[Land of Iron, Hall of neutral concord]
The howling winds of the northern tundra clawed at the stone fortress where the six Kage sat still.
Frost etched the edges of the hexagonal table, a relic from the First Summit a century prior.
The air, malice kept under wraps before, was no longer hidden.
Four against two.
Defeated hidden village leaders from the previous war who compromised in the past and struggled to recover their forces had shifted their position from conceding forces to greedy wolves eyeing a prey.
The Third Kazekage looked at Danzo with a worried air. Even if they were injured wolves, they remained wolves nonetheless.
Iwagakure still possessed an army far surpassing any of the other villages, with forces estimated at 15000. Konoha still possessed a pool of talents, unmatched in the continent. Kirigakure still possessed artefacts of old, even if one was missing. Kumogakure still possessed the strongest vanguard in the continent, with the third Raikage being a legendary swordsman.
Four against two, they would not last long, even if their joint collaboration had raised their strength and economy beyond the standards of other hidden village.
It was not a kage who broke the heavy silence, but a samurai.
The samurai's blade hissed as it cleaved the air, its edge halting a hair's breadth from Onoki's throat, whose arms were threatening to use the powerful dust realease. Mifune's grandfather, commander of the Iron Guardians, stood rigid, his glare a blizzard.
"This is neutral ground," he growled, "Draw blood here, and the Land of Iron will expel your villages from all future accords. Permanently."
Silence pooled like spilled mercury.
The Third Kazekage was not stupid. He might be bored, but his interest aligned with Suna quite perfectly. He had been the one to set in place the advancements in poison research, which increased the effectiveness and lethality of the Puppet Brigade by several fold. He was the one to strike the alliance with Oto and raise the economy of a whole country from nothing to a blissful and wealthy land.
Striking an alliance with a growing power that made enemies left and right would be irresponsible if the four villages allied against them. However, he also knew that an alliance was impossible.
Sakomo Hatake's eyes clashed with the Mizukage, who seemed to bear a grudge against the White Fang who had reduced their efforts in the Second Shinobi World War. Konohagakure had not forgotten how Kumo and Iwa had allied against them either.
In other words, such an alliance was impossible from the start.
Danzo knew it, and this is why he was so brazen with his actions. He had never crossed the imaginary line he was being accused with, and had been secretive enough to make it look like a retaliation against Takigakure who indeed pressured Oto through the glass market and the assassination orders on Rice country nobles. Everyone knew it. Documents were official, and missives containing the proofs had been sent to each village prior to the summit.
As much as the other hidden villages hated to see Oto grow at such a fast speed, there was nothing to say about Takigakure's fall.
All kage present knew it.
As such, the Third Kazekage confronted them with a cold drop of sweat dripping on his forehead. Even if he was sure that the four hidden villages would not ally against Oto and Suna, the mere thought that this was not a certainty, even if it was abysmal, was horrifying: "Are you saying that you are considering breaking the treaty and unleash the third Shinobi World War after we finally saw some peace?"
Everyone but the kage gasped.
Surprisingly, it was Onoki who was first to speak: "Otogakure has grown onto the graves of our children. I demand compensation. The Fuma clan defected, and became yours at the price of our land"
"Mere jealousy", Danzo retaliated
"I SAY GO TO WAR", the third Raikage spoke, to which the Samurai from the land of Iron gasped, clenching their fists. The idea of the fragile peace that had been established was seemingly going to be broken.
Harumi, who had never talked until now in a Kage summit, revealed her aura. As the second jinchuriki, her being at kage-level was no secret. However, her aura was not just dense like regular jinchuriki. It was lethal, like death itself.
"Calm down, Harumi", Danzo ordered, to which she complied.
Her rage, however, did not stop, her bloodlust clearly uncontrolled.
Danzo continued: "So...Kumo is ready to go to war. We will not stop at the frontier. We will start by destroying the supply routes, then plunder the villages, mark your civilians with seals and use the territory to get more lands. While your shinobi focused on domestic affairs, like escorts and skirmishes, my shinobi fought real wars. You are all witnesses. Kumogakure declared war on Otogakure, thereby breaking the peace treaty decided by the six major hidden villages. As of today, Kumogakure is not to be considered a major hidden village. Does anyone choose to follow Kumo towards the path of destruction?"
Onoki, still shaken by Harumi's exceeding bloodlust, stayed silent, to which A stared in disgust.
Hiruzen, ever the indecisive man, shook his head and remained silent. He was opposed to war, as always, and would rather suffer than fight it like a true leader. Declaring war was never an option for Konohagakure under the Hiruzen's leadership.
The Mizukage, seeing Kumogakure declare war and ending up alone, smirked. Although he would love seeing Kumogakure destroyed, he was more concerned about the Otokage gaining more power and more land. As such, he offered the Raikage a way out: "I am sure the Raikage did not mean it literally. We did not gather here today to discuss war. We are all bound by a peace treaty, and even if the Raikage wanted to, he would have to face the other five hidden villages"
"A hefty price, I must add", Hiruzen supported the Sandaime Mizukage
The Third Raikage nodded resolutely, still shaken by Danzo's confidence
The Sandaime Kazekage smiled: "So this settles it all. Now that the small talk has ended, we can focus on what truly matters. The peace treaty is going to end soon, and Suna proposes to extend it by another ten years. Today's matters were a testimony to the strength of the treaty. Even in tense territory, the threat of facing more than one enemy dissuade the sheer idea of war. All villages benefit from peace. Why not extend it to let our children grow in peace?"
Hiruzen smiled.
A world in peace...Perhaps the key to world peace was not strength, but balanced powers dissuading each other.
"Agreed", Onoki spoke
"Agreed", the third Mizukage said
"Agreed", Danzo hissed
"Agreed", Hiruzen muttered
Lastly, the Raikage shouted: "AGREED"
The Samurai commander smiled, and said loudly: "So this settles it then. Envoys shall speak to each other regarding trade routes and potential exchange of high-level jutsu. Borders will follow domestic policies as per the Daimyo's rules. If a hidden village decides to attack another one without justification, then the other villages will be constrained to ally and suppres the threat at all costs, through economic and military means, as per Otogakure's suggestion in the Sound Peace Scroll"
Danzo stood up, and left first.
The Third Kazekage followed suit, leaving the remaining Kage to their thoughts.
Kumogakure aimed at starting a new war, for they bred stability with military need, and were forced to agree to an extension of 10 years on the peace treaty.
Iwagakure aimed at demanding compensations from Otogakure's attack on Takigakure, yet failed.
Konohagakure aimed at reducing compensations owed to the other villages, as the financial strained their economy, and ended up with nothing.
Kirigakure aimed at sizing its enemy, and discovered a new threat in Oto, the Otokage's wife.
At the end of the day, every kage felt it.
Otogakure and Sunagakure had won again. When peace prevailed, it was their alliance that benefitted the most, one providing sand, the other selling glass throughout the continent, sharing research and experimenting on death row prisoners, expanding jutsu.