Kuro tilted his head back, squinting at the towering "World Tree" as he scratched absently at his temple. With the Tsuchikage out of commission, handling the Hidden Stone Village wouldn't be as straightforward as the way he had dealt with the Hidden Cloud.
"My Lord," Niji bowed, "why not simply appoint a new Tsuchikage from among the remaining Stone shinobi?"
Kuro's eyes lit up. 'Why didn't I think of that?' he wondered. 'I must've been so lazy lately that my brain cells started dying.'
"That's it!" he declared, snapping his fingers. "We'll just pick the strongest, loudest, most stubborn shinobi we can find. That's practically the qualifications for a Tsuchikage anyway."
Niji hesitated. "My Lord… strength and stubbornness alone may not be the wisest criteria."
Kuro waved a dismissive hand. "Details. What the Hidden Stone needs right now is stability. The strong and stubborn types tend to be simple-minded. That makes them predictable." He smirked faintly. "And predictable people are easy to steer."
With that, Kuro made his way toward the still trembling Stone shinobi. His gaze swept over them slowly. Most avoided eye contact. A few tried too hard to look unshaken.
Among them, he spotted the perfect candidate with broad shoulders and a solid stance. His muscles were bulging like those from Baki as he stared ahead with a faintly absentminded look.
Kuro's lips curled upward. 'Strong… and not particularly quick behind the eyes,' he noted with satisfaction.
Kuro pointed at the man. "You there, get up here."
The man blinked, glancing over his shoulder as if to confirm that there wasn't someone standing behind him.
"Yes, you," Kuro said, curling his finger impatiently. "Get up here."
A ripple of unease spread through the surrounding Stone shinobi as the chosen man stiffened, swallowed hard, and stepped out from the group.
The man's heavy footsteps thudded against the stone as he approached. Up close, he looked even larger.
He stopped several paces away and bowed stiffly. "Y-Yes, sir."
Kuro studied him from head to toe, circling once like a merchant inspecting livestock. The man remained rigid, though a bead of sweat traced slowly down his temple.
"What's your name?" Kuro asked casually.
"Gansui, sir."
"Rank?"
"Jōnin."
Kuro nodded approvingly. "Good. Strong foundation. Solid build. You look like the sort who punches first and thinks about it… later."
Kuro clasped his hands behind his back. "Tell me, Gansui. If two villages glare at each other across a border, what's the first thing you do?"
Gansui hesitated. His brow furrowed so intensely it looked like he was trying to wrestle an answer into existence physically.
"Strike first," he said at last.
Kuro's smile widened. "No talk of diplomacy?" he prompted.
Gansui shifted awkwardly. "If they're glaring, they're already thinking about fighting."
Kuro's eyes gleamed. 'This Gansui is so perfect. He is so predictable and direct.'
Kuro stepped closer, lowering his voice just enough to make everyone strain to hear. "How would you feel… about becoming the next Tsuchikage?"
Gansui's jaw dropped slightly. The color drained from his face. Behind him, several shinobi stiffened in disbelief.
"M-Me?" he croaked.
Kuro gave a lazy nod. "You. Congratulations."
"B-but… what about the elders?" Gansui stammered. "And… you're our enemy."
"The elders?" he repeated mildly. "Well. Would the dead be able to object?" He shrugged. "They can't! As for the people, they would adapt and overcome."
"As for me being your enemy…" Kuro's smile never faded. "Am I?"
The surrounding Stone shinobi trembled, eyes fixed on the demon before them.
"Your Tsuchikage is 'dead'. Your forces are nonexistent. I could have crushed what remains of your leadership and installed a puppet by force." He gestured lazily toward Gansui. "Instead, I'm offering you an option. A tsuchikage from among your own. A Strong and decisive one at it too."
He stepped closer, stopping just within Gansui's personal space.
"You like decisive action, don't you?"
Gansui swallowed. "…Yes."
"Good. Then decide. Will you let your village disappear? Or will you stand up and take the mantle?"
Gansui's fists clenched at his sides. His breathing steadied.
"If… if I accept," he said slowly, "the Hidden Stone will survive?"
"Of course." Kuro's smile deepened. "Now go. Go back to your village and report what happened. I am sure the people would be grateful they are not dead."
With that, Kuro let the remaining Hidden Stone shinobi leave, Gansui at their head.
Unbeknownst to them, several shadow warriors slipped silently into their shadows.
Looking at the disappearing back of the downcast Stone shinobi, Kuro let out a sigh.
"Ahh! Finally over!" he exclaimed, tossing his hands into the air.
Turning around, he saw Niji, but Yonshi was nowhere in sight.
"Where did Yonshi go?" He asked.
Niji bowed. "Yonshi said he felt something from the Tsuchikage tree and made his way over there."
"Well, I suppose I should see what he's up to," Kuro said as he made his way toward the towering tree.
After a while, Kuro saw Yonshi grabbing some soil and analyzing it.
"What up?" Kuro said.
"Ah! My Lord!" Yonshi jumped to his feet and snapped a crisp salute. "I was just testing the soil. I sensed that the earth around the Tsuchikage tree is changing. It feels as if the surrounding chakras are being drawn into the tree, enriching the soil."
Kuro raised an eyebrow, closing his eyes to feel the flow of chakra in the area. The subtle currents confirmed Yonshi's observation.
"In such a short time?" he murmured, intrigued.
Looking at the slowly changing condition of the soils, he felt that the Hidden Stone Village would no longer be called the Hidden Stone in a few years from now.
…
Meanwhile, the Third Raikage, A, arrived back at the Hidden Cloud Village.
The moment he arrived, he summoned the elders for an urgent meeting.
One by one, the elders filed into the chamber, bowing politely, but something was… off. Their movements were too precise, their expressions oddly flat, and their eyes had a distant glaze, as if their thoughts were no longer their own.
A's sharp gaze swept over them. 'So it's true,' he thought, 'the elders are being controlled and manipulated. But who could be powerful enough to do this?'
A frown creased his forehead as he considered the implications.
Just as he was about to start the meeting once all the elders arrived, shadow soldiers appeared behind each of the elders.
Before anyone could reach, blades were drawn, and the heads of the elders flew in the air.
A also couldn't save any of them as he was still tired from his fight with Kuro and the travel back.
Once the shadow soldiers confirmed that all the elders were dead, they turned toward A and bowed before disappearing back into the shadows.