After bouts of open and covert sparring, Uchiha Makoto realized that the prestige he'd carved out with the show-of-force war was even greater than he'd imagined. If a deer walked into the venue right now and he pointed at it and called it a horse, quite a few delegates from the minor villages would probably echo, "Lord Light-and-Shadow has keen eyes. That's a horse."
The thought tugged his lips upward. He even hummed, having seized control of the table. Seated, he spoke mildly.
"Our Akatsuki have always loved peace and are committed to safeguarding it. You all understand the course of the war, and the unfair treatment I suffered at the last talks. I'll say no more, so as not to spoil this rare harmony."
Several faces twitched.
Senju Tobirama found Makoto shameless. He himself had staged that assassination farce and pinned it on Kumogakure. Truly an innately evil little Uchiha.
The First Tsuchikage and the Second Raikage also changed expression. They had thought Makoto would make hay of it again. They were no fools. A little analysis after the fact revealed too many inconsistencies. But with no proof, they could only swallow the bitterness.
They would endure.
Makoto had no such scruples. Having done it, he didn't fear later revelations. He clapped and summoned a long scroll.
[Ceasefire Terms]
[Akatsuki Village, Uzumaki shinobi, and Kumogakure hereby conclude a ceasefire, in hopes of everlasting peaceful relations.]
[1. Kumogakure bears primary responsibility for this war and shall compensate our side 40,000,000,000 ryō as postwar reparations, plus 1,000,000,000 ryō to the Akatsuki Light-and-Shadow for recovery, medicine, and emotional damages arising from the assassination incident.]
[2. Henceforth, to prevent renewed conflict, our side shall hold special enforcement and immunity rights within Kumogakure's jurisdiction. We may pursue Kumo shinobi across village lines; Kumogakure must unconditionally support our pursuit units. If our shinobi are at fault during an operation, Kumogakure shall have no right to punish them and must protect and return them to our village for discipline.]
[3. When our villagers and shinobi trade within Kumo territory, they shall no longer be bound by prior restrictions and may freely transact with any merchant of the Land of Lightning. Our people may conduct free trade in Kumo's inland towns and coastal ports. We will station Akatsuki shinobi and administrators to handle commerce and maintain free contact with Kumo officials and shinobi. Kumo shall not interfere. Our trade with Kumo shall enjoy tax reductions.]
[4. For storage and administration of materials, our side may select one town and one port. Kumogakure will permanently cede them to us and our successors. We may establish offices, legislate, and, when necessary, garrison shinobi there to safeguard our legitimate interests in Kumo.]
[5. Kumogakure shall dispatch no fewer than ten young, gifted shinobi to Akatsuki for three years of study, to learn the Will of Light in depth.]
…
The scroll set out the carefully prepared terms, more than a dozen in total. The core lay in the first five; the rest were ceremonial privileges to give Akatsuki more face abroad.
When all sides finished reading, they sucked in sharp breaths.
Akatsuki had struck brutally.
Clause one alone demanded forty billion ryō. Even a prewar Kumogakure at full strength couldn't scrape that together. That single line would weigh like a mountain on their chest.
Clause two trampled Kumo's pride and interests. Signing meant Kumo shinobi must forever lower their heads before Akatsuki. Akatsuki could unilaterally handle Kumo shinobi; Kumo would have no right to handle Akatsuki shinobi. Wherever Akatsuki operated, Kumo would have to back off.
Clause three threw a clear bone to the great merchants supporting Akatsuki. Hitch yourselves to Akatsuki and the vast Land of Lightning market opens to you. Through commerce, Akatsuki could court and corrode Kumo's upper ranks. The village belongs to everyone; pocketed cash belongs to oneself.
The Second Raikage was no autocrat within Kumo. Akatsuki were indeed the chief enemy, but the enemy of your enemy can be a friend. Makoto believed he could make very good friends with certain people inside Kumo. Otherwise Kinkaku and Ginkaku would not, in the original history, have led an elite direct unit to attempt an assassination on the Second Raikage during the First Shinobi World War's talks. Compradors were hardly out of fashion.
Clause four was naked cession of territory, with the right to station troops in Kumo's heartland, perfect for raising spies and probing Kumo's condition.
Clause five was classic cultivation of Akatsuki mouthpieces within Kumo.
The Second Raikage could not fully parse the deep intent behind clauses three to five. His attention locked on the first two. Of the latter three, only the territorial cession truly hurt; the rest were slow bleeds—economic colonialism, internal penetration, planting agents—that would show no obvious effect for years, whereas the first two cut immediately into Kumo's pride and interests.
"Akatsuki has utterly dismissed Kumogakure."
"Outrageous."
He had braced for heavy bleeding. Makoto's habits were clear even before the war: greedy, arrogant, fond of making a fuss—he had once presented Kumo with terms fit for the defeated over the deaths of a few chūnin, which Kumo naturally refused.
But now Kumo had truly lost.
He knew Makoto would show no mercy, yet still hadn't expected terms this harsh.
How could he sign. Sign and he'd be cursed a traitor who sold the village. Hidden opposition inside Kumo would fan the flames.
He could not accept such terms.
The First Tsuchikage, attending alongside Kumo, also found them hard to swallow.
The Uzumaki felt the same. He marveled at the Light-and-Shadow's razor-edge—and liked the feeling.
Senju Tobirama, too, but he cared more about something else. Why did the compensation and ceasefire never once mention Konoha.
Konoha had not been at war with Kumo, so the preamble could not read "Akatsuki, Uzumaki, and Kumo formally cease hostilities" and include Konoha there. Makoto pulled a neat trick, using "our side" throughout. Akatsuki and the Uzumaki clearly counted as "our side." Whether Konoha counted was another question. Since only Akatsuki and Uzumaki were named at the start, Kumo could later exploit the loophole and refuse to recognize Konoha's standing. What could Konoha do. Nothing, unless Konoha went to war with Kumo too.
As sharp as ever, Senju Tobirama quickly grasped Uchiha Makoto's ill intent.
"Konoha spent so much effort to come all this way and gets nothing. You leaned plenty on Konoha's aura to throw your weight around."
He marked another tally against Makoto in his heart. He could not accept returning empty-handed. He had already lost face.
On the night of the assassination, when they got back, Konoha's higher-ups acted out "remove your armor" again and again in front of Tobirama, nearly stripping to their underwear. They suffered. Usually they stood on the right side; how had they forgotten such a sensitive issue at the critical moment. Lord Tobirama, we don't want to get skinned.
Since face had been lost to Makoto, real gains had to be taken.
Before Tobirama could act, someone moved faster.
"Kumogakure cannot accept these ceasefire terms under any circumstances. They are too harsh. Not only can I not agree; the entire village cannot accept them."
The Second Raikage drew a deep breath, forced down the urge to explode, and made his position plain. He would not sign.
Makoto was unsurprised. No one yields so easily. Negotiations begin with sky-high demands, then you lower them, like the cat-backflip theory. Ask a girl to come home and explore the mysteries of the human body and she'll refuse; tell her your cat can backflip and maybe she'll come. Haggling was inevitable.
Even so, Makoto had no intention of yielding.
"Is that so. Which clause is unreasonable, Lord Raikage."
Silence from the Raikage. All of it was unreasonable. Starting at forty billion was ludicrous. If Kumo could have produced forty billion at the outset, the front wouldn't have looked like it did. If they had even twenty billion now, Kumo would fight to the bitter end. Sign this and there would be no way to explain it at home or to the daimyō.
"Senju Tobirama, what do you think."
Makoto turned to Tobirama. Their eyes met and his meaning was clear. If Konoha wanted a share of victory, it needed to charge now. If you wouldn't bleed on the field, then do the work at the table.
A tough nut. Shut the doors and unleash Tobirama. Senju Tobirama, go take a bite.
Tobirama was no fool. He caught the cue at once and traded a glance with Uchiha Nan.
"Uchiha Makoto, vicious little Uchiha. Fine. Using me as a gun. For Konoha, I'll endure."
Annoyed but bound by duty, he would comply. He had to use this chance to amend the terms and insert Konoha's name at the key points.
"Enough. Raikage, don't stall now and wreck a hard-won peace. Do you want to face a united front from Konoha, Akatsuki, and the Uzumaki."
Helpless, Tobirama stepped in to draw fire, pressing the Raikage. Kumo actually bore little hatred for Konoha, and the earlier unconditional ceasefire had even warmed relations. Now the grudge was finally forged.
"You… you. Konoha, you go too far."
He had not expected Konoha to be first to the breach for Akatsuki. His face went icy. But Kumo's position was dire. Faced with naked threats, he lacked the courage to hurl heavy words for the village's sake. "Too far" was all he could manage, saturated with helpless bitterness.
"What, you have a problem. Not convinced."
Perhaps pent up too long, Tobirama grew even more aggressive as the Raikage yielded. A surge of savage satisfaction rose in him. If he couldn't hit Akatsuki, he could still hit Kumo. This time Konoha would take a seat at the table and eat meat.
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