"Sarutobi Hiruzen, is this your stance as well?"
The Fourth Raikage, A, ignored Senju Haruto's warning. This had already escalated beyond a simple exchange of words—this was now a clash between two hidden villages.
"…Yes."
Sarutobi Hiruzen answered without hesitation. Matters had already reached this point; there was no reason left to hold back. In truth, he had proposed the idea of confronting the Hidden Cloud Village back during the Konoha high council meeting.
If you seek peace through strength, peace will endure. If you seek peace through compromise, peace will perish.
In the past, it had been Uzumaki Kushina. Now it was Hyūga Hinata. If they did not stamp out this kind of thinking at the root, who could say whether the Hidden Cloud wouldn't try the same trick again one day?
And Haruto was absolutely right.
From the very beginning, the Cloud had never truly respected the alliance agreement. That fragile scrap of paper meant nothing to them—it was merely a smokescreen to cover an attempted kidnapping.
"That's right."
Sarutobi Hiruzen met A's gaze and declared with weight in his voice, "What Senju Haruto said is exactly what I intend to say."
"What?!"
Not only A, but everyone present—including Mifune—was momentarily stunned.
Mifune, though a representative of a neutral nation, was far from ignorant about the shinobi world. In his mind, the kind, grandfatherly Sarutobi Hiruzen had always been a peace-loving dove.
Was he truly prepared to risk war just to protect a supposed killer?
"This is not about taking sides," Haruto said, "this is about the dignity of great nations. The Cloud kidnapped Lady Hinata of the Hyūga main family. To protect her, we struck down the ringleader on the spot."
"The Cloud were the ones who first tore apart the alliance agreement. And now they expect us to bear the blame? Isn't that laughable?"
Haruto slammed his palm onto the table. Chakra erupted from his body, shattering the entire conference table into splinters.
"If the Fourth Raikage can't give us a proper explanation—then let's go to full-scale war!"
"Until your country lies in ruins—until your village is destroyed—we will not stop!"
His words rang out like a hammer blow. Even Hiruzen hadn't expected him to be so utterly unyielding.
This was a meeting between two Kage. A declaration of war here would become reality.
And yet, just before, Haruto had said his aim was not war—that he sought peace. He had planned to strike the Cloud just hard enough to make them see Konoha's fangs, then sit down to negotiate.
But now… he had spoken of total annihilation.
Since the First Shinobi World War, even in the bloodiest conflicts, no war had ever reached the level of wiping out an entire nation or village.
Even A was momentarily frozen in place. Since becoming Raikage, he had never met anyone who dared speak to him like this.
"Enough!"
Mifune shot to his feet, glaring at Haruto. "Sarutobi! Get this loudmouthed fool out of here immediately!"
But in that moment—when all eyes were fixed on Haruto—Yamanaka Kaze's gaze shifted to Darui, standing just behind the Raikage.
Though Kaze was here as one of Hiruzen's guards, he was acting under Shimura Danzō's orders. His mission: assassinate the Fourth Raikage and shatter the talks.
If A was seriously injured—or if Haruto or Hiruzen were harmed—it would be even better.
He knew this mission might cost him his life, but as a member of Root, Kaze had long since cast aside concern for his own survival.
Danzō's orders were absolute.
Seizing the moment, Kaze formed a quick hand seal, unleashing the Yamanaka clan's secret technique.
"Mind Body Switch Technique!"
His body went limp, consciousness surging into Darui's mind.
It all happened in a heartbeat. Before anyone could react, Kaze—in Darui's body—drew the long sword from Darui's back and lunged for A's carotid artery.
"Darui!"
Cee cried out in shock, moving to intervene.
But at the last instant, the blade stopped in midair, unable to move forward. Darui's face twisted with effort and pain.
The Mind Body Switch was not a complete control technique—it was a clash of wills. Only when the caster's will surpassed the target's could they take full control.
Kaze had chosen what he thought was the perfect moment and the perfect target… but he had underestimated Darui's loyalty to the Raikage.
"…Forgive me, Lord Raikage…"
Darui's voice was strained as he let the sword slip from his hands.
Clang!
The weapon hit the floor. All eyes turned toward Yamanaka Kaze's limp body.
"Kaze…"
Hiruzen's expression darkened. He had recognized the Yamanaka clan's secret technique instantly—but never imagined Kaze would try to assassinate the Raikage during a two-Kage summit.
"Danzō… again."
The truth dawned quickly. With the intel Aburame Torune had delivered earlier, Hiruzen understood now why Danzō had gathered so many Root operatives.
It was classic Danzō. Success or failure, he would benefit.
If the assassination succeeded, nothing more needed to be said.
If it failed, A's fury would fall squarely on Konoha's delegation—and on the way home, Danzō could engineer another "accident" to eliminate both Haruto and Hiruzen.
"Get… out of my body!"
Darui might normally look lazy, but his loyalty and resolve for the Raikage and the Cloud far outmatched Kaze's.
In this battle of wills, he crushed Kaze's intrusion and drove his consciousness back to his own body.
"I… failed…"
Back in his own body, Kaze's expression was tense. Their situation had just gone from bad to worse.
The Fourth Raikage had always been hot-tempered. Haruto's earlier words had already stoked his anger; now someone had tried to hijack Darui to kill him.
Almost before Kaze could blink, A's figure blurred—he had closed the distance in a burst of extreme speed, appearing before the half-crouched Kaze. His right hand was raised high, wreathed in Lightning Release chakra, and came slashing down.
At that moment, war or no war, the presence of the Third Hokage meant nothing to him. Anyone who dared attack his men… would die.
Only Kaze's corpse would cool his rage.
But Hiruzen could not just stand and watch Kaze be cut down. In a flash, he lashed out with a kick to Kaze's shoulder, hurling him into the conference room wall.
A's lightning-charged hand struck nothing but floor—splintering it into rubble
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