Chapter 383: An Ominous Turn
Atsubi felt utterly stifled—truly, unbearably so.
He had anticipated trouble, of course.
But he had never imagined the trouble would be this severe.
Kei—he knew of him.
He knew this sixteen-year-old boy was a war hero, someone trusted by both Uchiha Fugaku and the Fourth Hokage.
Beyond that, Atsubi had never really taken this "young brat" seriously.
Even when he heard rumors that Kei had once faced the Nine-Tails, he hadn't thought much of it.
After all, the ones who truly fought the Nine-Tails were Minato Namikaze, the man who had clashed with the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki and the Fourth Raikage, and Uchiha Fugaku, head of the Uchiha clan.
In Atsubi's mind, Kei's role back then was probably just padding the numbers.
But now he realized something.
Whether Kei's strength was truly terrifying or not remained unclear—but his mind and tongue were razor-sharp.
Whether Kei had uncovered his background or was simply guessing didn't matter.
Those words had pushed Atsubi into an extremely awkward corner.
Especially that final remark.
It filled him with rage—and a creeping sense of panic.
Death itself didn't frighten him.
What terrified him was failing his mission.
Failing to secure the benefits Kumogakure was supposed to gain from this incident.
Clenching his teeth, Atsubi took a deep breath.
At last, he forced a strained smile.
"Head Kei… perhaps there's been a misunderstanding between us."
"A misunderstanding?"
Kei looked at him expressionlessly.
After a long pause, he let out a faint sigh.
"Is that so? Just a misunderstanding?"
"Of course," Atsubi said firmly, bowing slightly.
"Head Kei, perhaps my conduct was somewhat rash—but please don't question my loyalty as a Cloud shinobi. My loyalty to the Raikage. My loyalty to Kumogakure."
"Is that so?"
Kei smiled faintly, then shook his head.
"Fine. Say whatever you like. Do whatever you like. You are, after all, a special envoy."
"If you say it's a misunderstanding—then it's a misunderstanding."
His tone was light, dismissive, almost careless.
But Atsubi had no way to respond.
He understood clearly now: nothing he said would change anything.
So he chose silence.
Arguing further with this Uchiha brat was a waste of breath.
Better to focus on completing what needed to be done.
This was a mission where death was expected.
Everyone who had come to Konoha already understood that.
But the success of this mission depended on coordination among the Cloud shinobi.
If doubt crept in.
If they stopped trusting Atsubi—
Then the mission would truly fall apart.
So Atsubi said nothing more.
He simply followed Kei and the Military Police, entering Konoha without another word.
What followed was… strangely smooth.
Smooth to the point of being surreal.
Although various formalities dragged the signing of the treaty into the evening, the entire process went forward without resistance.
So smoothly, in fact, that it felt unreal.
It was impossible to tell whether Atsubi had been frightened into submission by Kei,
or whether Kumogakure had planned it this way all along,
or whether they had simply grown tired of wasting time and manpower entangled with Konoha in the Land of Iron.
In the end—
They accepted nearly every condition Konoha proposed.
Without argument.
Without struggle.
And that, more than anything else, felt deeply unsettling.
They accepted everything.
Mission losses, personnel casualties—even the costs incurred by the Military Police who had been deployed to protect and assist mission teams—every single expense, Kumogakure agreed to shoulder without objection.
This development left the Third Hokage both overjoyed and deeply perplexed, while Minato Namikaze could only stare in disbelief, his expression tinged with unease.
What was this supposed to mean?
These terms had been drafted jointly by Minato and Kei.
They were, quite frankly, extortionate—terms meant to be used as leverage in negotiations.
In simple terms, Konoha was supposed to make outrageous demands, and Kumogakure was supposed to bargain them down.
That was the plan.
Yet now, Kumogakure showed zero interest in negotiating. They accepted everything outright.
How could Minato not be stunned?
On the surface, it looked like Konoha had made an enormous profit—but in reality, this outcome completely undermined his objectives.
He had been expecting Kumogakure's envoys to reject these unreasonable clauses outright.
He had planned to respond with firmness, to escalate tensions just enough that conflict might erupt.
But now?
What was this?
Hadn't they been preparing since last year?
Weren't they famously belligerent?
So why retreat now?
Minato couldn't make sense of it—but instinctively, he felt something was terribly wrong.
Something seriously wrong.
In the end, he chose to sign all the treaties without revealing his doubts, planning instead to consult others afterward.
The Third Hokage, who shared Minato's sense that something was amiss, felt equally unsettled—and beneath that unease simmered anger.
Were these damned Cloud shinobi deliberately playing him?
Trying to pit him against Minato?
Whether that was truly their intention or not, Sarutobi Hiruzen refused to believe it.
As Hokage—even one who had stepped down, even one who had lost an internal power struggle—he would never betray Konoha's interests.
And if he would not, then the current Raikage certainly wouldn't either.
So what, exactly, were they doing?
What were they thinking?
Everyone else was steeped in confusion.
Everyone except Kei.
Knowing the original course of events—and analyzing the present situation—it wasn't difficult for him to discern Kumogakure's intentions.
The process might differ.
The starting point might differ.
But their mindset, their methods, their approach to power—those had all shifted dramatically.
And that shift had produced this baffling, unsettling outcome—one that felt wrong no matter how it was examined.
After Atsubi and the other Cloud envoys departed, Minato immediately summoned Kei and Nara Shikaku to his office.
This time, however, others were present as well.
The Third Hokage had come, along with his two long-time advisors—Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.
It had been quite some time since Kei had last seen them, though they still held important positions within Konoha.
The difference was that real authority now rested with Minato.
Aside from essential reports, these two rarely appeared in person anymore.
"I won't waste time on pleasantries," Minato said, sweeping his gaze across the room.
"There may be disagreements among us—but what we're facing now is something that requires unity."
The meaning behind his words was obvious to everyone present.
And it was equally clear who those words were aimed at—not the Third Hokage, and not Kei, but Homura and Koharu.
Though they still occupied positions within Konoha's power structure, in practice they had already been pushed to its edges.
Given the fallout from the Shimura Danzō incident, Minato felt compelled to draw that line clearly.
"Rest assured, Fourth Hokage," the Third Hokage said calmly.
"Some issues are not easily resolved—we all understand that. But we also understand this: Konoha is what we protect. What we live for."
"Without Konoha, we have no home. We would be nothing more than wandering ghosts. Otherwise, I would never have spoken up."
"Don't worry, Hokage-sama," Kei said evenly.
"I understand priorities. I assume you called us here because you have doubts about the Cloud envoys' actions?"
"Exactly," Minato nodded.
"Their behavior feels… wrong. That's why I need to understand what they're really planning. I've already had Kakashi tail them—I have a bad feeling about this."
"I agree," Nara Shikaku said, nodding.
"They must have their own objective. And this time… they gave up far too much. It defies logic—unless…"
Kei turned his gaze toward Shikaku.
It seemed the man had already reached the right conclusion.
Though Kei didn't particularly like some of Shikaku's methods, there was no denying his competence.
Kei could piece things together because he knew the broader truth.
Shikaku, on the other hand, had arrived at this insight with no external intelligence at all.
That alone was impressive.
"Oh?" Minato and the Third Hokage both looked at Shikaku.
"Go on."
"Yes, Hokage-sama," Shikaku replied.
"Their actions are inconsistent. First, they pulled back during the conflict in the Land of Iron. Then they publicly declared a ceasefire. Finally, they accepted these terms without objection."
He took a slow breath.
"Their goal is likely to construct a new political image—and…"
"To prepare for war," Kei said calmly.
Shikaku glanced at him, then nodded.
"Exactly. As Head Kei said—they're preparing for war."
War.
That single word fell over the room like a curse.
No matter when it was spoken, it was never welcome.
The Third Hokage looked at Kei with a complicated expression—he hadn't expected the boy to reach the same conclusion as Shikaku.
Minato, meanwhile, looked unsettled.
Somehow, he still felt that things shouldn't be this dire…