"What a Coincidence—Lord Madara Thinks Exactly the Same Way."
Kumogakure.
The First Raikage sat at the head of the chamber.
Around him clustered a group of towering, dark-skinned brutes—men whose bodies were packed with dense, corded muscle. Each of them had an exaggerated physique radiating raw power. Compared to them, the First Raikage almost looked lean.
Yet no one dared speak first.
The Raikage sat in silence, his presence heavy and oppressive, like the center of a low-pressure storm. The men around him subconsciously held their breath, fear and reverence written plainly on their faces.
Kumogakure was nothing like Konoha.
The village prized violence and strength. To claim the title of Raikage, every single man present had once been beaten—brutally—by the man now seated above them.
The atmosphere was suffocating.
"Bastards!"
"Do they really think Kumogakure is made of mud?!"
The First Raikage exploded with rage. Lightning crackled across his body, his aura surging higher and higher. His once-compact frame suddenly expanded.
Rip—!
The sound of fabric tearing echoed through the room.
"It's happening—!"
"So strong…!!"
Even though they had seen this form before, the surrounding men still looked on in shock.
Traditional Cloud ninja honed their bodies endlessly—muscle upon muscle, growing larger and stronger by the day.
The First Raikage was different.
He cultivated a secret technique of the Yotsuki clan, continuously tempering his body while compressing all that power into a tightly controlled form. Only in battle did his true physique erupt forth.
The technique was absurdly difficult.
In all of history, only two people had mastered it—the technique's creator, and the First Raikage himself.
Everyone else simply lacked the necessary purity.
Now, the First Raikage stood nearly two and a half meters tall, like a living giant. His muscles looked carved by nature itself.
More terrifying still—
If one stood behind him, they would see the grotesque shape formed by the muscles of his back: deep grooves resembling eye sockets, massive muscle groups forging a demonic visage beneath the skin.
As if an oni from the abyss had been stitched directly into his flesh.
"The Demon Back…"
That was what they called it.
"Konoha… Akatsuki Village…"
"One plays the good cop, the other the bad cop. They're all cut from the same cloth!"
Red light burned in the First Raikage's eyes as he tore the two written statements to shreds.
Akatsuki Village's compensation demands were nothing short of surrender terms.
Over a hundred million ryō in reparations.
Handing over Kumogakure ninja for public execution.
Even demanding that he himself, the Raikage, travel to Akatsuki Village to kneel and repent.
Absurd.
Unacceptable.
He wouldn't agree to a single condition.
As for Konoha—
Their statement sounded polite: "Maintain restraint. Do not escalate the situation. Propose reasonable terms."
But who were they fooling?
Konoha and Akatsuki Village were allies—close ones.
Uchiha Makoto was an Uchiha, from one of Konoha's founding clans.
Did Konoha really expect anyone to believe they hadn't known about Akatsuki's terms in advance?
They're all in this together!
The First Raikage saw it clearly now.
This was extortion.
Konoha played the benevolent mediator, while Akatsuki applied overwhelming pressure.
"Raikage-sama, what should we do?"
Kinkaku, pale-skinned by Cloud standards, spoke up.
"What should we do?"
"We issue a statement immediately. Kumogakure will never accept these unreasonable demands!"
"We lost two chūnin as well—shouldn't they compensate us?"
"Copy Akatsuki's format word for word. Demand that their so-called 'Hokage' come to Kumogakure to apologize and pay reparations!"
"And don't mention Konoha."
The First Raikage was furious—but not reckless.
Striking Akatsuki Village was one thing.
Provoking Konoha outright was another.
Kumogakure wasn't strong enough to fight both simultaneously.
If Konoha wanted to play the 'reasonable' side, then let them.
Kumogakure would concentrate all its force on Akatsuki Village.
Compared to Konoha—where Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were legends—
Akatsuki Village was far easier to deal with.
Uchiha Makoto's name carried weight locally, but in the wider shinobi world, he had no proven record.
A soft persimmon was still a persimmon.
It wasn't honorable—but leadership required compromise.
"For Kumogakure, this sacrifice is necessary."
"And what if Konoha and Akatsuki press the issue?" Ginkaku asked.
"This is extortion," the Raikage snorted. "We respond with equal countermeasures."
"They'll back down."
"Do you really think they'll start a war over a few chūnin?"
"If they do—then we fight to the end.The stake that sticks up gets hammered down."
This was bluff and pressure, nothing more.
In the Raikage's eyes, this was just another mission dispute—common since the Warring States era.
War would cost too much.
Akatsuki would flinch first.
Konoha, the real power behind the curtain, would then order Akatsuki to soften its stance.
That was how this would end.
"Raikage-sama is wise!!" ×N
The men listened in rapt attention, dawning comprehension on their faces.
Not only did their leader possess overwhelming strength—
He understood politics as well.
Kumogakure's future is secure.
Akatsuki Village.
"Why does everyone think I'm bluffing?"
"Do they really believe Akatsuki Village wouldn't dare go to war?"
Uchiha Makoto grinned as he read Kumogakure's response.
He was already personally reviewing final wartime logistics.
The clans of the shinobi world were veterans of the Warring States era. Each had ready-made templates for war—just minor adjustments were needed.
Makoto, however, added far more.
Clan leaders valued frugality. Every ryō was hard-earned.
Makoto didn't care.
Spend it.
Max it out.
The wartime supply chain he had built at enormous cost was finally going to be used.
If a war was coming, then everything would be prepared—everything.
This was Akatsuki Village's first externally initiated war.
It had to be a decisive victory.
If they lost—or even suffered excessive casualties—
Even with Madara as a safety net, Makoto would almost certainly be forced to step down.
After issuing his final orders, Makoto glanced at the time.
Two visitors would arrive soon.
Uzumaki Shinji, head of the Uzumaki clan.
Uchiha Setsuna, Konoha's envoy.
Whether by coincidence or design, both had requested a meeting this afternoon.
They arrived within ten minutes of each other, so Makoto received them together.
"Two honored guests from afar—my apologies for the poor reception."
"Makoto, it's been a while." ×2
Makoto knew exactly why they were here.
Both were mediators.
Still, he greeted them warmly.
Uchiha Setsuna was from his own clan—someone he had once fought beside.
As for Uzumaki Shinji—
They shared 3.86 billion ryō worth of friendship.
Tea was poured.
No small talk.
"Makoto," Setsuna said bluntly, "the Hokage believes Akatsuki's compensation demands are far too harsh. For the sake of peace, he hopes you'll make concessions."
"Yes," Shinji added. "You're being reckless. Kumogakure dominates the Land of Lightning—there's no benefit in antagonizing them."
Makoto nodded calmly.
"I understand perfectly."
"I did it on purpose."
"This war would happen sooner or later. If it's inevitable, then it's better to fight now."
"Akatsuki, Konoha, and Uzushiogakure are allies. Three villages against one."
"The advantage is ours."
Setsuna fell silent.
Makoto's reasoning matched Madara's exactly.
The only difference was scale.
Madara wanted to eliminate all villages and unify the shinobi world.
Shinji frowned, deep in thought.
Makoto wasn't wrong—but war was ruinously expensive, not just in money, but in lives.
If Konoha joined, the Uzumaki would follow without hesitation.
But Konoha's attitude…
"Even though Tobirama issued a gag order," Setsuna hesitated, "you're not an outsider—uh…"
He glanced at Shinji.
Makoto smiled. "Neither is Shinji. Speak freely."
Setsuna nodded.
"Then I'll be blunt. Madara agrees with you completely."
"But the First Hokage opposed him. They nearly came to blows."
"The Uchiha still don't have final say in Konoha. If you go to war alone, Konoha won't send troops."
"Akatsuki fighting Kumogakure alone—victory isn't guaranteed, and the losses could be devastating."
Makoto chuckled.
"I already expected that."
He looked briefly at Shinji, then withdrew his gaze.
"I won't force Uzushiogakure to decide now."
"Relax," Makoto said calmly. "Akatsuki Village will win."
"Makoto, please reconsider," Shinji urged.
"This is Akatsuki's future."
Makoto smiled.
"It seems you still misunderstand Akatsuki's strength."
"Do you know what Economic warfare capability ability is?"
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Chakraflow789