Naruto: Reincarnated As Azula, From The Same Generation As The Sannin Chapter 155 - 153: Innocent Azula

Just seconds after Hanzo finished Suna's letter, Kanzō finished Iwa's.

He felt the sa complicated twist in his gut. In A's books, Ōnoki was the absolute last person you'd ever want to cooperate with, the least trustworthy of all the Kage by a wide margin.

The man had a reputation for making deals with one hand while sharpening a knife with the other.

But here they were, negotiating with him anyway, and refusing wasn't an option.

A shared a border with Konoha. If Konoha ever decided to expand, A would be one of the first targets on the list, especially with all the skirmishes the two villages had racked up over the years. The bad blood ran deep.

Kanzō cut his thoughts short as he felt Hanzo's eyes on him, waiting to hear what he had to say. He didn't need more than a second to pull his thoughts together.

"I think the terms Iwa's offering are genuine. Ōnoki isn't and never will be trustworthy, but that doesn't an he'll try anything right now. Out of everyone, he's the one who needs allies the most if he wants any hope of standing up to Konoha."

Hanzo nodded. "Everyone in the ninja world knows that during Azula's rise, he hired more rcenaries than anyone to try and assassinate her. He's the one who spread the rumors that she'd turn out just like Madara."

"He's also the one who proposed the four Kage alliance to push back against Konoha. Azula's got every reason to hold a grudge. Of course he's scrambling for more allies to protect himself once she sets her sights on him."

Truth was, so people might have called him a demigod, but after verifying what Azula had actually done through his own intelligence, Hanzō couldn't even wrap his head around what it felt like to be in the crosshairs of soone like that.

The really terrifying part? She held grudges like they were heirlooms. She never accepted a loss, ever, and she'd find a way to get revenge one way or another. That was just how she operated.

Kanzō agreed, but he still hesitated before speaking. In the end he said it anyway. "I think no matter how much support we get, we still need to tread carefully. Logically I know an alliance with Iwa and Suna is good for us, but my gut's telling it's not worth getting on Konoha's bad side over this."

Instinct. A word with no substance. But Hanzō didn't brush off what Kanzō said as nonsense or alarmist.

If he was being honest, he'd rather ally with Konoha. It was just that the village seed to look down on him, they hadn't even sent anyone to discuss possible cooperation. Like A wasn't worth the trip.

"Don't worry," he assured his subordinate and friend. "I know exactly how strong Konoha is. I'd be insane to put all my money on Iwa and Suna. But for now, we need them."

Kanzō was visibly more at ease after hearing where Hanzō's head was at.

•••

•••

So the next day, a eting took place in Konoha between the new Hokage and her staff.

"A Kage Summit in A?" Orochimaru said once he'd finished reading the intel Azula had just handed over.

Azula nodded. "We received three letters, from Suna, Iwa, and A, all calling for this summit. I have to admit, it caught off guard."

In all her planning, she'd factored in a possible coalition between Suna and Iwa, and probably every other force in the ninja world looking to stay independent, A included.

That much she'd seen coming.

What she hadn't expected was that they'd have the nerve to call a Kage Summit. 'They have to know the Mizukage is in my pocket. The Raikage's got better ties with than anyone else. Add to the count and that's three Kage on my side against two. So what the hell are they trying to pull?'

"Are they testing the strength of our alliances?" Shikoku had landed on the sa question, but he voiced his theory out loud. "Could be they're trying to disrupt our hold on Kiri and flip the Mizukage to their side. Or maybe they want to announce a coalition to the whole ninja world, a united front to push back against Konoha."

He had plenty more theories, but those were the ones he thought most likely.

"Hmph." Tajima sniffed. "I rember quite clearly that Azula fought the Tsuchikage and the Kazekage at the sa ti and forced them both into retreat. Seems they didn't learn their lesson."

Tajima had a rock-bottom opinion of the Tsuchikage.

Not only did the man use thods the Uchiha found downright dishonorable, but Tajima had also faced him briefly back before the old Tsuchikage died.

During those clashes, Ōnoki would take to the sky, sure, but he'd also use the lives of weaker Konoha shinobi as cover, twisting his Kekkei Genkai to hide behind bodies rather than face Tajima head-on.

"Should we accept or not?" Orochimaru asked the practical question.

Azula answered with total confidence. "Why not? I'd love to see what they're cooking up. I rember those nonstop assassination attempts Ōnoki bankrolled, the bounty he slapped on my head. Strangely enough, I never got around to my revenge, and now the Tsuchikage dares to jump right in front of ?"

She also wanted to see the famous Demigod, whether he really deserved the title before the Second Ninja War tore down his spirit.

'Soone with the guts to declare war on every other great village has to be a badass, right?' She hoped so. She was almost itching for a reason to use her Mangekyō.

All three of them could see the anticipation on her face, and she wasn't bothering to hide it.

Once her attitude toward the summit was locked in, Orochimaru circled back to a question he was genuinely curious about. "How were you planning to handle Iwa and Suna anyway?"

War? They all knew that was basically impossible. No one in their right mind would start a war with Konoha right now, for any reason.

Politics? Sure, she didn't use it to solve problems if she had another option, but everyone in the room knew she was good at it. It was how she got the Hokage hat in the first place.

But Ōnoki had bad blood with her. Would she really sit down and play politics with him?

"I haven't really paid much attention to them." Her tone said what's Iwa? like it barely registered. "I just know that if they annoy enough, I'll kill the Tsuchikage, silence the troublemakers, and turn Iwa into another Kiri."

A faint smile flickered across Orochimaru's face. Shikoku, anwhile, stared at her with an expression that asked if she was being serious or not.

She didn't say a word. Just smiled 'innocently'.

(END OF THE CHAPTER)

Here we are, practically all of my stored chapters are over, sigh