There is a world of difference between a voluntary surrender and the unconditional surrender forced upon an enemy after you've kicked down their front door. In the former, you must seriously consider the opponent's terms; in the latter, you need only leave them a slim hope of survival while weakening them to your heart's content.
The distinction was so glaring that it prompted even the increasingly conservative Third Hokage to ask Nara Shikato with a spark of hope: "Is there any way we can organize an elite squad to break through the Rock's seven mountain passes and crush Iwagakure once and for all?"
Nara Shikato shook his head with certainty. He had already considered this and consulted every top-tier Jonin—most notably the man who had provided so many "surprises," Aburame Tetsumaru.
Knowing that the Wind Giant Insect could not be summoned for the time being and that the Mushroom Bugs (or Daikokuten Bugs) were temporarily out of stock, Shikato had no tactical solution for breaking through those natural fortresses.
In truth, such a solution had never existed. It was only the sight of those two massive "mushrooms" that had given Hiruzen ideas. If they had ten or eight more of those bugs—one for each pass and one or two for the Hidden Rock Village itself—then resolving the Iwa problem permanently would be well within reach.
The problem was that Tetsumaru wouldn't do it. Firstly, his production capacity genuinely couldn't keep up. Secondly, doing so would be crossing a line. He had revealed the Mushroom Bug to establish a deterrent, not to become the Public Enemy of the Shinobi World.
From his past life, Tetsumaru knew that while science was a matter of objective facts and boundaries, social affairs were a matter of "degree."
If he released one Mushroom Bug and wiped out several thousand Rock ninja, everyone would be shocked and mystified. They would do everything in their power to figure out what happened and witness it for themselves.
If he released a second Mushroom Bug and crippled a Jinchuriki, everyone would realize exactly how dangerous he was. They would try their best to avoid provoking him, appease him, and even Konoha would go out of its way to keep him off the front lines. He would simply serve as the village's ultimate deterrent.
This was the ideal outcome. At this point, one should stop, keep a low profile, and absolutely go no further.
If he lacked a sense of proportion and continued to drop them one by one, nuking his way to the Hidden Rock Village until he uprooted them entirely, the Cloud and Sand wouldn't just surrender. Instead, they would immediately "flip the table," initiate total mobilization, squeeze out every last drop of combat potential, and declare war on Konoha as a united front. If death was inevitable, they were shinobi; they would choose to die in battle.
Furthermore, upon declaring war, they would claim that if Konoha simply "removed" the sinner threatening the existence of the Shinobi World, they would surrender unconditionally.
If things reached that point, Tetsumaru would have no choice but to "sacrifice" himself for Konoha. After all, he wasn't yet powerful enough to blow up Konoha along with the rest of the world.
Therefore, the Mushroom Bugs were officially "gone." Until the Tsuchikage surrendered, there wouldn't be another one.
Unwilling to give up, the Hokage convened a Grand Jonin Council. He summoned every Jonin in the field, including those who had arrived from other fronts. A total of two hundred and eighty-two Jonin gathered under one roof. Even the blond Minato Namikaze attended at Jiraiya's side. Ultimately, however, no feasible plan to completely topple the Rock was produced.
Disappointed, the Hokage had no choice but to dispatch a three-man Jonin envoy team to Iwagakure to deliver the formal demand for surrender.
The document boasted of Konoha's might and threatened that a refusal would lead to a total blockade of the Hidden Rock Village, cutting off all supplies until they starved to death. Finally, it stated: "Out of consideration for the civilians of the Land of Earth, Konoha shall refrain from using the Daikokuten Bug again. It is our hope that the Tsuchikage appreciates the Hokage's painstaking benevolence and acts with discretion..." and so on. The threat was as clear as day.
"Then we can only wait for Onoki to decide when to surrender," the Hokage sighed finally. "Dismissed. Everyone, dismissed."
Four days after the Grand Jonin Council, the Tsuchikage arrived at the Tannoura Valley camp, accompanied by two bodyguards and the three Konoha envoys.
The leader of the envoys, a Jonin of the Gekko clan, entered the camp first to report to the Hokage and the high command. He explained that while Iwagakure agreed to surrender, the terms had to be negotiated. They argued that since Konoha couldn't wipe out the Rock in one fell swoop, they couldn't simply impose unreasonable demands.
However, Onoki's willingness to come in person was a clear sign of the Rock's commitment to the surrender.
Orochimaru let out a cold, thin laugh. "Putting on airs even at this stage. He bows his head in defeat, yet his mouth still spits hard words."
Danzo Shimura was equally displeased. "We should give the Rock a lesson. Let them know that Konoha's mercy and patience are not infinite."
Orochimaru shot him a look of annoyance. What's the point of barking like that? If we could actually give the Rock a 'harsh lesson,' would Konoha have retreated to this valley?
If further offensive action were viable, the Hokage would have ordered Orochimaru to keep pushing. The reality was that any further advance would result in an abysmal casualty ratio, potentially turning a winning hand into a losing one.
Yet, as Orochimaru scanned the surrounding Jonin, he was surprised to see quite a few of them nodding in agreement with Danzo.
I didn't realize Konoha had so many fools, Orochimaru thought privately. Even if the Hokage kept up the "Will of Fire" propaganda to maintain morale, didn't these Jonin have any capacity for observation or analysis?
Non-classified intelligence wasn't hidden from Jonin. Anyone who looked could see that Konoha's strength had peaked. From here on out, it was all downhill.
His mind raced, but his speech remained composed. "Let's show off our 'family assets' a bit. Let the Tsuchikage see clearly. I suspect his attitude will change once he does."
"Great idea," Nara Shikato agreed instantly. He turned and asked Tetsumaru directly, "Aburame-san, do you have any more Daikokuten Bugs on hand?"
"..." Tetsumaru was silent for a moment before answering, "No. Not right now."
Orochimaru approached from a different angle. "Do you have anything similar? Something that looks the part? Ideally, something indistinguishable from the real thing."
Tetsumaru nodded immediately. "I have bugs like that. I even have some that are identical."
"Excellent. Go and set them out by the roadside later. Let the Tsuchikage see them—the closer, the better."
"Understood."
Nara Shikato stood up and continued, "Then we shall bring the Tsuchikage here. We'll conduct the first round of contact in front of all the Jonin. Let him see Konoha's confidence and raw power."
"Including the newly promoted ones, we have two hundred and eighty-eight Jonin here in the Land of Earth alone. Did Iwagakure even have that many at their peak?"
"Hahaha!"
The Hokage laughed as well, finalizing the decision. "Do it. Go and invite the Tsuchikage in."
Soon, Onoki was led into the Konoha camp.
Onoki's stature was... less than ideal. To maintain his dignity, he usually sat atop a boulder enchanted with the Ultra-Light Weighted Rock Jutsu. Today, he had specifically chosen an even larger rock.
As he drifted through the camp, the Tsuchikage pointed and critiqued the Konoha ninja, acting as if he didn't care for the grand army at all.
Seeing a squad of ninja in formation, he remarked, "Their discipline is lacking. Even the graduates of our academy march straighter than this."
A crowd of Konoha ninja glared at him.
Seeing ninja practicing jutsu, he commented, "Tsk, no good. Not enough power in the impact."
The ninjas' veins bulged with frustration.
Seeing Uchiha ninja practicing shurikenjutsu, he said, "These flashy acrobatics look nice, I suppose."
A group of Uchiha nearly exploded with rage.
Seeing a group of ninja practicing Earth Style, he said... well, he said nothing. He just burst into a fit of laughter, laughing until tears came to his eyes, waving them off as he floated past.
The Earth Style specialists were left fuming.
As they neared the center of the camp, a massive crowd of ninja had formed a great circle, blocking the path.
The Tsuchikage let out a dry, mocking laugh. "The quality of Konoha ninja is truly worrying. To be loitering and shouting like this... I truly wonder how we lost the battle."
But then, the voices from the crowd reached his ears, and Onoki's face drained of color.
"The Daikokuten Bug!"
"So this is the Daikokuten Bug? Talk about deceptive appearances."
"Why is Aburame-san putting them out for display?"
"I heard he's letting them get some sun. Some routine maintenance or something."
"I see, I see."
Tetsumaru stood in the center of the clearing, putting on a show of cleaning the fireflies and feeding them liquid nutrients. He ignored the spectating ninja entirely, only insisting that no one come within twenty meters.
Suddenly, a giant rock landed beside him. Standing atop it was Onoki. The Tsuchikage's face was grim as he counted. There were seven "Daikokuten Bugs" here.
His first reaction was: Impossible.
Then he thought: What if it's true? After all, two have already exploded.
Onoki's expression flickered between doubt and dread. He could no longer maintain his arrogant, superior posture.
He let out a snort. "Hmph. They must be fakes. You're using fake bugs to fool me."
Hearing this, Tetsumaru stood up. He loomed over the Tsuchikage on his rock, stared in silence for three seconds, and then blurted out a single phrase:
"Take a guess."
Then he led his string of seven bugs away, never looking back. He left a fuming, humiliated Onoki shaking with rage atop his boulder.
I specifically stood on a rock this big and I still got looked down upon! How can he be so tall? Why is he so damn tall?!
He's going to be the death of me!
The Tsuchikage immediately levitated his rock to a height of one meter. Combined with the rock's own thickness of 1.2 meters, he ensured that even while sitting, he wouldn't be "looked down upon" again.
For the rest of the way, he offered no further critiques. He followed the Konoha Jonin in silence until they reached the massive command tent at the center of the camp.
When Onoki stepped inside, his expression changed for the second time.
In the center sat the Third Hokage—a short man in his forties. Beside him were Danzo Shimura, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and a host of other Kage-level and elite Jonin.
But the outer ring was packed with ninja wearing Jonin flak jackets. Each one had a steady, heavy presence and a chilling aura of killing intent—genuine, veteran Jonin who had bathed in blood. A quick glance suggested there were nearly three hundred of them.
Three hundred Jonin. And that was just the ones here. The vital departments in Konoha couldn't be empty; the capital of the Land of Fire needed a garrison; and there had to be commanders on the other fronts.
If you added them all up, Konoha might have four hundred Jonin. The number was staggering.
Onoki's mood plummeted. He felt a wave of genuine despair. Iwagakure currently had barely over a hundred Jonin, and their only remaining Kage-level fighter—besides himself—was the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Roshi.
They truly couldn't fight anymore.
Although the Tsuchikage kept his face neutral, such a massive emotional shift couldn't be hidden from the Hokage or the top-tier ninja, let alone the Jonin of the Yamanaka clan.
Several of them exchanged looks. Their hearts were settled; they were now filled with confidence for the negotiations.
Then came the time for secret high-level negotiations. The mass of Jonin who had served as the "deterrent background" were dismissed to attend to their own duties.
But not long after, an ANBU ninja burst into the meeting room, interrupting the proceedings.
The Hokage suppressed his annoyance to hear the report and was instantly stunned.
The Kazekage and the Raikage, along with their respective guard platoons, had arrived at the camp simultaneously. Furthermore, they stated they were here for peace negotiations as well. They insisted on being part of the talks; otherwise, there would be no deal at all.
Their intent wasn't to fight Konoha. Instead, they were "stalling." Neither making peace nor continuing the war—just letting things rot.
As long as the war didn't officially end, the Hidden Villages couldn't resume normal mission operations. They would have to rely on their Daimyos for military funding. For a Konoha that had already been at war for nine years, this was an unbearable burden.
After nine years of conflict, every clan and every ninja—the ones who hadn't died, at least—had made a fortune. But the Hidden Village itself was deep in the red, drowning in debt. Times were tough.
Faced with this shameless threat, the Hokage had no choice but to let the ANBU lead them in. After settling the guard platoons, the two Kage were invited into the room.
They would talk together.
Upon hearing this news, Onoki actually burst out laughing. Now it was Konoha against three villages instead of just his own. The pressure on him had vanished.
The specific details of the negotiation were handled entirely by the "Konoha F4"—even Orochimaru didn't participate.
A few days later, the Tannoura Treaty was signed. The three nations formally recognized their defeat. This was the point the Hokage cared about most. The Raikage was the first to agree; he truly didn't care much for "saving face."
Then came a series of clauses regarding reparations, mission territory division, and spheres of influence. There were many regulations.
However, Tetsumaru searched the document high and low and found nothing regarding economic control. Perhaps that concept was a bit too advanced for the Shinobi World; while important, it wasn't viewed with the same life-and-death weight as it was on Earth.
But there were also no restrictions on the manufacturing of ninja tools, no limits on the number of active shinobi, and no controls on Ninja Academy enrollment or curriculum. This was a massive oversight.
Those three areas were the source of a village's combat power. Especially considering Konoha was currently "dismantling its own power," how could they not impose similar restrictions on the other three?
Shinobi World Peace? No, no, no. At best, this was a five-year armistice.
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