Hanzō gritted his teeth as he finished signing the treaty.
Only when Kotarou and the envoys exchanged a glance and the envoy gave a small nod did Kotarou finally say:
"Hanzō-dono really is a straightforward man. We'll release your people now. Please wait a moment."
He then shot a look at Tsunade. Tsunade nodded, led the troops out of the city, and went to rendezvous with Jiraiya and Orochimaru.
Roughly ten minutes later, Kotarou spoke again.
"In that case, Hanzō-dono, until we meet again."
His figure dissolved into a puff of smoke and vanished.
It had been a clone.
Afterward, the Rain ninja opened the city gate and let Salamander Hanzō in.
Seething with rage, Hanzō drew his scythe in a single motion and cut down the Rain ninja on gate duty.
"Useless trash!" he snapped.
He snorted coldly and glanced at the nervous faces of the shinobi around him. Thinking of the treaty he had just signed, he let out a weary sigh.
"Forget it. Give him a proper burial."
Then, like a man whose soul had been hollowed out, he walked back to his house and sat down.
No one dared disturb him.
He stared at the wall in his home, and tears slipped down his cheeks before he could stop them.
Humiliation.
Stark, naked humiliation.
He had already surrendered to Konoha.
This war was lost.
...
On the Konoha side.
They had already reached the border of the Land of Fire. Just as they stepped into Fire Country territory, they ran into Hiruzen and the main force, who had been on their way to the front.
Hiruzen froze for a second.
"Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya… why are you three back already? Did you lose?"
The three of them exchanged a look, then broke into matching smiles.
Tsunade stepped forward and handed the treaty to Hiruzen.
Hiruzen's eyes lit up. He sucked in a sharp breath.
"You won! You even made Salamander Hanzō sign a surrender treaty!"
…
Konoha's border.
Hiruzen looked at Tsunade with a broad smile and patted her on the shoulder.
"Tsunade, tell me how you managed to defeat Amegakure."
Tsunade glanced at Kotarou. When she saw the faint smile at the corner of his lips and his small nod, she turned back to Hiruzen.
Hiruzen noticed that tiny exchange and tilted his head to look over at Kotarou, thoughts flickering behind his eyes.
So Tsunade began explaining how events had unfolded.
The more Hiruzen listened, the more he felt that Tsunade had both strategic vision and tactical acumen, very much like himself.
In her explanation, Tsunade always used "we," never "I."
Even though Kotarou had told her beforehand to claim all the credit, she still couldn't bring herself to swallow everything alone.
Off to the side, Orochimaru and Jiraiya both let out quiet sighs.
Because of his political stance, Kotarou had clearly wanted to keep a low profile, but it seemed that plan was about to fall apart.
Hiruzen had heard the word "we" many times now.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he glanced at Kotarou, who stood off to the side with his head down and an expressionless face. A smile slowly formed at Hiruzen's lips.
"Good. Very good. Tsunade truly has both courage and wisdom, brave and resourceful. Orochimaru was calm and composed at the negotiating table. Jiraiya carried vital messages across a thousand li. You are all the pride of Konoha."
As he spoke, Hiruzen never took his eyes off Kotarou.
Kotarou, however, acted as if he hadn't noticed a thing, gaze lowered, quietly studying the pebbles at his feet.
Before long, Hiruzen led Tsunade, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and the rest of the troops back toward the village.
The war was over, and they had secured reparations.
What reason did they have to march on Amegakure now?
Ding.
[Congratulations to the host for completing the achievement "Ending the War in the Land of Rain." Evaluating… S-rank. You leveraged strategy to enter the city with ease, then signed a treaty.]
[Rewards: three-tomoe Sharingan (pending activation), jōnin-level chakra, Jiton (Magnet Release) nature transformation: Iron Sand, Jiton: Satetsu Shigure (Magnet Release: Iron Sand Drizzle).]
In the very last row of the marching column, Kotarou suddenly felt his chakra surge wildly.
His Magnet Release also underwent a subtle change, the iron sand becoming denser and sharper.
As for the Sharingan, Kotarou chose not to activate it immediately.
Every evolution of the Sharingan consumed a huge amount of mental energy and chakra, leaving the body weakened afterward.
Besides, they were on the road back to the village right now.
This was not the time to draw attention to himself.
...
South gate of the city.
The Third Kazekage stood beneath the walls with Chiyo, Ebizō, and two thousand Sand ninja at his back.
With the Kazekage's permission, Ebizō stepped out in front of the army and shouted loudly:
"Salamander Hanzō, your forces have already been defeated. I advise you to sign a treaty. Otherwise, our Sand forces will storm the city!"
Ebizō might not have been strong in actual combat, but he was extremely adept in matters of politics, which was why he had been chosen as the one to speak.
Hanzō walked up onto the south gate tower and answered,
"You're too late. Our Amegakure has already signed a surrender treaty with Konoha. We have no funds left to sign anything with you. So, everyone, I must ask you to withdraw."
Ebizō was stunned and turned to look at the Third Kazekage.
The Third Kazekage frowned.
He immediately raised his voice and questioned Hanzō.
"Are you trying to fool Sunagakure into thinking we don't understand the state of this war? Iwa and Konoha keep each other in check, and you signed a treaty with Konoha?"
Hanzō let out a cold laugh.
"Kumogakure launched a sneak attack on Iwagakure, and Onoki led his troops back to defend the village. While I was fighting you, Konoha took advantage of the opening to seize the city. What do you think?"
The Third Kazekage froze for a moment, then clenched his teeth.
His eyes blazed with fury, and for an instant he looked as though he might devour someone alive.
Damn that Konoha, always resorting to such underhanded tricks.
Chiyo's face darkened as well.
She clenched her teeth.
She had paid the price of seven of Chikamatsu's Ten Puppets to drive Salamander Hanzō back, yet in the end Konoha had plucked the fruit of her labor right off the branch.
"You truly have nothing left for reparations?"
The Third Kazekage spoke through gritted teeth. He was not willing to accept this.
Hanzō's tone was indifferent.
"If you like, I can give you the Land of Rain's account books, and you can see for yourself whether there is any silver left in the city."
The Third Kazekage's body trembled.
Ebizō hurried forward to steady him.
"Kazekage-sama, this…"
The Third Kazekage snorted.
"Withdraw. We'll return to the village first, then declare war on Konoha. We'll denounce them for stealing the fruits of another's labor and demand massive compensation!"
He knew that a small country like the Land of Rain would have had to strain every nerve just to compensate a single great power.
There was probably not a grain of surplus left inside the city now.
Which meant this entire campaign had been fought for nothing.
The thought made him cough up a mouthful of blood.
Chiyo hurried to comfort him.
"Kazekage-sama, please don't let your anger get the better of you."
The Third Kazekage waved a hand, took a deep breath, and turned to lead the troops back toward Sunagakure.
They would declare war, yes, but first the village needed time to recover.
So the column of shinobi set out for Sunagakure.
Watching their retreating backs, Salamander Hanzō couldn't help a mocking sneer.
"A bunch of useless trash. So what if you managed to beat me? In the end, it was all for nothing.
"But that kid… that kid is sharp."
...
At Konoha's village gate, Kotarou suddenly let out a huge sneeze.
"Achoo!"
The sound instantly drew the attention of Hiruzen, Danzō, and the others.
"Who the hell is talking about me behind my back?"
Kotarou rubbed his nose.
Hiruzen burst out laughing.
"That sneeze was like thunder out of a clear sky."
He then turned and looked at Kotarou.
Danzō said nothing.
Eyes closed, he walked behind Hiruzen, not sparing Kotarou so much as a glance.
Kotarou scratched his head a little awkwardly.
"Hokage-sama, I, uh, caught a bit of a chill last night."
Hiruzen nodded, stepped up in front of him, and patted him on the shoulder, straightening his collar as he did so.
"You worked hard. Take care of your health."
(End of Chapter)
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