Konoha – Hokage's Office
With village matters settled, the conversation turned to the far more critical issue: how to handle relations with Sunagakure going forward.
"Let them come," Danzo scoffed. "They lost the damn war. Why should we be the ones sweating? If anything, they should be worried. Iwagakure has been eyeing them like hungry wolves this whole time. After losing that many shinobi, they'd better pray Rock doesn't decide to kick them while they're down."
"Easy to say," Mitokado Homura countered, "but desperate animals bite hardest. Remember the Second War? Sand started that conflict just to shift attention away from their own internal problems. We can't rule out the same thing happening again."
The room fell quiet.
Hiruzen Sarutobi finally broke the silence, tapping his pipe against the desk. "For now, we strengthen our defenses. Sand will definitely send an envoy. They still have over a hundred of their people in our hands. We'll see what demands they bring to the table."
Danzo's eyes gleamed with predatory excitement, like a wolf already tasting blood. Koharu and Homura were more restrained, but the hunger for victory's spoils was clear in their expressions. After all, they had won. The victors were entitled to the spoils.
---
That same day, Sunagakure received the crushing news of their front-line defeat.
Unlike Konoha, which had been kept in the dark until the last moment, the Sand leadership had known exactly how the conflict started. That was precisely why the loss felt so unbelievable. They had held every advantage—numbers, position, even the element of surprise. How had they still lost?
According to the survivors who straggled back, they had walked straight into a Leaf trap and been hit by reinforcements at the worst possible moment. The Sand high command refused to accept the word of routed troops alone. Spies were dispatched immediately, and every agent embedded inside Konoha was ordered to dig up the real story behind the battle.
But regardless of the how, the result was undeniable: Sunagakure had lost every foothold in the Land of Rivers and been pushed all the way back into the Land of Wind. Over a hundred shinobi had been captured—including their front-line commander, Shamon.
"Speak," the Third Kazekage said from the head of the table, his voice carrying the weight of a sandstorm. "What do we do next?"
The room stayed silent. Everyone was still processing the disaster.
Finally, Chiyo, seated at the right hand of the Kazekage, broke the quiet.
"Regardless of anything else, we have not formally declared war on Konoha. There is still room to maneuver. We should send an envoy immediately to negotiate the return of our captured shinobi."
With Chiyo leading the way, the discussion quickly turned to the prisoners.
"Can we even get them back? That would be handing the enemy more strength!"
"If they won't return them, then we fight!"
"Fight with what? Our border forces are already down by half. We need to figure out where to pull replacements from first."
"We could ally with Iwagakure and strike Konoha together. They'd have no choice but to hand them over."
Ideas flew in every direction until the meeting hall sounded more like a marketplace than a war council.
A heavy slam on the table cut through the noise. Everyone turned toward the Third Kazekage.
"This is a strategy meeting, not your living rooms," he growled. "Show some discipline."
He looked to Chiyo. "Elder, what is your view?"
Chiyo calmly lifted her teacup, took a slow sip, and set it down again before speaking in a measured tone.
"An envoy must be sent. If we abandon our own people, who will be willing to fight for the village in the future? As for the terms… ransom, missions in the Land of Rivers, or even a temporary withdrawal of troops from the Land of Rivers—whatever it takes to bring our shinobi home first. We can always take it back later."
"Ridiculous!" one elder shot to his feet, eyes blazing. "The Land of Rivers took us years of effort to secure. We can't just hand it over!"
Chiyo gave the man the kind of look one gives a simpleton and didn't bother replying.
Her subordinate, Ebizō, spoke up instead. "We bring our people home first. Anything we concede now can be reclaimed once the situation changes. Besides, after this defeat, Konoha may not even have the bandwidth to worry about the Land of Rivers."
The protesting elder sat down, chastened. His heart was still too soft for this game. Politics was not his battlefield.
Seeing no further objections, the Third Kazekage made his decision. "Then it is settled. Elder Chiyo, you will lead the envoy mission. You have full authority to act on the village's behalf. Bring our people home by any means necessary. The village will honor whatever terms you agree to."
Chiyo stood without hesitation. "If the Kazekage asks it of me, this old woman will leave at once and bring every one of our children home."
With the prisoner issue resolved, the meeting turned to the next pressing problem: how to replenish their depleted forces.
"First, we must reinforce the border. Even if we can't return to full strength, we cannot leave the line defended by fewer than fifteen hundred shinobi."
"We could pull troops from the Earth Country and Rain Country borders—"
"Absolutely not. Iwagakure has been making aggressive moves lately. If we weaken those lines and Rock decides to strike, we'll be finished."
"Then we draw from the village itself. Have the major clans send more shinobi. Five hundred should be enough to stabilize the border until the captives return."
This was the true purpose of the meeting. With the northern border critically understrength and no room to pull from other fronts, the only solution was to call on the village's powerful clans. They had enjoyed the village's resources and protection in peacetime. Now it was time to pay the bill.
The clan heads, feeling the weight of every high-ranking gaze, knew there was no escaping this responsibility. One by one, they agreed to provide more troops.
With the two major issues settled, the rest of the agenda would have to wait for more detailed intelligence. The meeting ended as abruptly as it had begun, but the situation facing Sunagakure had grown even more dire. Beyond the immediate pressure from Konoha, the other borders now looked far less stable after this defeat.
Every leader in the room understood that everything now depended on how the Third Kazekage chose to move forward.
---
Across the ninja world, every major village had troops massed at their borders, each side watching the others with nervous suspicion. The slightest movement could spark panic.
Naturally, news of the large-scale clash between Konoha and Sunagakure reached every village within a day or two.
The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, read the report and immediately ordered more troops sent toward both the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind. He wanted stronger eyes on Konoha… and to see if the Land of Wind offered any easy opportunities.
Compared to the rocky, barren terrain of the Land of Earth, the oases of the Land of Wind were far more desirable. It was no secret why Iwagakure had always coveted that land.
At almost the same moment, booming laughter echoed through the Raikage's office in the Hidden Cloud.
"Those Sand rats really are pathetic," the Third Raikage boomed, casually curling a massive dumbbell. "They outnumbered the enemy and still got crushed! Karui, should we send a team over there and see if we can snatch a piece for ourselves?"
Karui's face twitched. Traveling from the Land of Lightning to the Land of Wind overland meant crossing five different countries. By sea, they would have to break through both the Land of Fire and the Land of Water's naval patrols. No matter how she looked at it, the idea was both troublesome and offered little reward.
After a long, patient explanation, she finally talked the Raikage out of the reckless plan. Still, he ordered another five hundred shinobi added to the forces watching the Land of Fire border—just in case.
Far away in the Land of Water, the Third Mizukage was busy pushing his "Bloody Mist" policies to tighten his grip on power. He paid almost no attention to Sand's problems, only increasing patrols at sea as a basic precaution. While Konoha was unlikely to pick a fight with Mist, it was always better to be safe than sorry.
---
Back in the Land of Rivers, Jiraiya and Nara Shikaku were deep in tactical planning over a new sand table map when a fresh intelligence report arrived.
The village's commendation had already reached Jiraiya. Every shinobi in the camp—even the logistics teams—had received recognition and rewards. Everyone except Jiraiya himself.
He knew exactly what the omission meant: a quiet warning from the higher-ups to the front-line commander.
Jiraiya didn't regret his decision for a second. The opportunity had been too perfect. If he had reported the plan to the village, he knew exactly how Hiruzen would have responded. The whole operation would have been shut down.
Looking at the latest reports, Jiraiya chuckled and said to Shikaku, "I bet the village is still complaining about how our little stunt just made every other border more tense."
Shikaku stayed silent, but he had to admit the Third's decision to exclude Jiraiya from the commendation felt shortsighted. Victory should have been celebrated without reservation—especially for morale.
And those two jonin "advisors" who had been sent to "assist"? It was obvious they were here to watch the front-line leadership.
A messenger ninja hurried into the tent, interrupting their thoughts.
"Lord Jiraiya! Our patrols have encountered a group claiming to be a Sunagakure envoy. They demand passage to the village to meet with the Hokage."
Jiraiya and Shikaku exchanged a knowing look. They got here fast.
"How many?" Jiraiya asked.
"Four total. The leader is Chiyo of Sunagakure."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "That old hag has guts, coming to Konoha herself."
"What are your orders, sir?" the messenger asked.
"No need to meet her. We can't exactly kill an envoy," Jiraiya said with a dismissive wave. "Send a team to escort them straight to the village. Keep them under constant watch the entire way."
"Yes, sir!"
As the messenger left, Shikaku frowned. "They're obviously here for the prisoners. I wonder what the village will decide."
"What else can they do?" Jiraiya shrugged. "We worked hard to capture them. They're not just going to hand them back for free. The world doesn't work that way."
He turned back to the map. "Let's focus on securing the Land of Rivers' defenses. That's what matters right now."
---
Chiyo stared at the four Konoha chunin surrounding her with open hostility. A fine squad, to be sure. If she weren't here as an envoy, she would have already poisoned all four of them. Every one of these border shinobi had Sand blood on their hands.
She kept her killing intent tightly leashed and waited.
Before long, another Konoha team arrived with orders: allow passage and escort the envoy to the village.
And so a squad that was officially an "honor guard" but in reality a surveillance detail accompanied Chiyo and her people toward Konoha.
Just before they reached the village, a messenger hawk from the Land of Wind finally caught up. The latest intelligence was delivered straight into Chiyo's hands.
She read the decoded message—the true sequence of the battle, its causes and effects, and how the other villages had reacted.
When she finished, she casually waved her hand. A razor-sharp wind blade shredded the letter into dust. It was a small but clear demonstration: Chiyo was no slouch with Wind Release either.
Matsushita Taiichi… what an interesting little brat.
It seemed Konoha had produced another outstanding medical ninja after Tsunade. And if the underground bounty list was correct, this one was also quite the troublemaker. That made him an even greater threat to Sunagakure.
Considering the other villages' reactions to Konoha's victory, Chiyo allowed herself a small, satisfied smile.
This mission might turn out to be easier than she had expected.