Time moved forward to the following day.
The representative from the Hidden Cloud Village finally arrived in Kusagakure. Almost immediately after entering the village, he began a series of closed-door negotiations with the leader of the Hidden Grass Village.
Kusagakure had dared to provoke Konoha for one reason alone—because it believed it had Kumogakure's backing.
From the very beginning, the leadership of Kusagakure understood its own weakness. As a small ninja village caught between great powers, it could not afford to act recklessly unless a stronger force stood behind it. That was why, when the Box of Ultimate Bliss incident occurred, the Hidden Grass Village had believed it could safely push responsibility onto Konoha.
Now, however, Konoha had arrived in person to demand accountability.
Faced with this pressure, the leader of the Hidden Grass Village had no choice but to cling desperately to Kumogakure, hoping the Hidden Cloud Village would shield him from Konoha's wrath.
But reality was merciless.
The representative from the Hidden Cloud Village made his position clear with chilling indifference.
Kumogakure would not intervene.
Kusagakure would bear full responsibility for the incident.
The leader of the Hidden Grass Village was furious.
"You encouraged this back then," he roared in private. "You supported us. And now you wash your hands of everything?"
But anger meant nothing.
He was merely the leader of a small village. His rage could not alter the will of one of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
In the end, he could only swallow this humiliation.
After more than a week of negotiations, a final agreement was reached.
Kumogakure would formally sign a peace treaty with Konoha and Sunagakure.
In exchange, Konoha would cease its pursuit of responsibility regarding Kumogakure's previous attempt to kidnap Kushina Uzumaki. Kumogakure, in turn, would drop the issue of Troy's death at Aomizu's hands.
The greatest price, however, was paid by Kusagakure.
As the direct instigator of the conflict and the cause of Konoha's significant losses, the Hidden Grass Village was ordered to pay an enormous sum of compensation.
Furthermore, the Box of Ultimate Bliss would be confiscated and transferred to Konoha for safekeeping.
This was not framed as punishment, but as "prevention."
The Box had belonged to Kusagakure since ancient times. It was the village's most sacred and dangerous treasure.
Now, it would no longer remain in their hands.
The leader of the Hidden Grass Village was filled with resentment.
He wanted to protest.
But he could not.
Once the three major villages reached a consensus, Kusagakure had no voice. In the end, he could only sign the agreement with a face twisted in grievance.
The treaty was finalized.
That very night, the representatives of the Hidden Cloud Village departed without delay.
Pakura also bid her farewell to Aomizu and Tsunade.
Her mission was complete, and she needed to return to the Hidden Sand Village to report.
Before leaving, she cast a brief glance at Aomizu.
She acknowledged his strength, but she was unwilling to admit defeat so easily.
As for Aomizu and Tsunade, they would remain in Kusagakure for one more day.
The Box of Ultimate Bliss had been sealed inside Hōzukijō and needed to be transported out first.
Additionally, the compensation demanded from Kusagakure was far too great to be paid in a single installment. If they attempted to do so, the village's economy would collapse entirely.
Thus, Kusagakure could only scrape together a portion for now, with the remaining payments to be made gradually over the next year.
During this period, the elders of the Grass-Flower Faction also approached Aomizu and Tsunade proactively.
They expressed goodwill toward Konoha.
This incident had dealt a severe blow to the Grass-Fruit Faction, which had previously dominated Kusagakure's politics. Their influence plummeted overnight.
In contrast, the Grass-Flower Faction seized the opportunity to rise.
Aomizu and Tsunade did not reject them.
Konoha still needed to maintain workable relations with Kusagakure. If pushed too far, the Hidden Grass Village might defect outright to Iwagakure.
That outcome would be unacceptable.
By the following morning, Aomizu and Tsunade departed Kusagakure.
At the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass, trouble found them.
They were surrounded.
A large group of bounty hunters emerged from the forest, blocking the road ahead and cutting off the path behind.
Their target was clear.
Aomizu.
After all, his head was worth ten million ryō.
In truth, Tsunade's bounty was far higher—several times Aomizu's—but the difference lay in reputation.
At first, some bounty hunters had tried to target her.
Those who survived quickly learned better.
Her killing power was overwhelming.
Most bounty hunters valued money, but none valued it more than their own lives.
"Hey… that person—"
One bounty hunter's face drained of color.
"That's Tsunade!"
Panic rippled through the group.
Several immediately considered retreat.
"What's going on? The intelligence didn't say Tsunade was here!"
The reason so many bounty hunters had gathered was simple—they had received information about Aomizu.
Unlike Tsunade, whose name was synonymous with terror, Aomizu was viewed by many as a young ninja with some fame, but nothing insurmountable.
That assumption was enough to draw them in.
"Bounty hunters," Tsunade said coldly. "Annoying as ever."
Aomizu nodded slightly.
"Tsunade-sama, be careful," he said calmly. "They won't give up easily."
"I know."
His voice carried no trace of fear.
Soon, someone stepped forward.
"What's there to be afraid of?" the man shouted. "There are so many of us! If we work together, we can kill even Tsunade!"
"That's right!" another echoed. "It's just two people!"
Once a leader spoke, the rest followed.
Even those who had wanted to retreat clenched their teeth and stayed.
In the shadows, a man watched silently.
Kakuzu.
After learning of Aomizu's bounty, Kakuzu had already marked him as prey.
When he discovered Tsunade was also present, he made a swift decision.
He would take both.
Confidence did not make Kakuzu careless.
Tsunade was dangerous. Aomizu was no longer unknown.
Facing them alone would be risky.
So Kakuzu concealed Tsunade's presence from the intelligence.
He lured in these bounty hunters as expendable tools.
His plan was simple.
Let them distract Tsunade.
Then strike.
Once Tsunade fell, Aomizu would be irrelevant.
As for these bounty hunters trying to steal his kill?
Kakuzu never considered them a threat.
He waited patiently.
Like a viper.
Bang!
Tsunade moved.
She charged forward without hesitation.
Each punch sent a bounty hunter flying dozens of meters, bones shattering instantly.
Close combat was suicide.
"Don't engage her directly!" someone shouted. "Use Ninjutsu!"
Fireballs, water blades, lightning arcs, wind bursts, and chunks of earth filled the air.
The techniques looked impressive.
Their power was not.
Most were D-rank or C-rank.
There wasn't a single B-rank technique among them.
And there was no coordination.
Tsunade dodged effortlessly.
"You think distance will save you?"
She stomped the ground.
The earth shattered.
Chunks of stone ripped free and were hurled like cannonballs.
Bodies fell.
Blood sprayed.
Then—
An arm burst from the ground.
It moved too fast.
Tsunade's eyes widened slightly.
She couldn't dodge in time.
The arm pierced straight through her body.
The battlefield froze.
Blood splashed onto the dirt.
From the shadows, Kakuzu smiled.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)