure, maybe an ex of yours now though." while a chuckle escaped my mouth as she looked dagger at me but her clenched fists meant everything

"Y-You were the one behind it weren't you?" she still asked but I then threw two scrolls at her before replying "See for yourself, the red one is the one you saw at the meeting which was given to me by Rasa and written by the Suna council whereas the green one is the initial demands from Konoha."

"...How could they... For something like this..? Was my effort all those years in vain?!" she let out as she was almost going to rip off the scrolls from frustration, barely holding back herself

"You should remember what Rasa and I said when we discussed, we didn't exchange many words but the main subject once he gave me this scroll you're holding was you... But they expected, and still believe, me to kill you." I explained as she was confused as to how she could be useful in a trade

"My ability to harness multiple Kekkei Genkai is no longer a surprise for anyone, you should know it as well, right?" I first asked to answer her concerns as she nodded "Well, they surely think that I get the Kekkei Genkai of those I murder, which is not exactly right but they at least got half a brain. That's why they gave you to me, you aren't supposed to be alive now that they gave you away." I added to make her more and more hateful against Sunagakure

"Then why are you telling me all this? Why am I still alive? Are you just making fun of me for getting backstabbed?" she kept on asking with a frown as she started to lose her will to live slowly but surely

"Because I do not kill those whom a respect." I first replied as she now looked at me with her eyes wide open while I couldn't help but have Tobirama's death on my mind even if it was his own will to die by my hands

"Someone like you who could be considered a hero for your village because of everything you did, not just against Konoha but on other battlefields as well, does not deserve to be disposed of like that... A village should never throw out their shinobi if they didn't do something deserving it." I monologued, making her more trustful about me while I didn't even lie, at least I believed so

"That's... Surprisingly good to hear but it situation change nothing at all." she said as she looked down at her hands, saddened by her predicament

'And that, gentlemen, is the moment I always wait for' I thought as I smirked inwardly before saying "You have two possibilities honestly. One, you can leave and do whatever you want and go where you want but Suna will put a bounty on you, making you a missing-nin while cursing me from behind for letting you escape." making her look back at me as she didn't look that interested and waited for the second possibility

"Or two, join me." I declared as she was surprised by the offer but before she could say anything, I started explaining "I'm not asking you to join me as the Hokage of Konoha to become one of our shinobi... It's too soon for you to make a fully known entrance since some families are still mourning their losses anyway. What I want is for you to join my organization where there are already a few members from other countries if you feel like you wouldn't blend in."

"You will still essentially be working for Konoha since I won't do something against my village, but some missions were never disclosed to our council and won't be in the future as well. What I can offer you is a nice place to stay, trustworthy people who can lend their shoulders to you, proper training and tools, and more importantly, revenge against those who wronged you." I finished explaining as I kept on moving towards her the whole time, raising my hand so she would grab it

I was her last hope, her last chance.

"I have nothing more to lose do I?" she said as she let out a small nervous chuckle before grabbing my hand

"I'm Yuichi Senju, usually known as the Fourth Hokage, welcome aboard." I announced with a happy smile now that I finally recruited her

"And I'm Pakura, nice to meet you, boss." she said as she smiled back which was quite unexpected so I let out "It sure is starting well if you're smiling already. You will see how different things are at Konoha, and don't worry, I will take care of your identity so you can freely move around the village."

"Thank you." she said before looking around only to notice that there was no window so she asked "Where are we by the way? Underground?"

"We're inside of my personal summon, Shiromari who's a chameleon and his insides are pretty much the size of a giant castle. I will let you get acquainted with all the members, and one of them is someone you may know already." I explained as I made her curious about Sasori

The boy had been working non-stop on his puppets, finishing the one with the Third Kazekage's body inside of Shiromari while he also made Hiruko's puppet, since I brought his body back with Impure World Reincarnation, in the hidden lab beneath the Senju compound where he met Orochimaru.

They surprisingly started to respect each other's way of experimenting and inventing new things, making the lab inhabited by a crazy scientist and a crazy puppeteer.

Both are shut-in as well...

"Don't worry, you will see him soon enough. For now I will let you familiarize yourself with the Senju compound where you will stay, Chizu will be guiding you, but I will give you this now." I said as I marked her with the same seal I put on every member while Chizu appeared behind us and greeted her

I wouldn't be the one to guide her since I planned to immediately leave Konoha again once she woke up.

It was time for me to visit Takigakure and steal the Seven-Tails along with its newborn Jinchūriki, Fū, who was born last year.

But before that, I also had a little trip to do in the Land of Rice Fields.

After all, Orochimaru wouldn't transform it into the Land of Sound since he won't defect as long as I'm alive, meaning that I had to get my hands on some of the interesting individuals he found in the canon.

At least those who are already born since most of them would only come to life in three years.

'The new generation of shinobi will be interesting' I thought with a smirk as I disappeared from the village

Is it wrong to pick up children in foreign villages? First of all, this would make a great name for an anime following my life outside of the village, and second, every child I took under my wing lives a better life than their canon counterpart.

And since most people I recruit end up living in the Senju compound, it makes it more lively considering that only Tsunade and I were living in it.

We both enjoyed seeing the compound recover its liveliness after the Senju Clan went nearly extinct all those years ago, one of the main reasons why Tsunade wasn't against me picking up 'orphans' although she made fun of me about it every time I did.

The more the merrier, isn't that right?

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[A/N: The Mc's status will be updated in one or two chapters since he will gain new stuff and people in it/them.

I have to go back to the last time I updated and note everything he gained, it will take me time since it's been almost 20 or so chapters, and when the auxiliary update gets online, I have to put all of the pictures again.]