But of course, the meeting was far from over. The compensation and terms to end the war had still yet to be discussed. Shikaku under Katsuro's signal restarted it.
"Now that is out of the way, let's move on to our terms for peace. It is clear Konoha needs compensation for your attacks, but we also understand that after the payment from before amassing that money will be impossible. Therefore we propose that 70% of missions that arrive for Iwagakure are to be handed over to Konoha instead. It is clear that Iwa will struggle to field Shinobi after this war, and you won't be able to complete those missions anyway. Furthermore, we would require that your borders be open to Konoha shinobi so that the missions can be completed. While this still needs confirmation from our respective Daimyos, a trade agreement between our nations will also be put in place. It will guarantee the free trade of our people and merchants and tariffs on our goods entering the Land of Stone will also be removed."
While this proposition seemed more agreeable compared to the ludicrous figures of the last one, it was actually more deadly. It would ensure Konoha has heightened economic prosperity, but at the cost of the Stone's own. It made sense to take most of Iwa's missions when they wouldn't be able to complete them anyway, and therefore seemed inconsequential. But, it had the effect that employers in the Land of Stone would get used to the Leaf completing their jobs. Over time, in conjunction with the fact Leaf shinobi could move across borders, the Leaf would be the village that jobs went to more than their own. Their reputation for winning the war and having the strongest Shinobi while the Stone lost so many of its own would only boost this effect. Not to mention with the borders allowing the movement of merchants and people, the Leaf would naturally get even more missions to escort them. As such all these factors point to an economic boom for the Leaf shinobi, which would multiply for the whole village. The Shinobi having more money from more missions would mean they spend more. And local businesses will benefit from this spending in a multiplying effect that would lead to the whole village feeling the effects.
Even if Onoki didn't fully understand these implications in the longer term, he could see that they weren't good. 70% of all their missions was a ridiculous amount, and 'open' borders would lead to large security risks in their lands. Despite this, he was already defeated, he understood Konoha was being firm on this and getting angry once again was pointless. The best he could do was try to negotiate as much as he could.
In the end, he tried his best, mainly pleading to Hiruzen with no power to stand on. He couldn't continue fighting, and everyone knew it. The new 'God of Shinobi' alone was enough to make him want to give up, as he didn't believe that his entire village could beat him alone. This meant that the conditions barely changed. The only change was that instead of 70%, Konoha would take 65% for 5 years, and it would decrease by 5% each year after that. It was a concession Konoha had already discussed previously, and one they were willing to agree to. Because by then, it wouldn't even matter. The employers of the Stone would have already gotten used to the Konoha shinobi who were better and stronger for the same number. They believed in their quality, and thought that it would mean the benefits would stay regardless.
And of course the Stone was also made to sign a treaty that was essentially a non aggression pact. The Stone could not attack Konoha, the Land of Fire or any its interests, in return unless provoked Konoha would do the same. Of course such an agreement was fickle, several treaties signed in the past have proved that they were but mere pieces of paper. It was more symbolic than anything, as everyone in the tent knew that the Stone would not dream of attacking Konoha for many years.
Once everything was sorted and the treaties were signed, one side was clearly more happy than the other. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Stone was as close to being under Konoha as you can get without actually being owned by it.
Though unlikely, Onoki would have to worry about attacks when they were at their weakest. The Stone bordered several smaller nations with their own Shinobi villages, but even at this state they were no threat. Even if the numbers had become far more equal, Great villages had clear advantages which allowed them to be great villages. This was mainly going to be strong individuals. Elite Jonin, Kages and the Jinchuuriki. These would make sure that the smaller villages didn't even think of trying anything. The difference was so shocking that the Jonin in those villages would likely lose to the stronger Chunin in Konoha. This means that their main threats were the Land of Wind, Sunagakure and the Land of Lightning, Kumogakure. Even though Kumo was further away, they were Onoki's main concern. From what he had heard, the Sand had suffered a crushing defeat at Konoha's hand, and would likely face as bad repercussions as them. Both villages would be in horrible states, simply unable to act against each other. Therefore this left Kumo.
Kumo was likely the second strongest Shinobi village even after losing the Third Raikage. Kirigakure, the only other contender, had lost less Shinobi from leaving the war so early, but had paid the price with their Mizukage and most of their Ninja Swordsmen. With their 6 tails captured and the 3 tails without a host, they didn't have a single Kage level figure. The closest they had was the leaders of the Kaguya and Hozuki clans but they fell short. In comparison, Kumo still had A, B a perfect Jinchuuriki as well as the new 2 tail Jinchuuriki. Their 8000, Shinobi that attacked the Land of Fire was reduced to less than 1000 over the several days and weeks of their campaign, and in total they must've lost at least 8-9000 when considering the clashes with Kiri and Iwa. But as the village with the second highest number of Shinobi, conservative estimates still suggested they had 8,000 which was much higher than the maximum of 6,000 that Iwa could currently field. Therefore, Onoki was glad to have his two Jinchuuriki back, both of which were far better than the normal standard.
But such an attack was unlikely not only because the Land of Stone's territory was nowhere near as tempting as Konohas, but also due to that fact Katsuro had killed the Third Raikage, a man beloved within Kumogakure. If Onoki was correct, their hatred should be funneled that way instead.
As Onoki shook hands with the man that had caused him to be in such a position, he took solace in the fact that the other villages too were in the same spot. With Katsuro alive, they could all only fight for second place.
The Leaf side was now showing their joy much more openly with clear smiles now everything was over. They had achieved all their objectives and only conceded what they had discussed in acceptable parameters. Their expected return and conveying of the good news was met with celebration. The war was over. As they were in the Land of Fire it wouldn't take long to get home.
A total of 17,000 Shinobi had set out, leaving the bare minimum of a few hundred to guard the village. And less than 11,000 were returning. It was a war that was expected to have lasted years on end, but Konoha's prowess and frontal tactics meant it lasted mere weeks instead. But there was a price. It may have been the shortest war ever, but it was also the bloodiest. The exact number was unknown, but the death count was well over 35,000, the most of any war before it.
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