"Your Lordship, the situation is exactly as I explained. Lord Haseo has already secured victory against Mist, and for the upcoming ceasefire negotiations, your support will be essential.
After all, such critical military and political matters must be ultimately decided by the Daimyo himself... Your Lordship?"
The news of victory reached the Land of Fire at top speed, and Kohei Sarutobi immediately reported it to the Daimyo upon receiving it.
At this moment, the Daimyo appeared extremely surprised.
"Ah... You're saying that Lord Haseo alone led only a small number of Konoha ninja and resolved our conflict with Mist, achieving total victory? Has the war on that front ended?
I was deeply worried about our previous losses on the Eastern Front, but... I never expected the good news to arrive so suddenly — it feels like a dream come true."
While the Land of Fire felt like they were dreaming — albeit a pleasant one — the Land of Water faced pure nightmare.
The Daimyo, neither a ninja nor present at the battlefield, recovered from his shock quickly, soon replaced by complaints. "If that lord truly possesses such talent, why wasn't he sent to the battlefield earlier? In that case, we wouldn't have suffered such defeats initially."
Though spoken without ill intent, the Daimyo's words made Kohei Sarutobi slightly embarrassed.
"We are currently negotiating with the Land of Water. Considering the wartime situation of the Land of Fire, we must end the war with Mist as quickly as possible, so the negotiations will take place at the Daimyo's Castle in the Land of Water...
The winning side should appear more composed, and the talks should naturally occur on our own territory. However, since ending the war takes utmost priority right now, we can only make this concession.
Lord Haseo asked me to express his sincere apologies to the Daimyo.
Furthermore, Lord Haseo hopes you'll dispatch a full-power representative from the Land of Fire to the Land of Water to handle the negotiations and sign the upcoming ceasefire agreement."
"Lord Haseo is being too modest. This does indeed require flexibility and convenient arrangements. Naturally, wherever makes negotiation easier should be chosen. Still... What does the Hokage think about this?"
"After Lord Haseo became commander of the Eastern Front, all matters concerning Mist have been placed entirely under his authority."
With the Third Hokage having no objections, the Daimyo paused a moment in thought before asking, "Considering matters of equal status and effectiveness of any agreements, do you think it's necessary for me to personally attend the negotiations in the Land of Water?"
The new Daimyo had really bad luck — barely taking office when the Great Ninja World War erupted, and immediately afterward, the Land of Fire found itself besieged from all directions, facing an extremely precarious situation. How much anxiety the Daimyo carried in his heart probably only he himself could understand.
Especially since Konoha was dealt a defeat right off the bat.
Yet looking at things now, maybe the war wasn't entirely negative. All of Konoha's victories undoubtedly counted as victories achieved under the leadership of the Daimyo. So Konoha's victory over Mist meant the Land of Fire had triumphed over the Land of Water — and that victory belonged to the Daimyo himself.
Victory meant a massive boost in personal prestige and the consolidation of ruling status—both were still quite important for the new Fire Daimyo. Surprisingly, this was one point both the former and current Fire Daimyos agreed upon.
The previous Daimyo had also conducted negotiations with the Land of Water, after which his position became incredibly solidified. That success was made possible in no small part due to Haseo's efforts.
With such a precedent, it was natural for the new Daimyo to want to follow suit… What harm would come from visiting the Land of Water? After all, Fire Country was the victor, and he himself was simply displaying a bit of "might" as the Daimyo.
For the Daimyo, the difference between going or staying behind was actually significant. If he personally went to the Land of Water, it would be like taking personal charge of the negotiations between the two countries, making this victory carry even more of a personal touch… Actually, doing so was somewhat "stealing the show." There was still a distinction between Konoha and the Daimyo, but naturally, the ninja village didn't mind giving the Daimyo a bit more shine.
"Well… it's certainly acceptable, Lord Daimyo," the advisor replied. "However, if you are going to the Land of Water, we hope you'll take into account the potential dangers. Though Lord Haseo will serve as your protection and ensure Your Lordship's safety, theoretically dangerous situations may still exist. That place is an enemy country after all, and we just finished a terribly bloody conflict with them."
"Compared to the dangers experienced during your war, any risk here is now negligible… I am capable of enduring this level of danger. Or perhaps I should say, I have no choice but to endure at most this level of risk."
Though the Daimyo lacked the courage compared to the ninjas, expressing his thoughts directly could actually gain him more favor instead.
At least it showed honesty without pretense, avoiding hypocrisy.
The Daimyo's wish to go to the Land of Water and reap some benefits only presented one real issue—the need for Haseo to personally protect him, which felt inconvenient. Other than that, there weren't any serious problems. Therefore, once the Daimyo conveyed his wish to Haseo, the latter considered it briefly before agreeing… Politically and legally speaking, the Daimyo indeed was the most suitable person to declare the final outcome of the war.
Soon afterward, under the protection of Konoha ninjas, the Fire Daimyo made a grand entrance into the Land of Water for the talks… For the ruler of a victorious nation to personally visit the defeated nation might seem slightly inappropriate, but then again, that's exactly how power displays usually worked.
Compared to the political prestige gained afterward, such minor "effort" and slight lack of dignity hardly mattered.
Once the detailed negotiations began, the role played by the Daimyo and Haseo was reduced merely to appearances—they only needed to handle the major points, while their subordinates dealt with the details.
A week later, when the final negotiation results emerged, there was only one insignificant difference from Haseo's initially proposed terms.
Mist would ally with Konoha, but did not have to formally declare war against other nations… Considering Mist's actual inability to continue fighting wars, such formal declarations of hostility would bring them nothing but more enemies. Thus, on this matter, Haseo ultimately compromised.
Mist... No, from the date when the ceasefire agreement was signed ten years later, there's no such thing as "Mist" anymore. The correct term should be *Water Hidden Village*. The Land of Water's Water Hidden Village – how smoothly that rolls off the tongue. Perhaps the Daimyo of the Land of Water might even prefer this name.
The news of Konoha's victory and the end of the Eastern Front War quickly spread throughout the Land of Fire, and soon reached other countries as well.
For the other three great ninja villages, they certainly hadn't expected that the war would end so quickly on that front. Most people weren't even impressed by how strong Konoha turned out to be — instead, they were all asking how Mist could've been such a pushover.
They couldn't even hold onto their Kage title. Could anything be more humiliating than that?
On Konoha's Western Front battlefield, after receiving news of the ceasefire agreement being signed, the "Sannin" gathered once again for the Nth round of discussion.
"Removing the title of Mizukage and changing Mist to Water Hidden Village? Although this 'punishment' imposed on Mist at first appeared to have been issued in the name of the Third Hokage, it's not really his style. It's clearly Haseo who did it... Taking away the enemy's Kage title, what exactly is he trying to achieve this time?"
"Perhaps... just a sudden whim?"
Surprisingly, no one disputed this explanation this time.
"While Mist's swift defeat has its benefits, it'll only escalate the wars on other fronts. This outcome will cause the three great ninja villages to concentrate more forces against Konoha."
"Yeah, not to mention, this front won't be easy to deal with either. The Third Kazekage, Chiyo and her younger brother, that kekkei genkai ninja named Pakura, Rasa, and Chiyo's grandson Sasori - each of them are very capable shinobi."
"A full-blown war is about to break out."
"No matter what, what Haseo did this time has gone beyond normal boundaries. It gives me some unpleasant premonitions... I hope nothing problematic happens soon."
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