162 - The Cat's Paw Strikes

The negotiation in the restaurant continued.

But some people had run out of patience.

"How can they keep talking endlessly?"

Kakuzu had already entered the restaurant.

Don't let his appearance fool you—he was actually quite skilled in stealth.

The restaurant was relatively large, making it easy for him to sneak in.

He extended the threads from Earth Grudge Fear into the floor, letting them spread toward the negotiation area.

With that, his version of a listening device was ready.

And he listened.

For a long time.

Long enough for his head to feel like it was about to explode.

These people could really talk!

At first, it was tolerable—they had nearly started a fight—but then things shifted into what could only be described as senior citizen mode: slow, methodical, and utterly unhurried.

In addition, there was a man there who particularly caught his attention.

Masashi.

His bounty at the exchange office was astronomical—a sky-high price.

But he wasn't easy to kill.

The fact that he could master the Iron Skin in a short time was proof of his exceptional chakra control.

Before Masashi, Kakuzu had been the only one in the ninja world capable of mastering it.

The technique's defining features were its rapid activation, which could occur instantaneously, and its localized use without the need for hand seals. Full-body hardening only required one seal. It boasted incredible physical defense and attack power. Back in the day, Kakuzu had relied on it to withstand one of Hashirama's Wood Release attacks and escape.

To break through the Iron Skin, one needed a sufficiently powerful lightning jutsu capable of precise penetration. Kakuzu's lightning techniques were more suited to wide-area damage, not focused penetration.

If he were to fight Masashi now, it would likely devolve into a standoff where neither could break the other's defense.

That was what he thought.

"Why hasn't Konoha made a move yet?"

Kakuzu retracted the threads. He didn't believe for a second that Konoha and Kumo were genuinely here to negotiate.

He wasn't sure about the others from Konoha, but Masashi definitely knew he was here.

With those Sharingan, there was no way he hadn't noticed.

What Kakuzu didn't realize was that Masashi was having the exact same thoughts.

In the negotiation hall, A and Minato were locked in a heated exchange.

The key difference between Minato and Masashi was that Masashi didn't trust Kumo at all, while Minato had some level of trust—not in Kumo as a whole, but in the Fourth Raikage.

Thus, he earnestly tried to find a way to meet Konoha's interests while avoiding war.

However, he was gradually losing hope. He began to realize that Konoha's demands and Kumo's demands were unlikely to find a middle ground.

It wasn't just Minato. Everyone present could feel it.

The era of nation-states had been born from the concentration of resources. Even small ninja villages like Ame and Kusa were far more powerful than the ninja clans of the Warring States Period.

But maintaining this level of integration required sufficient resources.

Peripheral villages like Kumo, Iwa, and Suna had to expand into densely populated and resource-rich central regions to sustain their strength. Otherwise, they risked being marginalized and unable to recover.

Meanwhile, Konoha, situated at the heart of the continent, sought to maintain its resource advantage by excluding these threatening forces.

Resources might not be finite, but control over resources was non-negotiable.

Before the Sage of Six Paths made his appearance, weakening a village's high-end forces wasn't enough to cripple it. Its overall capacity had to be diminished.

War was one approach, but post-war disarmament was another.

Unlike the Land of Lightning, the daimyō of the Land of Fire would prioritize post-war production recovery, which would inevitably reduce funding for the ninja village. Konoha, in turn, would scale down its military.

This kind of gradual reduction was necessary. Maintaining many ninjas in peacetime was a burden for any village. After all, replenishing genin numbers during wartime was relatively easy.

For a ninja village, the truly irreplaceable layer—the one that determined the size of its military—was the chunin.

Routine disarmament primarily reduced genin numbers.

Konoha's demand was to restrict Kumo's ability to train chunin.

But Kumo couldn't accept that.

They were only willing to reduce the number of genin, which Konoha saw as meaningless.

Thus, the negotiation devolved into endless arguments and eventually reached a deadlock.

At last, the room fell silent.

"It seems we can't reach an agreement." Minato's expression was one of genuine regret.

Masashi had been right: weakening Kumo could only be achieved through war.

Though it wouldn't ensure long-term security, it would suffice in the short term.

"It seems so," A said grimly.

He, too, was disappointed. He desired peace, but Konoha's demands regarding military disarmament were unacceptable.

Accepting them would be like becoming the next Suna.

"If we can't reach an agreement, then it's unfortunate. The Two-Tails cannot be returned to Kumo," Minato said.

This statement was logical. Since no agreement had been reached, there was no reason to return Matatabi.

But combined with Konoha's earlier actions, it seemed bizarre. Why had Konoha brought Yugito here if the negotiations weren't finalized?

At least, that's what some Kumo ninja were thinking.

"Yugito, it's time to go home," Masashi said with a sly smile as he looked at the Two-Tails' jinchūriki. "Don't worry, I told them to go easy on the sedatives. So, you won't have a headache when you wake up."

Yugito didn't reply. Her expression made it clear she wasn't planning on returning to captivity willingly.

The Kumo ninjas silently stepped forward to shield her.

A remained stone-faced.

"What's this? Trying to renege on the deal?" Masashi sneered.

"A, you know what this means, don't you?" Minato added.

Hiruzen and the others remained seated, but they were ready to act.

"We will cover the costs Konoha incurred for Yugito," A said. "But she belongs to Kumo and must return with us."

"So you really are backing out," Masashi said. "Let's see how you plan to take a jinchūriki who can't use her tailed beast powers."

"I've already said Kumo will compensate you."

"Kumo's promises are worthless. Do you really think you have any credibility left?"

"Hand over the Two-Tails!" Hiruzen couldn't hold back any longer. He stood up. "Or we go to war!"

His long-time comrades followed suit.

Koharu and Homura flanked him, while Torifu stood tall and imposing, his presence filling the room.

A also rose to his feet.

"What a pity… As Raikage, I hereby declare war!"

Before his voice even faded, he felt a massive surge of chakra erupt behind him.

He barely had time to turn around before a blazing blue chakra flame filled his vision.

"Wha—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a giant cat paw shot out from the flames and struck him fiercely in the chest.

---

The tension in the small town had been high ever since the delegations from Konoha and Kumo entered the restaurant.

More and more ninjas had been gathering near its vicinity.

Those arriving in town were all ANBU members from both sides.

In recent years, the relationship between the ANBU of Konoha and Kumo had been strained.

A huge boom ripped through the sky, making everyone look up.

The commotion came from the restaurant.

The wall on the second floor had been smashed through by a tremendous force.

A massive beast claw, formed of blue flames, tore through the wall alongside debris, gripping the Fourth Raikage, whose body radiated lightning, in its grasp.

In the next moment, the sound of walls being broken echoed repeatedly as the delegations from Kumo and Konoha burst out of the restaurant one by one.

From mid-air, Dodai shouted loudly to the ANBU below, "Get back! That's Matatabi!"

Upon witnessing this scene, every ninjas either drew their weapons or began forming hand signs.

The first action of the one's on the restaurant's ground floor was to retreat from the building and regroup with their own allies.

As Dodai and the others landed, Kumo's ANBU quickly assembled.

It wasn't that they were indifferent to the Raikage's life, but no one believed that he could be crushed to death by a tailed beast.

At the level of the Five Kage, while there were differences in strength, they were leagues beyond ordinary ninjas. Battling a rampaging jinchūriki was practically standard procedure for them.

What these ANBU did not yet realize was that this scene could not simply be explained as a jinchūriki losing control.

What they did know, however, was that the power of the Two-Tails had now slipped out of Kumo's grasp.

Boom!

The second floor of the restaurant completely exploded as the blue, flame-like chakra continued to expand.

The chakra fused into the form of a cat-like creature with two tails. Its size was still growing, and the remaining structure of the restaurant began creaking under the strain.

Finally, everyone could clearly see the creature's appearance.

"So that's the Two-Tails!?" Many were seeing Matatabi's true form for the first time.

In the shinobi world, where there were no manga for reference, even those aware of the existence of tailed beasts rarely had the opportunity to see one in person.

Since the first Five Kage Summit, the true forms of the nine tailed beasts had rarely been seen by the general populace.

During the first Five Kage Summit, Kumo had purchased the Two-Tails from Konoha for a hefty sum, and since then, it had become one of Kumo's strategic assets.

But now, this strategic asset of Kumo had its hand wrapped around the current Raikage, its feline face filled with rage.

Though it had accepted Yugito as its jinchūriki, that didn't mean Matatabi held any affection for the other members of Kumo.

While it wasn't as violent as the Nine-Tails, it had a history of rampaging.

Traditional jinchūriki had only two possible fates: A lifetime of imprisonment, or death during one of the beast's rampages.

There was, however, one untraditional jinchūriki: the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.

This was mainly due to the Uzumaki clan's exceptional sealing techniques, which were so advanced that Konoha never considered jinchūriki research as a means of studying tailed beasts.

Before Killer B and Yugito, Kumo's jinchūriki had always followed the second traditional route.

Holding the Raikage in its grip, the enraged Matatabi sensed a familiar chakra.

It was the Eight-Tails'.

Matatabi and Gyūki had a decent relationship. After all, they had been imprisoned together for many years, and Gyūki wasn't as bad-tempered as Kurama or Shukaku.

This realization only made Matatabi angrier.

"Matatabi, return to Yugito's body."

The Raikage, held in its grasp, suddenly spoke.

He didn't fight back because he didn't want to give up on Yugito.

Since he hadn't seen her body yet, it meant that Matatabi was still in the very early stages of its rampage and hadn't fully separated from Yugito's body.

If they subdued it now, she would remain unharmed.

Matatabi responded to the Raikage's words in a down-to-earth way: It threw him.

In full view of everyone, the Raikage was hurled like a cannonball, crashing vertically into the ground in front of the restaurant.

Matatabi used considerable force; the ground cracked into countless fissures, and chunks of earth flipped upward.

After throwing the Raikage, it leapt into the air. The already weakened restaurant crumbled completely, collapsing directly onto the spot where the Raikage had landed.

But Matatabi, now airborne, wasn't finished yet. It turned its head and breathed out a wave of flames.

For ninjas, this was effectively a fire jutsu.

Among the nine tailed beasts, nearly half possessed unique abilities. It was this characteristic that had led Suna, Iwa, and Kiri to focus their tailed beast research on developing new jutsu.

This was the safest and easiest route to take.

Matatabi's unique trait was fire.

Its body didn't just resemble flames—it could actually produce them.

The intensely hot blue fireball incinerated everything in its path before slamming into the Raikage's crash site. A sea of blue flames erupted, surging through the debris like waves and consuming everything nearby.

"Raikage-sama!"

Only now did Kumo's ANBU have the chance to attack Matatabi. The beast's movements were incredibly agile, like a massive cat.

Their attacks barely fazed Matatabi. With a casual shake, it released a barrage of blue fireballs, indiscriminately striking the surroundings. Any ninjas caught in the fire became part of the expanding sea of blue flames.

"Stay calm! This won't kill the Raikage! Everyone, retreat from the town with me!" Dodai shouted urgently.

He couldn't see Konoha's ninjas. They had likely left the town to set up an ambush.

And his guess was spot on.

As soon as Minato landed, he ordered the ANBU to relay his command, "All Konoha ninjas in the town are to withdraw immediately."

Their task was to seal off the town's exits, intercept any Kumo reinforcements, and alert Konoha's troops secretly stationed in the Land of Hot Water to annihilate all Kumo ninjas present.

Masashi had named this plan the "Raikage Annihilation Plan."

Minato thought the name was a bit lame—neither inspiring nor flashy—but it got the point across. Out of respect for Masashi's hard work on the draft, he adopted it as the contingency plan in case negotiations failed.

And fail they did.

Now, only he and the other negotiators remained in the town.

Matatabi's indiscriminate attacks posed little threat to them.

A tailed beast's indiscriminate rampage was chaotic but full of openings.

"Torifu, Homura, Koharu," Hiruzen said, tearing off his robe, "I leave it to you!"

"This sure brings back memories," Homura said as he took up a position. After decades of seamless cooperation, he finished forming hand seals in moments, summoning a sturdy water barrier to block incoming fireballs. "How long has it been since we fought together like this?"

"Just the beginning," Hiruzen replied with a grin, "Tobirama-sensei's squad can't afford to lose anyone. But can you still manage your jutsu at your age?"

"What kind of joke is that?" Homura retorted, tossing out two scrolls. "I've prepared these just for you."

Hiruzen caught them in one motion and tucked them into his robes.

"Well then, let's get started."

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