"Do you really think you've got me cornered? Do you think I'm so desperate to cling to this position?" Hiruzen growled.
"Look at you, getting worked up again!" The Third Kazekage quickly tried to soothe him. "How does that saying go? Raise the price while sitting, settle the debt on the spot. We can talk this through."
"No. Not a single concession!" This time, Hiruzen seemed truly resolute, not even giving the other side a chance to negotiate.
"Are you really determined to go down with the ship?" The Third Kazekage's expression darkened, his eyes turning sinister.
"So what if I am? You know what? On my way to the border, I was constantly on edge. But when I saw you, I suddenly felt calm."
"Do you know why?"
Before the Kazekage could respond, he continued, "When a single thought rises in the heart, the world suddenly opens up."
"That's what Lady Mito told me. I didn't understand it then. But now I do."
"The moment I saw the look on your face, I knew. This secret of mine… you planned to hold it over me for the rest of my life. Even if I gave you everything you wanted, you'd still expose it the moment it suited you."
"So I suddenly realized, being Hokage… isn't worth it."
"Otherwise, I'd spend my whole life on edge, threatened by you one moment, someone else the next. What's the point?"
"So, I've decided. I'm going back to step down. What will you do then?"
---
At Suna's frontline headquarters, due to orders from both sides' Kage to temporarily cease hostilities, the atmosphere in the camp was relatively relaxed.
In this war, Suna had sent nearly ten thousand ninjas, only a few thousand remained to guard the village. This was virtually a full mobilization.
This wasn't unusual.
In every major ninja war, all the villages had done the same. Even Konoha had sent most of its forces, leaving fewer than three thousand behind to defend the village.
So, it wouldn't be fair to say Hiruzen was wrong for not going to the frontlines, after all, someone powerful and respected was needed to guard the now-vulnerable Konoha.
Among the Suna forces, nearly three thousand ninjas had died over the half-year-long conflict. Most of them had fallen on the northern front.
With a casualty rate reaching thirty percent and countless more wounded, the battle had been especially brutal, casting a dark shadow over the entire village.
Unlike Konoha, Suna didn't have medical experts like Tsunade or Shin. Many injured couldn't return to being ninjas at all.
Another two thousand ninjas were currently stationed at various strategic points to guard against sneak attacks from Konoha.
That left over five thousand ninja gathered at the frontline base.
But what they didn't know was that high above their camp, a lone figure stood silently in the sky, gazing down at them.
Upon receiving a message via a new type of long-range radio, the figure in the sky pulled out a kunai, with an explosive tag attached to it.
Then, releasing his grip, the kunai dropped under the pull of gravity, accelerating rapidly as it fell.
When it was only about a hundred meters from the ground and falling at full speed, a second explosive tag suddenly appeared next to the one already attached to the kunai.
But that was only the beginning.
In the next instant, countless explosive tags began appearing out of thin air like multiplying offspring. In just the span of a single breath, they blanketed the entire sky above the Suna camp, blotting out the sun.
The most terrifying part? Despite their number, the explosive tags didn't drift down slowly due to weight, they all fell at the same speed as the kunai, vertically and rapidly toward the ground.
Naturally, the figure in the sky was Shin.
And the jutsu he was using now was an improved version of the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, which he had spent a long time refining.
Back when Tobirama first created the technique, he died shortly afterward and had never actually used it in battle. So technically, the jutsu had barely reached prototype stage.
But with three times that of Tobirama's talent, and years of effort, the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags had evolved far beyond the original.
He had made the explosions controllable, capable of being either concentrated or widely dispersed, allowing the jutsu to adapt to different enemies and scenarios.
As for why the explosive tags could fall so quickly, it had to do with the materials used.
Traditional explosive tags needed to be drawn on special paper to function.
But Shin, together with Orochimaru, had developed a new mixed material resembling steel, which could replace paper as the medium for explosive tags.
Originally, Shin had planned to promote this tech only after Tsunade took over as Hokage, so it had never been publicly used before.
Also, the cost... was something ordinary ninjas couldn't afford.
But for the sake of securing a decisive victory in this war, Shin emptied his entire inventory, a full 100,000 explosive tags. And yet, he didn't feel the slightest regret. After all, what mattered later was the sale price, not his production cost.
"A mere ten million ryō in costs? I can afford that. And with the advertising effect of this battle, I won't even need to worry about sales in the future."
By the time the Suna ninjas noticed the sky full of falling explosive tags, it was already too late.
In the very next instant...
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Terrifying explosions erupted one after another throughout the entire camp. Countless Suna ninjas, still unaware of what was happening, were obliterated in the blasts.
And as the final explosion echoed, the Konoha army burst from all directions, launching an all-out assault on the Suna camp.
---
"So, I've decided. I'm going back to step down. What will you do then?"
Hiruzen's statement left the Third Kazekage utterly speechless.
He had called Hiruzen here specifically to negotiate, his entire strategy hinged on Hiruzen's attachment to the Hokage title. But now that Hiruzen had let go of that attachment, there was nothing left to bargain with.
He was so furious, he looked as though his hair would stand on end, he wanted to kill Hiruzen right then and there.
It took him a long moment to suppress the murderous intent. But just as he was about to storm out, a panicked figure barged in, completely ignoring his prior orders, shouting as he entered, "Kazekage-sama! Bad news! It's terrible!"
"What happened? Speak clearly!"
"It's Konoha... Konoha suddenly launched a full-scale surprise attack on our camp. We've suffered massive losses! Chiyo-sama has sent an urgent request for reinforcements, she's asking you to return immediately!"
"What?!"
Both the Third Kazekage and Hiruzen were stunned.
What the hell was going on?!
In the next moment, the Third Kazekage turned toward Hiruzen.