"Who goes there?" came a deep, gruff, male voice through the swirling blizzard. "Identify yourselves, or don't blame me for being rude!"
"The Fifth Hokage identifies herself for no one!" Tsunade called back. "You first!"
"No, you first!"
The wind howled, and amidst the blizzard's deafening roar, Sakura seemed to hear a crow's cry.
Caw… Caw… Caw…
"Why, you!" came an enraged voice in response, a few seconds later. "You're mocking me, aren't you!"
Three dark silhouettes slowly took shape against the curtain of white.
First came a tall, powerfully built black man with a goatee, bare‑chested in spite of the cold, a Raikage's cloak thrown carelessly around his shoulders. Beside him walked a shorter, much more compact black man with white hair and the characters for water and lightning inked onto each shoulder. The third was a striking blond man. He was rather handsome.
Respectively, the Fourth Raikage, A; Darui, his right-hand man; and… C, was it?
"We're in samurai territory," said Darui casually. "Would be unwise to engage right now, Boss."
"I don't care!" A raged. "The Cloud always repays its debts tenfold!"
"You should listen to your subordinates, Lord Raikage," Tsunade said coolly. "We've got company… or are you too hot‑headed to have noticed?"
Sakura peered through the snow, stifling a sneeze. Her Sharingan could just barely make out a few hundred figures amidst the blizzard. One of them stepped forwards, hand resting on the pommel of his katana, and she recognised his armour as that of the Land of Iron's samurai; Darth Vader-like atrocities that looked hard to move in. Perhaps samurai might prove dangerous in close quarters, but out in the open, Sakura was confident she could take them on one against a hundred.
"You have nothing to fear, Lord Kage," the samurai captain called out. "No shinobi blood shall be shed in the land of the samurai— any who defy that law will face the wrath of the samurai."
The Raikage harrumphed. "You got lucky this time, Hokage… but I swear, the next time we meet on the battlefield, I'll help myself to your head."
"I'd like to see you try," Tsunade said coldly. "This isn't the first time we of the Leaf have had to deal with the Cloud's shamelessness… We still haven't forgotten the two Hyūga affairs, nor the kidnapping of the previous Nine-Tails Jinchūriki."
Sakura glanced in Tsunade's direction, but ultimately, she said nothing; it was not her place to speak now. But… as expected, the older generations' grudges ran deep... despite representing the winds of change, Tsunade was still very much a product of her time.
"Why do I feel like you're thinking something rude about me again?" Tsunade snapped, glaring at Sakura. "Quit it."
"Sorry!" Sakura yelped.
The Raikage shot Tsunade one final glare, his gaze lingering a touch too long on Sakura for her comfort, before turning sharply on his heel and following the samurai along with his retinue. Tsunade, Sakura, and Shizune fell in behind, and after a long, silent march through the snow, they reached Awakening Wolf Village, carved directly from the stone at the foot of the Three Wolves Mountain Range.
"Welcome, honoured guests from afar," said Mifune, the samurai general, greeting them at the entrance. "You of the Leaf and Cloud are the first to arrive, so we invite you to retire to your assigned quarters until the summit begins… to avoid any more unnecessary disputes."
Sakura glanced curiously at the back of Mifune's bandaged head as he led them deeper into the mountain. Should she try Kotoamatsukami on him, just as Danzō had in the original timeline? The Leaf could certainly use an ace in the hole for the negotiations ahead, and what were the odds that the new Mizukage, Zabuza, would bring Ao of the Byakugan with him…?
Still, it troubled her deeply that her mind had gone to the same place Danzō's had…
"Your lodgings…"
The Leaf delegation was shown to a rather spacious yet cosy room, hewn from the mountain's bedrock, while those of the Cloud continued down the corridor to be lodged some place else. The door closed behind them with a resounding bang, and no sooner were they alone than Sakura slammed her palms on the ground, sending her chakra echoing through the stone.
"Area Scanning Jutsu!"
No seals blocked her perception, and before long, Sakura had a good picture of the mountain range's layout. There were no hidden microphones in the room that she could find, no White Zetsu that she could sense… but then again, only Karin was capable of identifying the pesky buggers. Even Sage Mode's sensory powers were no good against their Mayfly Jutsu.
"Lady Tsunade," Sakura whispered almost imperceptibly in her ear. "Should I find an opportunity to use the Kotoamatsukami against one of the Kage, or Mifune?"
Tsunade shook her head slightly.
"Not worth the risk, and besides, we're here to show our sincerity, so it wouldn't be appropriate," she mouthed silently. "But if things go south and violence breaks out, I'll leave the decision to you."
She then cleared her throat and raised her voice.
"So, the most important thing in these negotiations will be stressing the Akatsuki threat," she said. "The other Kage will no doubt try to steer the conversation towards Sakura, Hiruko, and Orochimaru, so we need countermeasures ready… and allies we no longer have in the Sand. Sakura, you've met the Fifth Mizukage personally twice— and from what I heard from Kakashi, you left on amicable terms. Do you think he'll be receptive to our position?"
Sakura scratched her head.
Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Hidden Mist, was a man who'd been willing to slaughter hundreds of his fellow students, just for an unguaranteed chance to make Kirigakure great again. From the moment Sakura met him, his gaze had been fixed on a distant goal: the Mizukage's seat. His sole aim had been to gather enough power to overthrow the Fourth and dismantle the Blood Mist Policy— and in this timeline, he had succeeded.
"I don't think so," Sakura replied, shaking her head. "Now that he's Mizukage, Zabuza won't bow his head to anyone, for any reason. You wouldn't expect it from him, but I think he cares deeply about his fellow villagers. He won't drag Kiri into anything that doesn't serve their ultimate benefit."
The Three-Tails and Six-Tails were already lost to Kirigakure, and honestly, Zabuza was glad to be rid of them. They caused far more trouble than they were worth, even if the Three-Tails could be tamed with relative ease.
"Then we're alone in this," Tsunade said with a grimace.