Hidden Cloud Village.
The Third Raikage stood with his arms crossed, eyes closed, sunk deep in thought.
On the desk in front of him lay Konoha's response, the official statement sent out for the entire shinobi world to read.
To his side stood his son, A, the one everyone in the village already treated as the next Raikage.
And beside him, the trusted new strategist, Dodai.
"What do you two think?" the Third Raikage asked, voice low and heavy. "Konoha's reaction… isn't simple."
It ran against the usual stereotype.
Hidden Cloud liked to present itself as brutish, loud, the village of barbarians. But the mind at its center, the Third Raikage, had a surprisingly delicate way of thinking.
That violent temper was camouflage. The roughness was part of the act, a mask that made his calculations land cleaner.
A lifted his chin, young and hot-blooded. "Konoha got beaten to hell in the Second Great Ninja War and they still dare act this tough?"
"They fought Sunagakure and Amegakure to a standstill, then ended the war without even demanding much compensation, just desperate to stop it."
He jabbed a finger at the document. "Old man, I'm telling you, they've got something."
The Third Raikage opened one eye and glanced at his son. "Something? Then say it."
"They developed forbidden war techniques," A said, absolute confidence in his voice.
"So what?" the Third Raikage asked, then smacked the back of his son's head.
Even A, built like a tank, winced hard when his even bigger father hit him.
"Use your brain," the Third Raikage snapped. "If all you know is fighting, you won't survive long in the shinobi world."
"You need to understand strategy. You need to read what your opponent is thinking, what state they're in."
He tapped the statement with a thick finger.
"Even if Konoha is bluffing, look at Hiruzen Sarutobi's wording. He's already at the limit. He reads like dry tinder."
"And don't forget, we can't start a war right now after losing Blue B. Even if we could, we still can't have the Hidden Cloud face a Konoha in that state all by ourselves."
His gaze shifted to Dodai.
Dodai didn't hesitate. "Raikage-sama is right. Someone who's already decided to die will still take a bite of flesh on the way down."
"After the Second Great Ninja War, the Third Hokage's prestige dropped in both Konoha and the shinobi world. This kind of hard-line stance is likely meant to stabilize morale and the situation."
He pointed lightly at the document. "This response shows he has no intention of backing down. Even if we 'win' against Konoha, what we lose will be more than what we gain."
The Third Raikage nodded once, satisfied. Then he looked back at his son.
"You understand now, brat?"
A nodded slowly. He was reckless, sure, but at his father's side he absorbed lessons like a sponge, learning what it meant to be Raikage.
"And there's one more thing we have to take seriously," Dodai said, expression hardening. "The Third Hokage specifically mentioned 'the Second's will.'"
"I didn't live through the Second Hokage's era, but I've read enough in the records."
The Third Raikage clicked his tongue and nodded again.
"That man… really was a nightmare to deal with."
"Dirty techniques, one after another. You couldn't guard against them, and the power was ridiculous on top of it."
"And his personality was iron. That's why the Second Raikage wanted an alliance with him in the first place."
His jaw tightened. "But those two pieces of trash ruined everything…"
The "trash" he meant were Kumo's most dangerous rogue ninja, Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
During the alliance ceremony, they had launched a surprise attack with the Sage of Six Paths' treasures, severely injuring both the Second Raikage and Tobirama Senju.
Hearing his father's words, A grew grim.
Tobirama Senju… a man his father acknowledged.
The Third Raikage's voice lowered, almost like he was speaking to himself.
"I respect the Second Raikage's kindness and broad heart."
"But there's no outsiders here, so I'll say what I really think. Back then, I didn't support allying with Tobirama Senju."
"Give him time to develop jutsu, and who knows what he creates."
He paused, eyes cold. "Yes, Kinkaku and Ginkaku are rogue ninja the Hidden Cloud will never forgive, because they harmed the Second Raikage."
"But killing Tobirama Senju might not have been a disaster for us. It may have removed a threat."
A stared, stunned.
That was his father's evaluation?
The Third Raikage didn't stop.
"The Shadow Clone Jutsu that every village uses, the Anbu system, those were created by him."
"Water Style aside, the Flying Raijin, a large-scale teleportation technique with multiple anchors, it's basically an upgraded Heavenly Transfer Technique."
He looked at his son. "You understand the strategic value of that, don't you?"
"Summoning Jutsu: Reanimation. Using the enemy's loved ones. Planting Paper Bombs inside enemy lines that can trigger chain explosions."
His voice turned darker. "Those are things he did."
"And I've heard the First Hokage even banned his research."
He let that hang for a beat. "Which means he produced results like that within only a few years."
A 's face turned ugly as it sank in.
Now he understood why his father had said something so outrageous.
Allying with someone like that really was dancing with a wolf.
A clenched his jaw. "I think the First Hokage didn't truly stop him. He must've allowed it in secret. Otherwise how could Tobirama produce so many techniques in such a short time?"
The Third Raikage snapped his hand up, cutting him off, and glared hard.
"Watch your mouth."
"Hashirama Senju isn't someone a junior like you gets to judge however you want."
His tone shifted, heavy with something close to respect.
"He was called the God of Shinobi for a reason. He truly had a heart that wanted peace."
Then his voice turned sharp again. "The shinobi world just couldn't hold a belief like that."
He leaned forward slightly.
"So. Do you see what Hiruzen Sarutobi is really doing?"
"He mentioned the First Hokage to imply this: the 'tailed beast balance' concept was something Konoha pioneered first. Hidden Cloud is the village with the history of coveting other people's tailed beasts."
"And then he used Tobirama Senju as a threat, to tell every hidden village that Konoha's patience has reached its limit."
"He played the Senju brothers' names like a prestige card."
Dodai nodded. "Exactly. And we have no choice but to answer it."
Diplomacy was complicated.
It involved the weight of past leaders, the current balance between villages, word choice, interests, all of it tangled together.
But it mattered.
Play it right, and a one-on-one problem becomes two-on-one, or even three-on-one.
A let out a long breath, frustration plain. "So what, we just let Blue B's death go? Father…"
"Someone has to pay."
"We didn't even find his body," he added, voice rough. "And the Anbu casualties… that had to be human work."
Just like Hiruzen Sarutobi had guessed, Orochimaru's side hadn't left a trail. Hidden Cloud Village didn't actually know Konoha did it.
But when something happened, a mature Kage did what he could to salvage the loss.
Like stirring trouble and seeing if he could squeeze resources out of another village.
The Third Raikage's temper finally flared. Lightning flickered around him, sharp and violent.
"You still don't understand the real problem."
"Even if it was Konoha, even if it's almost impossible… can we go to war with them right now?"
His voice thundered through the room.
"Once Konoha's response is out, we won't find allies willing to stand with us against them."
"And if Konoha truly managed to assassinate Blue B without leaving a single trace, you want the Hidden Cloud to face an enemy like that alone?"
He took a step forward, lightning snapping at his shoulders.
"What you should be doing is tightening village security, training everyone harder, and becoming stronger."
A clenched his fists until his knuckles went white, then shouted back, voice loud and steady.
"Yes, Father! I was wrong!"
The Third Raikage's lightning eased.
"Good," he said, nodding. "That's my son."
Then he looked to Dodai. "Prepare our reply to Konoha."
"We acknowledge that Hiruzen Sarutobi is a Hokage who has inherited the will of the First and Second."
"And since our two nations once had the foundation for a friendly alliance…"
"Hidden Cloud admits our judgment was somewhat hasty. We've already found traces of the forces coveting the Eight-Tails."
His eyes narrowed, voice cutting clean.
"We hope to reach a shared understanding with Konoha, and one day punish those who destroy peace, together."
Dodai responded instantly. "Understood!"
It was a move that lifted Hiruzen Sarutobi's prestige.
And the subtext was clear.
Don't escalate this into a real war.
The Third Raikage narrowed his eyes further, looking out in Konoha's direction.
Logically, Hiruzen Sarutobi was most likely just a rabbit driven into a corner, finally ready to bite.
But deep down, the Third Raikage couldn't shake the feeling that his old opponent had revealed something new.
"Forget it. I don't have time to keep thinking about Konoha."
His voice went cold, decisive.
"The completion of the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails Jinchuriki must be moved to the top of the schedule immediately."