Chapter 94 (Patreon)

“Lord Hokage, please take a look. This is the peace treaty authorized by the Daimyō of the Land of Lightning.”

Mabui stepped forward and placed the document in her hands upon the stone table. She then raised her head, adjusted her glasses, and looked directly at Minato Namikaze.

“Please present the corresponding peace treaty authorized by the Daimyō of the Land of Fire.”

“We do not have one,” Minato replied, a faint smile appearing on his face.

The Daimyō of the Land of Fire had long since become little more than a figurehead.

The current Konoha held centralized authority over the Land of Fire. They no longer needed the Daimyō’s permission to make such decisions.

“You do not have one?”

The Fourth Raikage’s brows drew together.

“If Konoha does not possess a document authorized by the Fire Daimyō, then how are we supposed to conduct these negotiations?”

Minato merely continued smiling without answering, leaving the matter entirely to Yujiro.

“How are we supposed to negotiate?” Yujiro repeated calmly. “There is plenty for Konoha and Kumogakure to discuss.”

“Then what exactly do you intend to discuss?” A asked, his expression gradually darkening.

He could already tell that Konoha had never intended to accept Kumogakure’s proposed terms.

Judging by their attitude, they clearly had other intentions.

“Near the end of the Third Shinobi World War, Kumogakure was the first to deploy both the Two-Tails’ jinchūriki and the Eight-Tails’ jinchūriki against us.”

Yujiro looked at A indifferently.

“Does that not mean Kumogakure was the first to violate the unspoken rules of the war?”

“That was only because you were too powerful—”

The words left A’s mouth before he could stop himself.

The moment he realized what he had admitted, his expression became noticeably unnatural.

“No matter how strong I may be, I am still only one shinobi,” Yujiro replied. “You, however, resorted to deploying the power of two tailed beasts. Does the responsibility for that not lie with Kumogakure?”

“Yujiro, I do not believe Kumogakure can be blamed entirely for that matter.”

Mabui adjusted her glasses and answered in a composed voice.

“Kirigakure was the first village to deploy the power of a tailed beast during the war. Kumogakure merely responded in kind.”

“If anyone should be held responsible for breaking that precedent, it should be the Hidden Mist.”

“Oh?”

Yujiro nodded thoughtfully.

“In that case, Kirigakure was the first to violate the rules.”

“Yes.”

Mabui frowned slightly as she watched him.

She did not believe for a moment that Yujiro would simply accept her explanation.

“However, what does Kirigakure’s decision have to do with Kumogakure’s actions?” Yujiro asked, shaking his head. “Someone else choosing to deploy a tailed beast does not automatically justify your village doing the same.”

Mabui fell silent.

There was no logical way to refute his argument.

Just because Kirigakure had used a tailed beast did not mean Kumogakure had been forced to follow their example.

However, without relying on their jinchūriki, there had been no one in Kumogakure capable of defeating Yujiro.

They could not have expected the Raikage himself to enter the battlefield against a single enemy shinobi.

Had word of that spread, Kumogakure’s reputation would have suffered enormously.

“There is another matter.”

Yujiro looked at the speechless Mabui before continuing.

“Kumogakure secretly formed an alliance with Kirigakure and launched a coordinated assault against Konoha.”

His gaze sharpened slightly.

“That is a debt we will need to settle properly.”

“Nonsense!”

A slammed his palm against the table as anger surged across his face.

“Yujiro, when did Kumogakure ever form an alliance with Kirigakure?!”

“You are slandering our village! Do you have any proof of this accusation?!”

Yujiro glanced toward Kakashi.

Understanding immediately, Kakashi reached into his clothing and withdrew more than a dozen confidential letters that had been recovered from Kirigakure.

Every one of them contained secret correspondence regarding the cooperation between Kumogakure and Kirigakure.

Yujiro tossed the documents onto the table in front of A.

“Read them yourself.”

A and Mabui quickly picked up the letters.

The moment they saw their contents, their expressions changed dramatically.

These were secret communications exchanged between Kumogakure and members of Kirigakure’s upper leadership.

How could they possibly have fallen into Konoha’s hands?

“Damn those Mist shinobi!”

A cursed furiously.

“We agreed that every confidential document would be destroyed immediately after it was read!”

At that point, the Raikage had already lost his composure.

Only moments earlier, he had denied that Kumogakure had ever cooperated with Kirigakure, yet Yujiro had immediately presented irrefutable evidence.

It was no different from publicly striking himself across the face.

“You say that as though Kumogakure successfully destroyed all of its own copies,” Yujiro remarked with faint mockery.

A abruptly rose from his seat, fury written across his face.

Mabui immediately reached out and stopped him before he could act.

A drew in a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

“Yujiro, Kumogakure came here to negotiate peace with Konoha.”

His voice remained tense as he returned to the matter at hand.

“We have already prepared our conditions.”

He turned toward his secretary.

“Mabui, read them.”

Mabui nodded and took out the peace treaty Kumogakure had prepared in advance.

“From this moment onward, the Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire will cease all hostilities.”

“The shinobi forces belonging to both sides must withdraw from their respective border regions.”

“In addition, Konoha must provide financial compensation to Kumogakure.”

“This compensation will be used to support the families of the Kumogakure shinobi killed by Konoha’s Anbu.”

“Once Konoha accepts these conditions, the peace treaty will immediately take effect.”

The moment she finished speaking, Yujiro laughed.

Minato, who was seated beside him, was also unable to suppress his laughter.

They genuinely began to wonder whether the people of Kumogakure had lost their senses.

After suffering such a crushing defeat, they still dared to demand compensation from Konoha.

“I never imagined that a great shinobi village such as Kumogakure would present terms this shameless.”

Yujiro shook his head.

“Yujiro!”

A growled, his patience rapidly approaching its limit.

“Enough of this. Tell us what Konoha actually wants!”

“I believe you have misunderstood the situation.”

Yujiro smiled faintly.

“These are not negotiations between Konoha and Kumogakure as equals.”

His voice remained calm, but every word carried an unmistakable pressure.

“Kumogakure is the defeated side.”

“You will compensate Konoha with thirty percent of the Land of Lightning’s financial resources and material supplies.”

“In addition, the same amount of wealth and supplies must be delivered to Konoha every year.”

“And that is not all.”

Yujiro looked toward Killer B and Yugito Nii.

“Between the Two-Tails and the Eight-Tails, you will choose one jinchūriki to remain in Konoha as a hostage.”

“Absurd!”

A’s furious roar echoed across the square.

“That is impossible!”

“Even if the Land of Lightning must continue this war against Konoha, I will never accept those demands!”

Yujiro’s smile turned cold.

“What is this? Do you intend to fight?”

“Then we will fight!”

A could no longer suppress the frustration and humiliation boiling inside him.

He slammed both hands against the stone table, instantly shattering its corners and sending fragments of stone scattering across the ground.

At the same moment, Killer B and Yugito Nii released the power of their respective tailed beasts.

Both jinchūriki entered their complete Tailed Beast Transformations at once.

Two enormous figures appeared within the vast square.

The Eight-Tails, Gyūki.

And the Two-Tails, Matatabi.

In the next instant, A and Darui activated their Lightning Release Chakra Modes.

Intense blue lightning wrapped itself around the Fourth Raikage’s muscular body.

Beside him, Darui was enveloped in dense black lightning.

Despite the overwhelming display before him, Yujiro remained seated calmly in his chair.

He slowly raised his head and glanced toward the Kumogakure delegation.

At that moment, two equally terrifying chakra signatures erupted from Konoha’s side.

Everyone instinctively turned toward their source.

The chakra belonged to Fugaku Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha.

The three tomoe within Fugaku’s Sharingan began spinning rapidly.

A moment later, the pattern transformed into the Mangekyō Sharingan.

The same transformation occurred within Shisui’s eyes.

An extraordinarily powerful surge of green chakra burst from Shisui’s body.

Within seconds, pale bones formed around him, followed by muscle and armor as his Susanoo advanced directly into its second stage.

On the opposite side, Fugaku activated his own Mangekyō Sharingan.

Deep blue chakra erupted around his body before taking the form of another towering Susanoo.

The two Susanoo immediately fixed their gazes upon Gyūki and Matatabi.

Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Minato stared at Fugaku and Shisui in astonishment.

Even A and the other Kumogakure shinobi were visibly shaken.

There were actually two Uchiha in Konoha who possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Although Jiraiya and Tsunade were shocked by the revelation, they knew that this was not the time to hesitate.

The two members of the Legendary Sannin stepped forward, one taking position on Yujiro’s left and the other on his right.

Both possessed strength worthy of the title of Kage.

Jiraiya immediately began gathering natural energy in preparation for Sage Mode, while Tsunade prepared to release the Strength of a Hundred Seal at any moment.

Kakashi also stepped forward and lifted his forehead protector with his left hand, revealing the scarlet three-tomoe Sharingan beneath it.

Lightning screamed within his right hand as he formed the Raikiri.

Might Guy suddenly moved forward as well.

“Eight Inner Gates!”

He clenched his fists as chakra surged violently throughout his body.

“Sixth Gate, the Gate of View—open!”

A terrifying pressure exploded outward.

A brilliant green aura surrounded Guy’s body as his chakra continued to rise.

Minato calmly drew six Flying Raijin kunai and held them between his fingers.

At that moment, all of them were waiting for a single command from Yujiro.

The atmosphere surrounding the negotiations became strangely still.

Even without including Yujiro’s own combat strength, the Kumogakure delegation realized that they might not be capable of defeating the people standing before them.

The two Mangekyō Sharingan users and their Susanoo could restrain the Eight-Tails and the Two-Tails.

In addition to them, Konoha had two members of the Legendary Sannin, both of whom possessed Kage-level strength.

There was also Kakashi of the Sharingan, the Copy Ninja whose name was known throughout the shinobi world.

Might Guy had opened the Sixth Gate of the Eight Inner Gates, the same forbidden technique that had once allowed his father to kill four members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

Then there was the Fourth Hokage himself, Minato Namikaze, whose Flying Raijin Jutsu had earned him the name Konoha’s Yellow Flash.

No matter how they calculated the difference in strength, Kumogakure’s chances of victory were far from reassuring.

Yujiro casually gathered the scattered documents upon the table and arranged them neatly.

“Kurama.”

His voice was calm as he looked toward Konoha’s side.

“This is where you are needed.”

Kurama?

The Nine-Tails?!

The Kumogakure shinobi were stunned once again.

Had the Nine-Tails not been sealed within Konoha’s jinchūriki?

Could someone in Konoha already control its power completely?

The mere possibility caused the expressions of A and the others to become tense.

They desperately hoped their suspicions were wrong.

However, in the next second, booming laughter echoed across the square.

“Hahahaha! Is it finally my turn to appear?!”