This outcome had been anticipated by Konoha's upper echelon. The reason Lord Hashirama hadn't simply returned the Five-Tails and Eight-Tails jinchūriki directly, but instead waited for Kumogakure and Iwagakure to come to Konoha to reclaim them, was precisely to use this opportunity to build a coalition with both villages.
As for Sunagakure, the village was currently under Chiyo's leadership, while Konoha's Hokage was Tsunade — the two had been at odds since the Third Shinobi World War. Getting Suna to voluntarily ally with Konoha was clearly a non-starter.
However, if both Kumo and Iwa joined forces with Konoha, Suna would have no choice but to follow suit, even if they didn't want to.
But as things stood, Lord Hashirama had perhaps been too idealistic. No matter his actual character, in the eyes of most people across the Shinobi World, there was no real difference between him, Madara Uchiha, and Yuto.
"Hmph. Iwa and Kumo got off easy this time." Homura Mitokado glared in the direction of Darui and Kurotsuchi, his tone bitter.
"This is the best we can do for now. Without some kind of external pressure, the other villages will likely just keep sitting on the fence." Koharu Utatane frowned slightly, equally displeased.
Listening to the two elders grumble behind him, a look of resignation flickered across Jiraiya's eyes. The real reason Homura and Koharu were so irritated was that, in their view, they'd squandered two critical bargaining chips — the Five-Tails and Eight-Tails jinchūriki — without extracting any concessions from Iwa or Kumo in return.
I really don't enjoy dealing with politicians, Jiraiya thought with a sigh. But he knew full well that no matter how he felt about them, people like Homura and Koharu were necessary.
"What truly worries me is Madara Uchiha. Ever since he and Yuto teamed up to attack Konoha, there's been absolute silence — no intelligence on him at all."
"For someone like Uchiha Madara, the quieter things are, the more it means he's plotting something massive." Jiraiya's voice was heavy with unease.
At his words, Homura and Koharu exchanged a glance, worry mirrored in their eyes as well. Compared to the First Mizukage Yuto, it was Uchiha Madara whom Konoha's middle and upper leadership viewed as the greatest threat.
Meanwhile.
After confirming that their respective jinchūriki were unharmed, the Iwa and Kumo teams requested to leave. Homura and Koharu would have preferred they stay longer, but Darui, Kurotsuchi, and the others had absolutely no interest in lingering.
Neither village wanted to spend another moment in Konoha. Both Homura and Koharu had been dropping not-so-subtle hints about forming an alliance, but Kurotsuchi and Darui had maintained a careful policy of playing dumb the entire time.
Their respective Kage had given them clear instructions before they departed: neither accept nor reject.
An open alliance with Konoha would instantly earn them the enmity of the First Mizukage Yuto and Madara Uchiha. Konoha had Hashirama Senju — a resurrected monster — to back them up. The other villages had no such protection.
With no existing conflicts against any of the three legends, no village was willing to stick its neck out. Reading Darui and Kurotsuchi's stance, Jiraiya understood exactly what Ōnoki and the Fourth Raikage A were thinking.
After an exchange of meaningless pleasantries, both teams departed Konoha with their jinchūriki in tow.
Within the Land of Fire. The Iwa and Kumo teams maintained their distance from each other as they bounded swiftly through the forest, racing toward the border. Neither Darui nor Kurotsuchi planned to split up until they were well clear of Fire Country.
"Those who received us — that should have been Jiraiya of the Sannin, along with two Konoha advisors: Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane." Shi, the jōnin from Kumogakure, spoke up suddenly.
"Yeah, that's them. Something on your mind, Shi?" Darui called back as he leaped between trees.
"I just find it odd that Hokage Tsunade and Hashirama Senju were nowhere to be seen."
"Hashirama not showing his face is one thing — but from the moment we arrived at Konoha until we left, Hokage Tsunade never appeared even once. That's strange." Shi's brow furrowed, his tone laced with suspicion.
Darui blinked. If Shi hadn't brought it up, he probably wouldn't have given it a second thought.
On the other side, leaping through the trees in parallel, the three Iwa shinobi had also heard Shi's observation.
"You said Hashirama Senju has been resurrected, but based on my sensory perception, there is indeed an extraordinarily powerful chakra within Konoha — but it feels like it belongs to the Nine-Tails jinchūriki."
"Killer B, did you sense anything?" Han, the Five-Tails jinchūriki who had been quiet all this time, suddenly spoke up.
"Oh, nothing~" Killer B replied with a shrug, his voice sliding into a rap rhythm.
"That massive battle in the Land of Fire a while back — it must have been connected to Konoha." Bunpuku of Iwagakure murmured quietly at that moment.
Was it possible that Hashirama Senju wasn't currently in Konoha?
Every person present was an elite of their respective village, and from just a few pieces of intel, they'd all arrived at the same conclusion. But while everyone had reached the same thought, no one voiced it aloud.
This was no longer speculation they could afford to make carelessly — not when they represented two rival villages and trust between them was nonexistent. For a moment, aside from Killer B's unchanging demeanor, the rest of the group fell into an uneasy silence.
The group pressed on almost without pause, stopping only two or three times to rest. Fortunately, every person present was at minimum an elite jōnin. Even so, it took them a considerable amount of time before the distant borders of the Land of Fire finally came into view.
Only then did the tension in their chests begin to ease.
"We're almost at the border. I suppose this is where we part ways, Killer B." Han glanced in Killer B's direction and spoke evenly.
"Is that so~ Han, you've got to come visit Kumo sometime!" Killer B's voice carried a trace of disappointment, but he quickly bounced back with his usual cheerfulness.
Han simply gave a small nod and said nothing more.
Kurotsuchi and Bunpuku exchanged a look, both wearing somber expressions. They both knew it would never happen.
If Han had been an ordinary Iwa shinobi, perhaps — but he was Iwagakure's jinchūriki. Barring exceptional circumstances, the Tsuchikage would never allow Han to leave the village freely, except on the battlefield.
Kurotsuchi gave a brief nod toward Darui and prepared to lead Bunpuku and Han in the opposite direction. The Land of Earth lay to the northwest of the Land of Fire, while the Land of Lightning sat to the northeast — naturally, their paths diverged here.
Just then.
A faint sound reached them from ahead.
The instant the sound registered, every pair of eyes snapped toward its source as the group shifted into combat readiness.
"Who's there?!" Bunpuku had a kunai drawn across his chest, his voice like ice.
"Hehehe... I waited so long for you all to show up. I can't let you split up just yet." A figure appeared before them, its entire body an unnatural white.
"What a pain. But at least it's not a Konoha shinobi." Darui's eyes narrowed as he muttered his irritation.
Kurotsuchi stared at the White Zetsu before them, her expression hardening: "Were we being followed? None of us noticed a thing the entire way."
The White Zetsu's Mayfly technique had caught Kurotsuchi off guard — and for good reason. Everyone present was a formidable fighter, and there were two jinchūriki among them. That a White Zetsu had shadowed them undetected under these conditions was nothing short of alarming.
"Whatever you're after, let's deal with you first!" Darui's tone was pure annoyance. The moment the words left his mouth, he vanished from sight.
In the span of a heartbeat.
Darui reappeared behind the White Zetsu. He drew the broadsword from his back and slashed in a single fluid arc.
With a faint, grating sound, the White Zetsu's body was cleaved clean in two.
The onlookers wore bemused expressions. They'd assumed the sudden appearance of this white figure meant a formidable enemy — not something this weak.
"My my, how scary! Taken out in a single hit!" A mocking voice rang out from behind them.
Before anyone could react, a new White Zetsu had materialized at their backs.
"So there's more than one?" Darui rolled his neck and let out a weary sigh.
Tap. Tap. A faint footstep sounded directly behind Darui.
Since when?! Every hair on Darui's body stood on end.
Since his back was turned, Darui couldn't see the figure that had appeared behind him — but everyone else could.
"Uchiha Madara!!!" Kurotsuchi's eyes went wide with disbelief as the name tore from her throat.
The instant those words echoed through the clearing, every face present drained of color!
[
Hey everyone,
I need to tell you what's actually happening.
I just got hit with mass cancellations. On top of being buried in academics until the 9th. I'm in deep financial trouble right now—like, genuinely don't-know-how-I-cover-next-month trouble.
I want to do more for you. I have another Naruto fic ready to drop the moment this academic hell ends. But I can't keep creating if I can't survive.
I'm not powerless about the work—I know I can deliver for you. But I'm powerless to stop the bleeding alone.
If you've ever thought about supporting, this is the moment. Not "someday." Now.
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Every new member literally buys me another week of doing this. Every existing member staying is the reason I'm still here.
]