It had been a few days since the Takimura delegation returned from Sunny Island. The negotiations had been a huge success. Takimura had secured rights not only to the Dragon Vein Crystals but had also obtained one of the Seven Legendary Swords.

Many questioned why the great villages would share such a valuable resource with a small, newly formed village. But the reality was simple - they had no choice.

Takimura’s presence created a variable that allowed Kumogakure and Konoha to divide the deposit without bloodshed.

At first, Kumo had no intention of giving Konoha a single crystal. Their original plan had been to claim the entire deposit for themselves. However, Konoha’s move to send both Jiraiya and Tsunade to the negotiations made their stance clear - they weren’t backing down.

Kumo was in better shape than Konoha and could afford to go to war if it came to that. But the problem wasn’t just Konoha. The balance between the Five Great Nations was fragile and a direct conflict between two of them would almost certainly escalate into another Great Ninja War.

Even the Fence-Sitter himself wouldn’t remain idle. Onoki would undoubtedly intervene and help the side that was losing, ensuring that the ultimate winner would be Iwagakure.

Suna was in no position to fight. They were still recovering from the last war, with their only S-rank shinobi being their Kazekage.

And with Kiri already preparing for war against Takimura, the only major variable left was Iwagakure.

In the end, both Kumo and Konoha had come to the same conclusion.

A war over the Dragon Vein Crystals wasn’t worth the risk.

So Kumo relented, giving Takimura a share - though they still walked away with nearly half of Sunny Island’s total resources.

Takimura, on the other hand, had forfeited their own right to buy crystals from the Daimyo. Even though they were given access, they simply couldn’t afford to spend money on anything but their immediate needs, not while preparing for war.

Konoha was more than satisfied with the outcome. They had secured the same amount as Kumo without conflict. And by supporting Takimura, they had weakened Kiri in the process, further strengthening their ties with the growing village.

If Takimura could keep Kiri in check, it would be one less potential threat to Konoha. Being surrounded on all sides by major nations, Konoha was more than willing to give one fourth of the share away if it meant securing good relationship with a village that would never be a threat for them but could weaken Kirigakure, who was indeed a possible enemy.

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Inside Kumo’s council chambers, the mood was mixed.

“Things didn’t go exactly as planned, but considering Kiri’s interference, this is a good result,” said Dodai once everyone left and only Raikage remained.

A, who sat at the head of the room frowned as he flipped through the documents.

“Old man, what do you think of Takimura? How long can they hold out against Kiri?” he asked as his eyes scanned one section of the document in particular.

The report stated that Kiri had already gathered three thousand shinobi and their numbers were still growing.

But there was another detail.

Takimura had recently gained two new clans, and reports suggested that a rebellion was slowly forming within Kiri itself.

Dodai thought for a moment and exhaled in dissatisfaction. “If things go well for them, they could hold Kiri indefinitely. The Takime clan’s head, is supposed to be extremely strong in that valley.”

Then he frowned.

“But we know nothing about her abilities. That bothers me.”

The Takime Clan was one of Kiri’s founding clans, but they had not stood out in the last two wars. There was no record of them producing any S-rank shinobi in generations. The last one they had was declared S-rank and then killed almost immediately after.

That kind of secrecy didn’t sit well with Dodai.

A leaned forward. “What do you think of that young girl? What was her name again… Maki, right?”

His attempt at feigned ignorance was ruined by the flicker of excitement in his eyes.

Dodai chuckled, shaking his head. “You already know what I think.”

A grumbled.

“She will be S-rank sooner or later,” Dodai continued. “Actually, I think she already is, but it’s hard to say for sure. She was suppressing her chakra the whole time, so I am not sure.”

A leaned back, his fingers tapping on the table in rhythmic move. His expression darkened slightly.

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“Konoha is too friendly with Takimura. If they actually defeat Kiri, we’ll be surrounded by two potentially hostile factions on one side.”

The Land of Water only shared borders with two major nations - Fire and Lightning.

If they had to choose an enemy, they would undoubtedly go after Kumo.

Dodai shrugged. “Even if they do win, which I seriously doubt, they won’t be in any position to fight anyone else for a long time. But you already know that. You’re trying to suggest something.”

A shot him a look.

“Don’t make up nonsense, old man.”

Dodai barely held back a laugh.

“All I’m saying,” A continued, “is that we should use our spy network. Dig up anything Konoha has done in secret in the Land of Water and leak it to Takimura. No harm to us, and it might strain their relationship.”

He wanted to help Takimura, he truly did. But first of all, he was Raikage.

Personal feelings didn’t matter to A. If it didn’t benefit Kumo, then he wouldn’t lift a finger.

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‘So they split the deposit among themselves…’

Onoki’s expression hardened.

‘I hoped that brat would start fighting with Konoha, and we’d benefit from the fallout. But something didn’t go as expected. Was Takimura really the deciding factor?’

There was too much he didn’t understand about Takimura’s influence.

Even with all the information he had gathered, there were still many gaps and unknowns from the other side of the land.

“The war in the Land of Water will start soon,” he murmured, it was more like him thinking out loud rather than sharing his opinion with those around him.

Across from him, Kitsuchi leaned forward slightly. “What do you think will happen? Will Konoha or Kumo get involved?”

Onoki shook his head.

“No. There’s no way.”

He exhaled slowly, rubbing his temples.

“Both are too wary of each other and of us. If either of them invades the Land of Water, Kiri and Takimura might join forces, or at the very least, stop fighting each other long enough to retaliate. And the other great villages would immediately try to take advantage of the situation.”

He reached for the cup in front of him and took a slow sip before continuing.

“What concerns me is what happens if Kiri is truly weakened. What if they reach a point where they can’t recover.”

He placed the cup back down and scanned the room.

“If that happens, Konoha will have one less enemy to deal with. And knowing them…” His eyes narrowed as he frowned. “Considering their tendency to produce S-rank shinobi out of nowhere, that could become a problem in the future.”

Kitsuchi didn’t argue.

Konoha had always been dangerous, not because of their size or resources, but because of their shinobi. The Will of Fire ensured that talent kept emerging, generation after generation.

Onoki let out a slow breath before adding, “But if Kiri falls, Kumo will be more than happy to attack Konoha with us.”

It was the only outcome he could count on.

Kumo and Iwa had already fought wars against Konoha. And if there was a real chance to finally bring them down, A would take it.

Onoki leaned back in his seat, his thoughts were already shifting toward the next move.

As always, the Fence-Sitter had to scheme, had to calculate and plan every step. Because unlike the other villages he had to be very careful as Iwa’s new generation was severely lacking.

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“This is outrageous!” Rasa’s palm slammed against the table, his voice was full with fury.

“Do they not care about maintaining this alliance? Isn’t Konoha supposed to be so magnanimous and honorable?”

He was fuming and no one in the council room dared to respond.

“First, they forced us into this humiliating alliance. Then, they convinced our Daimyo to commission missions to them instead of us. And now, now they have the audacity to offer these outrageous prices on Wind Dragon Vein Crystals?!”

The venom in Rasa’s voice was so intense that he sounded more like a snake than Orochimaru.

Suna’s financial situation was already dire. There was no way they could afford the inflated prices Konoha was demanding.

“We should lower our commission prices to match Konoha’s,” Ebizo suggested.

Rasa’s eyes snapped toward him, but the older man didn’t falter. Unlike the rest of the council, he and his sister did not fear Rasa’s temper.

Chiyo nodded in agreement. “It’s our best option. If we lower our prices, the Daimyo may start commissioning us instead of Konoha.”

“But just lowering prices might not be enough,” Ebizo continued. “We need to negotiate directly with the Daimyo. We have to set aside our pride and approach him.”

The other councilors stiffened at the words.

Pride.

It was the one thing that had kept Sunagakure from bending completely to Konoha’s will.

But Chiyo and Ebizo had no interest in indulging the Kazekage’s ego. They had done far more for this village than Rasa, who had sent the only other S rank shinobi of Suna to certain death, ever had. And unlike others, they weren’t afraid to speak the truth.

Rasa exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. “I’ll send Baki to negotiate a fair price.”

He straightened and forced authority back into his voice.

“But we won’t match Konoha’s prices. That’s simply impossible, we need more money. Still, the Daimyo won’t give Baki a hard time. No matter how much he dislikes us, he needs us. We are the backbone of this nation. Without us, there is no Wind Country.”

His proud declaration was met with silence.

Chiyo and Ebizo exchanged glances, sharing the same thought.

‘He still hasn’t learned his lesson…’

Since taking the title of Kazekage, Rasa had made mistake after mistake and now, the village was paying the price.

It didn’t help that his own son, the child he sealed the One-Tail into, was a disaster. Gaara couldn’t control the beast. He was a liability who attacked civillians randomly.

If Sunagakure had even one S-rank shinobi left, Rasa would have been replaced long ago.

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Kaoru walked toward the Durinu Clan compound, frowning.

“The Tsunade Library”, which he had thought was a gold mine, had turned out to be nothing but medical books. Not a single scroll related to jutsu.

‘I should have figured that out myself… Why would Konoha shinobi give me jutsu to learn?’

It was frustrating, but he knew he had been naive to hope otherwise.

Tsunade had returned to Takimura with them, but she wouldn’t be staying for long. She was leaving soon, taking Nora and Shizune with her. She hadn’t said exactly where she was going, but Kaoru had a good guess - Kaiketsu Village, to spy on the Arasami Clan again.

‘Even Maki doesn’t know what she’s looking for there… Besides, she cant stay in Takimura. If she’s here when Kiri attacks, it will be a huge scandal for Konoha, I would not mind if she stayed tho… anyway, I need to prepare for war.’

His weapon was ready.

Brok had told him to visit the other day, and Kaoru could barely contain his excitement. He wanted to see what the blacksmith had created.

His training had also advanced, his chakra rotation technique was improving and both his taijutsu and kenjutsu had gotten stronger.

‘I’ll ask Maki or Shin to spar with me. I need to test my progress.’

He could have asked Akane, who was still better than him in both taijutsu and kenjutsu, but she was busy working on her own technique.

As he neared the blacksmith’s home, a familiar voice called out.

“Kaoru, here!”

Brok stood in the yard, setting up a few wooden dummies. His eyes gleamed with satisfaction.

“Let’s test your new weapon,” he said with a grin.