[Chapter Size: 1900 Words.]
Third Person POV
Land of Iron, Year 42.
...
...
The silence quickly took over the room. The anger on the Raikage's face was evident. The gazes of the other leaders of the great villages also turned to the Hokage with a dark look.
Behind the Hokage, Orochimaru raised an eyebrow upon hearing the proposal, intrigued. After all, he was included among the names mentioned.
Danzō, standing beside Orochimaru, darkened his expression. Not because he thought the proposal or the conditions set by the other villages were bad—after all, eliminating some of the names mentioned could be beneficial for him, reducing the number of powerful individuals in Konoha that he couldn't control—but because his name had not been mentioned. That showed that, to the other nations, he was not a threat or someone important enough to stand out. Just realizing this already left him frustrated and, in a way, jealous.
"You really think I will hand over those who honor our village as war heroes?" Hiruzen said, looking seriously at the Raikage and the others.
"You don't have to hand them over directly. Just send them on a specific mission and let the misfortunes of the battlefield take care of the rest." The Mizukage spoke, looking coldly at the Hokage.
"That is out of the question." Hiruzen immediately replied. He obviously couldn't do such a thing. Simply eliminating famous names from the village would destroy his reputation and shake Konoha internally.
"Then there will be no peace agreement between us, Hokage. The war will continue, and we will all turn against Konoha once again." The Raikage declared, his voice laden with tension.
"You lost to Konoha. Don't forget the result of the last war." Orochimaru suddenly spoke, a malicious smile on his lips, while the four Kages clenched their teeth, visibly frustrated.
The Tsuchikage closed his eyes, thoughtful, while the Mizukage and Kazekage observed Konoha's representatives with a dangerous gaze. The same expression could be seen coming from the Raikage himself.
"Hokage. We're actually doing you a favor if you choose the last name." Suddenly, the Raikage spoke again, his expression serious. "I fought that boy, and I must say... It is impressive how someone so young has so many abilities. I am not ashamed to have been wounded by him. After seeing what he can do, I know he is faster than me... So, he is an even greater threat, even to Konoha." He declared, as many looked at him.
With the exception of the Mizukage, everyone there had met Minato Namikaze on the battlefield.
The Raikage looked directly at the Hokage. "Soon, that boy will become arrogant and will no longer obey your orders. I wonder... Will you allow an uncontrollable ninja to remain in your village, as powerful as a Hokage?"
"..." Hiruzen remained silent for a few seconds.
"Hokage..." Danzō murmured behind him, but the Leaf leader shook his head.
"Don't be foolish to even consider this, Danzō. I know you are doing this for the village, but we will not hand over one of our ninjas like this." Hiruzen stated firmly.
"Then there will be no peace." The Mizukage declared upon hearing this.
"Konoha has too much power. If we do nothing now, one day you will try to dominate the Five Nations with a single strike." The Kazekage added. "If you are not willing to yield, then we are all prepared to wage war. No matter how many resources you are willing to negotiate..."
There had been discussions since the first day about war spoils and trade agreements, with these meetings initially including the feudal lords, who were no longer present.
After all, the discussion now revolved around military matters, and only the Kages had the right to decide on this, even though the Daimyō still represented the monetary power of the great nations.
Now, they were playing their own game, talking as if a war had not just occurred between them, leaving the Kages to make the decisions. In some terms, they could still intervene, but they did not seem to care much, simply waiting to return home and continue their luxurious lives as they were used to.
The tension in the room increased as the representative of the Land of Iron, Takeshi Manaka, remained there in a neutral stance. He could not intervene in that kind of discussion, only witness and try to be an impartial arbiter in the decision of the village leaders.
And it seemed that war would return.
"Perhaps there is another option, and we can reach an agreement."
Suddenly, a voice behind Hiruzen spoke, and the Hokage sighed. After all, this was a matter they had already discussed before, and if it came to this point, they would have to play their last card.
As all the Kages looked at Danzō, he continued:
"We can give you the chance to destroy one of our allies... Outside of Konoha and the Land of Fire."
He left that sentence hanging in the air.
"You are willing to give us the Uzumaki?" The Mizukage murmured, raising his eyes.
Clearly, the Uzumaki were also an obstacle during the war. Individually, they were not so prominent, but together, they formed a force powerful enough to rival a great nation.
And, of course, all the nations saw them as a threat, but since they were protected by Konoha, attacking them was not an easy task.
Now, everyone was surprised by Konoha's proposal, listening to Danzō's words while the Hokage remained silent, practically agreeing with it.
Orochimaru was somewhat surprised, but he only smiled, thinking about how manipulative his sensei and his colleague were.
"The Uzumaki..."
Even the Raikage seemed thoughtful.
"So, how exactly do you plan to do this?" The Tsuchikage asked.
"We will do nothing." Hiruzen responded. "If this is the price for peace, so be it. You will attack the Uzumaki, and Konoha will not send aid. They will be at the mercy of your attack alone. But you must eliminate all of them at once."
The Kages no longer seemed as enraged. Now, they looked at Konoha in a more contemplative manner after hearing that.
"It will certainly be interesting to acquire their knowledge in Uzushiogakure. We could even use their seals to enhance our chakra flow and control our bijū." A Raikage advisor commented beside A.
"Indeed, it's not a bad idea..." The Mizukage agreed, while the Tsuchikage only nodded without comment.
"But we also want their knowledge. We will not give you everything for free." Hanzo suddenly spoke.
He knew it would be very difficult for those nations to willingly share the Uzumaki's knowledge, but he still took the gamble. In the end, they would try to steal those techniques anyway if any Kage refused.
"That seems fair." The Raikage said.
"Well, we can accept that." The Kazekage concluded.
"Then, do we have an agreement?" Hiruzen asked once more.
"Yes, we agree to peace and the end of the Second Great Ninja War, in exchange for you turning a blind eye to your allies while we destroy them." The Mizukage said, as all the Kages agreed.
Thus, the war was finally officially over. Hiruzen did not seem to care about sacrificing an ally after so many years, but now, with Mito no longer in the village, nothing stopped them, and he already wanted, in a way, to eliminate the Uzumaki for being a threat. No matter how much they had been helped by the fūinjutsu masters at the end of this war—after all, the ninja world could be quite treacherous at times.
At the same time, as the Kages began to discuss their final steps, a commotion had started outside the castle, even drawing the attention of other ninja camps and even the samurai stationed at the castle, watching over them.
"Minato!"
A voice, filled with concern, shouted beside Minato, while he, still dazed, finally blinked, regaining awareness of himself, as if he had lost control of his body for a moment.
He was consumed by rage after hearing that conversation through his Observation Haki. Even with the barriers protecting the room, that did not prevent him from sensing what was happening inside. He could hear the conversations as if he were there in the room.
Then, he felt rage toward everyone there, with Hiruzen and Hanzo being the main reasons for his anger, and lightning began to crackle from his body in a yellow hue.
The intense glow took everyone by surprise. The entire camp watched him as a strong gust of wind spread through the area along with the lightning, lifting dust and forcing some ninjas to take a step back.
Minato finally stopped as the lightning began to subside. He looked at his own hands, astonished. This was the first time something like this had happened.
"Minato, what happened? What was that?"
Hanabi quickly approached, activating her Byakugan to try to understand where that power was coming from.
Minato didn't know how to respond. He was a little lost, still trying to comprehend what had just occurred.
That was when the ANBU commander approached, accompanied by Alpha.
"Hey, what was that?" The man questioned Minato, looking at him seriously.
Minato sighed before answering:
"I apologize for that." He said, trying to regain control of the situation. "It's a new jutsu I'm developing… But it's still out of control, as you just saw. I promise it won't happen again, and no damage was caused. It was just gusts of wind and lightning." He spoke with an apologetic tone.
"A jutsu of just wind and lightning?" The commander muttered. "At least fifteen people fainted in the camp, Lumen. I don't know what that was, but you'd better be careful."
He stared at the young ninja before continuing:
"We don't want a ticking time bomb in the camp, whatever kind of jutsu you're training." His tone was severe, making it clear that this could not happen again.
Minato felt that no excuse would be sufficient. He just lowered his head in respect, unsure of how to act, with feelings of rage and surprise clouding his mind.
"Tend to the unconscious ones." The commander ordered before turning to return to the camp. He knew that the affected individuals had merely lost consciousness, and since the group was composed of elite ninjas, few had actually collapsed due to Minato's uncontrolled Haki.
"Minato..."
Mikoto approached, gently touching his hand. He still looked at her, surprised.
The anger he felt after hearing how Konoha could be treacherous enough to betray its own allies still burned inside him.
The Uzumaki had fought alongside the village since ancient times when there were no established villages, and now they were being discarded like mere pawns by Konoha after there were no more Uzumaki in positions of power within the village—especially since even the Senju, most notably Mito, were no longer alive to stop this.
In the end, everything was unfolding as he had known, and even though he had anticipated something like this, it angered him like never before.
He knew Konoha was powerful, but the Hokage was not firm in his decisions. To avoid a war, he would sacrifice those who had placed their trust in them.
However, what truly left Minato stunned was not the village's betrayal.
It was what he had just unleashed.
For the first time, he became aware of this power.
"I… possess the Conqueror's Haki..."
He murmured, still looking at his hands, fascinated by what he had just done.
Around him, everyone continued to watch him with suspicion and astonishment, trying to understand what exactly had just happened.
-------------Nexts Chapters ----------------
Chapter 230 - Jinchuriki of the Nine Tails.
Chapter 235 - The Son of the Village's Shame 01.
Chapter 245 - Waterfall Test.
Chapter 254 - The Uzumaki Clan Must Be Saved.
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