By the next day after Zabuza had joined the negotiation team, the strain was already setting in.
He couldn't get angry here. He couldn't threaten or intimidate. Seated across from him were high-ranking shinobi from the Five Great Ninja Villages.
These weren't people he could crush with a single glare.
And he had no right to casually stand up and walk out, no right to flip the table, no right to reach for his sword.
"Regarding the proportional number of permanent squads—"
The discussion droned on, the same old arguments circling back on themselves, the same issues being chewed over again and again.
He still had to listen. Listen carefully, without letting a single word slip by.
On the first day, he'd managed to endure. But today, his brain felt like a sponge soaked in water, heavy and dragging inside his skull. Every thought moved slowly, grinding against a sticky resistance.
He forced his eyes wide, making himself look fully focused.
"Does the Hidden Mist representative have a different opinion?" Fūga asked.
Me?
"Not at the moment."
He couldn't say "absolutely not," or he'd leave himself no room to argue later. He couldn't say "yes," or they'd demand detailed proposals on the spot.
Clause after clause crawled by. Numbers, ratios, implementation procedures… Bloodshot veins spread like a spiderweb across the edges of his vision. The texts reflected in his pupils, but the dense lines of characters seemed to float on water, impossible to pin down.
"Regarding the investigation authority of the Joint Organization's permanent squad…"
Zabuza raised his hand.
The movement was a bit abrupt. Several gazes immediately locked onto his face.
"The scope of investigation must be related to the competition. For matters involving the Five Great Ninja Villages, each village should handle them independently as a priority."
"Even if the organization's squad intervenes, personnel arrangements must comply with the requirements of the village in question."
For example, if the case was in the Hidden Mist Village, then Hidden Mist ninja should be used.
That was the point he intended to push.
The conference room went quiet for a moment. The soft rustle of turning pages stopped.
Roshi looked at him. "Please elaborate, Zabuza-san."
"It's literal," Zabuza said. "When the Joint Organization participates in an investigation, the dispatched members should comply with the requirements of the ninja village where the incident occurred."
Baki asked, "So, that means personnel who are hostile to that village or have a history of conflict with it cannot be dispatched—is that what you mean?"
"Yes," Zabuza replied. "The squad roster must be submitted in advance for review, and the organization should coordinate and assign people based on the actual situation."
As the words left his mouth, he froze for a second.
That… where had that come from? Since when did he know how to talk like this?
Roshi nodded and didn't press him further. The agenda moved on to the next item.
Outside the window, the sky shifted from gray-white to pale blue, then picked up a faint yellow dusk.
Zabuza's back stayed ramrod straight. But when he heard:
"Regarding the framework treaty of the Joint Organization, it has been fully discussed and confirmed by the representatives of the Five Great Ninja Villages."
The Demon could almost hear a dry rustling echoing from deep within his bones.
'It's over.'
His shoulders loosened on their own, and he shifted, ready to stand.
"Next," Roshi's voice sounded again, "while the Five Kage are still present, we need to simultaneously deliberate on the specific matters of the competition reform."
It felt like a fist slamming into his gut—no, he would've preferred a real punch. A dull ache was at least straightforward, at least satisfying, at least something he could answer with his fists.
His gaze swept along the length of the table. No one looked surprised. He then glanced back at Mei sitting quietly behind him, her eyelids lowered, as if she had expected this all along.
It's still… going.
The Demon straightened once more. This time, he closed his eyes and drew in a long, steady breath.
When he opened them, the bloodshot veins in his eyes had only thickened.
——
After several days of meetings, the ninja known as the Demon finally looked more like a ghost.
His eyes were completely bloodshot, and the pressure rolling off him was so heavy that passersby instinctively gave him a wide berth. When the meeting finally adjourned, he made sure there were no more announcements, then rose stiffly, gathered his documents, and pushed open the door to leave without a backward glance.
Mei nodded to Roshi, who remained seated, then left as well, a faint smile on her lips.
Dodai watched them go, thoughts churning.
Now that the details were settled, it was time for others to take over.
Those who had been fishing, exercising, drinking… all returned to the negotiating table.
Stacks of documents were passed around.
Ōnoki received his copy and laid his palm over the Iwagakure seal. As he pressed down on the ink pad, he suddenly spoke. "The last time the Five Kage jointly signed an agreement was when each village purchased Tailed Beasts from Konoha."
"Shukaku wasn't bought by Sunagakure," Chiyo replied, pressing down her own seal.
"It's meaningless to discuss the past now, Tsuchikage, Kazekage."
A handed the document to Yagura Karatachi.
The Fourth Mizukage quietly signed his name and passed it back to the Hokage.
Tsunade accepted the final copy. Her gaze moved over the paper—the four seals of Iwa, Suna, Kumo, and Kiri lined up in a neat row. For a heartbeat, she seemed to see her grandfather, Senju Hashirama, in this very seat, distributing the Tailed Beasts to the First Kage.
She lifted the Hokage seal, hesitated briefly, then pressed it down.
The Senju Princess looked up, her eyes sweeping across the four faces before her, a tangle of emotions surging in her chest.
She wanted to turn and look at the person standing behind her, the one who had brought everything to this point.
But she did not turn.
"According to the agreement, starting today, the Joint Combat Exercise Bureau is hereby established."
The first permanent organization in the ninja world jointly founded by the Five Great Nations now stood before them. Its authority might be limited to this tournament. Its future might be uncertain.
But it existed.
For the first time, the names of the Five Great Ninja Villages were written side by side on the same document, sharing intelligence, coordinating actions, and moving toward a common framework.
"The Five Kage Summit," Tsunade announced, "is hereby concluded."
——
Of the four Kage who had attended, Chiyo was the first to depart, with Sunagakure's delegation leaving alongside her.
The Mizukage was next.
Mei followed half a step behind Yagura. At the edge of the venue, she paused, glanced back, and gave Roshi a small nod. She had been away from Kirigakure too long on this trip; it was time to return.
As for Zabuza and the future of the Hidden Mist, she seemed to have formed some new ideas.
Then came Ōnoki, who had been the last to arrive.
Before leaving, the old man said to the one seeing him off, "Think about what I said again, Roshi. Rock endures wear and tear far better than lightning."
Deidara trailed behind him, repeatedly looking back as if searching for something, only stopping when Ōnoki smacked him on the back of the head.
The Raikage, who had arrived first, was the last to go.
A's expression was grim, and he made no effort to conceal it.
Taking that as permission, Tsunade asked, "What happened?"
"While I was away from the village, a team of ninja went missing during an mission," A replied. "Kumogakure's Anbu searched for two days and found nothing."
Tsunade answered at once, "For any area where Konoha's cooperation is needed, Kumogakure only has to submit a request."
The Fourth Raikage nodded. "Samui will stay behind. She'll continue with the specific arrangements for ninjutsu exchange."
Cloaked in his robe, A added before leaving, "If relations between our two sides can continue like this... in the future, the ninja of our villages can have a closer relationship."
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