Compared to Konoha—
Kumogakure moved much faster.
After suppressing the rebellion of the Gold and Silver Brothers, A (Third Raikage) naturally inherited the position of Raikage from his father, the Second Raikage.
Their style—
Decisive.
Almost like a syndicate.
But the hurried succession left behind a mountain of problems.
And the most urgent one—
How to deal with Konoha's fury.
—
The Third Raikage stared at the corpse before him.
Tobirama Senju.
His head throbbed.
If handled poorly—
Kumogakure itself might face destruction.
This wasn't a small matter.
They had agreed to peace talks.
Agreed to a truce.
And yet—
Internal chaos broke out.
The Gold and Silver Brothers launched a coup.
And in the process—
Killed the Second Hokage.
Yes—
The Second Raikage had also died.
But that didn't matter.
From Konoha's perspective—
This was betrayal.
A trap.
A humiliation.
If he placed himself in Konoha's position—
He would demand war.
Total war.
—
Days later—
Kumogakure envoys arrived in Konoha.
Their purpose:
To renegotiate peace.
To return Tobirama's body.
To settle reparations.
They were prepared to concede.
Because they were in the wrong.
—
Konoha convened an emergency council.
With Tobirama's body soon to be returned—
Mito Uzumaki could no longer delay.
Reality had to be faced.
—
The meeting was chaotic.
Voices clashed.
Tempers flared.
The Senju jōnin were the loudest.
"Fight!"
"Revenge!"
"Our Hokage was killed!"
"Blood for blood!"
The calls were overwhelming.
Dominant.
Furious.
—
But reality—
Was cold.
War required money.
And Konoha—
Had none.
No funds.
No reserves.
No sustainability.
Who would pay?
The Fire Daimyō?
Unlikely.
But that truth—
Couldn't be spoken aloud.
Because politically—
There was only one acceptable stance:
Revenge.
Even Uchiha Ren—
Sitting among them—
Felt like applauding internally.
Yet outwardly—
He wore the same righteous anger.
As if he were ready to charge into battle at any moment.
The slogans had to be loud.
But when it came to actual war—
Every clan head hesitated.
How long could their resources last?
Sell their ancestral assets?
To those predatory Fire Country financiers?
They would gladly buy—
At insultingly low prices.
And if you refused—
The price would only drop further.
—
Mito watched silently.
The jōnin roared for war.
The clan heads remained quiet.
But their stance—
Was obvious.
Revenge?
Yes.
Now?
No.
Konoha was already exhausted.
One more war—
Could destroy everything.
And worse—
It wouldn't just be Kumogakure.
Iwagakure.
Kirigakure.
A three-front war—
Was entirely possible.
—
In the end—
Mito gathered the clan heads into a private room.
A final discussion.
The conclusion:
No war.
But—
No weakness.
Konoha had to maintain its image.
If even the Hokage's death went unanswered—
How could it lead allied villages?
Such as Kusagakure?
—
Publicly—
War mobilization.
Mito personally addressed the shinobi.
Declaring vengeance.
Demanding justice.
But privately—
Orders were sent.
Restraint.
Do not provoke.
Do not initiate conflict.
Unless attacked first.
If Kumogakure struck again—
Then there would be no choice.
Total war.
—
"This time—if Kumogakure fails to give a satisfactory answer—Konoha will fight to the end!"
The official statement was severe.
Intimidating.
Even the envoys felt the danger.
But they continued.
They had no choice.
—
Negotiations began.
Kumogakure made concessions.
On top of the original agreement—
They offered 4 billion ryō in reparations.
1 billion in the first year.
The rest over five years.
It was already—
A heavy burden.
Kumogakure itself was struggling.
People were starving.
Food prices had tripled.
Merchants exploited the war.
The Raikage had executed several—
But it changed nothing.
Profit drove everything.
Even death couldn't stop it.
Other villages—
Were no different.
Sunagakure's prices had risen even higher.
Yet no one intervened.
Because behind every merchant—
Were powerful interests.
Even the Raikage—
Had been warned.
—
Seeing Kumogakure yield—
Konoha pressed further.
Threats.
Demands.
Negotiation.
Escalation.
Then—
Reality.
Konoha demanded an additional 500 million ryō.
The Third Raikage clenched his teeth—
And agreed.
Money—
Was expendable.
Lives—
Were not.
Ten deaths.
Ten thousand deaths.
Numbers were numbers.
He had no choice.
Better the villagers suffer—
Than the village fall.
—
Finally—
The last matter:
The return of Tobirama's body.
For Konoha—
This was critical.
A grand funeral would be held.
On the highest level.
All clan heads would attend.
The Fire Country nobility—
Would be invited.
And through it—
Konoha would recover some funds.
Even if it seemed—
Undignified.
Because making money—
Was never shameful.
Not when the village was on the brink.
If Tobirama had a spirit watching—
He would likely agree.
In life—
He served Konoha.
In death—
He would continue to do so.
This—
Was the Will of Fire.
To give everything—
Until the very end.
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