As the agents left the room, Danzo read the letter.
"Elder Danzo Shimura, if you are reading this letter this means that you had sent someone to assassinate my agent Raven. I will not waste words pretending this was an accident or a misunderstanding."
"Your Root operatives attacked a guest shinobi inside Konoha while he was under the protection of diplomatic status. That action alone is enough to be seen as an act of war between our villages. If I am being honest, this is a very bad start to our future alliance with Konoha."
"And it can even lead to war. I am sure that the Fourth Hokage would side with us if he knew that one of his elders tried to attack a guest shinobi from another village. It is not the Third Hokage after all that always supports you. That is no longer the active Hokage right now. Minato Namikaze sits in the office. He values peace and honor more than blind loyalty to old allies."
Danzo's fingers tightened around the paper. The Kazekage continued without pause. "While there would not be a death penalty for you under Konoha's laws, I am pretty sure pretty strict action would be taken against you. Your position as an elder would be stripped. Your Root forces would be disbanded or placed under direct Anbu command. You might even face imprisonment or exile."
"So here is what we are going to do to avoid all of that unpleasantness. You would tell us about the traitorous elder that you have been in contact with. Yes, we know about your relations with one of Suna's elders and your illegal dealings. You have been funneling information, resources, and perhaps even shinobi support through a hidden channel."
"We have proof of meetings, coded messages, and money transfers that point straight to one high-ranking figure in our council. We don't know who though. You would give us the name along with proof. Written records, witness statements, anything solid that we can use to remove this traitor quietly and cleanly."
The letter went on in the same cold, direct tone. "And along with this, you would stop meddling with Suna's affairs or even the Land of Wind entirely. We are going to become allies. It is not a good thing when another ally meddles in the internal affairs of another village."
"Your attempts to destabilize our leadership, to push for renewed conflict with Iwagakure, to weaken my position so you can install a more controllable figure, all of it ends now. We are sincere about this treaty and hope that Konoha would also have this sincerity. If you continue your games, you will force our hand. We do not want war. But we will not allow one man to drag both our villages toward it because of personal ambition."
Danzo's fists balled tighter. The paper crinkled under his grip. His knuckles turned white. He forced himself to keep reading.
"So let me make this very clear. If you do not comply with our demands, we would be forced to tell Lady Tsunade, the Third, and the Fourth Hokage about your illegal experiments with the dead body of the First Hokage. I am pretty sure that it should be taboo to experiment on the dead body of your village's founder. Digging up Hashirama Senju's remains, taking samples, trying to recreate his cells or his Wood Release, all of it violates every law of decency and respect in the shinobi world. Konoha would not forgive that."
Danzo's eyes widened. His breath caught for a moment. 'How did they find about it? Even Hiruzen does not suspect me on this. Did Orochimaru blab about it? Or is there some spy in the research team on my Root?'
He halted his racing thoughts and forced his gaze back to the paper. The words seemed to burn into his mind.
"And if that is not enough blackmail, you would not want the Uchiha clan to investigate more on you and how you might be silently killing some of their members to get their Sharingan. Bloodline theft should be a crime in Konoha too, I believe. The Uchiha are already suspicious."
"They whisper about missing shinobi on missions you approved. They notice patterns in the losses. If we provide them with even a small piece of evidence, they will dig until they find everything. You have built your power on secrets. Those secrets will become your end if they come to light."
Danzo felt his heart race. The Kazekage had done his homework. Too well.
The letter continued. "And yes, I am blackmailing you. Give me the name of the traitorous elder. You can send the name and proof to these coordinates. Do this before the meeting tomorrow. The joint council session where we finalize the treaty details."
"If the information arrives in time, we can handle the traitor internally without public scandal. If it does not, the consequences will be public and severe. Excuse me for the informal tone of this letter. But since the attempt on my agent's life was sent in such an informal manner, I believed that it would suit the tone to just say what I want to say and be straightforward about it."
At the bottom came the signature.
"Regards,
Fourth Kazekage"
And beneath that, pressed into the paper with fresh ink, was the official seal of the Fourth Kazekage.
Danzo lowered the paper slowly. His heart still pounded in his chest. Mention of the First Hokage's body. The Uchiha disappearances. All his carefully hidden sins laid out in neat handwriting.
He calmed himself with deliberate breaths. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. The anger did not fade. He could not let this insult slide. He had to plan a counter-move.
Then a smile broke across his face.
Danzo mumbled in a cold voice. "'Interesting. Very interesting. I will play your game for now, Kazekage. But you will pay for this soon.'"
He burned the letter and prepared to give Suna what they wanted. It was not like he had some love towards the Suna elder either. He was just a pawn to him. And if it made Suna back off for even some time, it was worth the price.
--------Author Notes---------
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