Chapter 171: Peace Talks
"What? Ishiro, what did you say?" This time it was Saka who questioned him. He never imagined Ishiro would say such a thing. Let Konoha quickly win the Third Great Ninja War? Are you crazy? If it weren't for Ishiro's outstanding performance in this major battle, and him saving Ikura's life from Minato Namikaze, Saka would have suspected Ishiro of being a Konoha spy.
Ishiro looked around at everyone and found that the others had the same expression as Saka. So, with a sly grin, he said, "Hehe. Advisor Saka, do you think it's a good thing for Konoha to win the war quickly?"
"Does everyone still remember the condition Hiruzen Sarutobi made to persuade the Uchiha and Hyūga clans to dispatch troops after Kirigakure joined the war?"
After the White Fang Incident, the relationship between Konoha's higher-ups, represented by Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the Uchiha clan was not handled well; the two sides were almost in a state of cold war. Later, when dealing with Kirigakure, to persuade the Uchiha clan to send troops, Hiruzen Sarutobi publicly promised to step down after the war was won. Furthermore, whoever had the greatest war merits would succeed as the Fourth Hokage.
To make the Uchiha clan fight desperately, Hiruzen Sarutobi even proposed that the war merits of clan members could be counted towards one person.
"Are you saying, deliberately let Konoha win early, and then force Hiruzen Sarutobi to abdicate?" This time it was Ikura who asked. He didn't understand the significance of Hiruzen Sarutobi abdicating.
Ōnoki had also semi-publicly mentioned selecting a successor after the Third War.
Isn't it just changing the Hokage? Hiruzen Sarutobi isn't dead, just abdicating. What's the use? Konoha wouldn't lose anything.
"Ikura, if Konoha wins and Hiruzen Sarutobi abdicates, who do you think will succeed him?" Ishiro looked at Ikura with a strange expression as he asked.
"Ishiro, are you saying, use the position of Fourth Hokage to stir up trouble between the current Konoha higher-ups and the Uchiha, perhaps even the Hyūga?" Ōnoki, having been Tsuchikage for many years, was the first to react.
"That's right. No matter how nicely Hiruzen Sarutobi put it back then, he would never let the position of Hokage fall into the hands of the Uchiha clan," Ishiro said excitedly.
"At that time, regardless of the outcome, if a Fourth Great Ninja War breaks out, the Uchiha clan will likely not send a single person to the battlefield again. Perhaps they might even bring the Hyūga clan along with them. If the Uchiha clan and the Hyūga clan are gone, even if Konoha wins the Third War, can it still maintain its position as the hegemon of the ninja world?"
"And whether the Fourth Great Ninja War is fought or not, won't it be up to us, who have preserved our strength, to decide?"
"Besides, even if a Fourth War isn't fought, a good show is likely to unfold within Konoha itself."
Slap! Ōnoki slammed his hand on the table and said, "Saka, send a message to the capital. Tell Mei to inform the Daimyō that we want to negotiate peace."
Mei was the middle-aged female advisor who happened to be in the capital recently. Peace talks between two nations required the Daimyō's involvement, and Advisor Mei would serve as Iwagakure's representative to communicate with the Daimyō.
After setting this most crucial strategic direction, Ōnoki felt a wave of relief. Then, looking at Ishiro with a smile, he said, "Ishiro, congratulations on finally breaking through."
Ishiro chuckled. That's right. In the major battle just before, at the very moment Ōnoki used Dust Release to sweep the battlefield and change the tide of war single-handedly, Ishiro had broken through.
Ishiro's comprehension ability was not low. The main reason he had been stuck at the Elite Jōnin level for so long was that he knew too much about the plot.
The plot was both his boon and his bane.
With the help of the plot, Ishiro had gained much. But it was precisely because of these gains that Ishiro had never possessed the magnanimity that a Kage-level powerhouse should have.
Whenever he encountered something, Ishiro's first reaction was to find a solution from the plot. He had never thought of breaking the shackles with his own strength.
But this time, Ishiro had racked his brains and still couldn't figure out how to reverse Iwagakure's unfavorable situation at that time. But Ōnoki had thought of it. Ōnoki's method was simple and direct: use Dust Release to sweep the field.
The crushing force of absolute strength was the quickest and most direct way to solve all problems.
At that moment, Ishiro had an epiphany! In that instant, Ishiro's mind and heart felt completely clear.
Afterwards, having pushed the Konoha ninjas back to the Land of Fire and returned to the Iwagakure encampment in the Land of Earth, Ishiro buried himself in comprehending his last attribute: Wind.
Because he was prepared, Ishiro's comprehension was somewhat better and faster than Ikura's had been. The current Ishiro could barely be considered to possess all five attributes.
However, Ishiro's Wind Release was currently insufficient to support him in casting even a single C-rank wind jutsu.
Upon hearing Ōnoki's words, everyone was astonished, then one by one, their faces lit up with joy, and they congratulated Ishiro.
Ishiro, embarrassed, thanked them one by one.
Ishiro understood everyone's meaning. The role of a Kage-level powerhouse was too great. This time, Iwagakure had been blocked halfway by Jiraiya from the very beginning, unable to advance an inch.
This was even with Iwagakure using its Tailed Beast. If Han, the Jinchūriki of the Five-Tails, hadn't drawn most of Jiraiya's attention, Iwagakure would likely have had to pay a huge price to break through Jiraiya's blockade.
But Tailed Beasts were too unstable. Han was still in a state where he couldn't fight. If Han were sent out again now, the Five-Tails would probably go berserk in a few minutes.
But now, following Ikura, another quasi-Kage had appeared in the village. In another two years, when Ishiro completely finished his transformation, Iwagakure would enter its most glorious era since its founding.
After all, Iwagakure had never had three Kage-level individuals at the same time.
During the previous battle, Ōnoki, flying in mid-air like Ishiro and constantly monitoring the ninjas on both sides, was the first to notice the change in Ishiro's aura, even before Ishiro himself.
So when Ishiro later proposed a withdrawal, Ōnoki didn't hesitate much. Because in Ōnoki's view, even just creating a relatively quiet training space for Ishiro was more important than defeating Konoha.
Therefore, Iwagakure completed its withdrawal at the fastest speed, which was why Ishiro had time to comprehend his fifth attribute.
"Ishiro, did you succeed in comprehending your Wind Release?" Ikura knew about Ishiro's four attributes and had roughly guessed that Ishiro planned to comprehend Wind Release after breaking through to Kage-level, hence his question.
Ikura had been wondering earlier why Ishiro went to train immediately after the battle ended, without even attending the post-battle summary meeting. Thinking about it now, Ishiro must have taken advantage of his recent breakthrough to comprehend Wind Release.
Ishiro smiled confidently and said, "Of course. Because the timing was good, the effect was even a bit better than yours back then."
"That's great," Ikura hesitated for a moment, then said, "This time, when you choose to train an S-rank ninjutsu, you might consider how to deal with Minato Namikaze's Flying Thunder God technique."
"Minato Namikaze is the only one among Konoha's ninjas of our generation who has broken through to Kage-level. He should be our biggest opponent in the future."
"The Flying Thunder God technique is too difficult to counter, and it's too effective against ninjutsu-type ninjas like us."
Ikura was a bit hesitant when he said this. After all, this would be a rather large sacrifice for Ishiro. Once Ishiro did so, he might have to change a series of tactics, just to deal with Minato Namikaze, who could become an enemy.
Speaking of this, the others also frowned. Ōnoki directly said, "Tell me in detail about Minato Namikaze."
...
After finishing his conversation with Ōnoki and the others, Ishiro stayed at the Southern Front encampment for another twenty-odd days. During this period, Ōnoki didn't leave either. Not only did he not leave, but Ōnoki also mobilized another five thousand ninjas from within the village.
However, these five thousand ninjas didn't go to the front lines but merely assembled within the village, adopting a stance of being ready to depart at any moment.
The purpose, of course, was to gain the upper hand at the negotiating table.
After a month of wrangling, the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth finally signed a truce treaty.
The first article of the truce treaty: The Land of Earth recognizes the Land of Fire as the victor of the Third Great Ninja War.
This article was very interesting. Iwagakure clearly wanted substance over face. And apart from the first article, the other terms were either favorable to Iwagakure or imposed restrictions on both sides. Konoha only obtained a nominal victory.
For example: The treaty stipulated that the Land of Fire needed to pay huge reparations to the Land of Earth; the Land of Fire must dissolve its alliance with the Land of Grass, and the Land of Grass would remain neutral between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth.
For example: The treaty stipulated that Konoha needed to hand over three A-rank ninjutsu and ten B-rank ninjutsu that Iwagakure did not possess.
This was the clause that took the longest time for both sides to haggle over. Iwagakure initially proposed wanting S-rank ninjutsu, which Konoha naturally refused. Later, Iwagakure proposed that they themselves select the A-rank ninjutsu, but Konoha still refused.
Finally, the consensus reached by both sides was: Iwagakure would list the names of ten A-rank ninjutsu, and Konoha would choose three from them.
It was the same for B-rank ninjutsu: Iwagakure would write down thirty, and Konoha would choose ten from them.
It's worth mentioning that when Ōnoki asked which ninjutsu to write down, Ishiro had proposed including the Lightning Release Stimulation Method in the B-rank ninjutsu list, but unfortunately, Konoha didn't give it in the end. For this, Ishiro felt regretful for several days, because even now, Ishiro still didn't understand the true key to the Lightning Release Stimulation Method.
Now, for Iwagakure, the war was already over. According to the treaty, Iwagakure had to withdraw its troops from the border.
Not only did they have to withdraw from the Land of Grass, but they also had to reduce the number of ninjas on the Land of Earth's border. Of course, Konoha would simultaneously reduce the number of ninjas confronting Iwagakure.
After all matters were settled, Ōnoki was to return to the village, but Ishiro still had to make a trip to the Eastern Front encampment. Because in this peace treaty, Konoha had also made some demands regarding Iwagakure's Eastern Front encampment. Konoha requested that Iwagakure relocate its Eastern Front encampment. The new location after relocation had to be far from the Land of Waterfalls.
Ishiro, as a sealing jutsu master, needed to go to the Eastern Front encampment to supervise the arrangement of the sealing barriers.
Before leaving, Ōnoki had Ishiro copy all three A-rank and ten B-rank ninjutsu given by Konoha, and this time, he didn't apply a sealing jutsu to Ishiro's mind.
Perhaps Ōnoki felt these things were all freebies and didn't attach the same importance to them as the ninjutsu the village originally possessed.
"After you finish setting up the Eastern Front encampment, return to the village to learn an S-rank ninjutsu. This is the village's reward for your breakthrough to Kage-level," Ōnoki instructed Ishiro a few things before letting him leave.
Ishiro came alone but left with a thousand ninjas and a large amount of supplies. These were all to be taken to the Eastern Front. After withdrawing most of its ninjas, the Southern Front no longer needed so many supplies, while the Eastern Front, after expansion, would require a large amount of supplies. Thus, Ishiro gained an additional task of escorting supplies.
After hostilities on the Southern Front ceased, the village's military strength became much more ample, so the Eastern Front was able to double its scale this time.
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