"Raikage-sama, the negotiators sent by Konoha have arrived."
D's voice dripped with bitterness, barely able to conceal it.
A's gaze instinctively drifted past D, as if he could pierce through the thick walls and barriers of his office to see those so-called "negotiators."
He said nothing of them. Instead, he asked, "Do you think I made the wrong decision?"
In truth, he had no doubt about his choice. As time went on, his confidence in having made the right call only grew.
Yet the bitterness in D's tone grated on him, just as the downcast faces of every Kumo-nin over the past two days had, none of them daring to meet his eyes.
D was taken aback, then quickly shook his head. "I believe you made the right decision, A-sama."
He had even switched to the more familiar 'A-sama' instead of 'Raikage'.
But naturally, that didn't convince A. "If that's true, then why are you and every ninja in this village so disheartened?"
From his perspective, his ninjas should be able to accept defeat. In Kumo, strength commands respect, especially when that strength comes without tyranny.
Whether it was Azula or Konoha, they were strong, respectable opponents. Any worthy ninja ought to recognize that.
So, was his village full of sore losers who couldn't handle defeat? Or had they begun to sense his own incompetence?
This situation reminded him exactly of the end of the First Shinobi War, when Kumo was about to sign the peace treaty with Konoha, but even though they were defeated back then, it wasn't as absolute as this time.
Do they plan to rebel? The thought was unlikely, yet logical, and it surfaced unbidden, making him narrow his eyes.
That gesture was even more intimidating, especially to D, who knew A would only do that when he had made up his mind to do something reckless.
"It's about our pride," D said, clenching his right hand. "I simply couldn't understand, how can a fourteen-year-old be so strong? How could all our years of hard work be so useless that we're nothing but a burden while our Kage fights?"
He was remembering that unknown Kekkei Genkai Azula had used during their fight. The Raikage hadn't dodged because if he had, the attack would have reached them.
All in all, realizing that she had only been playing with them before the Raikage arrived made the Kumo-nin see a bleak future.
The Raikage, who was the strongest, was already so old while those who were this strong were just teenagers.
They simply didn't see a chance to recover from Konoha's dominance after this.
Upon hearing D's reply, A felt relieved. So they still have some backbone after all.
Even so, he rose to his feet. "You've spent more than three decades as a ninja. I doubt anything I say now could motivate you or sway your mind."
"But don't be foolish enough to ignore that people are simply born different, with certain talents granted from birth. Just belonging to a clan with a Kekkei Genkai alone already sets you apart. Instead of dwelling on that, you should focus on how to strengthen your village or lend a hand to those you believe have potential."
"You're one of the village's greatest talents and my most trusted subordinate. I don't want to waste time worrying about your state of mind when I should be focusing on the village."
He wasn't lacking in empathy. He simply had too much on his plate.
If his subordinate couldn't even handle a setback like this, then he'd need to find someone else.
As A strode past him, D found himself staring at the Raikage's back, and then it hit him.
Wasn't the Raikage more wounded than any of us by everything that happened? Yet I never saw him wallowing in it. The thought came easily. It's because his role as Kage leaves no room for bitterness. And here I am, his trusted subordinate, lamenting my own situation. How could I ever inspire anyone like this?
By the time he finished the thought, a more relaxed smile had already spread across his face.
•••
The Konoha delegation sent to Kumo consisted of fifteen people, and right now, every single one of them was sweating on the inside, though they were doing their best to look like they weren't.
The truth was, they all knew why the village had sent them instead of an elder like Danzō, Koharu, or even Hiruzen himself: it was simply too dangerous.
At this point, no one really knew how far Kumo was willing to back down. They were here more to test the waters than anything else.
If Kumo showed genuine interest in negotiating, then the village would send in the heavy hitters.
So they knew exactly what would happen if things went sideways.
Coming face-to-face with the most aggressive Kage in the middle of his own village was enough to make any Jōnin sweat, no matter how composed they tried to appear.
Luckily for them, A wasn't the type to waste time on power plays. He didn't keep them waiting long before showing up.
What caught them off guard, though, were the cauterized scars covering his body. The Raikage had been on the battlefield just weeks ago, and back then, he hadn't had those marks.
They exchanged glances with each other. Damn… is the Uchiha Matriarch really that fierce?
That had been the talk of the village over the past few days, and seeing the Raikage like this only drove the point home.
"Hah? Did Konoha send you to actually settle terms, or are you just here to waste my time?" A's voice was sharp with dissatisfaction.
None of the people standing before him were major names, and he made no effort to hide how disrespected he felt, both for himself and for his village.
The delegation fell silent. No one dared to say anything that might set him off, which only made his irritation grow.
"You know what?" he cut in, not even bothering to pause. "Kumo isn't ready to negotiate with Konoha right now. We'll wait until Azula Uchiha becomes Hokage, then we'll talk."
Without wasting another second, he turned and left.
This completely left them stunned. The Raikage showing up only to leave just as quickly was a possibility they couldn't bring themselves to imagine, no matter how bad his temper.
But that wasn't even the real problem.
"I feel like I heard something I shouldn't have," one of them said, trying awkwardly to lift the mood.
He didn't say what he shouldn't have heard, but they all understood: "Kumo won't negotiate until Azula becomes Hokage."
This was guaranteed to stir up internal conflict within the village. They couldn't even begin to imagine how they'd report this, or what Hiruzen's face would look like when he heard the news.
But there was another scenario they could imagine, one where they were silenced. That thought alone made a few of them swallow hard.
•••
Meanwhile, even before word of Kumo's demand had arrived, the internal conflict within Konoha was already on full drive beneath the surface, plain to see for those who knew where to look.
But surprisingly, the one most affected wasn't Azula or Hiruzen.
It was Sakumo Hatake.
"Seriously, Azula-chan, you're giving me a headache," Sakumo grumbled, his voice stripped of the usual seriousness he carried.
Azula stood at the door of his living room, unimpressed. "Says the one who's been avoiding me. Honestly? I thought we were close friends."
Sakumo's gaze drifted to the sword at her waist. He knew Azula rarely used blades, or any weapons, for that matter—claiming she disliked relying on outside help unless absolutely necessary.
Then his attention shifted back to her.
"You know my role in the Anbu doesn't exactly allow for much downtime," he said. "Some troublemaker keeps stirring things up across the ninja world, so I'm constantly being dispatched. Besides, you haven't exactly been around the village yourself for a while."
But Azula narrowed her eyes. She knew Sakumo wasn't usually one for many words, unless he was trying to avoid an awkward silence or put a few anxious ninja at ease.
She didn't answer. Instead, she unfastened the sword from her waist and tossed it to him.
"This is the Sword of Kusanagi. Not that I need to introduce it to you—you've got your own White Fang, after all. Who knows, maybe you can give this one to your second son. If you had one."
A twitch pulled at the corner of Sakumo's mouth. "So you're alright, then."
Silence settled between them after that—not the awkward kind, but the comfortable sort shared by old friends who had no need to fill every moment with words.
Azula had returned to the village yesterday. She'd planned to see Sakumo first, before going to Mito, to talk about her Mangekyō.
(END OF THE CHAPTER)
And here's Sakumo, it's been a long time since we saw him, don't forget to vote btw.