Chapter 68
FUSHIO SUZUKI-The Water Daimyo
There was a time when the prospect of a Shogunate had seemed like nothing but a pipe dream. An impossibility that none would ever get to witness, and yet now, as he read the official letter of invitation from the Fire daimyo calling on him and all the other great daimyos for a Grand Council, the first of its nature, he found himself on the precipice of making history.
"A Grand Council, huh? That is so like him," he said as he folded the letter and passed it to his kage who now sat infront of him, having returned from the front lines just for this.
"All the kages, and the daimyo's gathered in one place. Something like this has never happened before," Terumi Mei added, and to this day, he was thankful that the orange-haired kunoichi was the kage rather than anyone else.
Unlike Akihito, Fushio did not have a fine grasp of shinobi affairs, and Kirigakure was a mess that would have swallowed any other man. Yet, thankfully, the orange-haired kunoichi had been able to save the village from its doomed destiny and transform the culture in just about three years.
The prolonged war had allowed them to focus all of their turbulent energies on their common enemies, allowing the shinobi to build bonds and camaraderie. This was rather lacking in Kiri's forces, which had always been inclined toward an individualistic approach and accolades.
Their alliance with Konoha had also helped. With simpler and robust trade agreements, basic necessities like food, clothes, and medicine were no longer scarce, and these measures had done much to simmer down his people's anger and anguish.
And now, as the years passed, and more and more people saw their kids grow up in relative peace, with ample food and other luxuries, the people in Kiri began to see the advantages of peace.
"No man has ever united the continent as such either. This whole thing is unprecedented," he remarked as his eyes shifted to the other occupant of the room. She had grown much in the last couple of years, and gone was the young kunoichi who would titter around nervously in his castle.
Nohara Rin was the official liaison between Konoha and the Fire daimyo in Kiri and Water country. She was a sort of ambassador, chosen because even among all of Konoha-nin, none had the courage to take on such a dangerous and tumultuous assignment.
The chance that the alliance between Kiri and Konoha would end and that the life of whoever had taken up this duty would be forfeit because they would be in the heart of enemy territory, surrounded by enemies on all sides.
And yet she had nominated herself for the task, and though she and Kiri had no intention of harming her, her actions spoke of courage and daring.
"Will you be joining us for this?" he asked her, and she shook her head.
"I am afraid not. I am set to leave for Konoha in a day. The daimyo-sama awaits your decision," she asked.
"Kiri and Water country will accept it, of course. Tell him that we shall stand by him," he assured her, and why wouldn't he? This was their dream, their ultimate goal.
And now, after years of trials and tribulations, it was finally within their grasp.
"Is there anything else?" he asked and saw her hesitate. Another reason for why the kunoichi had been sent here as liaison was because Akihito thought her to be trustworthy, and her association with the Hokage allowed for instantaneous transmission of information—sensitive information that was known only to a few people in the entire world.
"There is another piece of information that is only for yours and Mizukage-sama's ears," she began, and his eyes narrowed as he straightened up and, with a small nod, tapped his finger thrice on the ground and immediately felt the presence of his guards vanish.
"What is it?" he asked.
"It has not been made public yet, but during the last confrontation between Kumo and Konoha forces, there was an event that the daimyo-sama wanted to inform you about," she began shiftily.
The last battle, a fight between Unruly Ay and Minato Namikaze, and the Yellow Flash had lived upto his name and felled the man considered by many to be a tail-less tailed beast. After that battle, the Konoha forces had swopped in, taking advantage of their advanced positions and encircling Kumo and Iwa and their respective provinces. Even now, no Konoha nin had entered the given villages, and as a sign of respect, Kumo and Iwa knew that all it would take was one signal, and their villages could be razed to the ground.
"What is it?" he asked, already a sense of foreboding taking over him.
"During the last battle, when Kumo and its forces had decided to surrender. Killer Bee from Kumo and Kushina Uzumaki from Konoha were attacked by an enemy," she continued, and his eyes widened in surprise, much like Terumi Mei's.
Both of these were not regular shinobi. They were jinchuriki. Fully trained jinchuriki with full control over their bijuu's, and though Kiri itself had one fully trained jinchuriki of their own, Utakata had been rather clear about it that while they were all jinchuriki, none could compare to the strength and prowess of the Kyuubi when it came to martial matters.
"Who would be idiotic enough to attack not just one but two jinchuriki?" he asked.
"The very man that Akihito-sama warned us all about all those years ago," she answered as she looked him in the eye. He stilled at those words, and Terumi Mei's eyes widened.
"You cannot mean..." Mei gasped, and the brown-haired Konoha kunoichi nodded.
"I am afraid it is true. We were too late," she said as her fists balled up.
"He is back."
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MINATO NAMIKAZE
The end of the war had been nearly as swift as its beginning. With one final battle, the war was over in all but name. Iwa, Kumo and their respective provinces had all surrendered and though Konoha had not entered their villages, or castles, samurai from the Fire country and daimyo's office had reached their capitals and were now overlooking some rather discreet matters of governance.
This was the first time a shogunate was being adopted in a hundred years. However, this was a land of tradition, and even now, rules and traditions of that time remain alive.
The governance model for a shogunate was complex. It was not an absolute monarchy, as it was thought to be. Basically, all the continent would be ruled collectively by a council comprising the daimyos and the shogun, and the shogun could pass any law as long as he had the support of one of the other five daimyos.
This was the reason that rather than trying to appease Akihito-sama, the Earth and Lighting countries councils were trying to approach Water daimyo, and Wind Daimyo, trying to form a block against Akihito-sama.
A plan that was set for failure for Minato. Although he may not have known much about the Wind Daimyo, he did know a lot about the Water Daimyo and knew that Akihito would have his backing, and then there was also Lord Hattori from Ame, an unknown in all this.
But all this would come later.
For they had a bigger problem, one that, if left unchecked, could devour their whole world.
"So, you were right. It truly was him behind everything," Jiraiya-sama added, his tone grave and serious as the shinobi elite of Konoha gathered in the daimyo's office to decide on their future.
"Madara Uchiha is a man possessed. He is an enemy, who has the resources and the mind of Orochimaru to back him up, underestimating him would be fatal," Akihito began, and the lord had changed much in the last two years.
Gone was the boy who had spoken of a dream of uniting the world, and bringing peace only to be replaced by a man who had paid a steep cost for his ambition. The years had taken from him, his youthful appearance, and now, with his sharp features maturing, he had an angular face and sharp, steely eyes that looked at you as if all your secrets lay bare in front of those eyes.
He wore a checkered blue kimono with a dark vest underneath, and one of his arms rested out of his naggi as his sword lay bound to his side.
"I never knew that Orochimaru was involved with someone like him," Jiraiya-sama added. For the last two years, it had been his task to look for his old teammate, and despite his efforts, he had failed to do so.
"We do knot yet know whether or not he is working with him willingly or not," Akihito-sama added in defense of the Snake-sanin, and both of his teammates shook their heads at that.
"Still, if he is indeed back and after the bijuu, as you say, then you need to cancel the Grand Council. At that gathering, he will have access to three of the nine bijuu, including the two tails, because of your presence. He will definitely attack it," Tsunade-san added, and he nodded.
"Yes, Lady Tsunade is right. You can either postpone it, or send a representative. Maybe Lady Miyuki..."
"Miyuki has suffered enough," the daimyo-sama cut in sharply, and his chakra roared as well, and there it was, the sheer presence of the beast that lay hidden inside him.
Akihito Shirahoshi was strong. His chakra, while not extremely large, was substantial for his age and nature of prowess, but now it was an entirely different story. The two years spent in Shikkotsu forest had changed him, and the time he had spent training with the slugs and Tsuandes-sama had made him a powerhouse of his own.
Minato would bet that under the right circumstances, the daimyo-sama himself was at least an S-ranked threat himself.
"The very reason that I have called this council is to bait him out. A proud man like Madara Uchiha will not give up such an opportunity and will make an appearance during the Grand Council," and he was right.
The attack on Kushina and Killer Bee had been motivated by a similar mindset. The man was testing them, trying to get a measure of them.
And even then, even the combined might of himself, Killer Bee, and Kushina had managed to barely scratch a clone.
Just how powerful was he?
"But that is idiotic and dangerous," Tsunade-sama added.
"It is. But it is also our only chance to separate Madara from Orochimaru," he added, and their eyes widened as they realized his plan.
"I believe that the reason we have not been able to locate the Snake-sanin, is because of interference from Madara Uchiha, and when Madara Uchiha comes to the Grand Council, in that short window of time, we must locate the Snake-sanin to ask him of the secrets of Madara Uchiha's rebirth," the daimyo elaborated.
"But why would that bastard ever help us?" Jiraiya-sama asked.
"I cannot say whether he will be willing, but we need to find him, and we need those secrets," and at that, the young lord looked at his sensei.
"And it will be upto you to find both. I shall lend to you, Kirin-san, and you can employ the help of any other nin you wish, but this task can decide the future of this world, Jiraiya-sama, and it is my belief that only you can carry this out," he finished, and the whole room was quiet as sensei looked the daimyo-sama in the eye.
"It is a massive undertaking, one that will be extremely dangerous. The swiftness and secrecy of the operation would..." and before the young lord finished, his sensei rose up from his seat and spoke in a resolute voice.
"I will do it."
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