"Tsunade-sama, our five great ninja villages have always been on good terms. Could you maybe talk to young Kazama?"
Seeing the pitiful looks from Tsuchikage and his son, Tsunade's heart softened a bit.
"Kazama, how about a compromise? After all, Iwagakure and Konoha have a decent relationship."
At this point, Gaara, Terumī Mei, and A also stepped in to mediate.
As the Five Kage of the great nations, they hoped their villages could support and cooperate with one another.
If Kazama really brought Iwagakure to its knees, its people might get desperate and spark endless conflict.
Hearing their pleas, Kazama nodded with a smile.
Truth be told, he never intended to ruin Iwagakure—just to teach Tsuchikage a lesson and make him think twice next time.
"Since you all insist, I'll compromise. Iwagakure doesn't have to hand over all its funds, strategic weapons, and so on to Otogakure all at once. Instead, you can switch to an annual tribute system. Within Iwagakure's means, you'll supply Otogakure with ninja tools, funds, and other resources."
"Fine, fine, no problem!" Tsuchikage agreed immediately.
Sure, his village would still take a hit, but it was far better than being gutted overnight.
And with Kazama's overwhelming strength, Tsuchikage had no choice but to comply.
"Everyone, since all five Kage are gathered here, why don't we form an alliance?" Tsuchikage proposed.
"What?!" Tsunade and the others were stunned.
The four of them had long wanted to ally with Iwagakure, but Tsuchikage's stubbornness and refusal to join forces with other nations had always stalled the idea.
His complete 180 now was clearly because he'd seen Kazama's strength.
Kazama was a Konoha ninja, so allying with Konoha was essentially allying with Kazama.
With a powerhouse like Kazama as an ally, Iwagakure could rest easy.
Tsunade and the others weren't fools. After a moment's thought, they realized Tsuchikage's "alliance" with the four Kage was really just a way to cozy up to Kazama.
They couldn't help but admire Kazama's influence.
The alliance the four Kage couldn't pull off was now being eagerly offered by Tsuchikage because of Kazama.
"Kazama's future is boundless!" the Kage thought in unison.
With this matter settled, the martial arts tournament reached its conclusion.
Undoubtedly, Kazama was the champion.
His displayed strength—tanking Shichibi's Tailed Beast Ball, absorbing Jinton, and overpowering Tsuchikage—was enough to dominate everyone present.
Anyone who still doubted him was either a fool or blind.
While Otogakure didn't take first place, the tournament made its name known across the five great nations.
The entire ninja world now recognized Otogakure's strength and reputation.
As the tournament's first-place winner, Kazama naturally received lavish rewards from the five great nations.
Gold, silver, jewels, vast tracts of fertile land—he had it all.
One daimyō even suggested gifting Kazama hundreds of beautiful women.
But the moment he made the proposal, Sakura, Tsunade, Terumī Mei, Yugito Nii from Kumogakure, and the princess of the Land of Fire all shot him furious glares.
Terrified, the daimyō quickly retracted his offer, clueless as to why they were so angry.
Kazama, catching their looks, was at a loss for words.
"Sakura, Terumī Mei, Yugito—I can kinda understand. But Tsunade too? Man, being too handsome and too strong is more trouble than it's worth!"
As Kazama chuckled wryly to himself, a Kumogakure ninja rushed to Raikage's side in a panic.
"Raikage-sama, terrible news! Kirabi-sama has been attacked!"
"What?!" Everyone, including Kazama, was shocked.