At the center of the Konoha delegation stood Danzo Shimura. He wore the robes of the Hokage with a stiff, unnatural posture, his eyes scanning the room as if he is trying to be a predator. Flanking him was Tsunade Senju, looking weary with all Katsuyu dispatched around Konoha; Orochimaru and Minato Namikaze, were also at either end. Behind them stood the pillars of the village... the heads of the great clans: Fugaku Uchiha, Hiashi Hyuga, Shikaku Nara, Choza Akimichi, and Tsume Inuzuka.
But it was the woman standing directly beside Danzo who drew the most lingering glances. Mito Uzumaki. The wife of the First Hokage was a legend, her presence radiating a terrifying power. In front of this formidable line stood the hostage, Kaien, his expression blank and glassy. Only those in the Hokage council knew that Inoichi Yamanaka was currently deep within Kaien's mind, piloting him like a puppet to ensure he acts like he usually do.
On the opposite side stood the Kumo delegation, led by the Raikage, his muscles bulging beneath his cloak. Beside him stood Aya along with Kushina Uzumaki. The rest of the Kumo group... Renga, Dodai, Sango Hibaku, and Mabui... formed a wall of elite talent, their hands never straying far from their weapons.
The Raikage's eyes locked onto Mito. He had heard the stories of the woman who could tame the Nine-Tails with a wave of her fuinjutsu, but seeing her reanimated made his lip curl in tactical worry. Unlike the airhead Hashirama, we don't want to deal with Mito in a disadvantage with Kaien still in their hands.
"Danzo," the Raikage's voice boomed. "Did you get so scared of a little negotiation that you had to bring out the 'oldies'?" He let out a mocking laugh.
This time Danzo didn't entertain the Raikage's ridicule. Instead, a slow, thin smile crept across his face. Without a word, he began a rapid-fire sequence of hand seals. The floorboards groaned as a massive wooden coffin erupted from the ground, the lid slamming onto the floor with a heavy thud.
The Kumo ninja shifted instantly, blades half-drawn, chakra levels spiking. But as the dust settled, the Raikage's bravado vanished as his face went pale.
"Blue B..." he whispered.
Aya gasped, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Uncle Blue B?"
The former Eight-Tails Jinchuriki stepped out of the coffin, his skin the greyish hue of the Edo Tensei, his eyes black.
"What is the meaning of this, Hokage Danzo?" the Raikage growled, his voice dropping into a dangerous tone. "Summoning our former Jinchuuriki.. are you declaring war?"
Danzo's confidence was beaming as he had three of the powerful pawns under his thumb: Mito, Blue B, and Kagami Uchiha. Finally, he was the master of the board.
"It seems you finally remember that I am the Hokage," Danzo said, his voice smooth with condescension. "What happened to the man who was looking down on me hours ago?"
He gestured vaguely toward the scrolls laid out on the central table. "Anyways let's get down to business. Here is the final proposal from the Hidden Leaf: We shall give Kaien to you and provide four billion Ryo in reparations. Furthermore, we hand over the scrolls for the Reanimation Jutsu, the Reverse Four Symbols Seal, and the Caged Bird Curse Mark. In exchange, Konoha receives Kushina Uzumaki back... alive... along with the key to the seal imposed on Nine-Tails' by Kumo. You will also remove the blood curse binding Minato Namikaze."
The Raikage stared at him. "We asked for ten billion Ryo, Danzo. You offer us less than half and a handful of forbidden techniques that are either unusable or activates on death. Does Konoha even truly want Kushina back, or are you just going through the motions? If you think you can threaten me into a bad deal using Blue B and that old lady Mito, you are very wrong."
The Raikage leaned forward, his massive hands slamming onto the table. "Give me two more forbidden techniques, or the deal is off. We'll announce to the ninja world that Konoha has lost its tailed beast. Let's see how quickly Onoki and Chiyo comes knocking on your gates when they realize the Nine-Tails is no longer Konoha's weapon."
As the Raikage and Danzo were discussing terms. Kushina Uzumaki stood silent, her gaze fixed on Mito. For years, she had looked up to Mito as a grandmother figure, the one person who understood the destruction of Uzushio.
But now, using the Negative Emotions Sensing, she saw through the facade. She remembered how Mito had "convinced" her that leaving the Land of Whirlpools was for her own safety. She remembered how the timing of her arrival in Konoha perfectly preceded the destruction of Uzushiogakure.
Mito, the legendary kunoichi, had possessed the political power to save their homeland, yet she had remained in Konoha, watching as her kin were slaughtered, only to pluck Kushina out like a prize to ensure the Leaf's military might remained intact.
Kushina could feel the emotions around Mito; All her intention was to get the Nine-tails back to Konoha at any cost.
Kushina's eyes then looked at the Raikage who was fighting to get more money for rebuilding the Uzushio even though Kaien is still being held hostage.
Then she turned towards Minato. He was looking at her with eyes, filled with a desperate kind of love and kindness. her old self might have felt something. But looking at him now, he felt like a stranger... a part of a system that had tried to cage her from the moment she arrived. She felt nothing for him and ignored him, though he himself is just a pawn of the Third Hokage.
She looked at Kaien who stood motionless, but Kushina's new sensory abilities picked up something strange. Despite the fact that he was about to be "rescued," he was giving out waves of tension. It was a frantic emotion that didn't align with the situation. Something was wrong.
The discussions came to an end. The Raikage used every trick in his arsenal to get the best deal as he did not want to start attack while leaving Kaien in such vulnerable position.
"Fine," Danzo finally said, his voice cutting through the Raikage's shouting. "The final additional terms: A total of five billion Ryo. We will include the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags forbidden technique... a creation of the Second Hokage himself. Additionally, we will provide one S-Rank and two A-rank jutsu from every nature transformation."
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A/N: Kushina is the first one to notice that something was wrong with Kaien with her negative emotions sensing.
Blue B is like a nephew to the Raikage, seeing him definitely stirred something. Unlike Mito, He is a jinchuriki as he was injected with Gyuki cells Orochimaru stole from.
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