A special thank you to my patrons:
—Cain, Shahzaam, Varun Madhu, Mp Gaming, kevin Williams, Jose Carrillo, ZaberZ, Jose Sierra, Salim, Silver, ManyEB, Archer Sterling, John Doe, Kyle Bates, Acedia, Zhandos Kauzhanov, Kylo Ren.
You can read 30 chapters ahead of everyone on p@treon.
P@TREON - [email protected]/lessaservantofcosmos
(just replace the "@" with "a")
ps: Please support me on P@treon. I can really use your help!
—————————————————————
All those so-called "rules" and "agreements"? Total bullshit!
Let alone the fact that no one cares about them right now.
Even if someone did, as long as Iwagakure blitzes a small country or minor village, finishes the job in record time, and hauls away every scrap of resources, no one can actually do a damn thing about it.
At most they'll wag their fingers and scold Iwagakure.
If the war goes smoothly, Iwagakure resolves its internal crisis and walks away with a huge profit.
All it costs them is a little reputation.
Compared to the village's survival and stability, reputation suddenly doesn't seem that important.
Your old man literally died because he got greedy for Iwagakure's rare mines and ended up bled dry in the Land of Earth, and you've got the nerve to dangle those same mines in front of me as bait?
"So the Raikage wants to back-stab Iwagakure the moment they start a war somewhere else?"
"Back-stab?"
A frowned and corrected Kazuki's wording:
"Only allies get back-stabbed. Neither Kumogakure nor Leaf is an ally of Iwagakure. Hitting them doesn't count as betrayal. Besides, we have a perfectly good excuse: they're the ones who broke the rules first. They violated the agreement first."
The Raikage had already made up his mind to crush Iwagakure. He just wanted to drag Konoha in to share the pressure.
As for splitting the profits? Kumogakure didn't care. A only wanted one thing: brutal, bloody revenge.
The "profits" were just something to shut the elders up.
Without tangible benefits, he couldn't convince the rest of the leadership.
They wanted money and resources; he wanted heads.
Think whatever you like.
Kazuki didn't think long. Under A's faintly expectant gaze, he nodded.
"Konoha is willing to cooperate and form an alliance with Kumogakure, but Konoha will not take the lead. Kumogakure has to go first."
We can play, but we're not playing meat shield for you.
Konoha will never accept being the fall guy.
I know exactly what you're after, Raikage, so Kumogakure can kindly step up and be the lightning rod.
"…"
So Konoha wants Kumogakure to tank all the aggro up front while Leaf sneaks in for the cheap shots later.
A's already dark skin visibly darkened further.
Before A could speak, Kazuki continued on his own:
"Raikage, I know exactly what's going through your head, and I know your goal. That's why the prerequisite for cooperation is simple: Kumogakure goes first. If you don't like it, then pretend this meeting never happened."
Bottom line: Konoha will happily ride coattails and reap rewards. Being the one to stick its neck out? That's Kumogakure's job.
You're the Fourth Raikage who's dying for revenge, after all.
If you won't be the fool, who will?
Besides, Kumogakure and Iwagakure have hated each other's guts for decades, perfect for Kumogakure to be the big shiny hate magnet.
Profit moves hearts.
But Kazuki wasn't just chasing profit; he also wanted payback.
In the Third Great Ninja War, Iwagakure nearly bled Konoha dry.
That debt doesn't vanish just because the war ended.
So yes, A wanted revenge. Kazuki wanted it too.
The difference? A could say it out loud. Kazuki couldn't afford to.
And there was no need to say it, or A would just use it to haggle for better terms.
"No way!"
A rejected flatly.
"If we're cooperating, there shouldn't be a clause that forces one side to draw all the hate. I can't accept that."
Then there's nothing to talk about?
Fine. Tea time it is.
You want Konoha's help to start shit, but you also want Konoha to charge in first? There's no such thing as a free lunch.
Forget charging in first; Kazuki wasn't even willing to split the enemy's attention evenly.
Either Kumogakure charges and eats every ounce of aggro, or we all go home and pretend we never met.
Damn it!!
Kazuki, a man with zero interest in tea, suddenly became very focused on sipping it, showing no intention of speaking again.
A had known this brat wouldn't budge.
"Kazuki, don't be too greedy. Kumogakure rushes in front and tanks everything while you Leaf pick up scraps in the back, that's not fair to us."
"No, I think it's perfectly fair."
Kazuki set down his cup and gave a faint smile.
"Raikage, don't forget: Kumogakure came to Konoha begging for this partnership, not the other way around. And if you want revenge, you need Konoha's weight behind you, otherwise you can't convince your own elders, right?"
"…"
Fuck!!
Is it really okay to say that to my face?!
A suddenly wanted to start cursing.
Kazuki didn't care what A was thinking and kept going:
"Honestly, the smartest move for Konoha would be to sit on our hands and stay out of it entirely. The Third War already cost us too many lives. Konoha needs years of peace to recover and grow. Non-involvement is the best policy. But Iwagakure still owes Konoha a bloody ledger from that war, so I agreed to meet you. If not for that, I wouldn't even be here. My terms are non-negotiable. Take it or leave it. If you accept, great, we work together. If not, we go home and pretend today never happened."
So I have to drag Kumogakure to the front lines and eat all the lightning just because I want revenge, while you, Uchiha Kazuki, get to back-stab and loot from safety because you also want revenge?
A really, really wanted to start swinging.
But he couldn't, or the talks would collapse on the spot, and he might even piss Kazuki off badly enough for a fight right here.
If it were Tsunade or any other Konoha higher-up sitting across from him, they might swallow the insult.
Too bad it was Kazuki, and Kazuki doesn't swallow anything.
"No room for compromise?"
A asked again through gritted teeth.
"None."
Kazuki answered with absolute certainty.
"This is my decision and the Hokage's decision. If the Raikage agrees, we continue talking. If not, this meeting ends now."
"Yeah, yeah, Kumogakure will be the lightning rod up front, but don't forget, once Konoha declares war, Iwagakure will have to split its attention and forces. They can't focus everything on you."
Like hell I believe that!!!
The one who charges in first always draws the most hate, forever.
Even if Konoha declares war later, Iwagakure's main focus will still be Kumogakure.
There's a very real chance Onoki ignores Konoha completely and goes full psycho on Kumogakure instead.
After all, Kumogakure started the war. Kumogakure charged first.
Add decades of bad blood, and Onoki would absolutely chase Kumogakure to the ends of the earth while letting Konoha pick the bones clean.