"Crunch—crunch—" The sound of footsteps on snow echoed as the Iwa ninja patrolled the camp's periter, following their usual route. They kept their eyes wide open, warily watching every movent in the wind. However, Kurotsuchi didn't think such tension was necessary.
The Konoha ninja wouldn't provoke a fight right now!
After all, they had sent an envoy, and not just anyone—it was soone from the Nara clan.
"Thud, thud, thud!!"
Shuriken pierced the bullseye drawn on a wooden post with precision, causing the snow piled on top to shake and fall off.
"Too much force," said a raspy, low voice from behind.
Kurotsuchi turned around to see a tall man. He wore a conical hat, a red mask covering his mouth, and red armor draped over his body. On his back was sothing that resembled a gourd, seamlessly integrated with his armor. But this wasn't just for show—it was the steam armor, crafted by the village's finest artisans.
The man wearing this steam armor was none other than the famous **"Steam Ninja"**—Han, the Jinchūriki of the Five-Tails.
"Uncle Han," Kurotsuchi greeted politely.
"When you throw shuriken, don't use all your strength. Leave so in reserve so you can deal with any sudden situations. Rember, when you're attacking, that's when your defense is weakest. If you can't ensure a one-hit victory, whether it's throwing shuriken or in close combat, always keep so strength in reserve."
"…Oh! Got it," Kurotsuchi obediently responded.
She didn't explain that she had been throwing the shuriken out of frustration. She had wanted to stay and listen in on her grandfather's conversation with Konoha's envoy, but her grandfather had sent her away, leaving her annoyed and seeking an outlet for her frustration on the training grounds.
"Uncle Han, the Konoha envoy is here. Aren't you going to—"
"I'm not interested," Han interrupted, shaking his head firmly.
"That's the Tsuchikage's job. My duty is to fight. Kurotsuchi, you don't need to worry about those things yet. No matter what you want to do in the future, your focus right now should be on building a solid foundation. Train seriously."
After being lectured, Kurotsuchi pouted but had no choice but to nod in agreent.
If it were her father, Kitsuchi, she would've definitely argued back. But since it was Uncle Han, she couldn't muster the courage. She had never seen him smile. While Han had never been harsh with her, his emotionless eyes always made it hard to protest.
However, despite saying "yes," her mind wandered. Last night, an envoy from Kumogakure had arrived after a long journey, and today, Konoha's envoy had followed right behind. The sharp-witted girl sensed that sothing was brewing.
Perhaps…
Sothing big was about to happen.
Just then, an Iwa ninja rushed over, urgency in his steps. "Lord Han, the Tsuchikage orders you to et him imdiately." The sudden command made Kurotsuchi's eyes widen with excitent—sothing big was indeed happening!
"What's going on?" Han asked.
"I don't know. I was only told to relay the Tsuchikage's orders," the Iwa ninja replied, shaking his head.
"I see," Han said, not asking further. If the ssenger didn't know, it had to be sothing serious. Considering the arrival of both Kumogakure and Konoha envoys, it must be related to them. He started moving, and Kurotsuchi followed closely behind him like a little shadow.
Han frowned but didn't chase her away.
Because of his status as a Jinchūriki, even though he had earned great rit for the village and was celebrated as the "Steam Ninja," he couldn't change the villagers' fear and discrimination toward Jinchūriki. Han didn't have many friends, and Kurotsuchi was one of the few who wasn't afraid of him.
Otherwise, he wouldn't bother giving advice.
He only gave Kurotsuchi tips because it was her. If it were anyone else, he wouldn't even acknowledge them.
They arrived at the central tent of the camp. As they pulled back the flap and entered, warm air hit their faces. The charcoal brazier inside was burning brightly, and eleven people were gathered inside. Among them were Ōnoki, Kitsuchi, and Akatsuchi, along with the Four-Tails Jinchūriki, Rōshi.
Rōshi was a red-haired, red-bearded middle-aged man with a stern expression, clearly in a bad mood.
Aside from them, there were seven middle-aged and older n, all over forty. They were key leaders within the army, and in the village, most of them were prominent figures. Three of them were even heads of major clans in Iwagakure.
"Han, take a seat," Ōnoki said, looking up at Han and gesturing to an empty spot. However, when he saw Kurotsuchi trailing behind, he frowned. But seeing her pitiful expression, he couldn't bring himself to scold her.
He hadn't let her stay earlier because the discussion had involved Konoha's envoy, and keeping her there would've seed disrespectful, giving the impression they weren't taking the matter seriously. Even as the Tsuchikage, he couldn't be reckless in such formal situations.
But now, since it was just their own people, he could afford to be more lenient.
Kitsuchi noticed Ōnoki didn't say anything, so he waved Kurotsuchi over. She quickly ran to stand by his side.
"Ahem!" Ōnoki cleared his throat and looked around the room before speaking. "Now that everyone is here, let's get to business. Earlier, Kitsuchi and I t with Konoha's envoy and learned so important information... Not long ago, Konoha and Kumogakure clashed again in the Land of Hot Water. But this ti, Konoha didn't retreat as before. In fact, it was Kumogakure who suffered a loss—Konoha captured the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki alive!"
His words sparked a storm.
"The Eight-Tails Jinchūriki was captured alive?"
"How is that possible? Doesn't Kumogakure boast that their Jinchūriki is a perfect one?"
"Is the information reliable, Lord Tsuchikage?"
The tent erupted in noisy discussions.
Aside from Ōnoki and Kitsuchi, everyone was shocked by the news. Ever since the Five Great Ninja Villages were established, there hadn't been a case where a Jinchūriki from one village was captured alive by another village's ninjas... Wait, maybe there was. It was said that not long ago, during the war between Konoha and Kirigakure, the Fourth Mizukage of the Mist, who was also the Three-Tails Jinchūriki, had been captured alive by Konoha.
Even though Konoha and Kirigakure worked together to control the spread of the news after they ford an alliance, it was too late. The news had already leaked, and even the Stone Village, which was farthest from the Mist, had heard about it.
However, most people still had deep doubts about the event. Such an outrageous claim, without concrete proof, was really hard to believe.
"The news has been confird to be true," Ōnoki said slowly after the murmuring in the tent subsided and everyone had recovered from the initial shock. "Not only are Konoha's ninjas saying this, but even the ssenger from the Hidden Cloud ntioned it yesterday."
Hearing this, many people were confused.
It made sense for Konoha's ssengers to boast about their victory in the Land of Hot Water to pressure the others, but what was the Hidden Cloud aiming for by honestly admitting their defeat?
"Given this situation, we now face two choices," Ōnoki continued. "The first is the request from the Hidden Cloud's ssenger to continue attacking Konoha. According to the Cloud's envoy, a stronger Konoha would not be in our best interest."
"The second choice is to end the war with Konoha. As a gesture of goodwill, we could even join forces with Konoha's ninjas to attack the Hidden Cloud. This is the proposition brought by Konoha's ssenger."
Two options: One was to team up with the Hidden Cloud, the other was to join forces with Konoha... To be honest, neither was an appealing choice. The Stone Village had bad blood with both. Ideally, they wouldn't want to collaborate with either side.
"Of course we continue attacking Konoha!" Roshi slamd his hand on the table. "Lord Tsuchikage, do we even need to discuss this? The Cloud's ssenger is right. If we don't take this chance to crush Konoha's spirit, when they regain their strength, we Stone Ninjas don't know how many more years we'll have to stay in the shadows!"
"Roshi, Konoha is already strong again," Kitsuchi interjected. "Even the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki was captured alive. The Cloud is clearly admitting they can't take on Konoha alone and want to drag us down with them. There's no reason for us to go fight for them. Ending the war with Konoha now would be the smarter move."
"What nonsense are you spouting, Kitsuchi? Do you even know what you're saying? Are you suggesting we can't beat Konoha?"
"Interpret it how you want, but I strongly oppose continuing the war with Konoha! Fighting them any longer will only harm us. This whole 'Konoha threat' argunt from the Cloud is a load of crap!"
Kitsuchi firmly stated his position.
Roshi's eyebrows shot up in fury. If Kitsuchi wasn't Ōnoki's son, Roshi might have blasted him with lava right then and there. How could he be so cowardly, scared of Konoha to the point of not even wanting to fight back? It was utterly shaful.
"Roshi, Kitsuchi, both of you, shut up," Ōnoki ordered, putting a stop to the argunt. "I've heard your opinions. Now, it's ti for the others to speak."
Ōnoki's gaze swept across the tent, waiting for the others to weigh in. Roshi and Kitsuchi fell silent, though no one else imdiately spoke up either. The situation was indeed a difficult one to decide. Most of them had supported the war against Konoha in the first place. Otherwise, the war wouldn't have started at all. However, every person sitting there had to think not just of their personal feelings but of the lives of their clansn and comrades.
Originally, they believed Konoha was weakened, having lost the Third Hokage along with Shimura Danzo, one of the most influential figures in the village. They thought it was the perfect ti to seize so benefits from the Fire Nation and Konoha. But now, Konoha had shown, through its victory over the Cloud, that it wasn't as fragile as they had imagined.
This made them hesitate.
Instinctively, they recalled the previous three Great Ninja Wars. It seed that each ti, they had tried to take advantage of Konoha's weakness, only for Konoha to prove it wasn't weak at all. Instead, it had left the Stone, Cloud, Sand, and Mist villages battered and bruised.
"Munaga, what do you think?" Ōnoki finally asked, breaking the silence.
"... I agree with Roshi-senpai," Munaga said, clenching his fists. "Whatever's happening with the Cloud, we currently have the upper hand in our fight with Konoha. They're only holding out through tricks. If we concentrate our forces and strike now, we can definitely defeat them."
Munaga avoided Kitsuchi's disappointed gaze as he spoke.
No matter what, he couldn't believe Konoha was truly unbeatable. During the Third Great Ninja War, victory had been within reach when the Yellow Flash had turned the tide. The bitter mory still burned in the hearts of the Stone Ninjas, making it hard to swallow. That resentnt still hadn't faded.
"At least soone's got so guts," Roshi muttered under his breath.
Ōnoki, however, remained expressionless, as steady as a rock, making it hard to guess his thoughts.
After Munaga finished speaking, Ōnoki called out another na, "Han, what's your opinion? Should we ally with Konoha or collaborate with the Cloud?"
Han's wide-brimd hat and mask concealed his expression, giving no hint of his feelings. His hoarse, deep voice finally ca out, "I have no opinion, Lord Tsuchikage. Just give the orders, and I will carry them out to the best of my ability. Whether it's fighting Konoha or attacking the Cloud, it doesn't matter to ."
The others rolled their eyes. It sounded like flattery. But no one was surprised. Han had always been this way, even before becoming the Five-Tails Jinchūriki. Perhaps it was this loyalty to Ōnoki and the village that led to him being chosen as a Jinchūriki.
"Mindless fool!" Roshi cursed under his breath, glaring at Han with disdain.
Roshi and Han, both Jinchūriki, had never gotten along. Unlike the camaraderie between the Hidden Cloud's Jinchūriki, Roshi's aggressive nature clashed with Han's quiet obedience. Roshi respected strength and will, while Han's passive attitude made Roshi view him with contempt.
Even though Han's subservience didn't sway Ōnoki's expression, he moved on, calling out the next person. He thodically went through the room, asking for everyone's opinions, until finally, only Kurotsuchi was left to speak.
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