A few days later, on the border where the Sand Village and Stone Village forces were engaged, within a dense forest in a region of the Land of Birds, the Third Tsuchikage Onoki, his son Kitsuchi, and several other senior Hidden Stone Village ninja had gathered.
They were waiting for someone. The Fourth Kazekage.
The Stone Village had received a secret message from the Sand Village several days prior, indicating a desire to discuss cooperation regarding medicinal resources.
This had greatly surprised Onoki. After all, the two villages were active enemies who had already been clashing throughout the Great Ninja War.
The old man had never imagined that the Sand Village, as their opponent, would not only refrain from cutting off the Stone Village's access to medicinal resources but would proactively offer to provide them.
Onoki had not initially intended to comply with the invitation.
But then he had reconsidered.
The Sand Village's pharmaceuticals had proven extraordinarily effective on the battlefield. If the Stone Village could obtain a substantial supply of these medicines, it would not only reduce their troop casualties but also give them a meaningful advantage in their ongoing battles against Konoha and the Hidden Cloud Village.
Therefore, regardless of what the Fourth Kazekage was actually planning, Onoki found himself genuinely tempted. He had replied promptly, indicating he would set out immediately.
It was worth noting that this meeting between the Kage of the Hidden Stone Village and the Hidden Sand Village was being conducted in complete secrecy. Not a single rumor had leaked. Only the senior officials of both villages were aware of it.
"Father, could the Fourth Kazekage be scheming something?" Kitsuchi said worriedly, standing beside Onoki.
The idea of the Hidden Sand Village wanting to cooperate with them was still difficult to fully accept.
"Don't be hasty. I never said I was absolutely committed to cooperating with them. Let us wait for them to arrive and see what that young man actually intends," Onoki said in a low voice.
Time passed hour by hour.
An hour later, several dark figures came flashing toward them from a distance. Leading them was Yuji. Neither he nor Onoki were wearing their formal Kage robes, both dressed in combat attire. After all, this was a secret meeting on the front lines, not a formal diplomatic occasion.
"Blood Doctor Yuji!"
The moment they saw Yuji's smiling face, the several Stone Village Jonin standing behind Onoki immediately fixed him with fierce glares, their expressions showing barely suppressed rage.
The Stone Village harbored intense animosity toward this man who had once inflicted devastating losses on them. The Fourth Kazekage.
Onoki let out a cold snort.
The Sand Village's arrival consisted of Yuji and Chiyo. Familiar faces on both sides. Six people from each village. Judging by numbers, the groups were roughly equal.
"Third Tsuchikage, it is a pleasure to meet you. How are you?"
Yuji greeted him with genuine humility. His polite and gentle manner instantly made the encounter feel less like two enemies sizing each other up.
"Hmph. You are the ones who requested this meeting, yet you arrive late and make an old man wait this long. Is this the Sand Village's style?" Onoki said with displeasure.
"There are quite a few people secretly watching movements in the Sand Village right now. To ensure this meeting with you remained undiscovered, I had to be very careful about how I departed. I apologize for the delay and ask for your understanding."
Yuji said it with a smile.
He had already assessed the situation. The old man in front of him was not actually upset over the lateness itself. Onoki was sharp and calculating, and he was using this small issue as a preemptive strike to establish an upper hand before the actual negotiations began.
"A man of such advanced age, yet making such a fuss over such a small matter," Chiyo said coldly, showing no inclination to humor the Tsuchikage even slightly. "He really has not a single good point."
Onoki's face darkened.
"Stop the nonsense. I do not have time to waste. Let us get straight to the point." He looked at Yuji directly. "You should understand one thing clearly. If you want to cooperate with us, it is the Sand Village that is coming to us. Whether we agree to any arrangement depends entirely on how sincere you are."
"Then there is nothing to discuss," Chiyo said pleasantly. "Since you are not interested, let us all go home. The Sand Village is not begging anyone. We have plenty of medicinal resources, and many small countries and villages are eager to obtain them. They are grateful for the opportunity to do business with us."
She turned to Yuji.
"No need to continue. Let us go."
With that, he moved to lead his people away.
Onoki's face tightened with visible tension. Several Hidden Stone Village members behind him went wide-eyed.
What was happening? They had not even begun the actual conversation and it was already falling apart?
"Chiyo," Onoki said sharply, his gaze shifting to Chiyo. "Are you the Kazekage? Can you speak on behalf of the Sand Village? The Fourth Kazekage and I are the ones negotiating here. What business do you have inserting yourself? If you want to express your opinions, wait until you become a Kazekage yourself."
Onoki's anger was showing.
He was feeling a degree of internal agitation but did not show it. He maintained a composed appearance throughout.
"Onoki. We, the Sand Village, are willing to make a deal with the Hidden Stone Village and give you this opportunity. Do not be ungrateful."
Chiyo spoke up directly.
Seeing that the two older figures seemed on the verge of a genuine argument, Yuji, who had been silent throughout the exchange, immediately stepped in to mediate.
"Everyone, please do not get upset. Let us keep things calm. We came here to discuss cooperation. There is no need to let a small matter affect the mood of the entire meeting."
Seeing Yuji provide a convenient ladder to step down from, Onoki immediately used it, shooting one last glare at Chiyo before letting his posture relax somewhat. He did not want this meeting to collapse over nothing either.
"Cunning little brat," he cursed Yuji internally even as he accepted the mediation.
Onoki was not stupid. He could see at a glance that Chiyo's confrontational interjection had almost certainly been orchestrated at Yuji's quiet direction.
The two of them, one playing the difficult face and the other the reasonable one, had been working in coordination to control the flow of the conversation from the opening moments and prevent him from establishing dominance over it.
Their prior awareness of his likely tactics made his first impression of this young man considerably worse. After all, nobody enjoyed having their opponent turn out to be this precisely calculating.
"Tell me then," Onoki said, shifting his gaze directly to Yuji and deciding to bypass Chiyo entirely. "Why did the Sand Village specifically choose the Hidden Stone Village for this arrangement? You are being remarkably generous in offering to sell us your medicinal products.
I do not believe the Sand Village would be this kind without a reason. The Great Ninja War has been going on for months, and the Sand Village has been carefully controlling the medicinal trade throughout.
That control has clearly been designed to prevent other villages from acquiring large quantities on the open market. So tell me what you actually want."
He pressed forward without giving Chiyo another opening to interject.
Yuji looked at him directly.
"I will not hesitate to speak frankly about the situation the Sand Village is currently facing, since I know Senior will be wary of any evasiveness."
He continued.
"The battlefield pressure from Konoha alone is considerable. Beyond that, the Hidden Cloud Village is also moving aggressively along our coastal territory. With the Third Raikage's death, the Hidden Cloud Village could launch a large-scale attack on our village at any moment."
"Therefore, compared to the other three villages, although the Hidden Sand Village and the Hidden Stone Village have accumulated certain grudges and conflicts, they are relatively smaller in scale and do not carry the depth of hatred that exists elsewhere.
We sell you medicinal resources, you absorb a portion of the pressure we are facing from other directions. Both sides benefit."
He said it with direct and uncalculated honesty.
Onoki had not expected this level of frankness. The vigilance he had been maintaining as his default posture eased somewhat after hearing it.
"So you want to exchange medicinal resources for our withdrawal from the Sand Village front?" Onoki said.
"The battlefield is the battlefield and business is business. These two things do not need to conflict with each other," Yuji said, shaking his head.
Onoki stared at him.
This young man's words were genuinely difficult to find fault with. He left no obvious opening for exploitation or price manipulation.
But in reality, Onoki understood perfectly well that once the Hidden Stone Village began purchasing the Sand Village's medicinal supplies in volume, they would inevitably be drawn into an invisible interest alliance with the Sand Village, one that would constrain how aggressively they could fight against them on the front lines.
There would be no way out of that arrangement once they were inside it.
Without any hesitation, Yuji had laid this reality out plainly.
Engaging in front-line combat against the Sand Village while simultaneously depending on them for battlefield medicines would naturally make it impossible to fight with full commitment.
"Name your price," Onoki said directly, cutting to the most crucial aspect of the transaction. He wanted to establish from the outset that he expected a favorable rate.
...
Stonksss