As the Raikage expected, his conditions were met. Truthfully, Onoki was somewhat desperate, scared of the power Katsuro had shown. He needed this meeting, because without it he foresaw Iwa's annihilation. He was not ignorant to the fact that the Konoha they had faced previously was at less than full strength.
But if things did go wrong, even if Kumo had their whole army, the Raikage's weakness meant Onoki was confident that at the very least they could escape.
The two parties met just outside the Kumogakure camp, 2 guards stood behind their receptive seated leader while the groups stood even further behind. Some Kumo shinobi were showing activity some distance away, likely ensuring that there was no hidden force of Iwa shinobi. They couldn't trust each other after all.
Also, the Shinobi of both forces, true to their Shinobi nature, were unconsciously doing their best to listen into the conversation between the Raikage and Tsuchikage, hoping to find out the direction the meeting was headed in.
By now, both the Kumo and Iwa Shinobi had heard rumours of a proposed meeting and alliance, and they were anxious to hear the result of the meeting - this was especially due to the fact that there was bad blood between the two villages. Actually, that was an understatement.
Iwa's third-party attack on Kumo during the middle of the last battle left much of the Kumo Shinobi enraged beyond belief at what they believed was a dishonourable, cowardly tactic for a Shinobi to use, whereas the Iwa Shinobi believed that it was very much in line with a Shinobi's duties, almost reflecting the natures of their respective leaders, and their attitudes towards their Shinobi responsibilities.
However, even to these Shinobi, who barely had any information on the meeting, it was obvious why an alliance had been proposed.
Senju Katsuro.
They, especially the Iwa survivors, were fully aware by now of the Senju Patriarch's unparalleled strength. They'd heard he was a prodigy and Wood Style user like the First Hokage, a genius Jutsu creator like the Second, and a master of all Chakra Natures, like the Third. A man who had taken all the best qualities from the Kage before him, and apparently none of their flaws, was a man that they could put aside their differences with each other (temporarily) to face. And it wasn't as if he was the only threat either - the Legendary Sannin, the White Fang, the Third Hokage, Wicked Eye Fugaku, and the latest threat, albeit the youngest and most inexperienced, was probably the strongest of all those named before him - Namikaze Minato.
And it wasn't as if Konoha only had those individual ninja to fear. No - the clans within that village - the Inuzuka, the Sarutobi, the Kurama, the Aburame, the Hyuga, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the Senju and Uzumaki, the Uchiha - those people were just different.
Yes indeed, Iwa and Kumo desperately needed an alliance. And that's why the onlooking Shinobi were so anxious.
And finally, after what felt like a long, long conversation, the Tsuchikage finally said something, and extended his hand. The Raikage seemed to ponder for a short while, before reluctantly reaching out and shaking the Fence Sitter's hand.
"Very well, Onoki. You will have your alliance - an alliance never seen before."
The Tsuchikage smiled grimly.
"Excellent. This alliance will truly be a marvel of this Shinobi world, Raikage. Even the alliance against Uzushiogakure will pale in comparison to this."
The Raikage nodded.
"However, I need more information - specifically about the Stormbreaker himself. You said he used Wood Style. Was he comparable to the First Hokage?"
"Yes and no. The First Hokage was better than him, yes - but who knows for how long? With the way he's progressing it's hard to tell, and it's not like he was bad with it - no, he was certainly a master of it. Even still, he did run out of chakra eventually though - I suppose that's a good sign."
"You said before it was strong enough to hold back and seriously damage your army. How long did he maintain it for?"
"Hmm… I'd say for about 15 minutes, give or take. Why do you ask?"
The Raikage's face darkened.
"Even after using so many S Rank Jutsu against me, he still managed to do all of that?" he muttered.
Onoki's face mirrored the Raikage's.
"What do you mean?"
"He was more or less using Flying Raijin and that Chakra Mode - the one with green mist and lightning - the entire time. Actually, he used even more high rank Jutsus during the fight too, especially with that blue ball of chakra that requires no hand seals, even that Minato Namikaze used that too."
Onoki inhaled sharply.
"Flying Raijin is an S Class Jutsu. And that Chakra Mode - he used it against me too - it's an S Rank Jutsu too. He managed to use two of them at the same time, for that long, and also used multiple A or S Rank Jutsus on top of that two? And even after all that, he held off and decimated my entire force? If he was fresh during that battle…"
The Raikage's jaw clenched.
"I can call for reinforcements. I have-"
"No, Raikage - if we call for reinforcements, we'll lose any advantage we have. Currently, some of our Shinobi are engaged with the Third Hokage's force, and it looks like they're losing. If they were to join us here, the Third Hokage would come too. If your reinforcements came, he would finish the job even quicker - he would get here quicker. You want reinforcements because you believe your son and his partner are strong, correct? And you want more numbers?"
The Raikage nodded, but he was listening intently.
"Well, let me ask you this. Do you believe that your son and the 8 tails Jinchuuriki , and a small numbers advantage, will be able to outmatch the Third Hokage, The Toad Sage Jiraiya of the Sannin, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio of their clan leaders, and the rest of their force?"
The Raikage was silent.
"Even if they somehow can, Konoha's forces will get here before them, and if they attack, we'll be finished. Also, you should consider the likely possibility that if we delay, the White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, and the Slug Princess Sannin, Tsunade, will finally crush Suna, and make it to the Stormbreaker before they make it to us."
"Fine, I get it!" the Raikage growled. "No reinforcements." Even if he said this, he was tempted to call on a young girl with the 2 tails inside her. With just a few shinobi, they could likely make it here in time. But he shook his head at the thought, she was far too young to be of any real use, it would not be worth potentially losing a tailed beast over.
A tense silence overcame the meeting room, but Onoki was quick to break it.
"You're still far from fully healed."
"I'll be perfectly fine." the Raikage snapped.
"We need to be battle ready as soon as possible. I'll send you my best doctors and medical ninja."
Onoki got up from his chair, motioning to his guards to follow him out of the tent.
As he left back to his village, he spoke to the Raikage again.
"I'll contact you via messenger, Raikage. Heal well."
Onoki turned around, staring straight at the Raikage from far away.
"The next time we see each other, Senju Katsuro will die."
Meanwhile, at the Suna front, a crushing victory had been recently achieved by Konoha. Particularly, Tsunade and Sakumo had played major roles in swiftly leading the Leaf to their success, by taking Ebizo and the One Tails out of the war without costing much for the Leaf, leading to rapid collapse in the Sand's attack.
At the cost of their arrogance and pride, the remaining two Sand leaders, Chiyo and Rasa, were forced into submission, and the majority of the Leaf forces, along with Princess of the Senju and the White Fang, were set to back up Katsuro and the Leaf shinobi at the Kumo front.
And at the Iwa front, just a few days later Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Fugaku and the Uchiha made quick work of the remaining Stone shinobi, forcing those remaining to scatter in small groups that would pose no threat. Following their plan, they were able to set towards the Kumo front as well.
The war was slowly coming to an end, but the second climax was approaching. The majority of the war had been won by Konoha, and overwhelmingly so, seen at the Suna and Iwa fronts. However, their greatest battle of the war was yet to come, and regardless of the fact that the Leaf had won on the rest of their fronts, the next battle would determine if they would become victors once more of another Great Shinobi War.
Now that both the Konoha forces from the Suna and Iwa fronts were able to advance to provide reinforcements to their allies on the Kumo-Iwa front, it was more than likely that Konoha would be the victor of this war, putting them once again, at the top of the Shinobi world. However, it would take at least a few days for them to reach the Kumo-Iwa front. Furthermore, the shinobi at the front were relying on Katsuro to be able to hold off a large portion of the attack from either of their opposition, in case they didn't get reinforcements in time. But despite this seeming inevitability, the allied force of Kumo and Iwa were much more keen to use this opportunity to remove a threat that would mean Konoha would win all future wars. They were more than happy to lose this one, if it meant they could kill Senju Katsuro.
There has been no movement from either side at the Kumo-Iwa front, creating a sense of ambiguity. Neither side could tell when the other would advance, but it was obvious the allied force must attack before Konoha's reinforcements would get there, so the decisive battle was nearly upon them. The question was, when?
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