The appointed day arrived as scheduled.
The three shinobi villages were all highly efficient.
Before long, under the labor of Kusagakure ninja, a temporary meeting hall was constructed.
Each of the three shinobi villages sent people to supervise the work.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Onoki arrived by carriage.
Rasa had set out late.
But he arrived first.
Yatagarasu's speed was simply too fast.
Upon reaching the sky directly above the meeting hall, Rasa leaped lightly. His body fell freely toward the ground, and only when he was close to the surface did a cluster of gold dust gather beneath his feet.
Rasa's figure slowly descended.
On one side—
Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped down from his carriage, his body slightly hunched.
Judging from appearance alone, Hiruzen Sarutobi could not be called outstanding.
Senju Tobirama and Senju Hashirama had called Hiruzen "Monkey." Aside from Hiruzen's summoning beast being Enma, much of it also came from Hiruzen's own appearance.
But after holding the position of Hokage for so many years, he carried the air of someone long used to standing above others. Every movement radiated the presence of a superior.
One glance was enough to tell he was no ordinary person.
Compared to Hiruzen Sarutobi, Onoki's figure was even shorter.
But the aura surrounding him was far more explosive.
The instant the two men saw each other, sparks seemed to burst between their gazes.
Not long ago, the war between Iwagakure and Konoha had only just ended.
A trace of satisfaction appeared in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes.
As the losing side, Onoki let out a very unwilling cold snort.
On the other side, the leader of Kusagakure lowered his head, placing his posture as low as possible.
His heart was filled with unwillingness, yet there was nothing he could do.
What they were about to discuss was clearly a matter concerning Kusagakure.
But as the leader of Kusagakure, he had no right to speak at all.
He could only listen.
And he had to forcibly suppress the anger in his heart while presiding over today's meeting.
The leader of Kusagakure felt as though the flames of rage were burning in his chest, his heart dripping blood.
"Kazekage-sama. Hokage-sama. Tsuchikage-sama. Please."
Rasa and the other two entered the meeting room in succession.
A round table.
Three chairs.
The leader of Kusagakure did not even have the qualifications to sit at the table.
He could only serve from the side.
Pakura stood behind Rasa.
Shinku Yuhi stood behind Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Huang Tu stood behind Onoki.
Judging purely from this current lineup, Sunagakure was far stronger than Konoha and Iwagakure.
"Kusagakure's crimes are unforgivable. I believe we have already reached a consensus on that point. There is no need to discuss it. Kusagakure must pay a sufficient price to compensate for our losses."
"I believe these losses can be discussed in two parts."
Onoki frowned.
"Which two parts?"
Rasa looked toward Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"The two parts I speak of are compensation and reparations."
"Compensation is calculated according to the actual losses of our respective shinobi villages. This includes Kusagakure's robbery of merchant caravans, killing of civilians, killing of ninja, and the costs of mobilizing our armies."
"Hokage, that is reasonable, correct?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes shifted slightly.
According to that calculation, Sunagakure and Konoha would both benefit. Iwagakure had arrived late, the losses it had announced were smaller, and the army's expenses were also lower.
So he nodded.
"I believe it is reasonable."
Onoki's expression turned cold.
"I believe it is unreasonable. Since Kusagakure caused harm to all three of our shinobi villages, and all three of us came here, then an equal division is the most reasonable."
Onoki had already seen that Rasa and Hiruzen Sarutobi showed signs of cooperation.
"Tsuchikage, what I just mentioned is compensation. If compensation is also divided equally, then no matter how you explain it, it would not make sense, would it?"
"Does killing one person and killing two people cause the same loss?"
"You are being rather unreasonable here."
Rasa looked toward Hiruzen Sarutobi again.
"Hokage, would you not agree?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded.
"The Kazekage is right. Compensation is compensation. It is only reasonable to compensate according to actual losses."
"If even this is unacceptable to you, Tsuchikage, then you may withdraw from this meeting and seek out Kusagakure on your own. Konoha and Sunagakure will resolve the matter ourselves."
Onoki said nothing.
One Iwagakure facing both Konoha and Sunagakure had no chance of victory no matter how one looked at it.
Iwagakure had previously lost to Konoha.
And even though Iwagakure had once crushed Sunagakure in the past, the current Sunagakure was no longer the Sunagakure of those days.
Even Onoki no longer had confidence in defeating Sunagakure.
The atmosphere inside the meeting room became oppressive.
The three men did nothing.
Yet it felt as though a war of momentum was unfolding between them.
The leader of Kusagakure felt it grow difficult even to breathe.
But the more this happened, the more desperate hope rose in his heart.
Fight.
Fight!
But once again, he was disappointed.
Onoki was dissatisfied, but he did not fully explode.
As someone who had held the Tsuchikage seat for many years—and would continue to hold it for a very long time in the future—Onoki possessed extremely high political skill beneath that explosive personality.
In order to win, he could even use human wave tactics.
Not only would that draw ridicule from Kumogakure, it would also create dissatisfaction inside his own village.
Yet Onoki had forcibly prevented that from becoming a political stain on his record.
Only a very small number of people were dissatisfied with Onoki's action.
For example, Roshi.
In anger, he had left Iwagakure.
He could not quite be considered a missing-nin, but he wandered alone outside the village, much like Tsunade's current relationship with Konoha.
If Iwagakure wanted to count on Roshi, it would not be easy either.
"What about reparations, then?"
Onoki's voice sounded.
The atmosphere in the meeting room eased slightly.
Rasa smiled.
"As for reparations, I have thought of two methods."
"A complete equal division is something none of you would accept. So let us decide it in the way of ninja."
"War would cause enormous losses to all three of us."
"We need a method decided by strength, but without excessive casualties."
"Then let the younger generation of ninja decide."
"First option: a tournament. The age limit will be ninja under twenty years old."
"Second option: a joint Chunin Exam. Each village sends the same number of genin teams."
Onoki and Hiruzen Sarutobi exchanged a glance.
This was indeed a method they could both accept.
However, this plan had been proposed by Rasa.
It would inevitably suit Sunagakure the most.
Therefore, it had to be changed.
"Let us use the tournament. A Chunin Exam is too troublesome and takes too much time. However, the age limit needs to be adjusted. Twenty is too high. It will be too troublesome to choose candidates. Limit it to eighteen."
Hiruzen Sarutobi proposed.
Onoki's eyes flickered.
"I also agree with the tournament method. However, eighteen is still a little high. Let it be sixteen. As for the candidates, each shinobi village will send three people. How about that?"