{Note: I will change Two-Tails consciousness name to Nekomata for ease.}
"What exactly does the Raikage want to accomplish here?" Danzo Shimura tossed a report on border intelligence across the negotiation table towards Ai, his tone full of irritation.
"Just a reminder to not go too far, that's all," Ai replied nonchalantly, glancing at the scroll's contents before looking away.
The intelligence on the scroll was originally devised by the Raikage's own strategists.
"Going too far?" Danzo sneered, angered by Ai's brazenness. His voice took on a chilling tone. "It seems Kumogakure doesn't realize its position. Those demands of yours—Konoha will never agree to them."
"Is that your opinion, or the Hokage's?" Ai ignored Danzo's comment, fixing his gaze directly on the Third Hokage, who sat across from him wearing the Hokage's robes.
"We're willing to negotiate peace and a ceasefire with Kumogakure," the Third Hokage replied calmly. "But your terms are far too harsh—as if the defeated side were dictating terms to the victor. As a Hokage, I can't accept that."
"Then we cannot accept your terms, either," Ai declared, slamming his hand on the table, his voice booming like thunder.
"Sharing technology, assisting with building a medical system... Hmph! Just those two conditions alone are unacceptable for Konoha," Danzo retorted with a cold sneer, visibly irritated at being ignored.
"It's been ten days already. We don't have time to keep wasting here. If we can't reach an agreement, then it's time for us to leave." Ai stood up, his stance unyielding.
"Do you even know where you are?" Danzo rose as well, probing Ai's true intentions.
"And do you know why I brought B here with me?" Ai shot Konoha's leaders a contemptuous glance, watching their expressions change.
Minato Namikaze had already informed Konoha's upper ranks that Killer B was the Jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails, so everyone present understood the implications.
A Jinchuriki going berserk within the village during wartime could cause devastating destruction.
Killer B was both an insurance policy and a looming threat.
Now, Ai had brought that threat into the open, leaving no doubt about his intentions.
"Enough!" The Third Hokage intervened to defuse the escalating tension. He eyed Ai, who appeared ready to leave but hadn't yet ordered his people to go, sensing that Ai had other intentions and wasn't truly prepared to break off talks and reignite the conflict with Konoha.
Realizing this was enough for the Third Hokage. What he wanted was a peace treaty with Kumogakure. Confirming that Kumogakure genuinely desired peace without hidden agendas, he felt that most terms, aside from a few core issues, could be negotiated.
"What's on your mind?" the Third Hokage asked Ai directly.
"Since we've ruled out some cooperation terms that are impossible to agree upon, let's settle the remaining contested terms with a show of strength!" Ai crossed his arms, his shoulders flexing with muscle as he boldly voiced his demand.
"Absurd!" Danzo Shimura's eyes flickered briefly, and he let out a cold snort.
"At Kumogakure, we believe in the power of the strong. Let's have a competition: I'll select a few members from my team, and you from Konoha can do the same. On equal terms of strength and status, whoever wins gets to decide on one condition to keep or discard." Ai completely ignored Danzo as he spoke.
"Something like the Chunin Exams, perhaps?" The Third Hokage's face showed a thoughtful expression, and he finally nodded slowly.
"For witnesses, let the nobles of the Land of Fire residing here in Konoha observe the match." Having secured his desired outcome, Ai smiled, turned, and left the negotiation table with the Kumogakure team.
Every ninja village has a liaison office, usually overseen by some unlucky noble. If they had a choice, no noble would want to stay in a ninja village—a place so different from their own world.
Soon, the news that the Kumogakure envoy would have a friendly match with Konoha's ninjas spread quickly throughout the village.
After some discussion, they set the date for the following day.
The battle grounds were already prepared; whether borrowing the Chunin Exam fields or using ninjutsu to set up a temporary arena, there was no shortage of options.
"Meow!" A bluish-black cat leapt out from the shadows, clawing at the hem of Kagetsu's robe. With a firm grip, it jumped up and landed steadily on his shoulder.
"When there's no one else around, Nekomata, you could at least act normal. After all, you did say you're not just a cat." Kagetsu glanced at the cat on his shoulder, speaking in a calm voice.
"I think the problem lies in how you modified me!" Nekomata licked its paw, its tone dripping with accusation.
"I think it's perfect." Kagetsu carefully sealed a vial of emerald-green liquid and placed it on the shelf, speaking softly.
"Don't you enjoy slipping through shadows? Don't you like having your own private space? As long as you hide there, no one can catch you easily.
You should know, I went through a lot of trouble to transform you into this form! If you were truly the Nekomata, I might not even be able to handle the amount of chakra involved in the transformation."
"Don't mention her!" Nekomata grumbled, purring in irritation.
"They're planning to act when the match begins tomorrow."
"Recently, information about some weaknesses in the barrier defenses of the Technology Development Department, as well as a few internal building plans, has been passed to those 'barbaric Cloud shinobi' through spies."
"Cloud shinobi, barbarians?" Kagetsu set aside his experiment momentarily and stepped towards the door.
"I inherited Matatabi's memories, and I have no fondness for those barbarians—especially their Kage!" Nekomata, carefully distinguishing between itself and its original body, made it clear.
Kagetsu lifted Nekomata up by its front limbs, raising it high to examine the intricate markings on its fur with a focused gaze.
Nekomata currently carried a jutsu known as Shadow Domain, which allowed it to turn any shadow into a personal realm. This shadow could be from a person or even from a building.
Particularly at night, Nekomata could wander freely through the shadows of the entire village.
Shadow Domain was a secret technique where chakra consumption depended on the expanded space it covered. Once activated, it constantly drained chakra, much like how a transplanted Sharingan drains chakra when used by someone without Uchiha blood.
If forcibly shut down, anything hidden within the domain would vanish just as the Shadow Domain itself would.
After obtaining Nekomata's permission, Kagetsu found a way to integrate this jutsu directly with Nekomata.
Although Nekomata only had a portion of a Tailed Beast's chakra—less than a complete Tailed Beast—it still possessed the trait of nearly limitless chakra regeneration. Latest content published on novel-fire.net
Thus, sustaining the Shadow Domain's chakra consumption wasn't much of a burden for Nekomata.
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