"Your condition is truly astonishing..."
As he came to Hiruzen's side, Hanzō spoke softly.
"I never expected you to personally leave the village and come welcome me alone."
"And Hanzō-sama seems as vigorous as ever, your bearing no less impressive than in years past."
Smiling, Hiruzen extended his hand.
"Welcome to Konoha. Since Hanzō-sama has placed such trust in us, it would hardly do for me, as Hokage, to be discourteous."
"My job today is simply to accompany you on a walk through the village. No attendants, no interruptions. Just the two of us taking a look around and having a conversation."
With a solemn expression, Hanzō shook Hiruzen's hand.
"Thank you for honoring me with such consideration, Hokage-sama."
The two men walked side by side.
"I've carefully reviewed the reports from the Administrative Department regarding deeper cooperation between our villages."
Hiruzen spoke slowly.
"The primary problems facing Amegakure are the shortage of mission allocations and declining revenue. Much of that stems from the strained relationship between your village and the nation's nobility after the war you initiated."
Hanzō nodded.
"That is indeed the case..."
As a small hidden village that had turned its own territory into the main battlefield of a Shinobi World War, Amegakure had borne immense pressure and criticism.
Only Hanzō's reputation and strength—both among the very best in the shinobi world at the time—had spared him from even greater backlash.
Even so, the Daimyō of the Land of Rain and its nobles felt deeply offended by Hanzō's refusal to heed their advice. They had little trust in a "monster shinobi" who could decide on a whim to wage war against two great hidden villages.
Had he won, everything would have been different.
The nobles would have changed their tune immediately.
But he had not won.
And because the Land of Rain had served as the primary battlefield, its infrastructure and population had suffered catastrophic losses.
Moreover, the nobles of Amegakure, situated between three major hidden villages, had plenty of alternatives.
They could place orders with Iwagakure, Kumogakure, Konoha, or even Kusagakure to meet their needs, expressing their dissatisfaction with both Hanzō and Amegakure through their wallets.
Faced with that silent form of resistance, Hanzō had been powerless.
After all, given Amegakure's sensitive geopolitical position, if he moved against the nobles or the Daimyō, he would merely provide other hidden villages with a legitimate pretext to unite against him.
When the nobles of the Land of Rain approached him years later because of Konoha's Sage Region Pills, Hanzō had been genuinely shocked.
A single Konoha product had actually convinced those nobles—who had been locked in a cold war with him for years—to lower themselves and come knocking on his door?
"Does Hokage-sama have a solution for Amegakure's situation?"
Hanzō asked quietly.
"I do."
Hiruzen nodded.
"To be frank, Amegakure's needs happen to align perfectly with Konoha's."
"We currently have a surplus of mission allocations that we lack the manpower to absorb."
"And recently, production of the Sage Region Pills has made a breakthrough. We're looking to expand distribution channels."
Hanzō's eyes lit up.
Was Konoha planning to transfer part of its mission quota to Amegakure?
Yet Hiruzen's words also left him feeling somewhat bitter.
A surplus of mission allocations?
What kind of problem was that?
Konoha already had a sizable population, yet they still had more missions than they could handle?
Meanwhile, in Amegakure, shinobi had to engage in cutthroat competition with the great hidden villages just to secure a single assignment.
One side could afford to be picky.
The other was starving.
The comparison was enough to make a man furious.
"Amegakure desperately needs these opportunities..."
Hanzō responded without hesitation.
"I understand that such things cannot simply be given away for free. Please tell me plainly what Konoha requires from Amegakure in return."
"There is no need to rush, Hanzō-sama."
Hiruzen waved a hand with a smile.
"Throughout shinobi history, alliances and peace treaties alike have usually been little more than scraps of paper. They carry virtually no credibility."
"The reason is simple: the underlying conflicts are never truly resolved. Both sides merely seek time to recover so they can sharpen their blades and fight again later."
"Sunagakure needs fertile land. Iwagakure harbors deep-rooted hostility toward Konoha. Kirigakure's internal contradictions require an external enemy to vent their frustrations upon."
"As for Kumogakure, everyone already knows what they're like."
"They are the bandits of the shinobi world."
Hanzō found himself nodding in agreement as he listened attentively.
That very reality was why he had abandoned his pursuit of peace after the Second Shinobi World War.
Each of the Five Great Hidden Villages had its own ambitions and demands.
And none of them were willing to submit to another.
Just like the Senju and Uchiha of old, they would never sit down and negotiate until they had fought themselves to exhaustion and decisively settled the question of superiority.
Even Konoha's long-standing declaration that it sought only peace changed nothing.
Hashirama's reputation carried weight, certainly.
But the other villages feared the emergence of another Uchiha Madara.
If they failed to achieve results while Konoha was in a period of weakness, what would happen once Konoha recovered?
The consequences would be disastrous.
No one could guarantee that the Senju and Uchiha—two clans with a thousand years of history—would not produce another extraordinary figure.
No one wanted to be ruled by force.
And every Kage believed that if their own village remained united, it had the potential to stand at the top.
Forget another Uchiha Madara.
Even the appearance of another Tobirama was something the other great villages desperately wished to avoid.
In the end, having illustrious ancestors was a double-edged sword.
You inherited tremendous advantages.
But you also inherited the fear and envy of every wolf beyond your borders.
"Konoha's conflicts with those villages are fundamentally irreconcilable."
"Or rather, the only way to reconcile them would be for Konoha to accept unfair demands, which would make such reconciliation meaningless."
"But Amegakure is different. Our villages can genuinely complement one another and achieve mutual prosperity. Hanzō-sama's repeated efforts to promote friendship with Konoha within your village have shown me that a true foundation for cooperation exists."
Hiruzen continued calmly: "Therefore, after you gain a deeper understanding of Konoha, I hope our two villages can establish a form of alliance unlike anything the shinobi world has ever seen before—a truly integrated community of shared interests."
"Betrayals and defections are commonplace in this world. Frankly, I've grown tired of seeing them."
Hiruzen turned to look at Hanzō.
"Just as the Senju and Uchiha once had their own grievances, Konoha and Amegakure have had unpleasant history as well. But if both sides are willing to show sincerity, there is no reason we cannot become one family."
A flicker of emotion crossed Hanzō's face.
Using the Senju and Uchiha as an example?
That comparison was actually giving Amegakure far more credit than it deserved.
After all, no matter how one looked at it, Amegakure was only a minor hidden village.
Compared to Konoha, it was hardly appropriate to use the Senju and Uchiha—two truly equal powers—as an analogy.
Hiruzen naturally understood that.
But he didn't care.
Words cost nothing.
It was simply a matter of showing mutual respect.
In casual conversation, he could call him Hanzō-sama.
But when agreements involving Konoha's core interests were on the table, then Hanzō would have to listen to him, the Hokage.
"I understand Hokage-sama's sincerity."
Hanzō spoke softly.
"In that case, please show me the Konoha of today. I will observe carefully, experience it for myself, and then continue our discussions with the utmost sincerity."
"Bringing up agreements so abruptly just now was rather improper of me. I hope you'll forgive the lack of decorum."
Hiruzen smiled faintly.
If an outsider heard the tone of their conversation, it would be hard to guess that these were the leaders of Konoha and Amegakure.
Both were being remarkably courteous.
And that was the power of sincerity.
Hanzō was eager to cooperate, yet Hiruzen had refused to rush matters and instead told him to "inspect the goods first and think it over."
"After you."
Hiruzen and Hanzō stepped through Konoha's gates.
Under the respectful gaze of the gate guards, the two men walked side by side through Konoha's streets and alleys.
The commercial district alone, stretching across Konoha's outer ring, left Hanzō dazzled.
"I've often heard merchant caravans say that Konoha's prosperity now surpasses that of any other village—that it's even more bustling than the capital of the Land of Fire."
"Only after seeing it with my own eyes do I realize those reports weren't exaggerations."
"Compared to Konoha, the capital of the Land of Rain would be flattered to be called a backwater!"
Stores from virtually every industry lined the streets.
And they weren't ordinary stores—they were the most advanced and fashionable establishments available.
Hanzō also noticed something else.
The members of the Police Force maintaining order coordinated smoothly with one another and carried themselves with a friendly demeanor.
"Those are members of the Aburame Clan..."
"The Police Force is no longer monopolized solely by the Uchiha?"
"No wonder so much information about the Uchiha has been circulating throughout the shinobi world lately."
"And there are Hyūga clan members as well... The conservative Hyūga actually allow branch family members into ANBU now?"
A leader as experienced as Hanzō could tell at a glance what this represented.
It was proof that Konoha's internal cohesion had increased.
The various shinobi clans had been forged into a unified whole under Hiruzen's leadership.
He also noticed something else.
No matter where Hiruzen walked, even from places beyond his line of sight, shinobi watched him with immense admiration.
And Hiruzen continuously returned their greetings, waving with a warm smile.
It was obvious that he enjoyed tremendous support within Konoha.
If the Third Mizukage had witnessed this scene, he likely could have reached the same conclusions.
He might enjoy playing his little Bloody Mist Village games, but that didn't mean he lacked basic analytical ability.
Unfortunately, both he and Kirigakure had been targeted by Uchiha Madara.
The Land of Water was already largely isolated from the outside world, with poor access to information.
On top of that, Madara had deployed vast numbers of White Zetsu and personally taken action himself, effectively constructing an entire "Madara-filtered world" around Kirigakure.
A few details adjusted here.
A few pieces of false intelligence fabricated there.
The result was that Kirigakure's leadership came to believe Konoha's clan situation wasn't the result of greater unity at all.
Instead, they believed Hiruzen had lost control and been forced to relinquish key positions to the major clans.
It was essentially a gigantic genjutsu on a national scale.