The Third Raikage, cloaked in crackling lightning, sprinted across the sea.
It looked as though he only needed two steps to cross several hundred meters.
And yet, the Cloud ninja aboard the ship quickly realized something was wrong.
The Third Raikage's speed was dropping—rapidly.
They could actually track his movement with their eyes.
That had been impossible before.
Ordinarily, they wouldn't even be able to catch his afterimage.
The closer he got to shore, the slower he became.
Betsuki pointed sharply toward the water and shouted:
"There's something wrong with that mist!"
A vast cloud of faint, pale mist had spread along the shoreline.
The moment the Third Raikage came into contact with it, his speed plummeted.
It was as if he had slammed into an overwhelming force of resistance.
Then a fish leapt from the sea—
and entered everyone's field of vision.
Only to freeze in midair.
It was suspended inside the faint mist.
The mist itself had become something terrifying.
Dense as glue.
The fish had been locked in place, immobilized by the drag filling the air.
No one had ever seen a secret technique like this before.
What in the world was this ability?
By the end, the Third Raikage came to a halt on the beach.
He could still charge all the way up to Konoha's line if he wanted to—
but with his speed reduced to this degree, the threat was nowhere near what it should have been.
He had expected Fox to use Wood Release against him.
Or perhaps Earth Release.
Instead, Fox had pulled out an entirely new secret technique.
And that technique had crippled his single greatest advantage:
Speed.
When he saw how calm Nara Shikakaku remained, the Raikage immediately understood—
if they actually fought here, the one at a disadvantage might very well be him.
Seeing that the Third Raikage had finally calmed down, Yako lowered his hands.
Absolute Defense: Crystal Mist could create suspended, crystallized Water Release chakra particles in the air, producing immense resistance that slowed all incoming movement.
The faster something moved, the greater the resistance it encountered.
Move slowly—
and the drag became far weaker.
Nara Shikakaku stepped forward and said calmly,
"Lord Raikage, may we begin the negotiations now?"
The Raikage shot Fox one last murderous glare.
Then, without saying a word, he turned and strode toward a pavilion standing near the shore.
That pavilion had been designated as the meeting site by both sides.
Some time later, over a dozen Cloud ninja came striding down the pier.
Advisor Betsuki had clearly already resigned himself to swallowing humiliation for the sake of the Hidden Cloud.
With a polite tone, he said to Nara Shikakaku:
"Lord Shikakaku, Lord Raikage is always like this. He simply can't control his temper.
On the way here, we had to switch ships three times.
The first two were both destroyed because of Lord Raikage's… unfortunate mood."
Nara Shikakaku smiled mildly.
"I've heard of Lord Raikage's temper before as well.
Come, then. Let us finish these peace talks."
The Konoha and Cloud delegations entered the top floor of the pavilion.
The top floor was nothing more than a roof upheld by pillars.
There were no walls at all on any side.
It was the perfect place to admire the sea.
At sunrise or sunset, with golden light pouring in from all directions, it would have been a truly magnificent view.
Even now, without the dawn or evening glow, the endless blue ocean and open sky still made for a breathtaking scene.
And yet—
the newly appointed Daimyō of the Land of Hot Water, seated at the head position, looked pale and unsettled.
He kept his gaze lowered, pretending to read the scroll on the table, not daring to look out at the scenery around him.
To one side sat the Third Raikage.
Massive.
Dark-skinned.
Muscles bulging.
Just his presence alone made the new Daimyō deeply uneasy.
Once everyone had taken their seats, the new Daimyō gave a small cough and forced himself to speak.
"As for the recent war surrounding the Land of Hot Water…
I believe it is time for there to be a conclusion."
Then he looked toward Nara Shikakaku.
Following the arrangement Shikakaku had instructed him to use beforehand, he gathered his courage and said:
"Before peace can be discussed, the Hidden Cloud must first give an explanation to the Land of Hot Water.
Where did you take my uncle—
the former Daimyō?"
"Your uncle?"
The Third Raikage's voice boomed like a growl.
"Your uncle was executed by Konoha.
Executed. Do you understand that?
At the start of the war, when Konoha's campaign went a little poorly, their Guardian Ninja abandoned the Land of Hot Water.
So the Hidden Cloud stepped in and took over your uncle's protection.
Then Konoha drove us out.
And after that, Konoha blamed your uncle for siding with us—so they executed him.
It's the same kind of hypocrisy as blaming a girl for not resisting a rapist.
That's what Konoha has always been.
Vile."
The Daimyō immediately shrank into himself, trembling too much to say a word.
He could only cast a helpless look toward Nara Shikakaku.
Shikakaku frowned.
"Third Raikage, don't make baseless accusations against Konoha.
After killing the Two-Tails, Gomoi, and Totai, the situation had already become highly favorable for us.
We had already killed the Two-Tails.
At that point, protecting the Daimyō was more useful to us than harming him.
Why would Konoha possibly make a move against him?
On the contrary—
it was you who ordered your infiltrated spies to act.
You abducted the former Daimyō. Perhaps even murdered him.
I have already formally informed both the Fire Daimyō and the Lightning Daimyō of your conduct.
No matter what happens, the Daimyō of each nation should be afforded at least a basic level of respect.
Wouldn't you agree, Lord Raikage?"
The new Daimyō nodded repeatedly.
That was the same conclusion his own royal relatives had already reached.
Konoha had no need whatsoever to attack his uncle.
The Hidden Cloud, on the other hand, was full of muscle-brained shinobi who acted impulsively.
It had to be the Cloud.
"It was you—!"
The Third Raikage smashed his fist into the table in front of him.
The table exploded into pieces.
Shards of stone from the tabletop flew toward the Daimyō.
Betsuki was just about to move to block them—
when he suddenly saw the fragments slowing down.
Then stopping entirely.
They hung suspended inside the faint mist filling the air.
He immediately turned to look at Fox.
Fox was already forming hand seals.
What kind of secret technique was that?
How could a thin layer of pale mist generate such terrifying resistance?
Yako released Crystal Mist, and the stone fragments immediately dropped to the floor, clattering across the wood with a series of sharp, brittle sounds.
Nara Shikakaku said calmly,
"Lord Raikage, impotent rage is of no use whatsoever to peace negotiations."
Lightning began crackling around the Third Raikage's body again.
He looked ready to erupt a second time.
Betsuki hurriedly cut in before he could.
"Lord Shikakaku, what benefit is there in provoking Lord Raikage like this during peace talks?"
Nara Shikakaku didn't even blink.
"The Hidden Cloud took advantage of Uchiha Madara's attack on Konoha and used the opportunity to invade the Land of Hot Water.
Then you conspired with the Hidden Stone to assassinate Advisor Shinnosuke.
It is not I who am provoking you.
Your losses are simply what you deserved.
The price of your own actions."
His voice turned colder.
"The first two Great Ninja Wars have already proven this.
And every future war will prove it again.
If you provoke Konoha—
you die.
Uchiha Madara was strong. Konoha did indeed take damage.
But for Konoha…"
He leaned slightly forward.
"That damage was insignificant.
Even weakened, Konoha can still pick up any hidden village in the world and beat it into submission.
If you want to fight, then stop pounding tables and glaring.
Fight.
Fight as long as you want.
Konoha has methods to spare."
Then his tone sharpened like a knife.
"And let's hope your Eight-Tails Jinchūriki is stronger than Ryuuren was.
Otherwise…
the Eight-Tails will die too."
Silence.
Then Shikakaku said:
"If you don't want war—
then sit down and listen."
Betsuki, already prepared to shoulder whatever infamy was necessary, spoke first before the Raikage could explode again.
"Lord Shikakaku…
Why don't you present your terms for peace?"
The new Daimyō looked around and realized something with growing disbelief.
The Cloud ninja were furious.
Every single one of them.
And yet—
not one of them dared step forward and make trouble.
Not even the Third Raikage himself interrupted the negotiation.
At some point, Nara Shikakaku had completely seized control of the room.
The final terms were quickly laid out:
The Hidden Cloud would pay 400 million ryō in compensation to Konoha, and 300 million ryō to the Land of Hot Water.
Both sides would agree not to enter each other's vassal nations.
Konoha would cease operations in the Land of Moon, and the Hidden Cloud would never again enter the Land of Hot Water.
In addition to that, the Hidden Cloud would withdraw all of its spies from the Land of Hot Water.
After the peace talks concluded, Nara Shikakaku and Yako stood together beside the pavilion railing, watching as the Cloud delegation boarded their ship and departed.
Yako thought to himself:
At last…
the matter of the Land of Hot Water was finally over.
Now it was time to return to the village—
and fight for the position of ANBU Commander.
And after that…
the Scroll of Seals.
The Eight Gates.
And every other secret technique worth taking.