Kagami, seeing Itachi's actions, became even more guilty. The Uchiha clan, which had been bullied for the past few decades, was still able to respect him after listening to his absurd request without any anger.
Few hours ago, Hiruzen revived him using his teacher's forbidden jutsu, Impure World Reincarnation, and in the past few hours informed him a limited amount of information. Although Hiruzen hid many things, Kagami was still able to decipher the situation of the Uchiha after his death.
Then Hiruzen begged him to resolve the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha to prevent external enemies from benefiting from this farce. Although Kagami knew that as an Uchiha his foremost duty was to side with the Uchiha, he couldn't let Konoha perish just like that, especially because of an Uchiha. Thus, he agreed with Hiruzen's request.
Itachi, on the other hand, was totally calm. It wasn't that he would really forgive Konoha; he would just reduce the 100 ml of blood he was about to suck to 99 ml. As for Kagami telling him not to suck Konoha's blood, Itachi knew Kagami was not that shameless. If it were the original Itachi, it might have been possible, but Kagami kept Uchiha and Konoha in the same balance. He wouldn't let one suffer because of the other or discriminate between them.
"Itachi, you are a good child. But I am not that shameless to ask you to completely forgive Konoha. As the previous clan leader, I still have to answer to the Uchiha and others in the Pure Land.
How about this—the previous war reparation amount is 94 billion ryō right?. Konoha will pay the total amount, and let's round the figure to 100 billion in the next twenty years. Every year Konoha will pay 5 billion ryō.
Secondly, the conflict between the village and the Uchiha is too deep for this generation; maybe only future generations can heal this. The Uchiha clan and Konoha will become independent of each other, and the Land of Fire will provide a piece of land for the Uchiha to settle. After that, Konoha and the Uchiha will maintain a symbiotic relationship, the same as Uzumaki Village.
Lastly, Konoha will help the Uchiha establish their village for the next five years. Both of you can discuss the terms further on your own, and if you have any doubts, we can discuss them now."
SILENCE
Itachi, hearing Kagami's terms, became impressed. If these conditions had been given to the Uchiha in the anime timeline, they would have agreed without hesitation. Even half of these terms would have been like the Uchiha winning the lottery.
But to the current Uchiha clan, these agreements were nothing. For money, they could get 94 billion ryō instantly, and even with a 1 percent interest rate, that could grow to over 100 billion within a decade. As for the Uchiha and Konoha being symbiotic, the Uchiha wouldn't dare to have such a relationship with Konoha. The destruction of Uzumaki Country was a good lesson they had to remember. As for Konoha helping them, the Uchiha should instead pray that Konoha didn't fill their entire new village with detonating tags. So although everyone other than Itachi felt that the conditions were very good for the Uchiha, and even Itachi felt that Kagami did his best, he still wasn't satisfied.
Hiruzen, on the other hand, opened his mouth and then closed it repeatedly. Although Kagami's terms weren't biased and were even good for Konoha at the time, he still had to fight for Konoha. As for why it was good for Konoha, it gave him many benefits. First, giving money in installments relieved Konoha's financial burden. Secondly, with the Uchiha independent from Konoha, he didn't have to fear the Uchiha taking the Hokage seat or assassinating him in a coup. Thirdly, they could distract other ninja villages, and maybe Konoha could even group with other villages to wipe out this cursed bloodline later and then he wouldn't have to pay that absurd war reparation yearly.
"Grandfather Kagami, I agree with the first and second condition. As for the third condition, let's forget it. Instead, Konoha would provide five billion worth of materials to the Uchiha. If Konoha agrees to it, then we can sign an agreement now." Itachi thought for a bit and finally decided to give Kagami some face. Because Konoha really couldn't give them such a huge sum at once, especially since his clone was going to rob the treasury of the Land of Fire. As for being independent, well, it saved them the trouble of being called traitors, and getting building materials and grains for free was also a good thing.
"Kagami, I also agree with your conditions, but only after the Uchiha sign an agreement of not interfering with Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, from now on. The Uchiha can't contact him or even get near him." Hiruzen thought for a while and then remembered the Uchiha's scheme of kidnapping Naruto and letting him play with Uchiha children so he would build bonds with them. He couldn't let Uzumaki Naruto become Uchiha Naruto, could he?
"Heh, what can you give Naruto? The Uchiha can give Naruto everything you can give and also give everything you can't even dream of giving. Anyway, Naruto can be considered my brother, as my mother and Aunt Kushina were sisters. So of course I will take care of him. Will I leave him here to learn from you, a seventy-year-old coward who keeps saying Will of Fire, Will of Fire, and then hides behind others while they die? If you want to dream, then dream in your house, you senile bitch." Itachi, seeing that Hiruzen still dared to negotiate after reviving his grandfather, gave him a few harsh words.
"You…!"
"You what? Sign the agreement and we Uchiha will leave Konoha by next New Year. If not, then I can teach you how to be a human."
"Ahem… Itachi." Just then Kagami coughed lightly.
"Ahh, sorry, Grandfather. It's just that some people are too shameless. Dogs should know their worth." Now Kagami became silent; he now understood that Itachi was not a very good boy.
"Absolutely not, Naruto must stay in Konoha!!!"
"Ants who do not know their place.
FUCK OFF"
Susanoo: Third Style — Whack-a-Mole
Obito, who had been enjoying this farce, suddenly became mad, and with his single Mangekyo Sharingan, a chakra hand holding a huge hammer formed and smashed Hiruzen from the first floor to the ground floor.
"..."
"Last time while beating him I forgot to use this move. I regretted it for the past seven days. Now that this bastard who doesn't know his place is whining, I will discipline him," Obito explained innocently.
---
Few Minutes Later
Five minutes had passed, but Mole-no-Hiruzen didn't get up. Finally, Shikaku jumped down the hole and after a few seconds returned to the first floor with a tired expression.
"Hokage-sama is unconscious. It seems that we have to postpone the meeting."
Kagami, on the other hand, was confused. Had Hiruzen become this weak now? He understood the first hit Fugaku did — at that time no one was prepared. But Obito's blow now wasn't that fast. A Kage-level ninja could definitely avoid it, or at least not be knocked unconscious.
---
Konoha Hospital
"Heh, do you really think I will sign this humiliating agreement? With the patience of those idiot Uchiha, they would definitely force other clan leaders to sign the agreement. And with the help of Kagami, it's a done deal. By then I wouldn't be betraying Konoha — they would be betraying Konoha."
Hiruzen lay on the hospital bed with bandages wrapped around his head, a sinister but tragic smile on his face.
---
Back at the Hokage Building
"Hmm?" Just then Kagami felt the jutsu starting to end. He could feel that he didn't have much time left in this world.
"Everyone, since Hiruzen isn't present, let's leave the matter of the Nine-Tails for later discussion. Let's just finalize the previous deal. In the absence of the Hokage, an absolute majority vote of Konoha elders is required, but the only elder is also unconscious. I would request you all to give your vote. If there is a two-third majority, then we shall agree to this agreement. If not, then you younger generation can resolve this matter on your own."
Hearing Kagami's words, all the jonin became serious. Their current decision would affect the direction of Konoha for the next few decades. Although with their agreement the Uchiha would surpass them — which they did not want — if they did not agree, then Konoha might be destroyed by internal conflict and the Uchiha problem. Especially, they did not want the Uchiha to betray them in the middle of a war.
"I agree"
"I agree"
"I abstain from voting"
"I agree"
"I…"
"..."
"Since we have more than a two-third majority vote, then everyone sign here." It turned out that while everyone was giving their opinion, a shadow clone of Kagami had already prepared the contract hard copy. In the next few minutes, everyone signed the document.
After everyone on the other side signed, it was the turn of the Uchiha to sign. Setsuna took the pen and paper first and for a moment stared blankly at the agreement. He felt as if he wasn't holding a 10-gram pen but a 20-kilogram iron rod. Finally, with difficulty, he signed it. After that, the rest of the Uchiha except Obito signed the document with complicated expressions.
To them, previously Konoha was their home and the land where they were willing to die for. Their loved ones also died for that land, and now they were finally going to leave it. Although they expected it, the moment they signed it they felt hesitation, but they still signed it.
Itachi, on the other hand, felt this situation was a bit like a farewell party in his previous life. On the last day of school or high school, you meet your friends and teachers knowing the truth that most of the bonds will end after a few hours. In Konoha as well, he had a few friends and acquaintances, but after today most of them would live in a separate world.
---
Hello everyone,
So first and foremost, this chapter can be considered the official agreement between Konoha and the Uchiha, which makes them completely independent from each other now. From this point onward, the Uchiha clan is no longer politically tied to Konoha. So in the upcoming war—which will be relatively short—the Uchiha clan will not be participating.
While writing this part, I also thought that I didn't want the Uchiha clan to simply be labeled as traitors by others. That's one of the reasons I introduced this agreement and the negotiation process. And Kagami played exactly the role I wanted him to play—a mediator. He is from the Uchiha clan, but at the same time, he has good relationships with Hiruzen and the others, so he was the perfect person to stand between both sides. In the end, I think the situation was handled in a balanced way.
And finally, while writing the ending part where the Uchiha were reading and signing the document, I felt a strange sense of nostalgia. It reminded me of the feeling I had when I moved away from my home a few years ago. That feeling of wanting to talk to everyone one last time, remembering every place, every street, and trying to store all those memories in your mind—as if you want to copy and paste everything into your memory before leaving.
So yeah, this chapter had a bit of that emotion in it.
Thank you for reading.