Ruins of Roran, Land of Wind.
Shimura Danzō exhaled in relief—he finally finished the Dragon Vein sealing.
It had to be said: Namikaze Minato really was a genius.
In his hands, sealing arts were honed to perfection.
Of course, the reason Danzō spent so much time here was mainly because he didn't know the Flying Thunder God Technique.
But contrary to what Natsume imagined, he didn't plan to trigger a tidal surge of energy by unleashing the Dragon Vein; he wanted to use it like a power bank.
Because the Dragon Vein contained endless chakra.
In theory, it was no different from a tailed beast.
Danzō wanted to cut off a portion and implant it into himself, using it to fully awaken Wood Release—
To turn himself into Hashirama Senju.
In that case, defeating Natsume would be trivial.
He chose to set the alliance meeting near the Dragon Vein so he could conveniently replenish chakra.
Of course, that was a last resort.
The Dragon Vein had not only chakra, but natural energy as well.
For the Hashirama cells in Danzō's body, that was a terrifying tonic.
A single misstep could lead to loss of control.
So the Dragon Vein was the final insurance.
Before that, Natsume would have to pass three trials:
The Shimura clan, the Kazekage Rasa, and One-Tail's jinchūriki, Gaara.
Thinking of this, Danzō looked up. Not far away stood three teenagers:
One with a gourd, one with a fan, and one with a puppet.
Gaara, Temari, and Kankurō.
"Lord Danzō."
Rasa flashed into view before him. "I hear you've undone the Dragon Vein's seal?"
"I deliberately left a little intact."
Danzō didn't hide it. "If we unsealed it all, it would expose the Dragon Vein and draw other villages' attention."
"Very considerate of you."
Rasa smiled slightly, then asked, "About your earlier proposal for 'Dragon Vein shinobi'—are you confident?"
By "Dragon Vein shinobi," he meant mass-extracting Dragon Vein chakra and, via sealing techniques, turning ninjas into pseudo-jinchūriki.
This was why Rasa was willing to cooperate so deeply with Danzō.
It could massively boost Sunagakure's strength.
The only pity was he couldn't pry the training method for sealing arts from Danzō's mouth.
Danzō understood their value, so of course he wouldn't hand them over.
As long as Suna had no sealing experts, Rasa would have to rely on him.
"Naturally, no problem."
Danzō answered without hesitation.
"Good."
Rasa adjusted the Kazekage hat. "Natsume and his group should arrive in about an hour. That child you mentioned—the one called Uzumaki Naruto—won't be among them."
"No jinchūriki? Then today is the day they die."
Danzō snorted.
"Indeed."
Rasa smiled. "When the time comes, don't forget the terms you promised us."
Meaning that once Danzō became Hokage, he would aid Sunagakure.
Strength alone wasn't enough. They needed money.
"I always keep my word. But you—don't be stingy with your jinchūriki."
Danzō reminded him, "Don't underestimate Natsume just because he's young."
Rasa nodded, but didn't take it to heart.
He even looked down on Danzō a little.
So afraid of a teenager?
No wonder you got kicked out.
"Maki, go brief Gaara and the others. Use the smashed-cup signal."
Rasa ordered, "When I drop the cup, you move. Target the Hokage and wipe out the delegation if possible."
"Yes!"
Maki responded at once.
He quickly walked over to his three students.
Temari and Kankurō greeted him first.
Gaara didn't look up, remaining silent.
Although Danzō had helped reinforce his seal, Gaara's earlier experiences hadn't been prevented.
Now he was just like when he first appeared in the original story: a hotheaded teen defying heaven and earth.
"Sensei, is the Hokage coming?"
Kankurō was excited and eager.
Killing a Hokage would make you famous across the shinobi world.
"Mm. They'll be here soon."
Maki nodded, frowned slightly, and said, "You're not strong enough yet. Don't be reckless."
Kankurō was a rare Sunagakure prodigy, born for puppetry, and he had inherited puppets left by Sasori of the Red Sand.
But the Hokage's envoy was mostly jōnin. No need to explain the danger.
"It's fine. We've got Gaara."
Kankurō shot a fearful glance at Gaara.
He feared jinchūriki, but he knew their power.
In short, just follow behind and pick off stragglers.
"Caution first."
Maki paused, shifted his gaze to Gaara, and said, "Gaara, when the Kazekage drops his cup, you act."
Gaara didn't speak, but the killing intent rolling off him was palpable.
Kankurō and Temari paled and quickly backed away.
Maki already understood his answer:
The Hokage is his—no one else touch.
Very much in character for Gaara.
"Find a place to hide."
Maki waved them off and went forward to set up a temporary alliance platform.
Even if it was a desert, they couldn't have two parties just standing in the sand to negotiate, right?
That would make Sunagakure's insincerity and scheming obvious.
…
Time passed.
Soon, a group appeared in the distance.
Not many—around thirty—but the weakest were chūnin.
And they hailed from different clans.
"Something's off."
Hyūga Hizashi activated his Byakugan. "There's a barrier further out blocking my sight. That's rare."
The Byakugan, as the Hyūga clan's kekkei genkai, was a trump card.
A barrier that could obstruct it was on the level of a forbidden technique.
And forbidden techniques usually carried heavy costs.
Acting like this clearly meant Suna was hiding something from him.
"It's fine."
Natsume waved his hand. "We're here to negotiate."
He knew the barrier was to conceal the Dragon Vein.
He had to admit, Sunagakure and Danzō had put in real effort.
Even if they sensed something off, they were already here—if they turned back now, it would tarnish Konoha's reputation.
Hizashi understood and said no more, just raised his guard.
"Lord Hokage."
Rasa, in divine robes, looked at Natsume and couldn't help being surprised.
He knew the new Hokage was young, but not this young.
Combined with his overly handsome looks, he even seemed younger than Kankurō.
No wonder Danzō flew into a rage whenever he mentioned him.
Getting beaten by a junior forty or fifty years younger was mortifying.
"Lord Kazekage, a pleasure. I've heard much."
Natsume sized up Rasa and the Suna shinobi behind him.
He only recognized Maki—
White headscarf, left eye covered.
Very conspicuous.
As for Gaara, he hadn't seen him.
But he should be here.
Natsume couldn't openly use Sage Mode, so he couldn't detect him.
As for Rasa—
The original series' punching bag.
Kazekage tended to be unlucky; they often died horribly.
Speaking of which, Rasa owed him his life right now.
"Please, take your seat."
Rasa withdrew his gaze.
From Natsume, he sensed no threat.
Usually, unless you specialized in concealment, you'd show some trace of aura.
From that, you could roughly gauge strength.
But Natsume seemed like an ordinary person—no pressure at all.
Rasa, of course, didn't believe he was ordinary; the only explanation was a disguise.
He shook his head. What's the point of that? Think you're a jinchūriki?
Undoubtedly, it meant Natsume lacked confidence.
Too young.
On the makeshift platform, tables and chairs were set.
Natsume sat across from Rasa: the talks had officially begun.
Normally, an alliance of this magnitude wouldn't be concluded in a day or two.
But neither side actually wanted an alliance.
Bringing Natsume here had achieved Rasa's goal already.
The rest would be perfunctory pleasantries—then a fight.
Rasa brought Maki; Natsume brought Kurenai Yūhi.
Everyone else stood on either side of the platform.
The two sides traded glances; hostility seeped through the gaps.
Since Hashirama's death, the shinobi world hadn't lacked for war.
Even without full-scale shinobi wars, relations were unfriendly.
Clashes from spies and missions were routine.
"If the talks break down, are we fighting?"
Might Guy peered across, flashing a blinding row of teeth.
In a desert, those teeth stood out even more.
"Keep provoking them and it really will."
Hatake Kakashi's dead-fish eyes didn't change. He spoke flatly.
"Huh?"
Guy looked confused. "This is how I express my youth."
"…"
Kakashi fell silent.
Who could tolerate that?
"Something's off today."
Hizashi cut in. "I don't know where Suna got this courage, but in any case, you must protect the Hokage."
Konoha had brought many elite shinobi this time.
But in terms of strength, the three of them were the strongest:
A Sharingan, a Byakugan, and the Eight Gates.
Hizashi wasn't sure how much power Guy could unleash; he was really speaking to Kakashi.
On the platform—
After a cup of tea, Rasa produced a document and passed it over.
"These are Sunagakure's terms for an alliance. If Lord Hokage agrees, we can sign immediately."
"These are a bit too harsh."
Natsume read the first line and looked up. "Divert one-fifth of the Land of Fire's annual aid to Sunagakure? I'm curious—who proposed that?"
"I did."
Rasa ignored the sarcasm. "If this is an alliance, Konoha can show sincerity, can it not?"
"Second: assign one-fifth of Konoha's mission volume to Sunagakure."
Natsume couldn't help but laugh.
By mission volume, he meant total contracted missions.
Worth noting: Konoha didn't just do missions within the Land of Fire, but for other countries as well.
Even other great nations like the Land of Wind.
These two demands weren't just a lion's open mouth—they were pure fantasy.
"Is Sunagakure here to beg from Konoha?"
Natsume set the paper down and asked casually.
"What did you say?"
Rasa's face went cold. "Even you cannot insult Sunagakure!"
He sprang up, but didn't smash his cup—only radiated killing intent.
He was waiting on the Shimura clan to act.
If they could take Natsume with minimal cost, so much the better.
If not, then bring in the jinchūriki.