Naruto: Reborn with the Tenseigan

"I'll give it a try."

Convincing Hanzo of the Salamander might not necessarily require the Daimyo's involvement, but the village would undoubtedly need to offer sufficient benefits.

Given the Third Hokage's character, the likelihood of him agreeing to this suggestion was quite high. At this stage, the Third Hokage still retained some decisiveness. The trickier issue lay with the Elder Council.

In particular, Koharu Utatane, the most troublesome old lady.

"Senior, prepare yourself for rejection. Many things, even if Tsunade steps in, may not succeed."

Takashi gave Nara Shikashin a heads-up.

The higher the expectations, the greater the potential disappointment.

Nara Shikashin smiled as he stood up.

"I was prepared for rejection the moment I came up with this idea. Let's give it a shot. If it works, great. If it doesn't, we'll just chip away slowly."

"Take care of yourself. I've noticed you've been looking very tired lately. Training is important, but rest is equally vital."

As the head of the Nara Clan, Nara Shikashin was privy to some village secrets, so he wasn't curious about what Takashi was doing or where he had been.

"Take care, Senior."

After seeing Nara Shikashin off, Takashi took out a scroll, recorded the matter, and sent it to the village via puppet courier. The rest was up to Tsunade.

Tsunade would certainly agree with Nara Shikashin's suggestion; the difficult part was getting approval from the Hokage's office and the Elder Council.

The scroll, sent out at midnight, reached Konoha by dawn.

It was delivered smoothly to Tsunade's hands.

After reading it, Tsunade felt a headache coming on. "You really know how to give me trouble."

The proposal was good, but gaining the Third Hokage and the others' support would not be easy.

Tsunade decided to give it a try.

Fortunately, both Nara Shikashin and Takashi had already prepared themselves for rejection. If the suggestion was accepted, that would be ideal. If not, then they would just keep fighting the long, slow battle.

After all, wars didn't end that easily.

The future was still going to be chaotic for a while.

At the Hokage's office building, Tsunade walked into the Hokage's office and presented Nara Shikashin's suggestion.

The Third Hokage frowned immediately:

"Tsunade, in order to suppress Amegakure's development, we deliberately dragged them into the conflict, turning the Land of Rain into a battleground for the three Great Nations. The relationship between Amegakure and the village has already deteriorated to the breaking point."

"Convincing Hanzo of the Salamander will be extremely difficult."

"I understand," Tsunade replied. "It's difficult, but not impossible. If we can persuade Hanzo and form an alliance between Amegakure and Konoha, the battlefield dynamics in the Land of Rain would shift."

"I'll call Koharu and the others over so we can all discuss this."

After some thought, the Third Hokage decided to hold a brief meeting.

As for making a decision, they would figure that out after the discussion.

Upon receiving the notification, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado arrived, along with Akimichi Torifu.

With Tsunade also present, five people sat down in the Hokage's office to begin their discussion.

"No, I refuse!"

As expected, upon hearing Tsunade's proposal, Koharu immediately objected, "I'm not trying to target anyone here; I'm considering this from the perspective of the village's best interest. An alliance in the Land of Rain might seem beneficial to us, but don't forget, the battlefield in the Rain Country involves more than just three sides."

"If we pay a high price to ally with Amegakure, what about Iwagakure?"

"If we ally with Amegakure, won't Iwagakure feel pressured and form an alliance with Sunagakure instead?"

Koharu's points were reasonable, and the Third Hokage and Homura Mitokado nodded slightly in agreement.

Akimichi Torifu remained silent for a moment before saying, "Iwagakure's main focus is on Kumogakure, so—"

"Can you guarantee that Iwagakure and Sunagakure won't ally, Torifu?"

Koharu, not wanting to hear it, directly challenged, "If you can guarantee that Iwagakure and Sunagakure won't unite, then I will agree on behalf of the Elder Council to negotiate with Amegakure."

"…"

How the hell can I guarantee that?

Akimichi Torifu felt his temper flare.

The relationships between villages change constantly, especially during wartime. If Konoha could think of allying with Amegakure, Sunagakure and Iwagakure could also have similar ideas.

Sunagakure had already taken action, though their overtures were rejected.

Of course, Konoha wasn't aware of that piece of intel.

For Konoha to ally with Amegakure, they would have to put in the effort to convince Hanzo, but they also had to worry about Iwagakure's reaction.

If Iwagakure felt threatened and turned to ally with Sunagakure, Konoha would end up being the one at a disadvantage.

Even if they successfully allied with Amegakure, they would still be in trouble if they faced the combined forces of Sunagakure and Iwagakure.

It wasn't as though they knew about Chiyo's previous attempt to contact Iwagakure. Even if they did, the Third Hokage and the others wouldn't want to take that gamble.

In fact, it could backfire, with the Elder Council blaming Tsunade's suggestion for triggering an alliance between Iwagakure and Sunagakure against Konoha.

I knew it would go like this.

Tsunade sighed, folding her arms across her chest. She didn't feel like arguing anymore.

During war, it was risky to try and ally with one enemy. If the leadership agreed and provided enough benefits, Hanzo would likely accept, and the odds of success were high. In the worst case, they could directly get the daimyo involved to help.

But Koharu was fixated on Iwagakure.

Today's meeting was a waste of time, just a pointless endeavor.

Fortunately, Tsunade was prepared for this outcome and didn't feel too disappointed.

Once the meeting ended, Tsunade and Akimichi Torifu were the first to leave.

"Hiruzen, what do you think Tsunade is trying to do?"

Koharu Utatane complained, "She's getting increasingly involved in village affairs. The current war situation is already chaotic enough, and now they want to ally with Amegakure? If that provokes Iwagakure, our village could be in danger."

Holding control of the Pharmaceutical Division and now the entire ANBU, what's wrong with Tsunade getting involved in village matters?

It's perfectly logical.

But there's no point in arguing with an unreasonable person, so the Third Hokage just let her comment slide.

"You make a good point, which is why I also believe negotiating with Amegakure is unwise. The tide of war is constantly shifting, but right now, the situation is most favorable for us."

In the eyes of many, the current situation in the Land of Rain was advantageous to Konoha.

Iwagakure wasn't particularly interested in the war because they had a significant threat in Kumogakure looming over them, always ready to make a move. As a result, Iwagakure's primary focus was on Kumogakure.

Sunagakure was set on fighting Konoha, while Amegakure was relentlessly harassing Sunagakure.

Compared to Sunagakure, which was struggling on multiple fronts, Konoha's situation wasn't bad.

At least for now, the current circumstances favored Konoha, so the Elder Council was unwilling to take risks. Even if they could secure Amegakure's alliance, they were still worried about Iwagakure's reaction.

After leaving the Hokage building, Akimichi Torifu sighed, "I wonder if it's just age catching up to him. The old monkey no longer has the boldness he once did. The Elder Council's interference has become far too frequent."

"It's a mess of his own making. Who else is there to blame?" Tsunade scoffed.