Chapter 69

Jiraiya stared at her with one of the most serious faces anyone had ever seen on his face. After a good long while he spoke. "I know that…you don't really want to talk about the wars we fought but I feel that this has to be said." He saw her tense and grip the bottle again. One subject that was nearly taboo around Tsunade were the battles between Kiri and Iwa that killed her brother Nawaki and her ex lover Dan respectively. But nevertheless he continued on with a steady even voice.

"Think about it Tsunade." Jiraiya pleaded again. "You and I know it better than anyone. First a war with Kiri, fifteen years later a war with Iwa then a minor skirmish with Kumo, and now a battle with Suna and Oto that took Sarutobi sensei. No mater how many treaties, agreements, alliances and policies we make, they are…a fragile alliance at best, which breaks almost every two decades and more innocents are lost. But this…this is something that can bring peace for far longer than just some signed treaty. And if we do things properly perhaps even centuries of peace can be achieved. Just think of it Tsunade…no one will ever again have to go through what you went through with Nawaki and Dan."

He was using low blows to her defenses and he knew it but as a man once said. The ends justify the means.

Tsunade meanwhile felt some of her bitterness ebb away as the words reached her ears. She remembered the pain she went through at the loss of her brother. Her father had taken to the bottle and her mother had fallen into a pit of despair. Both losing themselves in their respective pain. Her father, due to the newly developed addiction fucked up on a mission. Next day, she gets a note, no more dad. Her mother didn't take it well, and one day she went to sleep and simply didn't wake up.

Then Dan had come. She had been burying herself into her work devoting herself entirely into training in hopes of pushing the memories away from her mind. It had worked to some degree, but looking back at it now, she would have eventually snapped from the strain. He had arrived then and had returned some light into the bleak world hers had become.

Just when she was pulling herself out of her depression with Dan helping her he had to go and die too.

To think, that should this boy succeed that no one ever had to go through what she went through again chipped away at her resolve.

Jiraiya saw the small sliver of hopefulness in her eyes and hid a smirk of triumph.

But soon her eyes grew guarded as a small voice made itself known in the back of her head. 'What about that girl Akina? She's the same as you. She lost everything to him. And he'll do it to more people. She's just the first of many broken families. And in the end it will all be for nothing because his ambition is completely impossible.'

Jiraiya noticed the change in her and stood, deciding to make a tactical retreat. "I'll give you three days to think it over Tsunade." That said he placed his money on the table and left the bar and his former teammate to the chilling night air.

Naruto and the Konoha nin stood in a room with a large table infront of them. Four Kiri nins were flanking them, two on each side with their commander standing along the opposite corner of the room.

After a few minutes the sliding door directly infront of them opened, revealing a woman with messy, shoulder length brown hair wearing white battle robes with a gold dragon around it and a strange symbol on her back two short swords were strapped horizontally along the back of her waist, she had a silver tiara on her head replacing the forehead protector and had the look of a seasoned war veteran even though she could not be older than her mid thirties.

"Hidetada." She barked out gruffly. "Who are these people?"

The bearded man that had been leading them, Hidetada apparently, answered her. "This is apparently the Gondaime Hokage and his personal escort."

She looked immediately Naruto, just by the way he looked at her, she could tell he, above the others was probably the most dangerous.

She raised an eyebrow. "The Gondaime Hokage? I thought that old geezer the Sandaime was still in power. So what happened? He kicked and the leaf didn't have anyone other than some brat to take his place." She snorted and then stared at the black void that shadowed his face with a dead serious expression. "What the hell are you leaf's doing here?" She asked bluntly.

Naruto spoke simply. "We have come here to negotiate with you."

She crossed her arms infront of her chest. "About what?"

Naruto decided that since she would skip the formalities so would he. "Let us make things clear. You and I both know that without additional assistance you will lose this war against the current Mizukage. We are willing to provide the economical assistance you require."

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "And what do you desire in exchange?"

Naruto glanced around. "Let us speak in private."

She paused for a moment before nodding making a slight hand gesture the Kiri nin filed out with the Konoha nin trailing behind them.

When the door was closed and everyone was out of earshot Naruto turned his icy blues onto the woman leading this rebellion. "As I stated before. We are willing to provide the resources necessary for you to gain an advantage in this conflict and as you have guessed we do have conditions namely two."

She nodded telling him to continue.

"The first is quite simple, since your village will be of no use to me or my goals if you end up destroying your military force. I am to take full control of your troops."

"Excuse me?" She said half surprised half outraged. She bared her teeth "Absolutely not!"

"If you refuse then I will merely walk away and you will lose this war." Naruto stated simply. For him, there was no negotiation for this. For this served two purposes to him. The first was the reason he had stated to her. And as for the second he needed the respect and fear of the general population of the Kiri nin. This was the quickest way to achieve either objective.

She glared at him heatedly her lips curled back in a sneer. She seemed to struggle with herself for a moment. In the end she looked like she had just forced down a very nasty looking and disgusting piece of meat before she slowly nodded.

"And the second condition…is that once this war is over, you will hand over all maters concerning Kiri's economic and military institutions to me. There will be no Gondaime Mizukage and Kiri is to become a territory of Konoha."

Her eyes widened in shock and she replied without even thinking. "Absolutely not!"

Naruto closed his eyes. He had been expecting that.

A silence descended on them before she spoke. "I will agree to the first term but never the second. You will just have to re-negotiate."

Naruto let a slow smirk tug at his lips. She needed help and she knew it, apparently she was a good warrior but a bad politician, she had already made the first mistake.

"No." He stated solemnly. "My terms are completely non-negotiable. I am interested in Kiri for its naval ports. In its prime, Kiri easily dominated the entire eastern sea. Now there are various ways for me to go about this. You and the Mizukage are of very little consequence. This is the easiest course of action. However since you are not interested I will merely take my leave."

That said he turned and gripped the sliding door in preparation to leave when her voice, filled with veiled hate and resentment reached his ears.

"Wait."

His eyes flashed red as he allowed a slow smirk to cross his features.

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