Late at night.
Kumogakure.
Towering mountain peaks pierced the clouds, creating an imposing atmosphere.
Clouds drifted midway up the mountains, and the entire village seemed shrouded in a layer of black mist, hazy and indistinct.
At the highest point in the village center, the doors of an austere house were shut tight.
The Third Raikage sat cross-legged, eyes closed, refining chakra.
A breeze stirred. A voice shattered the night's stillness, thundering beside the Third Raikage's ear: "The night looks beautiful."
Boom!
Before the words had finished, the Third Raikage's fist had already blasted through the wall and window in a single punch.
Yet his target stood unaffected in the moonlight, still as a phantom.
"You're Uchiha Yuzuru?"
Staring at those blood-red patterns, the Third Raikage spoke coldly.
Uchiha Yuzuru nodded. "That's right."
In the next instant, dozens of Lightning Release techniques swallowed Yuzuru whole.
Then four colossal stone pillars burst from the ground, encircling him.
Lightning snaked around the pillars, linking together into a thunder cage that trapped Yuzuru within.
Dozens of Kumo shinobi emerged from the darkness, pouring chakra into the pillars without pause.
To their astonishment, Yuzuru simply stepped forward like a mirage and walked out of the sealed thunder columns.
"Relax… Don't be nervous. I'm just here to have a heart-to-heart talk with you."
"A talk?"
The Third Raikage let out a cold laugh. "You're afraid Kumogakure will attack the Uchiha, aren't you?"
"Although I am very surprised that you were able to defeat A and Killer B, that's all there is to it."
"If Kumogakure marches, you won't be able to protect the Uchiha."
Yuzuru only shrugged. "Likewise, if I move against Kumogakure, you won't be able to protect the rest of your shinobi."
"A, Killer B, your unripe prodigies, the old and the weak…"
Yuzuru rubbed his chin, as if troubled. "If war starts, who do you think I should target first?"
"Oh, right. If I use these eyes to control the Tailed Beasts, then I won't have to struggle with the choice so much."
The Third Raikage's pupils tightened. "Are you threatening me?"
"What do you think?"
Silence fell.
If Yuzuru were merely strong, the Third Raikage would not have feared him.
Since the village's founding, Kumogakure hadn't feared anyone.
But Yuzuru's abilities were too unnatural.
Not only did he possess the strength to defeat A, he had slipped through Kumogakure's barrier without a sound.
Even the Raikage himself only sensed him after the man spoke first.
Physical attacks were useless, sealing techniques did nothing…
Worst of all, as Yuzuru said, the Mangekyō Sharingan could control tailed beasts.
If he really seized the Two-Tails or the Eight-Tails, a few Tailed Beast Bombs would turn Kumogakure into rubble.
The more he thought, the more a crushing pressure spread through the Third Raikage's chest, cold sweat beading on his skin.
He'd rather fight another Shinobi World War than provoke an enemy like this.
"Well…"
"Perhaps we really should have that heart-to-heart."
"The night truly is beautiful. Ha… haha… hahahahaha…"
Watching the smile on the Third Raikage's face, Yuzuru smiled as well.
This outcome was exactly what he had expected.
Faced with a specter who could deliver a fatal blow to the village at any moment, anything short of mutual destruction would be a losing trade.
And the relationship between the Uchiha and Kumogakure was nowhere near that point.
Seeing the Raikage and Yuzuru chatting and laughing, every Kumo shinobi present stood dumbfounded.
Everyone in Kumogakure knew the Third Raikage was a stubborn hothead—the kind who dared to clash head-on with the Eight-Tails in a mortal body.
Anyone who defied him would be hammered into the floor.
In every matter he was overbearingly forceful, as if the word 'compromise' didn't exist in his dictionary.
Yet here he was—compromising?
Laughing with an intruder?
It felt like a dream.
But disbelief didn't change reality.
At the Raikage's invitation, Yuzuru walked shoulder to shoulder with him into the Raikage Tower.
—
"Truly, heroes can be young. Aside from my son, I've never seen a youth as outstanding as you."
"Yuzuru, right? Everything before was a misunderstanding. I hope you won't hold it against us."
Yuzuru was a bit surprised by the Third Raikage's conciliatory tone.
He had assumed Kumogakure was full of blockheaded brutes—he hadn't expected this side of them.
Still, he didn't put on airs. He smiled. "Since the misunderstanding's cleared up, I'll take my leave."
"Wait."
The Third Raikage suddenly stopped him. "Yuzuru, now that your Uchiha have left Konoha, do you plan to stay in the Land of Rice Fields forever?"
"A small country like that has nothing. For a great clan like the Uchiha to hole up there is a waste of talent."
"Besides, Konoha has already branded you as rogue shinobi. They won't let it go."
"Other villages will covet your Sharingan and watch your every move."
"Even for you, opposing the entire shinobi world is… unrealistic, isn't it?"
Yuzuru answered coolly, "A short while ago, Kitsuchi from Iwagakure came to negotiate with us. They offered very generous terms."
"Iwagakure?"
The Third Raikage's face changed as a sense of crisis surged.
Kumogakure and Iwagakure were old enemies.
If Yuzuru truly led the Uchiha to join Iwagakure, Kumogakure would be in danger.
If war broke out, Yuzuru alone would make them suffer.
"Yuzuru," the Third Raikage said at once, "whatever that old fossil Ōnoki promised you, Kumogakure will pay double."
A faint smile tugged at Yuzuru's lips.
Hooked at last.
"If we join Iwagakure, Ōnoki will grant us land and industries to settle and grow, allow the Uchiha a degree of autonomy, and let us participate in the village's core decisions."
The Third Raikage fell silent for a moment, then said, "Very well. Kumogakure can agree to those terms."
"However…" His gaze locked on Yuzuru. "How do we ensure the Uchiha truly mean to settle in Kumogakure?" (T/N: ah! Did I forget to tell you that I'm the leader of the whole clan!??)
T/n:
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