July 21st
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
An unrestrained explosion of laughter and wild, emotion-fueled chakra suddenly erupted from the Tsuchikage's office in Iwagakure.
The Second Tsuchikage, Mū, continued to laugh his heart out for nearly half an hour. Everyone within the Tsuchikage building and its immediate vicinity wore expressions of distress and bewilderment. Some began to seriously consider the possibility that their leader had been replaced by an impostor.
The people of Iwagakure had never seen or heard Mū laugh so unrestrainedly, let alone express such raw, vivid emotion.
One of the village elders carefully approached Mū's desk, swallowing hard. "Tsu—Tsuchikage-sama… may we know what has happened?"
The elder accepted the scroll with trembling hands, quickly decrypting the characters and reading the contents out loud.
"Operation Bloody Alliance: Success. Kin-Gin rebellion. Second Raikage confirmed dead. Second Hokage... dead!"
As the elder's voice echoed the decrypted message, the eyes of everyone in the office widened in sheer shock. A few breathless moments of absolute silence passed before the entire room erupted into a deafening roar of shared laughter.
"HAHAHAHA! Senju Tobirama! You finally got what you deserved!"
"Hahaha! What Edo Tensei! That is the ending he deserves for daring to desecrate our fallen Iwa shinobi!"
"Suna's desperation has proven useful. Their poisons and intel were worth every ryō!"
Most of Iwagakure's high-level elders, council members, and veteran shinobi were intimately aware of Tobirama's horrific technique, having watched him use their own reanimated comrades as suicide bombers against them. They deeply feared and despised the Second Hokage's unpredictable, unorthodox tactics. Tobirama was the man they wanted dead above all others, yet he was also the opponent they most dreaded facing on the battlefield. To hear that this hated nemesis had died as an indirect result of their own grand scheme filled them with unbridled joy.
A few minutes later, the council members suddenly realized they were celebrating wildly right in front of Mū, and their faces instantly paled in horror.
"Ahem… Tsuchikage-sama, this… we apologize for our lack of decorum…"
"Think nothing of it," Mū interrupted, his tone instantly snapping back to its usual cold, calculating indifference. "I saw nothing, and you saw nothing."
Resuming command over his subordinates, Mū leaned forward. "Order Ōnoki to secure the Five-Tails Jinchūriki immediately!"
"Yes, Tsuchikage-sama!" An Iwa ANBU disappeared from the room in a blur of a Shunshin.
"Tsuchikage-sama," one of the elders asked, leaning over the strategic map. "Do you wish to launch another invasion into Kusagakure?"
After a long moment of silent contemplation, Mū raised his head, resting his chin on top of his interlaced fingers. "…No. We aim for Takigakure this time."
The elders gasped. "Are we going to seize the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki as well?"
"No," Mū replied with a dark glint in his eyes. "We will make it look as though we are hunting the Seven-Tails, and we will watch exactly how Konoha reacts."
An elder's face lit up with realization. "A bluff? To test Konoha's military resolve and internal strength following Tobirama's demise?"
"Precisely. Konoha has suffered massive casualties from fighting a multi-front war against all the major hidden villages, but they still possess the largest shinobi population and formidable, high-end Kage-level fighters. We will use Takigakure and the Land of Waterfalls as a bargaining chip to formalize our rightful ownership over the Five-Tails."
"Will this strategy work, Tsuchikage-sama? It is hard to believe that Konoha will concede to our negotiations so easily."
"Do not worry about that," Mū assured them coldly. "Currently, our intel indicates that Konoha and the other hidden villages share our exact sentiment—they are exhausted and desperately wish to enjoy peace again. Furthermore, with Tobirama's death, the new Third Hokage will be starved for a political achievement to solidify his young authority. We will test the waters. We will act aggressive, push them to the brink, and then 'give in' to their counter-demands. We will retreat from Takigakure and the Land of Waterfalls, but we will force Konoha to legally recognize that the Five-Tails belongs solely to Iwa."
Mū's voice dropped into a dangerous pitch. "However… if this Third Hokage proves to be weak-willed and indecisive… we will take the Seven-Tails too. Now, go! Prepare the logistics for this 'negotiation' we are about to hand to Konoha!"
"Yes Tsuchikage-sama!"
***
Meanwhile, in the Land of Grass.
Doton: Sando no Jutsu 土遁・山土の術 (Earth release: Mountain Technique/Sandwich Technique)
Two massive, mountainous rock formations erupted from the earth, slamming together with terrifying force to trap and completely immobilize the Five-Tails.
The Kokuō's condition was pitiful. Its powerful tails had been cleanly disintegrated by Ōnoki's Dust Release, and its massive body was covered in deep lacerations and severe bruises from a relentless barrage of Earth and Explosion Release ninjutsu.
ROAR!!!!! YOU FILTHY HUMANS!
"Hurry!" Ōnoki yelled, sweat pouring down his face as he maintained the hand seal. "Deploy the sealing barrier while it is weakened!"
Iwa's sealing corps scrambled across the shattered terrain, hauling a miniature shrine the size of a small house. The wooden relic was wrapped in heavy Shimenawa ropes and plastered with hundreds of glowing sealing tags.
DO YOU TRULY BELIEVE THIS TRIVIAL THING CAN BIND ME FOREVER?!
"This is merely a temporary vessel, Five-Tails! Just sit there and obediently get sealed!" Ōnoki roared back, molding even more chakra as the two mountainous walls squeezed the beast tighter.
UWAHHH! PERISH, YOU ANTS!
A volatile mixture of black and white chakra rapidly condensed in front of the Five-Tails' jaws, forming a massive Bijūdama aimed directly at the approaching sealing team.
"What?! I don't think so!"
Doton: Daiganchūsō 土遁・大岩柱槍 (Earth release : Great Earth Pillar Spear)
The bedrock beneath the Five-Tails split apart. A massive earth pillar erupted with violent momentum, spearing upward and striking the beast squarely beneath the jaw. The impact snapped the Tailed Beast's mouth shut and tilted its head violently toward the sky. The fully formed Bijūdama detached, rocketing harmlessly into the upper atmosphere before detonating in a distant, blinding flash.
With its final counterattack thwarted, it was only a matter of time before the Five-Tails was successfully suppressed and sealed away by the Iwa-nin.
….
Ōnoki dropped his hands, exhaling heavily. "Alright, pack it up! Sealing team, return to Iwagakure immediately. Explosion Corps, split into two divisions. Team one will escort the sealing team and the captive Five-Tails safely across the border. The rest of you, follow me. We join the Tsuchikage-sama in the Land of Waterfalls!"
"Yes, Ōnoki-sama!"
***
The soft, rhythmic crackle of candlelight filled the Hokage's office, throwing long, skeletal shadows across the polished floorboards.
Hiruzen sat motionless behind the heavy oak desk—Tobirama's desk. His fingers were steepled, resting just beneath his chin, his gaze locked onto the wood grain. He didn't look like a god of shinobi; he looked like a grieving student drowning in a dead man's clothes. Nearby, Koharu, Homura, Torifu, and Danzō stood in a tight semicircle, their eyes darting between the latest post-war reconstruction blueprints and the silent young man before them.
In the far corner, melting perfectly into the gloom, stood two ANBU guards. One bore a shock of stark white hair; the other watched silently from the darkness of the shadows.
A sharp, rhythmic knock splintered the silence.
Before Hiruzen could breathe a permission, a blur of leaves swirled across the floorboards. An ANBU captain flickered into existence, dropping heavily onto one knee.
"Sandaime-sama. Urgent intelligence intercepted from the northwest."
The room froze. The temperature seemed to drop.
Hiruzen's eyes, dulled by sleepless nights, instantly sharpened. "Report."
The captain extended a leather-bound, wax-sealed scroll. "We just intercepted Iwagakure communications. Iwa forces have mobilized. They are crossing the border into the Land of Waterfalls."
Danzō's head snapped up, his jaw tight. "Takigakure? That is completely outside Mū's usual sphere of influence. Why strike Taki now?"
Torifu crossed his massive arms as a deep scowl carved into his features. "Are they after the Seven-Tails? They must know Konoha is too fractured to mount a full counter-siege."
The messenger hesitated, his porcelain mask tilted downward. "Our analysts… they do not believe it is a standard invasion force, sir. They suspect a feint. A political bluff."
Homura stepped closer to the desk, his glasses catching the candlelight. "A bluff? After playing docile for so long? What is Tsuchikage playing at?"
Hiruzen didn't answer. He broke the crimson wax seal with a blunt thumb, unrolling the parchment. His eyes swept the coded characters, and for a fraction of a second, his breathing hitched.
"…Because they don't need a real war," Hiruzen murmured, his voice flat. "They've already obtained the Five-Tails."
A suffocating wave of shock paralyzed the room.
Koharu's hand drifted to her mouth,. "So fast… They secured the Five-Tails, already. How did they react so quickly?"
"It's because they already knew," Danzō's chakra flared with cold fury as he stepped directly into Hiruzen's line of sight. "The alliance ceremony was a trap set by Iwa from the start. They were waiting for us to announce Sensei's death. Now, they are testing our borders, Hiruzen. More importantly, they are testing you."
Hiruzen lowered the parchment onto the desk.
"Suna suffered enough against the Uchiha, Kiri willingly backed out, and Kumo is under civil war. Iwa has no leverage or capacity to fight us alone," Hiruzen murmured quietly.
Torifu cracked his knuckles, sounding off like a small explosion in the quiet office. "What's the play then, Hiruzen? We don't have the luxury of time."
Hiruzen closed his eyes. In the darkness behind his eyelids, the smoke of the battlefield swirled, and Tobirama's words echoed through his mind: [Protect those who believe in you. Take care of those who will inherit the next generation.]
When his eyes snapped open, clear unyielding resolve filled them.
"Mū is a calculator, not a gambler," Hiruzen commanded, standing up. The ceremonial Hokage mantle caught the wind from the open window, settling over his shoulders like an iron shroud. "He does not want a war of attrition; Iwa is as starved and exhausted as we are. He wants leverage. He wants Konoha to officially acknowledge Iwa's sovereignty over the Five-Tails. Just as we have done with Kumo..."
Koharu nodded slowly. "And if we refuse?"
"He has no choice but to negotiate," Hiruzen said, leaning over the strategic map. "But not immediately. Iwa is exhausted. Their elders want peace as much as ours do."
Danzō stepped forward, voice low. "Then what is your command?"
"Summon the civilian council before the sun breaks. Send a bird to the Fire Daimyō—tell him we require emergency funding," Hiruzen ordered, his voice ringing with a newfound authority that made Homura and Koharu straighten up. "And assemble our forces. We will meet the Iwa in the Land of Waterfalls."
The ANBU captain bowed low. "At once, Sandaime-sama." In a rustle of leaves, he was gone.
Hiruzen turned to his childhood teammates, his gaze sweeping over each of them.
Koharu exhaled. "Then we'll begin preparations immediately. The civilian corps will be briefed before dawn."
Homura adjusted his glasses and nodded. "I'll mobilize the administrative crew and ensure the logistic teams are ready to support Takigakure front."
Torifu cracked his knuckles, his expression grim but resolute. "The Ino–Shika–Chō will be on standby. Give us the word, and we'll follow you all the way to Iwagakure."
Danzō stepped forward last. "The Shimura and Sarutobi clans will be ready within the hour. If the Stone mistakes your diplomacy for cowardice… we will answer with blood."
Hiruzen offered a single, firm nod. "Thank you. All of you. Go—prepare your clansmen and shinobi. We may need to move faster than expected."
One by one, they bowed and exited the office. Their footsteps echoed down the long wooden corridor, growing fainter and fainter until the heavy oak doors slid shut with a soft thud.
Silence rushed back into the room.
Only Hiruzen and the two ANBU remained. Hiruzen turned away from the desk, walking slowly toward the wide balcony window. Outside, the Hidden Leaf Village slept under a blanket of silver moonlight, ignorant of the dangers looming over their heads.
For a long moment, Hiruzen said nothing.
"Sensei…" he whispered into the cool night air, his voice cracking just enough to show the fractured youth underneath the Hokage robes. "Am I walking the path you intended?"
The question hung in the moonlight as Hiruzen turned his head slightly, looking back toward the shadows of his office.
From the corner, the white-haired ANBU stepped forward just an inch into the candlelight. He didn't speak. He simply gave a single nod and stepped back into the shadows.
Hiruzen looked at the guard, let out a slow breath, and felt his spine turn back to steel, as if prepared to face the inevitable tragedy about to unfold.
"Then tomorrow," the Third Hokage murmured, staring out over the village, "we teach the Stone a lesson."