The very day the Third Raikage returned to the village, he personally suppressed the Eight-Tails' rampage.
Just a few days after the Sea Lantern Festival, Yagura received a formal diplomatic letter from the Third Raikage, requesting to arrange a meeting. The Raikage himself would travel to Kirigakure to discuss diplomatic matters with him.
The Third Raikage was a man of principle.
When he admitted defeat, he meant it. The trade routes between Kirigakure and Konohagakure had not only forced Kumogakure to retreat, but...
Along with the diplomatic note, Kumogakure sent over a list—an order for ninja tools.
And it wasn't a small order either! Each batch was larger than the ones Konoha requested—and there were several of them!
Yagura immediately called Elder Genshi in for a private meeting. Kumogakure's attitude had shifted way too fast—was this a trap?
The elder and the young Mizukage examined it carefully, but in the end, they concluded there was no conspiracy at play.
Kumogakure simply wanted to purchase goods—legitimately.
The Third Raikage had changed tactics.
The goal of the three-nation alliance was to cut off Konoha's lifeline.
Now that severing the transport lines between Kirigakure and Konoha had failed, the new approach was to target the source—Kirigakure itself.
Kirigakure prided itself on neutrality and free trade.
Kumogakure had tried to flip the table but failed. So now, they chose to sit down and play by Kirigakure's rules.
If Konoha could buy military supplies from you, and Sunagakure could too, then why not Kumogakure?
Yes, Kumogakure could produce their own equipment and even had some to spare, but that didn't stop them from buying more.
Better to stockpile gear than let it go to Konoha, only to be used later against their own shinobi on the battlefield.
Besides, Kumogakure was rich. And Kirigakure's prices were incredibly low—especially considering wartime inflation.
The logic was sound, and the plan feasible. The Third Raikage moved quickly.
If money could solve the problem—throw money at it! (Insert rich guy pose)
It wasn't some complicated scheme, but it was practical and effective.
Now that Kumogakure was playing by the rules Kirigakure had set, the question was—would Yagura and Elder Genshi play along?
Truthfully, they had no choice. This was an open and aboveboard tactic.
Kumogakure had followed the rules. If Kirigakure rejected them now, it would only tarnish their own reputation.
From Kirigakure's perspective, Yagura and Elder Genshi just wanted to sell the goods and make a profit. If the price was the same, who bought them didn't really matter.
Besides, Kumogakure was even offering higher prices to edge out Konoha's market share.
As for the lost revenue from escorting trade caravans, that was already set to drop after Kumogakure stopped targeting them.
That's just from an economic standpoint.
Now, taking the war into account...
Yagura and Elder Genshi made the call.
The conclusion was obvious—sell to Kumogakure!
Have you seen how hard Konoha's been hitting on the battlefield lately? If we keep supplying them, won't they just become even more unstoppable?
They'd been struggling to find a way to cut back on sales to Konoha, just to balance the scales and keep the war from becoming one-sided.
And now Kumogakure came knocking with the perfect opportunity—it couldn't have been more convenient!
With that, the top brass of Kirigakure reached a consensus.
But that was only the first issue. There was still a second one.
The Third Raikage wouldn't travel all the way to Kirigakure just to place an order.
"Raikage-sama likely has another agenda—perhaps to exert some pressure," Elder Genshi speculated aloud.
Yagura raised an eyebrow.
"What, copying me now?"
An eye for an eye, huh?
Then Yagura shook his head. No, no—that logic made him the aggressor.
"You should be proud of your battle, Mizukage. Kirigakure came out on top. Kumogakure agreed to your terms and withdrew their troops. You earned the lion's share of the benefits."
Elder Genshi continued patiently, breaking it down: "But Kumogakure can't walk away from this without gaining anything. Accepting your terms without return would make no sense diplomatically. After all, they didn't lose completely."
Yagura frowned. "We achieved a minor victory. Kumogakure took a minor loss. Now that we're at the negotiation table, we'll need to trade interests. They gave up something significant, and we'll have to give something in return. It could be small or large—but it has to be something."
Otherwise, if Kumogakure accepted everything unconditionally, they'd lose face across the entire shinobi world. Their reputation would be in tatters.
That's why the Third Raikage was coming in person—to negotiate exactly what Kirigakure would give up.
The benefit couldn't be bigger than what Kumogakure had conceded—Kirigakure had fought hard for their win. But it couldn't be too small either, or Kumogakure wouldn't accept.
Yagura thought long and hard, but couldn't figure out what Kirigakure could possibly offer.
Kumogakure wasn't in dire need like Konoha, or completely destitute like Sunagakure.
They weren't desperate. They were self-sufficient. Wealthy, even.
Having dealt with diplomacy before, Yagura quickly shifted his approach.
If Kirigakure had nothing to offer from within, then the answer had to come from outside—something they could cooperate on together.
He scanned the shinobi world map in his mind, looking for any external factor where Kumogakure and Kirigakure could align.
After a while, he found the biggest prize still lay with Konoha.
But making a direct move against Konoha? That was off the table.
At least not openly.
Yagura's eyes darkened with thought. His fingertip tapped the eastern side of the Land of Fire on the map.
"This one."
The top two leaders of Kirigakure finalized their shared position.
They summoned all departments to meet, ironed out the details...
And then sent an official diplomatic reply to Kumogakure—approving their order and scheduling a meeting at the border of the Land of Water, ten days from now.
...
Ten days later.
The two Kage met as promised, at a Kirigakure border outpost.
Not long ago, they'd been locked in deadly combat. Now they sat across the table, discussing peace.
Skipping the pleasantries and initial testing of each other's positions...
Just as Yagura and the elder had expected, the Third Raikage had come to make demands.
"Kumogakure has already shown the utmost sincerity by agreeing to all of your terms."
The burly man folded his arms across his chest. His battle wounds from fighting Yagura had long since healed, but there was weight in his tone: "Now, what will you offer in return?"
He sounded as if he were the victor here.
But Kirigakure lacked the leverage to argue, and Yagura didn't see the point in picking a fight here.
"Of course, we wouldn't let you walk away with nothing."
He picked up a pen and circled a location on the map spread out between them.
"Konoha's former ally, the Land of Whirlpools. The country's gone, but remnants of the Uzumaki Clan remain."
He clicked the pen shut and smiled. "Shall we act together?"
The Third Raikage leaned in, eyes on the circled Land of Whirlpools. It didn't take him long to nod.
"Excellent."
Yagura's proposal had been well within the list of benefits he'd considered.
In fact, the Uzumaki Clan was easily one of the top three—maybe even number one.
When it came to national interest, the ambition and dominance of a true warlord gleamed in the Third Raikage's eyes. He didn't hesitate:
"The Uzumaki's sealing scrolls—those go to Kumogakure."
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
Fanfic is finished on Patreon (265 chapters in total.)
Patreon(.)com/Jixo (for only $4.50, read this entire fanfic)