"Chiyo… Ebizō. What do you make of this agreement?"
Sunagakure had also received Konoha's proposed ceasefire treaty.
The Third Kazekage frowned as he read through the document.
Inside the conference hall, Sunagakure's senior officials were already locked in heated discussion.
"Konoha's ceasefire terms themselves aren't unreasonable. The listed compensations follow the usual standards for a defeated nation."
"We've already clashed with Iwagakure—fighting on two fronts is straining us. Signing now isn't illogical."
"But this last requirement of theirs…"
Ebizō looked conflicted.
"They want us to cooperate with Konoha in assassinating Hanzō of the Salamander during the signing."
"And if we agree, Konoha is willing to pay half again the listed compensation."
"Even I find that tempting."
"But we are currently allied with Amegakure. Acting like this will damage Sunagakure's reputation," another elder said anxiously.
"It could affect future mission requests."
"But with Konoha surrendering, Amegakure's usefulness to us has already dropped. And when we formed that alliance with Amegakure, Hanzō demanded an outrageous amount of supplies. We still haven't finished paying it. If we could avoid that…"
The Third Kazekage organized his thoughts and looked to Chiyo.
"Elder Chiyo, you fought alongside Hanzō before. Based on your evaluation of his strength—how great is the risk?"
Chiyo turned to the council, her voice severe.
"Risk? Personally, I believe that if Konoha failed to kill him in an instantaneous strike, he could drag everyone present down with him."
"I am absolutely certain of this."
"With his speed and battle intuition, even the slightest opening would let him escape. Killing him is extremely difficult."
"Sister… is Hanzō truly that strong?"
Chiyo turned toward the Third Kazekage.
"You didn't show them the report I submitted."
The Third Kazekage nodded.
"I've been occupied with wartime matters. I haven't distributed this intel yet—I intended to brief everyone during this meeting."
His secretary placed the report before each official.
After reading it, several faces twisted with discomfort.
In the battle at the Land of Fire border, Hanzō had unleashed a devastating secret jutsu, breaking through Konoha's defenses in an instant.
After that, he fought the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi—and won.
But for various reasons, Hanzō chose not to take the Hokage's life.
Instead, he coordinated with Sunagakure, staging a scene to give Hiruzen a plausible excuse to withdraw.
Recalling this, Chiyo's expression softened with mixed emotions.
"Hanzō is not just strong—his mind is meticulous. At some unknown point, he quietly established an intelligence network that spans the shinobi world."
"To earn my trust, he even revealed several secrets about Konoha. I reported those to the Kazekage afterward."
Chiyo looked at the Third Kazekage.
He nodded.
"We used Sunagakure's intelligence division to verify everything."
"Every single detail he provided was true."
Chiyo continued:
"More than that—when the Kazekage and I traveled to Amegakure, he already knew the Third Kazekage's abilities."
"Before this war began, the Kazekage had never revealed his abilities publicly. Even within the upper ranks, only a handful knew he possessed Magnet Style."
Everyone in the room sucked in a breath.
"You're saying there's a Hanzō spy among Sunagakure or Konoha's leadership?"
Chiyo shook her head.
"No. I fear it's not just us or Konoha. The Five Great Nations may all be compromised."
The council erupted:
"Impossible! Everyone here is loyal to Sunagakure! Betrayal is unthinkable!"
"Maybe not a spy," Ebizō said.
"I suspect he might have a method to control high-ranking officials."
"We have similar jutsu ourselves. The requirements are high, but not impossible."
"Even with tight security around our leaders, there are always openings."
"A controlled person might not even realize they're being manipulated."
Everyone looked grim at that.
"Compared to the secret jutsu he used to break Konoha's defenses, developing a jutsu for controlling someone isn't difficult," Chiyo said.
"I already recommended a full reevaluation of all senior officials—including myself."
The Third Kazekage stepped forward.
"In fact, this conference room is already under a barrier. High-ranking meetings like this are rare, and this makes it convenient. To avoid alerting anyone, only Chiyo and I knew."
"Please forgive the secrecy."
"Understandable. If I were the Kazekage, I'd do the same."
"Next, I will use chakra to inspect each of you for signs of intrusion or foreign chakra."
"No one is to resist."
Though revealing their internal chakra flow risked exposing personal secrets, the officials all understood the gravity of the situation and nodded.
The Third Kazekage began the inspection.
He placed a hand on each person's back, sending chakra through their bodies.
One after another, they passed without issue—until he reached Chiyo.
He channeled chakra into her body.
Then his eyes widened sharply.
Everyone sensed immediately that something was wrong.
Someone gasped, "Elder Chiyo!? No—no, impossible!!"
"Calm down. Elder Chiyo is fine."
The Kazekage gave her an apologetic look.
"Elder Chiyo… my apologies."
"It's fine. Anyone would be shocked."
Everyone understood that the Kazekage had stumbled upon one of Chiyo's personal secrets.
He glanced at Chiyo's left arm and sighed.
"Elder Chiyo… Sunagakure may not be the strongest village, but we can protect our own. You didn't need to pay such a price…"
Chiyo replied:
"Hanzō was implanted with a Black Salamander venom sac as a child. I've enjoyed the benefits of mine for decades. Paying this price now is nothing."
"This kind of thing is harmful to the body…"
"I only use it on myself. Don't concern yourself."
Seeing she would say no more, the Kazekage moved on.
…
"After checking everyone, it appears none of us are being controlled."
"Meaning these betrayals were voluntary… or Hanzō has another way of obtaining information."
"In any case, confirming no one here is compromised is enough. Intelligence Division can handle the rest."
"With that interruption settled, let's return to the original matter."
"The final clause of Konoha's agreement—what do we do about it?"
"If Hanzō truly has such an intelligence network, he'll learn of the ceasefire terms soon enough."
"Whether it leaks from Sunagakure or Konoha doesn't matter—he will likely find out."
"But Hanzō is now a threat we can't ignore. His strength, capabilities, and temperament are terrifying. The shinobi world is already divided—Amegakure has no right to interfere at this level."
Ebizō turned to the Kazekage.
"If we truly join forces with Konoha… can you guarantee killing him before he reacts?"
"That chance is very slim."
Chiyo added:
"Hanzō's speed is monstrous. His Body Flicker might be unrivaled in the shinobi world."
"Without prior setup, even your Iron Sand cannot catch him."
"Not to mention his frightening battle instinct. If he learns of it early…"
"This becomes very troublesome," the Kazekage said.
"Even if we are allies now, conflicts of interest will make us enemies eventually."
"We must keep a trump card prepared."
"Looks like you already have something in mind."
"Yes," he nodded.
"Send this scroll to Hanzō. Shift his hostility toward Konoha, and lower his guard toward us."
"During the ceasefire signing, all three parties—Amegakure, Sunagakure, and Konoha—will be present. If he clashes with Konoha, all the better. If they injure one another, I will attempt to kill him."
"At minimum, we can strain their relations.
If Hanzō wants to endure Konoha's pressure, he'll have to rely on us."
Ebizō spoke again:
"I have another idea."
"Konoha's payment is generous, but the risk is enormous. If something goes wrong and Hanzō lashes out before dying, even you, Lord Kazekage, may not survive."
"But Amegakure has only one Hanzō. No matter how strong he is, he cannot raise Amegakure to the level of a Great Nation by himself."
"After the war, we can cut off supplies. Land of Fire and Land of Earth won't allow Amegakure to grow either."
"With no resources, even with their war gains, Amegakure can only last a few years. They have no foundation."
"Without external support, their strength will stagnate. Unless Hanzō is a 'God of Shinobi' like Hashirama, one man cannot stand against us."
"His limits lie right there."
The council members nodded, clearly satisfied.
"Good. It seems we've reached consensus," the Kazekage said.
"In that case, we proceed as discussed."
"This ceasefire negotiation… is going to be quite interesting."
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Powerstones is moving so damn fast, I was forced to work twice harder T_T, thanks tho! :))
150 Powerstones - Bonus Chap
300 Powerstones - Bonus Chap
500 Powerstones - Bonus Chap
700 Powerstones - Bonus Chap
1000 Powerstones - Bonus Chap