Chapter 169 — The Nations, The Game
Konoha — Hokage's Office
With internal matters settled, the discussion shifted to something far more critical—
How to handle the relationship with Sunagakure moving forward.
"Let them come," Danzō said with clear disdain. "They've already lost the war—what is there for us to fear? If anything, they should be the ones worried now. Iwagakure has been eyeing them for a long time. After losing so many forces, aren't they afraid of getting picked apart?"
Though he disliked Jiraiya, even Danzō had to admit—
This time, Jiraiya had done exceptionally well.
After this battle, Sunagakure would not recover easily on the southern front.
---
"That may be true," Homura replied, voicing his concern, "but there's always the possibility they'll act out of desperation. They've done it before. During the last war, didn't they initiate conflict with Konoha just to shift internal pressure?"
It was a valid point.
Individual will and collective will were rarely the same.
Most people disliked war—
Opposed it, even.
But at the level of villages and nations, war often became inevitable.
For profit.
For stability.
Or simply because of collective sentiment.
---
Silence fell over the room.
In the end, Hiruzen broke it.
"We strengthen our defenses first. Sunagakure will definitely send envoys. We still hold many of their prisoners. Let's see what terms they propose."
---
A glint of excitement flashed in Danzō's eyes—like a wolf spotting prey, ready to tear off a piece of flesh.
Koharu and Homura were more restrained, but even they couldn't hide a certain anticipation.
After all—
Konoha had won.
And victors had every right to enjoy the spoils.
---
Sunagakure — Same Day
Unlike Konoha, which had been unaware of the battle beforehand, Sunagakure's leadership knew exactly what had triggered the war.
And that was precisely why they found it so incomprehensible.
A battle that should have been a guaranteed victory—
Had ended in defeat.
---
According to the surviving shinobi, they had fallen into a Konoha trap, lured into an ambush, then surrounded when reinforcements arrived.
But the leadership wasn't foolish enough to rely solely on retreating soldiers' accounts.
They immediately dispatched intelligence agents—
Including spies embedded within Konoha—
To uncover the full truth.
---
But regardless of the process—
The outcome was undeniable.
They had lost all positions in the Land of Rivers.
They had been driven back into the Land of Wind.
And over a hundred shinobi had been captured—
Including their frontline commander—
Shamon.
---
"Speak. What do we do next?"
The Third Kazekage sat at the head of the chamber, his gaze sweeping across the room like a sandstorm.
No one spoke.
They had only just received the news themselves—
And were still processing it.
---
The silence grew heavy—
Until Chiyo, seated at the head of the right side, finally spoke.
"Regardless of anything else, we have not formally declared war on Konoha. There is still room to maneuver. First, we send envoys and negotiate the return of our captured shinobi."
---
Once she spoke, the room erupted.
"Do you really think they'll agree? If it were me, I wouldn't! That's just strengthening the enemy!"
"Then we fight them head-on!"
"With what? We've lost half our frontline forces! Where do we even get replacements?"
"We ally with Iwagakure and pressure them together!"
---
Voices overlapped, turning the chamber into chaos.
Then—
Bang!
A heavy slam echoed across the table.
Silence instantly returned.
The Kazekage's expression was dark.
"This is a council, not your homes. Have you forgotten your discipline?"
He turned to Chiyo.
"Elder, your thoughts?"
Chiyo calmly lifted her teacup, took a small sip, and set it down before speaking.
"Envoys are necessary. If we abandon our captured shinobi, who will remain loyal in the future? Once morale collapses, Sunagakure itself collapses."
She paused briefly.
"As for the price—money, mission rights in the Land of Rivers, even agreeing to withdraw troops from the region… all of that can be negotiated. The priority is bringing our people back."
"Ridiculous!"
A council elder slammed the table, furious.
"We fought so hard to secure the Land of Rivers, and now you want to give it up just like that?!
Chiyo didn't even bother replying.
She simply looked at him like he was an idiot.
Ebizo, seated beside her, spoke instead.
"We get our people back first. Whatever we concede—we can take back later. Besides, whether Konoha will even have the capacity to manage the Land of Rivers by then is another question entirely."
The elder fell silent.
Compared to these political minds—
He realized he was far too straightforward.
Better to leave strategy to them.
With no further objections, the Kazekage made his decision.
"Then it's settled. Elder Chiyo, you will lead the envoy. You have full authority to negotiate as you see fit. As long as our people are brought back, the village will accept any terms."
The room fell quiet again.
Even if it was partly political posturing—
Such trust was enough to command loyalty.
Chiyo nodded.
"Then I'll leave at once. I'll bring our children home."
With the prisoner issue decided, the discussion shifted.
"What about the next step for the village?"
"We need to reinforce the borders. Even if we can't restore full strength, we can't leave them this empty."
"Pull forces from the Earth and Rain fronts—"
"Impossible! Iwagakure has been making moves. If we weaken that front, they'll strike immediately!"
"Then draw from the village itself. Have the major clans contribute manpower. Start with five hundred. Once the prisoners return, our border forces should stabilize."
This—
Was the real purpose of the meeting.
With manpower depleted, and no reinforcements available from other fronts—
The burden fell on the clans.
They had enjoyed the village's resources.
Now—
It was time to give back.
Under the pressure of the council's gaze, the clan heads had no choice.
One by one—
They agreed.
With the major decisions concluded, the meeting quickly ended.
But Sunagakure's situation—
Only grew more precarious.
Not only did they face pressure from Konoha—
Other fronts might soon destabilize as well.
Everyone present understood—
Everything now depended on the Kazekage's next move.
Across the entire ninja world, nations stood at the brink.
Troops gathered along borders.
Each village watched the others closely.
One wrong move—
And war would erupt.
Naturally, news of the large-scale conflict between Konoha and Sunagakure spread quickly.
Only a day or two behind—
Other nations received full reports.
---
In Iwagakure, the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, finished reading the intelligence report.
Without hesitation, he issued orders—
Reinforce troops along both the Land of Fire and Land of Wind borders.
Two objectives:
Strengthen vigilance against Konoha.
And—
Assess whether the Land of Wind now presented an opportunity.
After all—
Compared to the Land of Earth, with its harsh cliffs and barren terrain—
The Land of Wind, despite its deserts, still had habitable oasis regions.
That was why, throughout history—
The Land of Earth had always targeted the Land of Wind.
Not out of ambition alone—
But necessity.
Almost at the same time, thunderous laughter echoed through the Raikage's office in Kumogakure.
"The sand rats from Sunagakure really are a bunch of useless trash! They had the numbers advantage and still got crushed in return!"
The Third Raikage, A, swung a massive dumbbell in one hand while speaking to Karui—who stood nearby—with a booming voice.
"What do you think? Should we send people in and see if we can grab a piece of the action?"
Karui's face darkened with black lines.
From the Land of Lightning to the Land of Wind, traveling by land meant crossing at least five countries. By sea, they would have to break through the maritime control of both the Land of Fire and the Land of Water.
No matter how she looked at it, this was a troublesome plan with little real gain.
She honestly couldn't understand how the Raikage came up with ideas like this.
Did he just decide things on impulse?
After a long explanation, Karui finally managed to dissuade him—at least for now.
Still, the Raikage issued an order:
Reinforce the border facing the Land of Fire with an additional five hundred shinobi.
Clearly, even he had been shaken by Konoha's combat strength.
Precautions had to be taken.
Meanwhile, far away in the Land of Water, Kirigakure was in a completely different state.
The Third Mizukage was fully focused on enforcing his "Bloody Mist" policy, consolidating power within the village.
He had no interest in Sunagakure's troubles.
At most, he ordered an increase in naval patrols.
Konoha might not come looking for trouble—
But in times like these, it was always better to be cautious.
---
As reports came in from every border of the Land of Fire—each one confirming that neighboring villages were reinforcing their forces—
Jiraiya and Nara Shikaku were already deep in tactical simulations over a newly drawn sand table.
Not long ago, the official commendation from the village had arrived.
Everyone in the camp had been rewarded—even the logistics personnel.
Everyone—
Except Jiraiya himself.
Jiraiya understood perfectly well what that meant.
It was nothing more than a warning from the higher-ups.
---
Still, he didn't regret it.
Opportunities like that came once in a lifetime.
If he had reported it beforehand, then judging by his understanding of Hiruzen Sarutobi—
The entire plan would most likely have been scrapped.
Looking at the intelligence report in his hand, Jiraiya chuckled and said to Shikaku,
"I bet the village is complaining about us right now—saying our actions increased pressure across all fronts."
Shikaku didn't reply immediately.
But after thinking it over—
That was entirely possible.
The fact that Jiraiya's name was absent from the commendation already showed that the higher-ups had made a questionable decision.
No matter what—
They had won the war.
Even just to maintain morale on the front lines, Jiraiya should have been acknowledged.
Unless…
Because he was the Hokage's disciple—
They thought they didn't need to worry about him.
And then there were the two jōnin advisors sent from the village.
It was obvious what that meant.
The higher-ups didn't fully trust the frontline command—
So they sent people to watch them.
---
At that moment, an intelligence shinobi rushed into the tent, interrupting their thoughts.
"Jiraiya-sama! Patrol units have encountered individuals claiming to be Sunagakure envoys. They request passage to Konoha to meet the Hokage."
Jiraiya and Shikaku exchanged a glance.
They both immediately understood.
That was fast.
"How many?" Jiraiya asked. "Who's leading them?"
"Four in total. The leader is Chiyo of Sunagakure."
Jiraiya frowned.
"That old hag actually came in person? She's got guts, coming to Konoha as an envoy."
Influenced heavily by Tsunade, Jiraiya had never had a good impression of Chiyo.
"Should we meet her?" Shikaku asked cautiously. "This is a formal diplomatic mission—we should handle it carefully."
"Meet her for what?" Jiraiya waved dismissively. "It's not like we can kill her."
He then turned to the intelligence shinobi.
"Send a squad to escort them to Konoha. Keep them under constant watch—don't let them out of your sight."
"Yes, sir!"
As the messenger left, Shikaku spoke again, a hint of concern in his voice.
"They're definitely here for the prisoners. The real question is—what decision the village will make."
"What else?" Jiraiya snorted. "We worked hard to capture them. There's no way we're handing them back for nothing. There's no such thing as a free lunch."
He tapped the sand table.
"Let's focus on fortifying the Land of Rivers."
---
At the border, Chiyo stood calmly, surrounded by several tense Konoha shinobi.
Four chūnin—an elite squad.
If she weren't acting as an envoy—
She would have already poisoned all four of them.
These border shinobi—
Every single one had blood from Sunagakure on their hands.
Chiyo suppressed the killing intent rising in her chest.
And waited.
Before long, another Konoha squad arrived with orders from command—
Allow passage. Escort the envoys to Konoha.
And so, under the guise of an escort—but in truth, close surveillance—
Chiyo and her group began their journey toward Konoha.
Just as they were nearing their destination, a messenger hawk from the Land of Wind finally caught up.
It carried the latest intelligence.
Chiyo retrieved the message, decoded it, and read through its contents.
The full details of the previous battle.
The causes and sequence of events.
And—
The reactions of other nations.
After reading, she casually flicked her hand.
A blade of wind sliced the message into countless fragments, scattering them into dust.
Her mastery wasn't limited to puppetry—
Her Wind Release was equally formidable.
"...Matsushita Taichi, huh?"
A faint smile touched her lips.
"An interesting little brat. After Tsunade, Konoha has produced another exceptional medical ninja."
Her brows furrowed slightly.
"That name… I've seen it before."
Yes—
Recently, the underground black market had issued a bounty under that very name.
"So he's not just talented—he's troublesome too."
Her gaze darkened slightly.
"That makes him an even greater threat to Sunagakure."
But then—
She thought of the reactions from the other nations.
Her expression eased.
"Looks like…"
"This mission may be easier than expected."
---