Chapter 263: The Unpleasant Alliance
Iwagakure (岩隠れの里, Village Hidden by Stone). The Tsuchikage's office.
Ōnoki, the aged Third Tsuchikage, floated easily in mid-air above his low desk, using his Jutsu of Lightened Earth. His aged, wrinkled fingers gently stroked his chin, a gesture of intense concentration.
A piece of intelligence—multiple, cross-referenced reports from Konoha's border and Sunagakure's desperate plea—lay quietly on the desk before him.
Sunagakure (Hidden Sand Village) had lost.
They had lost miserably. Completely.
The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, was confirmed dead.
Advisors Chiyo and Ebizō had both perished fighting the invader.
Thousands of Sunagakure Ninja, along with their families, had all been captured and were now Konoha's prisoners. The village itself was irrevocably ruined.
"Grandpa!"
Kurotsuchi, Ōnoki's feisty granddaughter, strode into the room, her young face set in a grim mask.
"Is the information about the Hidden Sand Village true? The one man cleaved their protective wall in half?"
"Yes, Kurotsuchi." Ōnoki's voice was gravely serious.
"Konoha's Uchiha Akira… he is even more terrifying than we imagined. Far surpassing the rumors. He is a monster of a different order."
Kurotsuchi's fists unconsciously tightened, crushing a scroll in her hand. "Then we… what are we doing?"
"We do nothing," Ōnoki interrupted her, his voice absolute.
Kitsuchi, Ōnoki's son and Kurotsuchi's father, standing nearby, asked in a deep, rumbling voice. "Father, what do you mean? Should we not prepare a counter-move, or fortify the border immediately?"
Ōnoki snorted coldly. "The one in a hurry right now isn't us, Kitsuchi. Not yet."
"It is the simple-minded, brawny Raikage from Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud Village). His strategists will be having heart attacks."
Kitsuchi hesitated upon hearing this. "Will that fellow A, the Fourth Raikage, realize the full danger? He tends to react with aggression, not strategy."
"He himself is a hothead, true, but his subordinates aren't a bunch of fools," Ōnoki's tone carried a hint of certainty.
"Hidden Cloud Village's advisors know better than anyone that if Sunagakure is finished, the strategic balance of the Five Great Nations is broken entirely. Kumo—or we—will be next on Akira's menu."
Ōnoki had lived too long and seen too many storms. He understood the gravity of the situation completely.
Konoha's absolute dominance.
This was absolutely not the situation he, or Kumogakure's A, wanted to see.
Uchiha Akira. The name pressed like a physical boulder on everyone's hearts.
"He is unlike Uchiha Madara back then."
"Madara was pure, chaotic destruction. A glorious, violent end. You could rally nations against that kind of threat."
Ōnoki's thoughts raced. "But this Uchiha Akira… he understands conquest. He understands order. He integrates, rather than destroys. And that... that is what's truly terrifying."
Konoha had annexed Sunagakure, their rival. Their power had expanded unprecedentedly overnight.
Who would be next? Would it be their Iwagakure, or Kumogakure?
He understood the principle of 'when the lips are gone, the teeth are cold' (唇亡齒寒, Kuchibiru horobite ha samushi - a famous Chinese idiom meaning mutual dependence) better than anyone.
But an alliance with Kumo... was also by no means easy. Kumogakure was always overbearing, aggressive, and unpredictable.
Just then.
An Iwagakure Anbu suddenly appeared in the center of the office, kneeling on one knee.
"Tsuchikage-sama!"
"Hidden Cloud Village has dispatched an emergency envoy who has arrived outside the village barrier. They are requesting an immediate meeting!"
[Inorin's Note: Iwagakure and Kumogakure are historically rivals of Konoha, but also often rivals of each other. An alliance between them is highly unusual and only occurs under existential threat.]
"They came," Ōnoki muttered, stroking his chin.
Faster than he had expected.
"Let them in," he commanded, settling back into his floating position.
"Yes!"
The Anbu took the order, and his figure disappeared again, leaving only a puff of smoke.
Half an hour later.
Iwagakure's highest conference room. The atmosphere was formal, tense, and heavy with distrust.
Ōnoki floated in the main seat, a silent, unmoving statue. Kitsuchi and Kurotsuchi stood rigidly behind him.
Opposite him sat three Kumogakure Ninja.
The leader was Darui, one of Raikage Ay's most trusted subordinates. Darui had his characteristic dark, heavy circles under his eyes and, maddeningly, an air of extreme, bored laziness.
"Darui."
Ōnoki's aged voice, thin but sharp, broke the silence first.
"What purpose does your Raikage, A, send you here for?"
Darui slowly stretched, managing a casual yawn. He spoke slowly, as if the very act of talking required immense effort.
"Tsuchikage-dono, asking the obvious is a bit boring, isn't it?"
He then raised a single finger to point to the intelligence report on the desk.
"I assume you already know about what happened with Hidden Sand Village. The destruction. The speed."
Ōnoki's face was utterly expressionless.
"So what?"
"That was a war fought between Konoha and Sunagakure. It has nothing to do with our Iwagakure."
Darui twitched his mouth, revealing a small, helpless smile.
"Does it really have nothing to do with it? Tsuchikage-dono."
"Konoha's current strength has unilaterally broken the balance of the Five Great Villages. The world's power structure is irrevocably changed."
Darui leaned forward slightly, his eyes still lazy, but piercing. "Today it can be Sunagakure. Tomorrow... perhaps it will be Iwagakure, or our Kumogakure."
"I don't think a seasoned statesman like Tsuchikage-dono would fail to understand such a simple principle."
Kurotsuchi, listening nearby, couldn't help but sneer, her frustration boiling over.
"Easy for you to say. A few days ago, wasn't it your Kumogakure that gathered a large army at the border, preparing to rush into the Land of Fire to steal territory while Konoha was busy?"
"Now that you've discovered Konoha is a tough nut to crack—a nut that just destroyed another Great Village—and you can't kick it alone, you come crawling to us to talk about an alliance? Where in the world is there such a good deal!"
Darui looked at Kurotsuchi, his eyes still infuriatingly lazy.
"Little girl," he drawled, "it's best for children not to interrupt adult conversations. This is Kage-level strategy."
"What did you say!"
Kurotsuchi was instantly enraged, her raw chakra surging. She took a step forward, ready to fight.
"Kurotsuchi!"
Ōnoki let out a low, warning growl, stopping his granddaughter instantly. He would deal with Kumo's arrogance later. Survival first.
"Tell me, Darui," Ōnoki commanded, his eyes closed in thought. "What exactly does A want?"
Darui leaned slightly forward, and the lazy expression on his face completely vanished in that moment, replaced by an unprecedented, dangerous seriousness.
"Our Raikage-sama's meaning is simple."
"Alliance."
"Kumogakure and Iwagakure, two great Ninja Villages, forming a military alliance to jointly resist Uchiha Akira and his Konoha forces!"
Inside the conference room, the breath of all Iwagakure high-ranking officials hitched.
Military alliance!
The weight of those two words—forged with a sworn rival, against a god-like threat—was too heavy.
Ōnoki fell silent, his body floating a little lower, a sign of his immense concentration.
After a long while.
Ōnoki slowly spoke, his voice cold and filled with old distrust.
"An alliance, yes. We agree on the necessity. But why should I trust you, Darui? Why should I trust A?"
"That fellow A is not one to keep his word. He's a brute. History does not favor him."
Ōnoki's voice was cold. "Show us your sincerity."
Hearing this, Darui smiled with a hint of true disdain.
"Sincerity?"
Darui shook his head, leaning back in his chair, resuming his lazy demeanor.
"Tsuchikage-dono, at this point, standing on the precipice of world war, is talking about 'sincerity' still meaningful?"
Kitsuchi frowned, speaking in a deep, challenging voice. "What do you mean by that, Darui? Elaborate."
Darui spread his hands wide.
"My meaning is simple, Kitsuchi."
"Our greatest sincerity in Kumogakure is that we are still willing to send me here, unarmed, to sit across a table and talk with you."
"Instead of directly turning our guns. Instead of contacting Uchiha Akira and suggesting that we ally with Konoha first, in order to mutually divide the Land of Earth between us."
"You!"
Kurotsuchi was furious, about to lash out, but Ōnoki, floating a few inches higher, silenced her with a stern glance.
Ōnoki's face was incredibly grim. "Are you threatening me, Darui? Are you suggesting Kumo would betray us before the alliance is even formed?"
"No, Tsuchikage-dono. This is not a threat."
Darui met his gaze, the terrifying truth in his words undeniable. "This is a statement of fact. A reality check."
"You know how strong Konoha is better than I do. You've also seen the fate of Hidden Sand Village. We are next. It's simply a matter of who first."
"Even if we Kumogakure fight and lose, we are strong enough that we will bite off several large chunks of Konoha's flesh! We will force them to bleed! We will let them know that we are not a soft persimmon like Sunagakure!"
"But!"
Darui's voice hardened, becoming absolute. "If we Kumogakure lose, Tsuchikage-dono, do you truly think that Uchiha Akira will let Iwagakure, who has been quietly watching the show next door, off the hook? Do you think he will leave a threat like you standing?"
"When that time comes, with Konoha's victorious army pressing down on your borders, what will you use to block them?"
"Will you rely on the scattered remnants of our broken Kumogakure forces? Or will you rely on the internally and externally troubled Hidden Mist?"
Inside the conference room, the faces of all Iwagakure high-ranking officials turned incredibly ugly.
Darui's words, though arrogant and unpleasant, hit the mark with every single, painful, logical statement. This was an open scheme.
Ōnoki's chest heaved violently. He felt the cold truth of the threat.
This was not an alliance! This was clearly an abduction! Forced submission to a desperate, arrogant ally!
"So, Tsuchikage-dono."
Darui stood up, looking down at Ōnoki, who was floating motionless in mid-air.
"This is not a request. It's a notification."
Darui looked at Ōnoki, who was deep in thought, and added fuel to the fire once more, delivering the final message.
"Tsuchikage-dono. You don't have much time left to consider."
"Our Raikage-sama asked me to relay a final message to you."
"Either you stand with us now. And we face Konoha together."
"Or..."
Darui let the word hang, heavy with consequence.
"...Just wait to be annexed by Konoha, one by one. The choice is yours, and yours alone."
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