"Kirabi-senpai?! Yūguruma-senpai?"

"Darui?"

Kirabi was startled at first. He had thought Darui had long perished in battle. But after the surprise, he felt joy. In the Hidden Cloud Village, few could earn Kirabi's admiration for their strength, especially among the younger generation. Darui was one of the exceptional ones among that select few.

This was someone who could one day shoulder the heavy responsibility of leading the Hidden Cloud!

"I'm just glad you're alive," Kirabi said as he patted Darui's shoulder in reassurance. Seeing Darui alive slightly improved his mood.

"I'm alright."

Darui, too, couldn't hide his surprise. It wasn't strange to see Kirabi here—he had already heard about Kirabi's capture by Konoha—but he hadn't known that Yūguruma was also captured. Now it made sense why they had lost. With two Jinchūriki falling into Konoha's hands, what could the Cloud Shinobi possibly do against the monster known as Susano'o? He had witnessed that terrifying green Susano'o fight against the fully-transformed Two-Tails. Its sheer destructive power, capable of altering the landscape with each move, was truly a natural disaster.

That was a weapon on the same level as a tailed beast.

"Kirabi-senpai, did the village make a deal with Konoha? What's going on?" Darui asked, glancing around. After being released from their temporary prison, they were brought to a training ground where several Cloud Shinobi had gathered, including the veteran who had lost an arm and a leg and had been imprisoned next to him.

"They didn't tell you?"

Kirabi blinked in confusion.

"The one who brought us out of the prison was Hatake Kakashi, the White Fang's son. He only said we'd be free soon but didn't explain anything in detail." While speaking, Darui tried to mold his chakra. Although his restraints had been removed, the chakra-suppressing drugs hadn't worn off completely.

Failing to mold chakra caused Darui to frown slightly.

He wasn't planning anything reckless, but being unable to access his chakra made him feel helpless, like a fish on a chopping block, awaiting slaughter.

"Hatake Kakashi?" Kirabi muttered the name, not recognizing it and brushing it off. "But you're right. The village made a deal with Konoha. We're all part of that deal."

Kirabi's mood grew heavy as he said this. What kind of price had his brother paid to make Konoha let them go? His mind was filled with worry and frustration, but he couldn't speak of it. Mentioning it would only cause psychological stress for everyone else, and he didn't have solid proof—just his own suspicions.

"A deal?"

Darui wasn't surprised by the answer.

Being a smart person, he quickly realized the problem: if it was a deal, both sides had to offer something of equal value, or at least something they deemed equal. But what could possibly be of equal worth to two perfect Jinchūriki?

His face grew darker as the thought crossed his mind, but when Kirabi motioned for him to stay quiet, he understood that some things shouldn't be said aloud. He fell silent, trying to guess what kind of price the village had paid to strike this deal with Konoha.

All the captured Cloud Shinobi had gathered at the training ground. There were about a dozen Konoha shinobi standing guard, but that was just for show. Neither Kirabi nor Yūguruma could be handled by just a dozen people. However, if they dared to make a move now, it would only give Sougen an excuse to imprison them again.

"The people are all here, Lord Raikage, Tsuchidai."

"Is this everyone?"

"Yes. Every Cloud Shinobi captured since the war began is here. Don't worry, I have no intention of keeping any of them. They're of no value to me now. Keeping them only wastes food and manpower. Even if I wanted to use them as experimental subjects... well, I'm not interested in such inhumane forbidden jutsu at the moment. Besides, the shinobi world is never short of experimental material."

Not far from the training ground stood a tall observation tower.

Sougen stood atop the tower, his elbows resting on the cold wooden railing, looking down at the gathering of Cloud Shinobi below.

Next to him were the shadow clones of A, Tsuchidai, and C.

The negotiations had concluded, and they were swiftly moving into the exchange phase. The Fourth Raikage had personally come to retrieve his captured comrades, though due to the negotiating opponent being Uchiha Sougen, they hadn't risked sending the real Raikage, only a shadow clone.

"Kirabi... Darui... and Yūguruma..." Tsuchidai, like Sougen, leaned on the railing, counting the names and number of Cloud Shinobi below. His expression eased slightly after doing so.

The number was greater than he had expected.

And most importantly, the key people Lord Raikage had named were all present. They didn't seem to be in great shape, but at least they hadn't been tortured. From the outside, they looked fine. As for any internal tampering by the Konoha shinobi... well, that was up to C to check.

With Sougen's permission, C used his sensory jutsu.

In an instant, C felt an overwhelming sense of pressure from Sougen. It was different from the vast, boundless chakra of a tailed beast. Uchiha Sougen's chakra wasn't as massive as a tailed beast's, but it felt like a volcano on the verge of eruption. The sheer aggression in his chakra frightened C so much that he immediately shifted his focus to the Cloud Shinobi below.

After a thorough check, C whispered, "Nothing serious."

That meant there were probably a lot of minor issues.

These were prisoners, not guests, after all. Fortunately, Konoha's interrogators were highly skilled and didn't resort to physical torture. They were more adept at extracting information directly from the prisoners' minds.

"When can we take them?"

A asked sternly.

"Anytime."

"Even now?"

"If Lord Raikage wishes to try our Konoha cuisine, you're welcome to stay for lunch. I can have them prepare a feast."

"No need. I'm not in the mood to eat. I'm taking them now."

A immediately jumped down from the observation tower and headed straight for Kirabi. C followed closely, his eyes locking onto his friend Darui. If not for Raikage being present, he would have rushed over sooner.

With most people gone, the space on the narrow tower became much less crowded.

Sougen turned to the one Cloud shinobi who hadn't left. "Tsuchidai, is there something you need?"

"Uchiha clan leader, you're letting us go so easily... aren't you worried we'll go back on our word?" Tsuchidai asked, his face unreadable as he brazenly implied the possibility of betrayal. Standing behind Sougen, Uchiha Futaba's eyes flared red in anger, her hand instinctively reaching for her sword, ready to strike down the untrustworthy elder.

"Futaba."

Sougen called out calmly.

Uchiha Futaba reluctantly released her grip on the sword, her Sharingan fading back to its usual dark hue.

"I'm not sure why you'd ask such a thing, Tsuchidai. It doesn't seem like the kind of question a smart man like you would ask, but since you did, let me be clear: going back on your word is something only the strong can do. The weak... they don't get that luxury."

Sougen's straightforward response left no room for doubt. To him, the Cloud was nothing more than a weakling now. If they dared to go back on their word, he wouldn't hesitate to collect his debt by force. In the shinobi world, the will of the strong was the only law that mattered.

How was the one-village system established? Because Senju Hashirama was strong enough. When even Uchiha Madara fell before him, the shinobi world had no choice but to submit. Those First Kage at the Five Kage Summit might have acted tough, but they only dared to because Hashirama was someone who valued rules.

If Madara had been the First Hokage, would anyone have dared to challenge him? Madara wasn't one for negotiations; if you couldn't beat him, you'd be wise to dig your own grave.

"But with someone like you in charge, I doubt Cloud would stoop to such behavior."

Sougen smiled at Tsuchidai.

"Of course not. We Cloud shinobi never go back on our word," Tsuchidai said, his expression righteous, as if the Cloud had never been involved in the Nine-Tails or Hyūga incidents.

"But some things can't be delivered immediately. We'll need time to gather everything once we return."

Tsuchidai sounded sincere.

"I understand, I understand."

Sougen nodded, indicating he was fully aware of Cloud's situation.

And it was true. For example, the Amber Purifying Pot was still in the Hidden Cloud Village. While the Cloud had shinobi capable of the Heavenly Transfer Jutsu, the problem was that Mabui, Raikage's secretary, was on the front lines, making it impossible to instantly retrieve the pot from thousands of miles away.

"I'm not in a hurry. Just as long as it arrives on time."

Sougen remained the picture of patience.

"But..."

Tsuchidai's brow furrowed. what he feared most was this kind of twist.

"However, as far as I know, Turtle Island is far out at sea, with no fixed location, constantly moving... It would be quite a hassle to find it. So, Tsuchidai, how about we find someone to lead the way now and bring Turtle Island into the Fire Country's waters?"

"Well..."

"I don't think that should be a problem. Surely, it's not the case that only a specific person can find Turtle Island, and that person just happens to be in the Hidden Cloud Village? That would be too much of a coincidence, right? It can't possibly be that complicated, Tsuchidai. Don't you agree? It definitely won't be that difficult." Sougen was talking to himself, not giving Dai a chance to interrupt.

Listening to Sougen's back-and-forth, Dai's face twitched slightly, and his brow furrowed even more.

After waiting for Sougen to finally pause, Dai sighed inwardly and, with great reluctance, said, "This matter still requires Lord Raikage's order. But since Lord Raikage is here, I don't think there will be any issue. Yes, definitely no problem. What do you think about Shi leading the way?" Seeing Sougen's smile fading, Dai had no choice but to stop stalling and give a clear answer.

"Shi? The blond guy from earlier? No problem. Anyone who can accurately lead us to Turtle Island is fine."

Sougen's smile not only didn't disappear but grew even brighter.

Dai forced a bitter smile.

Turtle Island... Even though he seemed calm when persuading Lord A, the pain in his heart wasn't much less than Raikage's. To hand over such a treasure—it was hard to swallow for the Cloud ninjas, who were used to getting without giving.

But right now, they were at a disadvantage, so they had no choice but to endure it!

From now on, Turtle Island would be marked as the Leaf's, no longer the Cloud ninjas' treasure.

"Shi is a sensory ninja. He will lead your people to Turtle Island accurately. You can rest assured, Uchiha Clan leader. We've reached this point; I wouldn't do anything stupid that harms both sides. Driving away the Rock ninjas is my top priority now."

"It better be! To be honest, I've had enough of this war. If possible, I'd rather never have to eat army rations again. So, Tsuchidai, don't force me to return to the battlefield. Because if that happens... I won't be as merciful as I am now!"

Sougen smiled, speaking in a soft, gentle voice, but his words made Dai's eye twitch.

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