161 - Winner Takes All

Inside the restaurant, the negotiators from both Konoha and Kumo sat across from each other.

Next to A sat the Kumo ninja with the eyepatch.

In terms of personnel quality, Kumo's side was formidable, with an all-jonin lineup. But unfortunately for them, their opponents were essentially an assembly of the most overpowered individuals in the shinobi world.

Beside Minato sat Hiruzen.

Considering the current Five Kage era hadn't yet fully transitioned into the Fourth Kage across the board, the question of which Fourth Kage was the strongest was still up for debate. However, among the Third Kage, it was universally acknowledged that Hiruzen was at the front.

Looking around the room, it was clear that Konoha had brought all their top-tier talents.

The elite group trained by Tobirama in his Academy's most promising cohort were all present. This group included Hiruzen, Danzō, and Kagami. While Kagami had died young and was less well-known, Sarutobi and Danzō had both grown into bona fide Kage-level powerhouses.

Other members of that generation, such as Torifu, might not have been quite at the same level but were still top-tier jonin capable of holding their own. Before Tsunade's rise, even Koharu was the most skilled medical kunoichi in Konoha.

In short, Kumo was staring at a veritable reunion of the Second Hokage's most talented students—a fact not lost on the Kumo ninjas, who felt unease.

The atmosphere reeked of hostility. When Hiruzen had been Hokage, they hadn't perceived it as much. But now, with Konoha pressing them so aggressively, the power disparity was impossible to ignore.

Oh, and then there was Masashi, Konoha's White Ghost, who had a particular vendetta against Kumo.

When the Kumo group looked back at their own side, aside from their leader, they felt somewhat lacking. It was clear the Raikage had been prescient in securing outside assistance—though this "help" wasn't exactly trustworthy, as long as they did the job, it didn't matter.

And hey, one of their hired hands was even a former Konoha ninja.

"It has been some time since the war ended, yet Kumo has continually delayed peace talks under various pretexts. I hope today you've come prepared with sincerity," Minato began diplomatically.

"Of course, peace is a matter for both sides. I hope Konoha is equally sincere in pursuing friendship with Kumo," A replied.

"In that case, our terms are simple," Minato said, getting straight to the point.

A strong negotiator doesn't need to beat around the bush. There's no need for drawn-out tactics or waiting games—he understood that perfectly.

Konoha was strong, and Kumo was weak. Minato had no reason to mince words. While he could afford to be gentle with Iwa and Kiri—since their conflicts with Konoha weren't as sharp—Kumo was another story.

In this, he shared Masashi's philosophy: there's no "everyone wins" scenario.

Konoha needed to clearly distinguish which villages to pressure and which to ally with.

"First, Kumo must compensate the Land of Hot Water for the damages caused during the war. Second, you will cover the costs Konoha incurred from maintaining a military standoff with Kumo. Lastly, while the Land of Frost is under your jurisdiction, missions assigned by the Land of Lightning's daimyō must allocate a portion to Konoha."

"That's impossible!" A flatly refused.

The first two points were negotiable, but the last one was a non-starter. The fate of Suna stood as a cautionary tale right before his eyes.

At this rate, in less than ten years, Suna would face fiscal collapse, its ninja forces shrinking to a bare minimum, leaving them unable to sustain even basic training for genin. At that point, Suna would be forced to choose between an all-or-nothing war with Konoha or resigning themselves to becoming Konoha's vassal.

A massive nation like the Land of Wind, already suffering from fragmentation due to lack of military power, could collapse entirely.

If that happened, Suna would become like the Land of Rain—a shell of its former self.

"These terms amount to a declaration of war. You leave us no choice but to fight to the death," A said resolutely. "While Kumo desires peace, Konoha must also propose reasonable terms."

"This war was started by Kumo. Naturally, you must bear the consequences," Minato said coolly. "Winner takes all—that has always been Kumo's philosophy, hasn't it?"

"Kumo has not fallen to such a state, nor will it ever," A retorted firmly. "We understand that peace comes through strength. But if Konoha seeks to attack Kumo, be prepared for mutual destruction."

"That remains to be seen," Minato said with a faint smile. "After all, there are plenty who hold grievances against Kumo—it wouldn't just be Konoha. However, since we're here to negotiate, I'm willing to hear your terms as well."

"Our terms are simple," A said after a brief pause, gauging Minato's sincerity. "Kumo is willing to join the Association Konoha leads. As one of the Great Shinobi Villages, we deserve a position second only to Konoha. Regarding the damages to the Land of Hot Water and Konoha's military expenditures during the war, we acknowledge responsibility and will pay reparations."

Minato chuckled softly and leaned back in his chair. He knew someone else would step in to play the "bad cop."

"Raikage, do you always resort to bullying?" Masashi interjected. "If any Kumo ninja dares to set foot in our Association, they'll be dealt with on the spot. Go ahead, send someone if you don't believe me."

"Masashi, I've overlooked the matter of you killing Killer B for the sake of peace between our villages," A growled. "Don't push your luck."

"Oh? So it's fine for others to die, but not your brother?" Masashi shot back, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He then turned to the Kumo ninjas. "Your Kage is pathetic. Can't even treat everyone equally. Why not switch sides and join Konoha?"

Bam!

A slammed his fist on the table, shattering a piece of it. "White Ghost!"

A blinding flash of white light filled the room as a colossal fist of pure energy smashed through the remaining table and even the floor below.

The Kumo ninjas rose in alarm, while Konoha's delegation remained unmoved.

Masashi stood his ground, his Susanoo's hand floating in the air, fingers outstretched as shards of wood and debris rained down.

"Trying to show off how big your fists are?" Masashi said, staring at A with barely concealed murderous intent. "Come on then. I haven't even started settling accounts for what you did to the Second Hokage."

"Don't bring that up! Everyone knows it was my father who killed Kinkaku and Ginkaku!" A shouted, lightning crackling around him. "Stop twisting history!"

"Lies! Everyone knows you ambushed the Second Hokage! And don't forget, Kinkaku and Ginkaku, along with their men, were all killed by the Second Hokage!"

Hearing their teacher mentioned, Sarutobi and the others stood up, their expressions grim. "Raikage," Hiruzen said solemnly, "I must ask: is Kumo abandoning these peace talks?"

His hand casually reached for the hem of his robe.

"Sandaime-sama, since Kumo doesn't seem to want Two-Tails anymore, that works just fine for us," Masashi interjected suddenly. "And that woman is useless as a prisoner but perfect for experiments."

Hiruzen's eyes lit up.

Of course! Wood Release experiments were out of the question with their own people, but prisoners were fair game!

"You're a genius for reminding me," Hiruzen said approvingly. "What's the current status of the Two-Tails jinchūriki?"

"She's got a hearty appetite and sleeps like a rock," Masashi replied, giving a thumbs-up. "Jinchūriki have ten times the physical resilience of regular shinobi."

"Wait!" A suddenly yelled.

Both sides turned to look at him.

"Who said we're not negotiating anymore?" A said, his face stoic. "What's wrong with me pounding on a table? I do it in my office too—every day, I go through a new desk."

His tone was so matter-of-fact that everyone froze for a moment.

The Kumo ninjas thought his argument made sense. The Konoha ninjas, on the other hand, couldn't help but wonder if this Raikage had a screw loose. Why destroy his own desks daily? Was he just avoiding work?

Minato, in particular, found it suspicious. Judging by the paperwork volume on a Kage's desk, there wouldn't even be room for such theatrics. If this wasn't an excuse to slack off, he wasn't buying it.

"Let's continue the negotiations, then," Minato said.

With the Hokage taking the lead, everyone fell in line.

The Konoha delegation sat back down, and Masashi withdrew Susanoo's arm.

"Bring in a new table," the one-eyed Kumo ninja ordered his subordinates.

One of them immediately scurried off to fetch it.

---

The near skirmish between Konoha and Kumo wasn't without repercussions.

The loud noise from the restaurant upstairs nearly triggered a fight between the two groups of ninja waiting downstairs.

Fortunately, the Kumo ninja fetching the table acted quickly enough to prevent an incident.

Soon, a brand-new table was brought upstairs.

The only issue was that the wooden planks weren't the right size.

"No need to replace it," Masashi stopped the ninja who was about to go downstairs to find a better plank.

With a quick hand sign, pure white ice crystals filled the cracks on the floor.

Perfect.

The table was set up again, and the ninja from both sides, having completed their tasks, filed out of the negotiation room and returned downstairs.

"Let's continue," Minato said.

A reached out to rest one arm on the table. However, as he leaned forward, he hesitated briefly, testing the table's sturdiness before finally placing his arm down.

"We should remain calm," he said. "Both Kumo and Konoha are major ninja villages. Whether it's war or peace, the rules of this shinobi world are dictated by the Five Kage. That's a fact."

"That's true," Minato nodded, "but Konoha is not like Suna. You need to understand this clearly."

Kumo had confronted Suna and almost took the One-Tails by force. Instead of retaliating, Suna joined Kumo in attacking Konoha.

When Konoha defeated Suna, they weren't gentle—they made them pay dearly.

As one of the direct instigator of the Third Great Ninja War, Kumo's losses during the conflict were actually limited. It was the post-war clash with Konoha that dealt a significant blow to Kumo. Even after such a crushing defeat, Kumo still had the resources to negotiate with Konoha.

From Masashi's perspective, Kumo had been ridiculously lucky during the war. Everyone else was battered and bruised, but Kumo seemed to escape the worst of it.

"That doesn't justify touching our mission quotas. When Suna signed the agreement with Konoha, You didn't directly alter Suna's mission allocations; that was a choice made by the clients themselves," A argued. "At the very least, the terms given to us can't be worse than those given to Suna."

"Kumo is not Suna. You have been consistently expanding your military," Minato countered. "The Third Great Ninja War was started twice by Kumo, and you're still expanding your forces! This makes Kumo the primary destabilizing factor in the shinobi world. Ceding a portion of your mission quotas is the least you can do to demonstrate goodwill and convince Konoha of Kumo's commitment to peace."

"Isn't Konoha also expanding its military?" A retorted. "Without strength, a village can't protect itself. Strengthening one's forces as much as possible is something all Five Great Villages strive for. If that makes Kumo warlike, then Konoha is just as guilty."

It wasn't untrue.

In this world, all Five Great Villages sit atop the food chain. Though Konoha appeared passive and defensive on the surface, it conducted plenty of covert operations.

When Shimura Danzō was alive, Konoha's ANBU operated aggressively throughout the ninja world, notorious for their ruthless methods.

However, bringing such matters to the negotiation table wasn't productive. It wasn't the same thing.

"We have not expanded our forces," Minato replied calmly. "The number of ninja has increased, yes, but that's only because we've reassigned personnel who were previously not involved in external missions. This adjustment was made to meet client demand and ensure the safety of association members."

Listening to the Hokage's explanation, the Kumo ninjas' collective expression could be summarized as: We totally believe you—not.

Who had so many idle ninja sitting around? Did you just mobilize every single member of your ninja clans?

And this doesn't count as expansion!?

"A, what you're saying now has nothing to do with the matter between Konoha and Kumo," Hiruzen interjected. "What we're discussing is Kumo's commitment to peace."

"Yugito is proof of our goodwill," A said, looking at Hiruzen. "Even after losing all our jinchūriki, we have taken no hostile actions. Isn't that proof of our hope for peace? Otherwise, why wait until now to discuss Yugito?"

"That was merely your village's tactic to appear weak and provoke a clash between Iwa and Konoha," Hiruzen replied, casually playing with his smoking pipe. "Konoha is well aware of everything."

"Then let's discuss Yugito now," A deflected, steering the conversation. "But first, you must provide evidence that she is safe and unharmed. Only then can we proceed to negotiate the terms regarding her."

"That's acceptable," Minato nodded and turned to Masashi. "Please."

Masashi retrieved a summoning scroll and tossed it to A.

A caught the scroll and handed it to one of his ninja.

"No need to make it complicated," Masashi said, noticing the Kumo ninja carefully examining the summoning inscriptions. "This is a special scroll but the workings are the same. Just input chakra."

"Do it," A instructed.

Though he was considering strategies to track down rogue jinchūriki or those who had left their villages, he still cared about Yugito's well-being.

She was one of Kumo's rare successful perfect jinchūriki. Even setting aside her combat prowess, her experience was invaluable to the village.

The Kumo ninja unrolled the scroll on the floor and input chakra.

With a poof of smoke, it was done.

As the smoke cleared, a woman lay silently on the floor.

"Yugito, can you hear me?" the Kumo ninja with the eyepatch crouched beside her and called out.

"What's going on?" A frowned. She wasn't responding at all.

"Maybe she ate too much and passed out. The food standards in Konoha's prison are very high," Masashi remarked nonchalantly. "Just slap her awake."

The Kumo ninjas resisted the urge to snap back.

A group of them gathered around Yugito, trying different methods to rouse her. Naturally, no one actually slapped her. They had their own ways.

Healing jutsu began to glow intermittently.

After a while, Yugito stirred.

The jinchūriki opened her eyes groggily and saw familiar faces.

"Dodai?"

"Yugito, are you alright?" Dodai asked.

"Mm, Konoha just sealed me… Ow!" Yugito winced and held her head, still feeling the lingering effects of the drugs. "They drugged my food! I heard Masashi give the order with my own ears."

Everyone immediately turned to Masashi.

"Why is everyone looking at me?" he complained as even Minato glanced at him. "She's a dangerous prisoner. It's perfectly reasonable to put something in her food, right?"

No, withholding food entirely would've been more normal. That's what everyone thought but didn't say aloud.

"What sealing technique did you use?" A asked Masashi.

"Why do you care?" Masashi gave him a sidelong glance. "As if knowing would help you break it."

"My point is that you should lift the seal first. How else will we know if she's truly unharmed?"

"Once we finalize the negotiations, the seal will be lifted. Besides, don't you think she would know better than anyone if something's wrong?"

Masashi was a bit impatient. He thought it was time to speed things up.

On the way here, he had adjusted the transcription seal. It should be close to unraveling by now.