Naruto: The Wind Calamity

[A/N: Been a long break. I don't think I've taken such a long break from writing since ending my hiatus. Glad you guys supported me taking the break. It's been a good break to cool off a bit. Also thank you for all the responses in the polls. Gave me several new and fun ideas, which we'll see later in the story. Anyway, let's hit the ground running. We'll follow the same schedule as before. I'll write 6 days per week and take a break on Saturdays. Chapters will be published daily around this time.]

Arisa and several others understood they had no choice but to accept Hiromasa's terms. Even though the cost had truly surpassed what the Sunagakure Council had agreed upon, they would have to accept it considering the circumstances. It was just that it was humiliating how badly they were being manipulated, making them reluctant.

Hiromasa easily read their feelings as he glanced at the Sunagakure ninjas. He said, "If you don't think this information is worth this small cost, then I have no words for you.

It is due to this information that Fujin was against the alliance. I had to work hard to convince him to sell this information at such a low cost. If you don't want it, then it's fine. We can complete the negotiations without including this."

He quietened down after expressing himself displaying no concern about whether Sunagakure accepted the deal or not. To ensure that he didn't start adding more conditions later, Arisa unwillingly muttered, "We accept. However, considering how critical this information is, I hope you can provide it to us immediately."

Hiromasa smiled and said, "Unfortunately, this was Fujin's decision. Considering the danger he had to face, I couldn't ask him to compromise any further."

Arisa thought, 'As if! Seeing how devious he is, I am even more certain that Fujin didn't fight 7 rank S ninjas! At most, he may have had a run-in with them and escaped immediately. Or perhaps he just met a few of them, if at all, and they are now exaggerating it.'

Unfortunately, she had no choice but to relent. They had to know what had happened with the Third Kazekage and the dangers they were unaware of. Arisa and Yura agreed to the terms.

With their agreement, the long negotiations finally came to an end! Konoha and Sunagakure would continue their alliance despite the small hiccup. The two sides began drafting the final agreement and sent messages to their respective villages at the same time.

In Konoha, Shikaku had a strange expression. He looked at the Yamanaka ninja who reported the news and asked, "Tell Fujin that Sunagakure accepted his deal? What did they mean by that?"

The Yamanaka ninja answered, "I don't know."

Shikaku replied, "Contact them and ask them. Hmm, wait! I'll come with you."

He followed the Yamanaka ninja into the communication room and contacted the negotiation team. As he learned what it was, Shikaku entered into deep thought. He wondered, 'The news of the Third Kazekage… Did Fujin confirm that the puppet with Sasori is the Third Kazekage? When did he do that? Or is he just betting that is the case?'

Shikaku analyzed for a bit before concluding, 'No, Hiromasa won't stake the reputation of the Senju clan on speculation. Fujin must have some solid proof. Did he run into the Akatsuki again? Why didn't he report it to me?'

Shikaku frowned. He had a hunch that something critical had happened. Unfortunately, he couldn't guess what happened. He thought, 'I suppose the information is too sensitive to send through messenger birds or Chakra Transmission Communication devices. I'll ask him when he returns to the village.'

He immediately asked the sensors to contact Fujin's army, report the success of the negotiations and order them to return to the village.

A few minutes later, Fujin and other leaders of the army were informed about the same. Fujin's lips curled upwards as he thought, 'As I expected, they accepted. Why bother attacking the vast deserts and wasting weeks, if not months, to eliminate some weaklings for no benefit when they're willing to pay me such a nice little sum for useless information which they might learn anyway.'

Of course, Sunagakure wouldn't find that information useless. Considering their state, they would accept Sasori with open arms if he returned to the village. In fact, they would also be open to making him the next Kazekage due to his strength, which effectively would have made Sunagakure the next Kirigakure. Gaining this information would ensure that Sunagakure didn't fall into such a trap.

However, Fujin knew that Sasori had no interest in returning to Sunagakure. He also didn't think Nagato or Obito would bother trying to take control of a weak village like Sunagakure. Hence, the information was more or less useless from his perspective.

Renjiro looked at Fujin and thought, 'As expected, he had made a move. It's just that I didn't expect he would make a move in the negotiations instead of against Sunagakure ninjas. Not bad, he is becoming better at scheming.'

Renjiro didn't bother asking Fujin what it was. Illumi and Konomi also understood that they shouldn't ask such questions. However, Hoka had no such reservations. He asked, "What was your deal?"

Fujin chuckled and replied, "Just a little something I came across in the Land of Rice. You'll learn it later. Anyway, pack up everything. We are heading back to Konoha."

Following Fujin's orders, the entire Konoha army began retreating. The reaction of his subordinates was mixed. Some were happy that they wouldn't have to risk their lives while some were sad due to losing another opportunity to gain fame.

Unlike the mixed reaction of Konoha's army, every single Sunagakure ninja who saw the massive army leaving was relieved. A massive weight was lifted off their shoulders. They quickly communicated the same to their council, who were relieved as well.

Goza said, "Arisa and Yura did a good job. Other than elemental crystals, they resolved everything at or under our bottom line."

Others nodded. Sajo muttered, "What do you think of this information? Do you think Konoha is telling the truth?"

Ebizo answered, "It's hard to say. Rasa always assumed that it was Konoha. Though we had our doubts, they were indeed the most suspicious ones. Sharing information now could be a way to absolve themselves of the blame and divert our attention elsewhere. We need to wait and see what the information is before we can conclude."

Goza added, "True, but I don't think our team would have accepted it if they didn't think it had substance. Let us wait for them to return. Then, we can make an informed decision."

Everyone nodded. Even though Sunagakure would have to pay a painful price, most of the council members were relieved. Unlike the remaining Sunagakure ninjas and other villages, they were well aware that they weren't in a shape to go to war against Konoha. If the talks had failed, it would have been a war for survival for Sunagakure! Even Fujin and Shikaku weren't completely aware of this as they didn't know how the talks between Sunagakure, Iwagakure and Kumogakure were progressing.

The only ones who weren't happy were Tojuro, whose path to the seat of Kazekage had been terminated, and Chiyo who didn't like Sunagakure's increased dependence on Konoha. While she understood that they didn't have a choice, it was a bitter pill to swallow.

——

In the Fire Capital, the two sides drafted the final agreement and signed it along with their respective Daimyos. The Fire Daimyo wanted to have a celebration for the new alliance, but both sides rejected it due to the losses they faced.

Once they retreated to their respective hotels, Koharu and Homura called for a small meeting of the council members. They immediately asked, "Hiromasa, how did the Third Kazekage die?"

Hiromasa looked at the two Elders and replied with a smile, "To be honest, even I'm not completely sure. Fujin just told me he learnt about it during his trip to the Land of Rice and is almost certain of what happened. He said that Sunagakure would desperately want that information. So, I used it to get more resources from them."

Needless to say, Hiromasa wouldn't give out the secret now. After all, Sunagakure had promised to pay a huge price, which would entirely go to Fujin. He could see that Fujin and the Elders had some friction between them. If Koharu or Homura gave that information to Sunagakure for free or at a smaller cost, they would have no reason to honor the deal with Fujin. Konoha wouldn't pursue the matter either since Sunagakure would honor the remaining agreement, which would mean that Fujin would be the only loser.

Koharu and Homura realized his thoughts and had ugly expressions. Koharu asked, "Do you mean to say that you staked the reputation of the Senju clan without knowing whether his information was accurate?"

Hiromasa casually replied, "You're forgetting that Renjiro trained the boy. He completely trusts Fujin. So, I have no reason to doubt his words."

He chuckled and added, "Don't be impatient. I'm sure he would inform the council of what he discovered once we meet in the village."

Homura and Koharu understood that Hiromasa wouldn't back down. Pursuing it wasn't of any use. Inoichi and Tsume understood the same, though they didn't mind it unlike the Elders. Inoichi suddenly said, "Now that I think about it, it's rather amusing. Sunagakure doesn't know how the Third or the Fourth Kazekage died, while we know exactly what happened with the Fourth Kazekage and have clues about the Third Kazekage."

[A/N: This brings an end to the cliffhanger arc *cough* the negotiations arc. Volume 6 still has some chapters left, related to the matters of Sasuke along with some training chapters involving techniques/concepts discussed earlier in the story.]

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