Chapter 170 — Negotiation, The Yin Seal
At the gates of Konoha, Sunagakure's envoy—Chiyo—finally arrived.
After completing the necessary formalities, her group was allowed to enter the village they had long envisioned.
But reality was far from expectation.
In their imagination, they would one day march through these gates with an army, conquering Konoha by force.
Instead—
They entered as envoys, under constant surveillance.
---
Chiyo silently observed the village.
Despite the frequent clashes between nations, Konoha remained prosperous.
The streets were bustling with people, laughter echoing freely—far more lively and uninhibited than anything seen in Sunagakure.
This—
Was exactly what she envied.
Konoha's geography was simply too advantageous.
If only all of this belonged to Sunagakure…
At that moment, atop the Hokage Office balcony—
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzō Shimura stood side by side, looking toward the village gates where Chiyo was entering.
"Hiruzen," Danzō said coldly, "Sunagakure is definitely here for the prisoners. Don't give in. If we release them, they'll just become future threats."
Hiruzen didn't answer directly.
Instead, he asked, "You've seen the recent intelligence from Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure, haven't you?"
Danzō fell silent.
Of course he had.
And even more detailed than most.
He understood exactly what Hiruzen was implying—
But he still felt unwilling.
"At the very least," Danzō muttered, "we squeeze them hard. Extract as much as we can."
Hiruzen nodded faintly.
"Send word. I'm busy these next few days. The Sunagakure envoys will not be received for now. Schedule to be determined."
"Yes."
An ANBU operative vanished into the shadows.
Danzō glanced at Hiruzen.
"You're trying to stall them? Make them anxious?"
"Exactly," Hiruzen replied calmly. "Sunagakure needs those prisoners more than we do. Especially with Iwagakure looming over them."
On the road toward the Hokage Tower, Chiyo was suddenly stopped by an ANBU.
She received the message:
The Hokage is currently occupied with official matters and cannot receive the envoy. Please wait.
A faint, mocking smile appeared on her face.
She looked toward the distant Hokage Tower—
As if she could see Hiruzen and Danzō standing on that balcony.
She said nothing.
Maintaining perfect composure, as if the prisoners meant nothing to her, she followed the escort to a designated guest residence.
The report of her reaction was quickly delivered back to the Hokage.
Hiruzen and Danzō exchanged glances.
They both understood—
Chiyo was no ordinary opponent.
This negotiation would not be easy.
Days passed.
One day.
Three days.
Seven days.
For an entire week, Chiyo remained in the guest residence.
She ate well, rested well, and even took leisurely strolls through Konoha's streets.
Not once did she attempt to initiate negotiations.
Her companions were not without complaints—
But she was both a senior elder and the envoy with full authority.
Her word was final.
And the truth was—
Chiyo wasn't worried at all.
From the moment she failed to even meet the frontline commander at Konoha's border…
To receiving updated intelligence from Sunagakure…
To observing Konoha's internal sentiment toward the war over the past few days—
She had already reached a conclusion.
Konoha—
Was not eager for war.
Unlike other villages that expanded aggressively, Konoha—and the Land of Fire—were simply too well-positioned.
They lacked the same urgency to expand.
In the First Great War, under the Second Hokage, Konoha had taken the initiative, crushing other villages one by one.
But under the Third Hokage—
Things had changed.
At first, Hiruzen had acted decisively to secure his position.
But once stabilized—
His methods became increasingly conservative.
And no one understood you better than your enemy.
Sunagakure had studied Hiruzen thoroughly.
According to intelligence:
Jiraiya at the front still possessed strong offensive intent.
But the higher-ups in Konoha preferred stability.
They didn't want to provoke further conflict.
Which meant—
Whether the prisoners returned sooner or later didn't really matter.
Konoha wasn't planning to press the attack anyway.
So why should she rush?
Why put herself at a disadvantage?
Chiyo could wait.
But Konoha—
Could not.
As nations continued reinforcing their borders, pressure on Konoha mounted.
If they could use this opportunity to establish some level of cooperation with Sunagakure—
It would be highly beneficial.
Yet—
A full week had passed.
And Chiyo hadn't made a single move.
Konoha's leadership finally grew impatient.
Wasn't it you who came to negotiate for the prisoners?
We just delayed meeting you once—what is this attitude now?
Inside the Hokage Office, Koharu spoke first.
"Hiruzen… perhaps it's time to meet Chiyo. We can't keep ignoring her."
Homura nodded.
"Yes. We've stalled long enough. It's time to discuss the prisoners. The village needs a clear direction—cooperation or opposition."
Danzō remained silent.
But inwardly—
He felt a trace of satisfaction.
Back then, when Hiruzen refused to meet Chiyo, he had looked so confident.
Now—
He looked cornered.
After a long silence, Hiruzen finally spoke.
"Very well. Inform Chiyo. Negotiations will begin this afternoon."
He paused.
"I won't attend. Koharu, Homura—you handle it."
The two exchanged helpless glances.
This thankless task had fallen squarely on them.
But with the Hokage's decision made—
They had no choice.
That afternoon—
The negotiation began.
Inside a spacious conference room, two rows of tables faced each other.
On one side: Koharu, Homura, and two assistants.
On the other: Chiyo and her three companions.
Homura cleared his throat and began directly.
"Elder Chiyo. Regarding your prisoners—including frontline commander Shamon and over one hundred shinobi—Konoha's conditions are as follows."
A document was handed over.
---
"First: Sunagakure will pay a total of 200 million ryō in war reparations and ransom.
Second: For three years, Sunagakure will not accept any missions within the Land of Rivers.
Third: Sunagakure will sign a non-aggression pact with Konoha and publicly declare it to the shinobi world.
Fulfill these conditions—and all prisoners will be released immediately."
---
The terms were extremely harsh.
It was practically extortion.
Even Chiyo—who had already prepared herself—felt her brow twitch.
The three Suna shinobi beside her looked ready to explode.
Homura added coldly:
"These are reasonable compensations for Sunagakure's invasion and the heavy losses suffered by Konoha."
Chiyo remained calm.
She glanced at the document—
But didn't even bother reading it.
To her, it might as well have been blank.
After a moment, she looked up.
"Konoha's appetite… is quite large."
Homura frowned.
"What exactly do you mean?"
Chiyo's voice turned icy.
"I mean—every single one of your conditions is rejected."
"I will not accept any of them."
"What?!"
The outburst wasn't just Homura—
Even Koharu and the assistants were shocked.
"Elder Chiyo," Homura snapped, "you'd better think carefully. It was Sunagakure that initiated this negotiation. Such an attitude is disrespectful. Are you trying to restart the war?"
---
A faint smile curved Chiyo's lips.
She slowly stood, leaning slightly forward, her gaze locking onto him.
"Does Konoha really want another war?"
Her voice was calm—but sharp as winter frost.
"Right now, Kumogakure is moving south. Iwagakure is reinforcing heavily in the Grass and Rain regions. Kirigakure is tightening its naval patrols.
What you need most is a stable southern front—
Not continued attrition with a defeated Sunagakure after already losing hundreds of shinobi."
Silence.
Koharu and Homura had no answer.
Because everything she said—
Was true.
She had struck directly at Konoha's weakness.
They wanted profit—
But also stability.
"Then we execute the prisoners," Homura said coldly. "Save ourselves the trouble of feeding them."
Chiyo's expression didn't change.
"If you do that—Sunagakure will declare war immediately."
She paused slightly.
"And then we'll see…"
"How many other villages decide to join in attacking Konoha."
The two sides continued exchanging barbs, each sentence sharper than the last, probing for weakness and refusing to yield even an inch.
Finally, Koharu raised a hand, stopping Homura from continuing, and gestured for Chiyo to do the same.
"Elder Chiyo," she said calmly, "if we go on like this, we'll only argue endlessly. Since both sides clearly wish to exchange prisoners, why don't we each take a step back?"
Chiyo slowly sat back down, no longer pressing aggressively.
After a long silence, she spoke again, laying out her conditions.
"Sunagakure is willing to sign a ceasefire agreement with Konoha. For the next three years, there will be no aggression along the Fire–Wind border."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"In addition, we can form a defensive alliance against the Land of Earth."
"If Iwagakure attacks Konoha, Sunagakure will act as an ally and provide necessary containment and support. Likewise, if Sunagakure is attacked, Konoha must do the same."
The moment those words were spoken—
Koharu and Homura's expressions changed dramatically.
They had only hoped to establish some level of cooperation.
But Chiyo had gone a step further—
Straight to a full military alliance.
For Konoha, this wasn't just acceptable—
It was ideal.
It perfectly addressed their current situation of being pressured on multiple fronts.
But before they could react with relief, Chiyo added one final line—
"However, as allies…"
"Shouldn't those prisoners be released?"
Silence.
---
Koharu and Homura exchanged a glance.
Both could see the hesitation in each other's eyes.
This had already gone beyond what they could decide on their own.
"Elder Chiyo," Koharu asked carefully, "are you certain you have the authority to make such a decision?"
"Of course," Chiyo replied without hesitation. "I am the plenipotentiary envoy. I have full authority."
Koharu stood, already gathering her documents.
"This matter is of great importance. We cannot decide immediately. We will report to the Hokage and await his decision. In the meantime, please return to your residence and await further notice."
"Only proper," Chiyo said with a polite nod, her demeanor completely different from her earlier sharpness.
---
As the two Konoha elders left in haste, one of the accompanying Sunagakure jōnin finally spoke, unable to hold back his question.
"Elder… are we really going to form an alliance with Konoha?"
Chiyo glanced at him, her tone calm and indifferent.
"Of course we'll form the alliance."
She paused, then added lightly—
"But when we choose to break it…"
"That's another matter entirely."
The jōnin's eyes widened in realization.
An alliance—
Was only meaningful when it served a purpose.
Otherwise—
It was nothing more than a scrap of paper.
---
Three Days Later — Southern Camp
After nearly a week of nonstop work, Taichi finally finished his duties at the medical camp.
Sunagakure had largely withdrawn, and encounters during patrols had become rare. Naturally, conflict had decreased, and the medical camp was no longer overwhelmed.
For the first time in days—
Taichi had time for himself.
A few days earlier, Tsunade's reply had finally arrived.
As both a top-tier medical ninja and a frontline fighter, she understood Taichi's predicament better than anyone.
Though she herself lacked a unique bloodline ability, as the granddaughter of Senju Hashirama, her chakra reserves were far beyond ordinary shinobi.
Even so—
She had often faced chakra shortages in battle.
So when she learned of Taichi's situation, she immediately sent him everything—
The full method of the Yin Seal, along with her personal insights.
After all—
Taichi was one of the few people in Konoha she truly cared about.
And everything she knew—
She intended to pass on to him.
Previously, due to constant battle and medical duties, Taichi had only studied the theory and conducted limited practice through shadow clones.
But sealing techniques like this—
Had to be performed on the original body.
Clones were useless.
Now, after days of study and finally having time—
He was ready.
The Yin Seal was an S-rank sealing technique.
It required not only a solid foundation in sealing arts—
But also extremely precise chakra control.
For most people, that would be a formidable barrier.
For Taichi—
It was trivial.
With Level 11 chakra control and Level 11 sealing proficiency, even Tsunade—and her grandmother Uzumaki Mito—had never possessed such a foundation at this stage.
This allowed Taichi not only to learn the technique—
But even refine it slightly, adapting it to his own usage.
Thus, when he began—
The process flowed effortlessly.
Hand seals formed one after another.
Chakra within his body began circulating along a precise pathway, gradually gathering at his forehead.
As more chakra accumulated—
A faint diamond-shaped mark slowly appeared.
When his total chakra dropped from over fifty thousand to just above ten thousand—
The mark stabilized.
At that moment—
A new space was born.
A reservoir—
Dedicated entirely to storing chakra.
Taichi could clearly sense it.
At the mark on his forehead, strands of chakra naturally flowed in as his body recovered, steadily filling the space.
That was merely its passive function.
With a single thought—
He began actively channeling chakra into it.
In moments, a shallow layer formed at the bottom of the space—
Like liquid, quietly pooling.
Based on his estimation—
To completely fill this reservoir, he would need at least ten times his current chakra.
Roughly—
500,000 chakra units.
And that was only at his current level.
As his sealing mastery and control improved—
The capacity would grow even further.
One day—
It might even surpass the so-called "limitless chakra" of the Nine-Tails.
When it was finally complete, Taichi lowered his hands.
He gently touched his forehead.
That faint, raised mark told him everything.
There—
A vast reservoir of power now rested silently,
Waiting—
For the moment he would call upon it.