So, after getting up early the next day, Seijuro would have his squad ready to go. They would be the ones accompanying Hiruzen on this mission, which would be classified as an S-rank mission.

Wow. Seijuro was swimming in thought, having more than 50 billion yen in his bank account was crazy work. The amount of shit he could buy with that.

Money was now no longer an issue for him. Plus, he now had all of the Uzumaki scrolls that Iwa had—so, new seals for him to learn.

Eventually, in the future, after he fully weakened all five ninja nations—yes, Konoha included—the Root would have to be thoroughly purged, and if need be, so would the Sarutobi clan, the Mikado clan, and whatever the name of the last male elder was.

Those 3 clans—no, 4 clans—had to be wiped, alongside all forms of allegiance to them whatsoever. Only when that was done could Konoha truly prosper. And for that, Seijuro may or may not have to groom the best Hokage for the spot.

Someone that's more understanding, and not that naive. So unless Nawaki learns some shit, he will not be Hokage.

And someone with a spine... so probably not Fugaku. Oh well, if the Uchiha wanted a Hokage, they could get one, as long as they had a member that deserved to be there—i.e., met the qualifications for it.

If Seijuro was born in Suna, or Kiri, or even Iwa, his strength—i.e., what he had shown to the village—and his prestige should have been enough to become Kazekage/Tsuchikage/Mizukage.

Only thing probably stopping him would be age.

But oh well. Shit happens.

Anyway, time to act like a loyal puppy of Konoha.

"Stay close," Seijuro murmured to his team, his voice low.

"Remember: bodyguards first. Ghosts second."

The squad walked in formation behind Hiruzen Sarutobi, who appeared perfectly casual—if casually aware of every stone shinobi in a three-block radius.

Seijuro's eyes lazily scanned their surroundings.

They had decided to hold this meeting in the Land of Rice.

Oh well.

Time to wait for the Hokage to do their shit.

Hiruzen and Ōnoki sat across from each other. The two looked like those old people who shared a lot of history—the kind of people to say back in my day.

Tea was served. Civilities were exchanged. Neither Kage smiled.

Utter bullshit was spouted from their lips.

"Peace must begin somewhere," Hiruzen said kindly.

"Peace always begins with profit," Ōnoki answered, sipping his tea bitterly.

The two began their political dance. Kage talk. Like grandmasters discussing shogi while their villages quietly bled behind them.

"Ōnoki, I think we both know—it's time for us to end this war," Hiruzen said, looking at the old man.

Ōnoki sipped his drink.

Hm. The tea was quite good here.

Well, time for the bullshit politics to start.

Next scene ('Cause I ain't finna write this)

The squad had split off. Civilian story? Taking time to "observe Iwa's culture." ANBU mission? Check for signs of infrastructural collapse.

"Alright, Eagle," Seijuro said, stopping on a high overlook facing the village outskirts. "Eyes up."

Hikaru Hyūga activated his Byakugan.

Veins pulsed. The pale irises scanned past stone and steel, deeper and deeper.

Silence.

Then a quiet exhale.

"...It's bad."

"Define bad," Shikaru said without lifting his eyes from his notepad.

"Main food district's half-operational. Storage vaults are underguarded. Civilian population has shrunk significantly—mass migration or deaths, I can't tell. Medical centers look... overcapacity. A lot of chakra signatures are weak. And about one-fifth of the shinobi I'm seeing aren't even fully recovered."

He paused.

"And I just saw two kids fighting over spoiled rice."

The group stood quietly.

Even Inoichi's usual jokes died in his throat.

Holy shit. Iwa was fucked over raw by that Aizen Sōsuke fella. Fucking daylight robbery happening here.

Holy shit. Iwa looked like they were getting fucked over.

Damn.

If the spy reports were correct, Aizen probably wouldn't attack Konoha—well, unless Konoha was involved in some very sneaky shit and, you know, backstabbed the Uzumaki or something.

They would never.

"Let us report it back to Lord Third." The squad nodded. It was time to report back that Iwa was in the slums and would probably never recover from this—even years later.

Shit probably gonna take 10 years to recover from.

Good. Some time of peace for the ninja world.

Iwagakure Treasury – Same Time

Ōnoki stood with his back to his advisors, a fresh scroll in his hand. Not from Konoha. No, this one came from a merchant runner—an unsigned letter.

It read:

"Break, and I'll offer you repair.

With interest.

—A"

Ōnoki's hand clenched. Then relaxed.

"...Damn it all."

Fucking Aizen Sōsuke. Yet looking at Konoha's terms—shit—Iwa was getting done dirtier than Bonnie Blue.

Yes... that badly. Shit felt like getting your fucking guts rearranged by an Akimichi using Expansion Jutsu.

It was that bad. Now also imagine... that said Akimichi took the red pill and went Butterfly Mode in that shit.

A/N I usually skip politic scenes in Fanfic, so no way in hell I am writing them, unless there is a joke there or its like hella plot relevent.