After the meeting ended, Fugaku Uchiha returned to the Hokage's office.
There, on his desk, sat an exquisitely crafted wooden box.
Opening it, he found a flame-shaped ornament made entirely of pure gold.
In this world, gold was an extremely precious metal. To craft such a large piece entirely from gold would have cost an extraordinary sum.
"Who sent this? ""Fugaku?" asked the ANBU operative standing guard at the door.
"Hokage-sama, this is a congratulatory gift from Sunagakure, in celebration of your ascension as the Fifth Hokage," the ANBU replied.
"A gift from the Hidden Sand, hm? "Fugaku's lips curled into a wry smile.
Though Sunagakure had publicly responded to Konoha's calls with enthusiasm in recent years—acting obedient and deferential—Fugaku was under no illusions about their true intentions.
After all, in the original timeline, Sunagakure had conspired with Orochimaru to launch a surprise attack on Konoha during the Chūnin Exams.
Clearly, the Hidden Sand's apparent goodwill was just a façade. Deep down, they still harbored resentment.
Their years of deference had merely been an elaborate act meant to lull Konoha into complacency.
"They hide it well…"Fugaku gave a cold chuckle.
The Third Hokage had clearly been deceived, relaxing Konoha's guard against Sunagakure.
Had Fugaku not already known of the Sand's true ambitions, he too might have been taken in by such an extravagant gift.
"We'll need to increase our vigilance toward Sunagakure."
Though the Third Hokage was now dead and the original Sand–Orochimaru invasion plan was likely void, the Hidden Sand's ambitions remained unchanged. If ever given the opportunity, they would surely strike.
Konoha needed to strengthen its defenses along the Wind Country border to ensure it would not be caught off guard by a sudden attack from the Sand.
Knock. Knock. Knock.A firm rapping came at the door.
"Come in," Fugaku said.
An ANBU operative wearing a mask stepped inside and handed him a letter.
"Hokage-sama, this is a message from the Hidden Stone Village."
"From Iwagakure? "Fugaku raised an eyebrow in surprise as he accepted the envelope.
Relations between Konoha and Iwagakure had hit rock bottom ever since the Stone's failed attempt to capture Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
That Iwagakure would now send a message at all was unexpected.
Once the ANBU left, Fugaku unfolded the letter and read its contents.
"Even the Third Hokage refused this—what makes them think I'll agree? "He gave a cold laugh, crumpled the letter in one hand, and tossed it into the trash.
The letter contained a half-hearted congratulation on his appointment as Fifth Hokage, followed by a request to ransom back the more than twenty genin from Iwagakure who had been captured.
Fugaku had no intention of agreeing.
If prisoners could be bought back with money, how could Iwagakure ever be made to truly learn its lesson?
As for offending the Hidden Stone—he couldn't care less.
Relations were already hostile after their attempt to steal the Nine-Tails. There was nothing left to preserve.
Meanwhile, in Iwagakure…
"Tch… they dare show such disrespect! "
Having received Konoha's reply, the Third Tsuchikage quickly tore open the letter and read it.
Moments later, his face darkened.
In it, the Fifth Hokage, Fugaku Uchiha, had flatly rejected their request to ransom back the genin who had participated in the Chūnin Exams.
The Tsuchikage was furious. The Third Hokage had refused them, and now this new Hokage did the same.
"He rejected the ransom request? "Beside the Tsuchikage stood his son, Kurotsuchi's father, the bearded Onoki's heir, Kitsuchi (Yellow Earth).
Seeing his father's expression, he immediately guessed what had happened.
"Yes," the Tsuchikage said grimly.
"Because those genin are still detained, morale in the village is poor. If we can't get them back, it will threaten internal stability," Kitsuchi said, frowning.
"Father, I recommend we dispatch an elite unit to rescue them."
"There are too many. Bringing them out safely would be extremely difficult," the Tsuchikage replied with a shake of his head.
More than twenty genin were being held. Most were weak. Even if an elite squad managed to break them out, they would still have to escape Konoha's inevitable pursuit.
These genin were slow and unable to mask their chakra. They would only be a burden.
"Then what are we supposed to do? "Kitsuchi's frown deepened.
The Tsuchikage fell silent for a moment, thinking. Then his eyes narrowed with resolve.
"At this point, the only way is to exchange hostages."
"But we don't have any suitable hostages," Kitsuchi said, puzzled.
"Then we simply capture some."The Tsuchikage's lips twisted into a cold smile.
Rather than send a squad into Konoha itself to rescue their detained genin—an incredibly risky mission—it would be far simpler to infiltrate the Land of Fire, capture Konoha shinobi, and bring them back to Iwagakure as bargaining chips.
"I understand. I'll organize a squad right away," Kitsuchi said with a nod, turning to leave and make preparations.
"Wait."
The Tsuchikage's voice stopped him.
Kitsuchi turned back. "Yes, Father? "
"To avoid another disaster like the failed Nine-Tails incident, this mission must not fail. We'll need a kage-level combatant in the team."
"Isn't that a bit excessive? " Kitsuchi asked, surprised.
"Better safe than sorry. This time, we cannot afford any mistakes. Having a kage-level shinobi with them will ensure success."
"Between Rōshi and Han, who is currently available? "
Rōshi and Han were the Jinchūriki of the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, respectively. Unlike Naruto Uzumaki—still a child unable to fully control his beast—both were adults in their prime, fully capable of using their tailed-beast powers to fight at kage-class levels.
"Rōshi is still on assignment. Han is currently free," Kitsuchi recalled.
"Then Han will lead the mission."
The Tsuchikage made the decision without hesitation.
"Understood," Kitsuchi replied. He turned and left the office to assemble the squad.
A few hours later, a team of over a dozen Iwa shinobi quietly departed the Hidden Stone Village, heading toward the Land of Fire.
Among them was Han, the Five-Tails Jinchūriki, whose presence guaranteed the squad possessed kage-level strength.
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