"Oh, it's nothing too serious," Tsunade said, her tone deceptively casual. "He just lost the use of his right hand. It'll probably go necrotic if it hadn't been treated, but at most, that's all it is. The Raikage favors his right, but his left still works, doesn't it? Speaking of which, are you hurt? I can draw up a treatment plan for you, too."
She sounded like she was genuinely concerned for Raikage, but her words were a clear and calculated display of Konoha's power. The implication was not lost on the Third Mizukage. 'Raikage is strong, isn't he? And we crippled his dominant hand. You see what happens when you mess with us? You'll end up like Raikage.'
Whether Tsunade intended that exact message, he couldn't know, but that was how he heard it. This woman was threatening him. Then again, if she had been anything less than formidable, he would have suspected she was an imposter. He managed a thin smile and replied, "I'm not injured."
"Not injured? I see." Tsunade's expression softened into one of relief. "It seems Takeshi didn't have to use 'that' move, then."
From the side, Takeshi mentally gave her a thumbs-up. 'That was a great assist,' he thought. 'She's really helping me rake in the points...'
"Of course not, meow," Takeshi chimed in. "If I accidentally killed him, I'd become a criminal, wouldn't I?"
"Not necessarily," Tsunade replied, her face perfectly serious. "You're just a cat, after all. Minato, on the other hand, might not be so lucky."
Minato gave an awkward scratch to the back of his head. She was right. If the Mizukage had actually been killed on this mission, he would have been the one to take the fall for Takeshi.
'Revenge,' the Mizukage thought, feeling a headache bloom behind his eyes. 'This is definitely revenge.'
The two of them were working in tandem, systematically poking at every one of his sore spots. Couldn't they salt a different wound for a change? The Third Mizukage was exhausted. Even with all his cunning, he was too flustered to find a foothold in their conversation. He simply fell silent.
'You two go ahead and chat,' he decided. 'When you're done amusing yourselves, maybe then I'll speak.'
Seeing his lack of resistance, however, Tsunade seemed to lose interest in the game. She settled into her chair, and got down to business. "Mizukage-sama, Kirigakure's retreat is not negotiable. So, let's discuss reparations. How about this? I'll give you a chance to recoup some of your losses."
"Oh?" The Mizukage's eyes opened a fraction wider, and he studied Tsunade from head to toe.
'Recoup losses? Don't tell me she means... gambling.'
"Let's make a bet," she declared.
Takeshi blinked. 'Is she serious? A bet with her luck? She might as well just let the Mizukage walk away for free. Surely she wouldn't throw away half our leverage just to scratch an itch?'
But then he remembered that while Tsunade loved to gamble, she also used it to test the winds of fortune. 'With such a large fish on the hook, she wouldn't be brain-dead enough to just give money away.'
"What are the terms?" the Mizukage asked, his curiosity piqued.
"This isn't your ordinary wager," Tsunade explained, inventing a serious-sounding excuse on the spot. "The loser decides the stakes. The rules of this particular bet mean the loser is the actual winner. You'd still have a fifty percent chance of earning the right to set the terms."
She was clearly confident that her infamous bad luck would only apply to the roll of the dice itself, not the meta-rules she'd just created. Takeshi thought this was a terrible idea. There was a very real chance she'd win the roll and lose them the advantage.
Fortunately, the Third Mizukage was a steadier hand.
"I'm sorry, but I never gamble," he said firmly. "Matters of state cannot be left to chance. Let us discuss compensation directly."
"Hmph, scared now, aren't you?" Tsunade set the dice down.
"Tsunade-sama..." Minato ventured, unable to stay quiet any longer. He didn't know when she had started not only admitting to her terrible luck but taking pride in it. Her reasoning was becoming more and more erratic, and it was giving her subordinates a headache. Besides, Might Duy had just been carried back to camp, and his condition was still unknown. He needed her medical expertise.
"Fine," Tsunade sighed, giving in. "I have a patient to see, so let's finish this quickly. Kumogakure has already agreed to help us against Iwagakure, and they're paying a certain amount in reparations. What about you?"
"We can also help deal with Iwagakure." Mizukage felt quite uncomfortable. 'Raikage was too generous. Not only did he help fight Iwa, but he also provided ninja tools and money. Was this a war or a charity event?'
"No need. Kumo's assistance is sufficient. Are you interested in taking on Suna's forces?"
Everyone knew the Land of Wind was an arid desert. Only a brain-dead commander would send shinobi from the Land of Water to fight there.
'I see,' the Mizukage thought, his eyes narrowing at the woman in the chair. 'You want Kirigakure to bleed itself dry.'
It was clear Konoha wasn't worried about Iwa or Suna. They believed Kumo's help was enough to handle both. But what could he offer? Money? As an island nation, the Land of Water's resources were nothing compared to the Land of Lightning's. If it were just a matter of paying for their defeat, he could grit his teeth and cut off a pound of flesh. But they still had four of the Seven Swords, and from the looks of it, Tsunade was the type to pluck every feather from a passing goose. She'd probably charge them for the bandages on the sword hilts.
Kiri simply didn't have that kind of money.
"I have an idea, meow," Takeshi said, raising a paw.
Three pairs of eyes snapped toward him. Minato looked like he was about to plead, 'Don't mess this up.'
"Tell me." Mizukage looked at the black cat with interest. Too little intelligence existed on Takeshi, and this interaction was an opportunity to extract information, for example, what kind of cat he was, and how intelligent.
"The Three-Tails, the Six-Tails, or the Yuki and Kaguya clans, meow," Takeshi said, licking his paw.
The first two were Tailed Beasts. It was impossible. The latter two...
The Third Mizukage fell silent. He wasn't the puppet Fourth Mizukage yet to come, he understood the pillars of his village's strength. The Yuki and the Kaguya clans were a cornerstone of Kiri's military power. Handing them over would be like ripping out the village's foundation.
"Impossible."
"This isn't acceptable, and neither is that." Takeshi mocked. "Are you planning to default on your debt, Mizukage? You're making this very difficult for us, meow."
*CRACK* With a single swipe of his paw, the wooden table beside him shattered into splinters.
Tsunade shot him a cold look, silently adding the cost of the table to the Mizukage's bill, then nodded. "Mizukage, Takeshi is right. You will provide compensation. If not, perhaps Kirigakure will simply have to find a new Mizukage. As for the other swords... it wouldn't be difficult for us to come and take them."
The threat was blunt, but brutally effective. After being so easily abducted himself, the Mizukage knew the terrifying reality of the Flying Thunder God duo. If they wanted the swords, they would get them.
He had to cut the flesh, no matter how much it hurt.
"We can provide Konoha with funds, ninja tools, and explosive tags," the Mizukage said, his voice strained. "In addition, we can exchange some of our Water Release ninjutsu for the four swords in your possession."
"Meow~ we only have Kabutowari and Kubikiribocho," Takeshi lied smoothly. "The other two aren't with us."
Tsunade nodded in agreement, even as the faint buzz of Lightning Release could be heard from outside the tent. Denying it to their faces was the only way. As for Kabutowari and Kubikiribocho, they were being returned because they were the least useful. Once Konoha's smiths understood their mechanics, replicating them would be simple. The Kiba blades and Samehada were another matter entirely.
"Then," the Third Mizukage said, quickly accepting the new reality, "I will exchange Kirigakure's Lightning Release ninjutsu and kenjutsu for Kabutowari and Kubikiribocho."
Naturally, Tsunade didn't agree to his first offer. After another round of haggling, Kirigakure gave up both the Water Prison Jutsu and the Water Shark Bomb Jutsu.
With the negotiations concluded, Tsunade left the tent to check on Duy. The Third Mizukage, meanwhile, stated he wished to visit his former "cellmate," the Third Raikage. After all, they had been allies once.
Takeshi generously led the way for him.
They found the Third Raikage in the middle of a clearing, giving an impromptu lesson. Kakashi's talent was immense, but he had hit a wall with certain aspects of Lightning Release that no one in Konoha could help him with.
With the Raikage's guidance, however, he was making rapid progress. Kakashi learned how to maintain speed without leaving himself open, how to control his lightning chakra for shape transformation, and more. As long as it wasn't a specific jutsu, the Raikage answered every question. Even the smallest bits of experience from a master of his caliber were a great boon for Kakashi.
"How embarrassing Ay," the Third Mizukage drawled, a smirk playing on his lips. "Look at you. Reduced to teaching children for Konoha."
He glanced at the Lightning Blades strapped to Kakashi's back. The sight was glaring, a sting to his heart. Couldn't the boy be a little more discreet?
"Meow~ that sword is a ninja sword inherited from the White Fang," Takeshi interjected, lying purely to provoke him. "It's not your Kiba blades from Kirigakure."
He had checked his points on the way out of the tent. The raid on Kiri's camp had netted him about ten thousand, but the conversation had only squeezed another thousand out of the Mizukage. As a Kage, he surely had more potential to tap.
And he was right. At the mention of the Lightning Blades, the points ticked up again.
"Hahahaha! I can attest to that," the Raikage boomed, joining the mockery. In truth, he'd never fought the White Fang and had no idea what his sword looked like, but why pass up a chance to needle the Mizukage? "The sword belonged to Sakumo Hatake."
"It's a good sword," Kakashi muttered, mostly to himself, "but the White Fang died a terrible death. It might be an cursed blade. I'd better be careful." He then turned and walked away to continue his practice.
"The kid talks a lot of nonsense," Takeshi said to the Mizukage. "He wasn't talking about you. Don't overthink it, meow."
The Mizukage took a deep, steadying breath, suppressing his irritation to continue gathering intelligence. He watched Kakashi for a few more seconds, and a sharp pain lanced through his chest.
No matter how he looked at it, the boy and the blades were a perfect match. If it weren't for the character for 'Kiba' engraved on the hilts, he might have actually believed they belonged to Konoha. That was the most frustrating part, to see your own village's treasure being used more effectively in the hands of an enemy.
He thought of the Water Prison and Water Shark Bomb jutssu they had just traded away, and a faint sense of dread washed over him. An image flashed in his mind: a future Hokage of Konoha, a master of all seven of the Mist's swords and every Water Release jutsu in existence.
'What the hell.'
The Mizukage's mouth twitched. He forced his gaze away from Kakashi and turned back to the Raikage. "A, shouldn't you tell me what really happened here?"
===============
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