— — — — — —
"I'm open to peace talks," Orochimaru said with a smile that sent shivers down the man's spine.
"But you can forget about the terms you had in mind before. You better prepare to offer Konoha some serious compensation—otherwise, we might just take this chance to push back and invade Iwa instead."
"… What?"
The Iwagakure messenger turned pale the moment he heard the response. Cold sweat poured down his forehead, and his lips trembled as he stammered, "B-But I… I don't have the authority to make that decision!"
Orochimaru chuckled lightly. "Then go pass my message—send someone who does have the authority."
"Remember, you've only got half a day. If we don't get a clear answer by then, forget the peace talks. War it is."
Konoha isn't what it used to be.
"…Understood!"
The Iwa messenger wasted no time and rushed back to his own camp. There, he immediately reported everything Orochimaru said to Onoki, who hadn't left yet.
BAM!
Onoki slammed his palm down, shattering the table in front of him. His face twisted in anger.
"Outrageous! Konoha's trying to take advantage of the situation? They're pushing their luck! Who do they think they are?!"
Akatsuchi, standing nearby, sighed and shook his head. "They do dare. This isn't the era of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, anymore."
"It's obvious now—this new Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, and his backers… they're way more aggressive. Trying to stall and gloss things over like before? Not gonna happen this time."
"They know we're stretched thin. We can't fight on two fronts, and they know we're desperate to get back and defend our rear lines."
Honestly, Akatsuchi missed the old days under the Third Hokage.
Onoki felt the same. Well, like everyone outside Konoha.
Just look at how Hiruzen handled things in the past—practically like one of their own spies.
Iwagakure started several wars and lost every time, yet the Third never demanded compensation or reparations. Talk about considerate.
Was there ever a more thoughtful Hokage?
"Hiruzen was a soft-hearted fool! Why did he get pushed aside by some punk kid?! It would've been so much easier if he were still in charge…"
Onoki grumbled for a while before waving Akatsuchi over with a sigh.
"Akatsuchi, you'll handle the peace talks this time. I have to move now—only I can deal with the Third Raikage."
"As for Konoha, unless their demands are completely outrageous… agree to them. Worst case, we take the hit."
"We can't afford a war with them right now. If they really decide to fight us now, the Land of Earth could be in serious trouble."
Onoki wasn't the kind of leader who'd cling to pride at the cost of survival. Sometimes, you have to swallow your pride and wait for a better chance to strike back.
"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage! I'll take care of it."
Akatsuchi nodded solemnly. "But we'll have to bleed a little for this one."
Onoki nodded, "Some conditions can be accepted, but don't hand over all the supplies they want at once. Give them a portion first, then stall the rest. Say it takes time to gather everything. Blame it on our losses from fighting the Kumo shinobi."
"You know how to play the 'tragic victim' card."
"Once we've dealt with the Kumo, we'll decide whether they get the rest or not. Heh."
Onoki was already several steps ahead.
"Uhh… is that really okay?"
Akatsuchi looked a little awkward.
Wasn't this basically just being shameless?
What about the village's reputation?
"For the sake of the village, who needs pride?"
Onoki snorted, waving him off impatiently. "Enough. It's settled. I'm heading out."
With that, Onoki left the tent, accompanied by a few elite jōnin from the ANBU division, heading straight for the rear lines of the Land of Earth.
— — —
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office in Konoha…
A swishof teleportation, and Renzo popped into the room. Just as he was about to greet Minato, he froze.
Minato was sitting on the Hokage's seat, Kushina nestled on his lap, the two wrapped up in each other, flirting without a care in the world.
"…."
"….."
"...."
All three of them stared at one another in complete, awkward silence.
Minato and Kushina silently thanked the heavens they were only hugging.
As for Renzo? The scene instantly reminded him of that Hentai guy—when he became the boss of a new company and things got real cozy with his secretary in the office.
Uh... maybe he also should have a secretary.
Renzo gave a sheepish laugh and scratched his head. "Ahaha… maybe I should just, y'know, pretend I never came in and let you two continue?"
He turned, ready to make a quick exit.
"Come back here," Kushina called, stepping out of Minato's arms.
Minato sighed, clearly exasperated. "Seriously, Renzo… can you please stop teleporting directly into my office like that? It's getting out of hand."
(Naruto World: …Oh man. Naruto's gonna be born late at this rate.)
Renzo's antics reminded Minato of the stories he used to hear about back when the Third was still Hokage—Jiraiya, Tsunade, and the rest just waltzing in however they liked.
Climbing through windows, kicking down doors—nothing was off-limits.
Minato used to find it hilarious.
But now that he's the Hokage?
Yeah… maybe it's time to start laying down some rules.
"Exactly!" Kushina chimed in, hands on her hips as she scolded him. "Little Renzo, you're getting more and more out of hand! Weren't you supposed to be at the front lines?"
"What are you doing back here?"
Minato's expression turned serious. "Yeah. Did something happen?"
"Oh, nothing too major," Renzo said casually, shrugging with a grin. "I just beat the crap out of Ay, captured and sealed the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, and nearly killed the Third Raikage."
"And now Kumo wants to surrender. They're asking for peace talks."
He rubbed the back of his neck. "Since the front lines are lacking negotiators—me and Jiraiya aren't exactly great at diplomacy—I figured I'd come back and ask you to send someone. The sooner the better. Gotta get back quick before Kumo changes its mind, y'know?"
Right now, the ones panicking weren't Konoha—it was Kumo.
But if Konoha wanted Kumo and Iwa to bleed each other dry in a drawn-out war, then this peace deal needed to be wrapped up fast.
"…What?"
Minato and Kushina were both stunned.
Minato practically jumped out of his chair, staring at Renzo in disbelief. "You're saying… you already beat the Raikage? Kumo has been defeated?"
"Yup." Renzo nodded like it was the most natural thing in the world. "You know how strong I am, Minato-nii. A Raikage and an Eight-Tails Jinchuriki? Please. They didn't stand a chance."
"That Ay guy? Took him out with one punch."
Minato twitched at that, looking at Renzo like he was some kind of alien. "I've fought Ay before. He's no joke. His speed is second only to my Flying Thunder God, and his Taijutsu is terrifying—definitely Kage-level."
"And the Eight-Tails? That's a perfect Jinchuriki. Taking him down that easily? That's insane."
"Especially the Third Raikage. I heard he could go toe-to-toe with an unsealed Eight-Tails. The guy's a monster. Even I wouldn't be confident facing him… and you're telling me you nearly crippled him?"
"Are you even human anymore?"
Minato could tell—ever since Renzo's battle with Uchiha Madara, his power had taken another huge leap.
There's no way someone could beat those three without so much as a scratch unless they were on a whole other level.
This kind of one-man-army, battlefield-dominating force… it reminded him of the legends about the First Hokage.
Back in the day, Hashirama was probably seen the same way.
Renzo was honestly starting to look like the next "God of Shinobi."
"Tch tch…" Kushina whistled in amazement. "You're seriously something else, huh? Got any battle footage? Share it with us!"
"Oh, right! Kurama told me to tell you 'nice job!' He's loving the fact you wrecked the Eight-Tails. Dude is over the moon."
---
Meanwhile, inside Kushina's seal
Kurama was cackling like a maniac, acting more like a happy dog than a fearsome Tailed Beast.
"Hahaha! That smug bastard Gyūki finally got what's coming to him!"
"If I ever get to see him again, I'm roasting his ass for a full year!"
But then Kurama's laughter slowly faded, his expression turning serious.
"…That Uchiha kid is getting more dangerous by the day."
"Just thinking about him makes my fur stand on end. No wonder he trashed Gyūki like that."
"He might actually be scarier than both Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju combined."
"And if I'm not mistaken, his body's overflowing with Sage Chakra."
"Is he in Sage Mode… full-time?"
"That's nuts. Absolutely nuts."
"And that Sharingan of his—doesn't it seem like his eye power is way over the top? I swear, even the Sage of Six Paths didn't have this kind of pressure from his Rinnegan."
"Good thing he doesn't have the Rinnegan… yet."
All things considered, Kurama had been incredibly well-behaved lately. He even started talking with Kushina more.
Why? Simple—Renzo scared the hell out of him.
The fox wasn't about to act up with that guy lurking around.
In fact, even if Kushina let him out right now, he probably wouldn't want to leave. Not with that monster walking around free in the Ninja World.
Lately, all Kurama could think of was the sheer terror of being dominated by Hashirama and Madara back in the day.
And Renzo? He felt even more dangerous than both of them put together.
"…Yeah, the ninja world is way too scary. I think I'll just stay in this seal, thanks," Kurama muttered to himself.
.
.
.