Outside the meeting room.
Baki, a Jonin from Sunagakure, now Konoha's prisoner and the sole remaining representative of Sunagakure with any authority, waited in the hallway.
Outside, he was a highly respected Jonin with significant power, but before the central authority of Konoha, he was still just a stray dog by the roadside.
So what if he represented Sunagakure?
As the defeated party in an armed conflict, he could only obediently lie on the chopping block and be the meat.
Before the Konoha's higher-ups finished their discussion, even if Rasa were resurrected, he wouldn't be qualified to participate. He only deserved to squat outside waiting for those inside to finish talking, and then be asked whether he planned to agree or to agree.
Click!
The meeting room's door opened. Baki hurriedly straightened up, awaiting Konoha's judgment.
A pink-haired young girl walked up to him and spoke with a smile.
"You must be Baki-san. I will be fully responsible for the subsequent negotiations."
Sakura took a newly drafted agreement from her bosom and handed it to Baki.
It was no wonder Konoha was adopting such a tough stance, having Sakura, the one who killed the Kazekage, negotiate with them.
It was truly because of the severe negative impact caused by Sunagakure's actions that Konoha had to abandon its usual friendly foreign policy and bare its fangs.
They were just happily living their lives when suddenly someone rushed up and slapped them.
Their happy mood disappeared, the village leader died.
Who could stand that?
More crucially, the Land of Fire was situated at the transportation hub of the Five Great Nations, occupying the richest land on the entire continent.
It had always been one nation pressuring the other four, and had deep-seated grudges with the other major nations.
So they absolutely could not show weakness, not even the slightest sign of fatigue.
Otherwise, when the feast began, far more than four wolves would come.
"This... this..."
After reading the terms, the muscles on Baki's face twitched, and the mask covering half his face was damp with sweat.
"Compensation for damages... 500 million ryo??"
The man's shocked voice cracked, echoing in the corridor.
It attracted the attention of many higher-ups leaving the venue. When they saw Sakura next to Baki, they showed expressions of schadenfreude.
"This is only the cost for Konoha alone. Sunagakure should also consider the wrath of the civilian bureaucratic systems of the Four Great Nations."
Sakura held her hands behind her back. Her not-very-tall figure cast a shadow that covered everything of Baki's.
Konoha had not concealed anything regarding the deaths of the many political figures and dignitaries from the Four Great Nations, or perhaps, it couldn't be concealed.
After all, the political figures of those nations trusted Konoha enough to come observe the Chunin Exams.
And then you tell them their people aren't coming back? That they were lost inside Konoha Village?
To counter the potential backlash from the dignitaries, Shikaku recommended reporting an inflated number of casualties and losses to the various nations.
At the same time, they would hold a funeral for the victims, placing Konoha into the camp of the victims, preemptively silencing everyone.
Right now, while Sakura and Baki were talking, the various nations should be receiving the news of Hiruzen's death, along with the bodies and detailed autopsy reports of the various nations' dignitaries and political figures who died under the gold dust of the Kazekage!
"Sign this agreement, return to your village during this period of power vacuum in the various nations and prepare your response early."
"Or face Konoha's wrath and the accountability of the various nations simultaneously. Choose!"
From within the blazing will of the conqueror, those calm eyes lifted, reflecting Baki's face.
Her raised hand opened, a pen tilting slightly, descending towards the ordinary man before her like a devil's blessing.
Baki gritted his teeth until blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.
Sunagakure had truly reached the end of its rope. Its only Kage-level fighter was dead, the new generation was still growing, and the old-timers were one by one nearing their end.
The great Sunagakure had been reduced to relying on a captured Jonin like him to hold the fort.
Sunagakure could not withstand any further turmoil.
At this moment, he could only take the pen from Sakura's hand and sign the agreement on behalf of Sunagakure.
From the moment the agreement took effect, Konoha could begin accumulating virtue and doing good deeds, bringing benefit to the Land of Wind.
"For this... we thank Konoha for its mercy!"
Having borne too much of this 'blessing', Baki bowed deeply to Sakura, then hurriedly left with his people to return to Sunagakure.
…
Three days later.
Dark clouds spread like tides, surrounded by majestic, winding flashes of lightning in the sky.
The thunder roared incessantly, sending the first wave of condolences for Konoha's dead.
Inside the Haruno Residence, Sakura, dressed from head to toe in black, pushed open her door.
Rain began to fall from the sky. Naruto and Sasuke were already waiting for her on the road leading to the Hokage Building.
The three of them headed north, and along the way, more and more villagers coming to attend the memorial service joined them.
Finally, they surrounded the Hokage Building and the surrounding roads until they were packed tight.
On top of the building, Sakura saw the photo placed in the center, surrounded by the portraits of many others who had sacrificed their lives.
Tsunade, who had succeeded as the Fifth Hokage, presided over the ceremony. After reciting the prayers, the building was opened to the general villagers so they could enter and offer flowers.
"Old man, rest well!"
Sakura placed a bunch of white chrysanthemums and observed a moment of silence before the photo.
Was Sarutobi Hiruzen a good Hokage?
Perhaps as a leader, his lack of decisiveness led to many tragedies… that was his flaw.
But he single-handedly created decades of peace for Konoha, and after his death, countless ordinary villagers spontaneously came to mourn him.
At the very least, he hadn't done a bad job as Hokage.
"Sakura, if I had been stronger, maybe Grandpa Third wouldn't have had to die."
The rain plastered the boy's golden hair down, and tears mixed with raindrops fell to the ground.
"Old man... the Third Hokage chose to face death himself."
"So don't bow your head. Straighten your back, look forward properly! Don't waste what he left behind!"
Sakura stepped forward and wiped the 'rainwater' from the corner of Naruto's eyes.
"Yeah, I understand!" Naruto shook the water from his head and took a deep breath, "Sakura, I'm going to go train with Pervy Sage next. When I come back, I'll definitely surpass you!"
"Hmph, with your current level, even ten more years of training won't be enough to surpass her."
Sasuke, who had come up beside them, heard Naruto's words and almost instinctively retorted.
"What did you say! How dare you, a measly, anemic Sasuke, boast like that!"
Naruto, clenching his fists, showed his shark-like teeth and roared at Sasuke.
"You, a dead-last, have the nerve to talk about me? Want to fight?"
"Fight it is! Today, I'll establish the status of Naruto-sama as the number two in Team 7!"
The black-haired and blond-haired boys started brawling. Sakura leaned against the railing, watching their commotion with a smile.
The old windmill had finally begun to turn. Konoha had not weakened because of Hiruzen's passing.
On the other hand, the Four Great Nations, having lost many of their political figures and dignitaries, erupted into fierce struggles for power.
Amidst this chaos, the Ninjas, mixed within the turbulent situation, began influencing events according to the previously prepared plan.
The Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth first experienced four or five border conflicts, which almost escalated into war.
And the Land of Water also saw continuous uprisings due to the skyrocketing prices of daily necessities.
Finally, the Land of Wind, after emptying its family coffers, found its survival resources completely monopolized by the Land of Fire, completely reduced to a puppet state.
Meanwhile, the higher-ups of the various nations were busy fighting for power and profit, completely failing to notice these changes happening quietly.
The entire Ninja World was gradually sliding into chaos.
That night, Sakura stood on the roof of her house, spreading her arms and bathing in the violent storm blowing from the horizon.
"Are you ready, partners?"
"Of~ course~"
[~]
"Then, set sail!"
[Notice, achievement points have been deducted. Traversal function activated!]
[Current achievement point balance: 1500]
"Hey, why did it get more..."
A dazzling rainbow light descended, cutting off the girl's question mid-sentence, and swallowing her figure along with it into the storm.