At the Hokage Building, Minato and Shikaku sat across from each other reviewing the latest intelligence reports. The document detailed troop movements from both Iwa and Suna, coordinated deployments heading toward the Land of Lightning's borders.
Minato set down the report and leaned back in his chair.
"I honestly didn't expect things to develop like this."
The whole situation had an almost comedic quality to it. Kumo had tried to force Konoha into paying compensation, and instead had triggered a coordinated response from three major villages. Now they were the ones about to pay through the nose.
"They tried to play political games without understanding the board. This outcome was inevitable," Shikaku said calmly. He tapped the intelligence report with one finger.
"Next, the Raikage will come for negotiations. And it won't just be us at the table. Iwa and Suna didn't mobilize forces for nothing. They'll want their cut before withdrawing."
"I almost feel sorry for him," Minato said, though his expression suggested he didn't feel sorry at all. "Can you imagine how furious he must be right now? That temper of his, combined with realizing he's been outmaneuvered..."
His assessment was accurate.
---
At that exact moment, inside Kumo's main administrative building, A stood in the conference room surrounded by his advisors and clan heads. The large table that had dominated the center of the room was now kindly of splinters and broken wood, victim to his fist moments earlier.
"You want me to negotiate? With Konoha, Suna, and Iwa?"
The words came out quietly, which somehow made them more menacing than if he'd been shouting. Everyone in the room understood that quiet anger from the Raikage was far more dangerous than his usual explosive outbursts.
Dodai stepped forward.
"Raikage-sama, we don't have another option. Our forces cannot handle a three-front conflict. Even with your strength, you can only defend one border at a time. The numbers don't work in our favor."
"The Third War just ended," A said, his jaw clenched. "They won't risk another major conflict. They're bluffing."
"With respect, Raikage-sama, they're not bluffing." One of the senior advisors spoke up. "It's precisely because the Third War just ended that all the major villages are desperate for resources to rebuild. They see Kumo as an opportunity."
The advisor paused, then continued, "Suna and Iwa especially have been looking for an excuse like this. They're not our allies. They won't hesitate to squeeze us for everything they can get."
A stood motionless. It had all been his plan: provoke Konoha, claim recompense, exploit their power for gain.
At the time, it had felt so simple. And now it had blown up in his face.
He took a long, slow breath.
"Draft peace negotiation proposals. Send them to all three villages. We'll meet in the Land of Iron. Three days from now."
"Understood, Raikage-sama. I'll arrange it immediately." Dodai bowed slightly. "We should begin discussing our negotiation position."
The meeting continued for hours, going over every detail of what would likely be one of the most embarrassing diplomatic sessions in Kumo's history.
Dodai knew this would damage A's standing within the village. The Raikage's authority had taken a serious hit. If it weren't for Killer B being a perfect jinchūriki with great power and popularity, there might already be serious talk of replacing the Raikage entirely.
As it was, A would have to navigate carefully going forward.
---
Several days later, at Konoha's military camp near the border of the Land of Fire, Kenji received official withdrawal orders along with a personal letter from Minato.
He opened the letter and scanned the contents, piecing together what had happened while he'd been stationed at the border.
Minato had traveled to the Land of Iron personally, and met with the Kazekage and Tsuchikage. The three of them had sat down with the Raikage for formal peace negotiations that had resulted in a signed alliance agreement.
The terms were brutal for Kumo.
They had to compensate Konoha for the incident. Additionally, they were required to send massive payments and supply shipments to both Suna and Iwa in exchange for those villages withdrawing their forces from Kumo's borders. The compensation had already been delivered. All three villages were now pulling back their troops as agreed.
He read through the letter twice, then set it down and laughed quietly to himself.
In the original timeline, this whole mess had started with a simple kidnapping attempt. It had escalated, sure, but nothing like this.
"The Raikage's basically a saint at this point," he muttered, looking over the compensation list included in Minato's letter. The sheer volume of money and supplies was crazy.
He immediately passed the word to withdraw. When the ninjas stationed at the border heard they could finally go home, the mood shifted instantly. Everyone started packing, eager to get back to the village.
Within hours, Konoha's forces had broken camp and begun the march home. On the other side of the border, Iwa and Suna troops were doing the same. Nobody actually wanted a war. Once the compensation was secured, there was no reason to maintain expensive military deployments.
Everyone was happy to take the win and go home.
---
The day he returned to Konoha, Kenji barely had time to file his report with Minato before the Hokage was dragging him out of the office.
"Come on," Minato said with a grin. "We're celebrating. Yakiniku Q, my treat. Shikaku's already there."
"You're buying?" Kenji raised an eyebrow. "This must be a special occasion."
"Kumo paying reparations to three villages at once? I'd say that qualifies as special."
They arrived at the restaurant to find Shikaku had already secured a private room in the back. The moment they sat down, a server appeared with sake and glasses.
"Cheers!"
The three of them raised their glasses. The crisp clink echoed in the private room.
Kenji took a sip, savoring the quality sake. Minato really was splurging tonight.
"So," he said after setting his glass down. "You two just ran out of the office like this? Isn't there still a mountain of work to handle? Reports to file, diplomatic correspondence to review, all that nonsense?"
"It's fine," Minato said with a dismissive wave. "Rin's helping out. And I left a shadow clone to handle the paperwork."
"You're really taking advantage of her," Kenji said, shaking his head. "You stuffed Kakashi into ANBU where nobody ever sees him anymore. Then you pulled Rin over to be your assistant, running around arranging everything. And here you are, sneaking out to eat barbecue while she's stuck at the office working."
"I think they're both happy with the arrangement," Minato said, looking confused about why this might be a problem.
"You need to pack some food for Rin before we leave," Shikaku added. "You really are a terrible teacher sometimes."
"I will! I definitely will!" Minato nodded quickly, then brightened. "But seriously, the compensation from Kumo is going to help Konoha's recovery a lot. We can accelerate rebuilding, increase training budgets, improve our infrastructure. This is exactly what we needed."
"All thanks to the Raikage's generosity," Kenji said dryly, which made the other two laugh.
The server arrived with the first round of meat, and they spent a few minutes grilling and eating before Kenji brought up something that had been on his mind.
"What about the Third Hokage's faction? Have they said anything about how this played out?"
Minato's expression turned somewhat amused.
"Haven't seen them at all these past few days. When Kumo sent their initial peace proposal, suddenly everyone from that faction was too sick to attend the meeting. So it was just me and Shikaku planning the trip to the Land of Iron and handling the negotiations."
"Convenient timing for their illness," Kenji observed.
"Very convenient," Shikaku agreed. "Almost like they realized their usual advice wouldn't be welcome."
Kenji nodded slowly, understanding the subtext. Hiruzen and his allies had been advocating for appeasement and compensation to avoid conflict. When the situation had instead resulted in Konoha gaining the upper hand and extracting reparations from Kumo, they'd had nothing useful to contribute. Better to stay quiet than to be seen as wrong again.
"After this, the Third Hokage probably won't be so quick to question your decisions," Kenji said. "He's smart enough to recognize when his approach doesn't fit the current situation."
"Hopefully," Minato said, though he didn't sound entirely convinced.
"The one you really need to watch is Danzō," Kenji said with a serious tone.
Danzō was different from the Third Hokage. Hiruzen at least operated with good intentions, even if his methods were outdated. Danzō was dangerous because he was convinced everything he did was for the village's benefit, even when it was clearly just serving his own ambitions. He controlled Root, operating in the shadows with no oversight. He had a history of making decisions that didn't just fail to help Konoha, they created powerful enemies. Nagato, for example. Originally one of Jiraiya's students, he had the potential to be one of the greatest ninjas of his generation. But Danzō's schemes pushed him down a darker path, turning him into Pain, the one who destroyed Konoha in another timeline.
Minato's expression had gone completely serious now.
"I know. Root is a threat to the village's stability. I've wanted to disband it for a while now, but the timing hasn't been right. Too many people in the old guard still think it's necessary."
"You'll get your chance," Kenji assured him. "Danzō can't help himself. He'll overreach eventually and make a mistake too big to cover up. When that happens, you'll have the opening you need."
Since Minato had set up a sealing barrier around the private room before they'd started talking, none of them were worried about their conversation being overheard. They continued discussing village politics and strategy until the evening, working their way through multiple rounds of meat and several bottles of sake.
Finally, Minato glanced at the clock and stood up.
"I should get back. Rin's probably wondering where I disappeared to."
"Don't forget the food," Shikaku reminded him.
"Right, right."
Minato arranged for several containers of barbecue to be packed up, paid the bill, and headed out with the takeout in hand. He was in such a hurry that he was practically jogging toward the Hokage Building.
Kenji and Shikaku said their goodbyes outside the restaurant and headed in opposite directions toward their respective homes.
Walking through Konoha's streets as night fell, Kenji felt a sense of satisfaction.
The crisis had been resolved without bloodshed. Konoha had gained significant resources. And most importantly, they'd demonstrated to the other villages that the Fourth Hokage wasn't someone to be pushed around.
All in all, a good outcome.
He turned down the street toward his house, looking forward to seeing Honoka and Daiki.