Chapter 25
Naturally the negotiations between the hidden leaf and sand villages would not take place in the hokage's office. For events of such importance there was a specially constructed room on the first floor of the hokage tower. Not only it was big enough to easily fit numerous delegates, but also was constructed to provide unmatched security. Of course at first glance it seemed that there were only several jounin present, stationed along the walls, but those were only the tip of the iceberg. In reality there were secret panels, rooms, hatches that would allow ANBU operatives to enter almost instantly from the most unexpected places. Some would consider such security measures as a sign of paranoia, but when dealing with shinobi paranoia was not that far from common sense.
As for ANBU, they were widely considered a mystery. Their purpose and their actions in many cases were a closely guarded secret, just as were their identities. When it came purepy to their combat skills, they were no better than standard jounin, they were picked for different reasons. ANBU had unquestionable loyalty. They carried out the orders of their hokage without any complaints. They would easily without a second through sacrifice their lives in order to fulfill their duty. This made them very trustworthy and thus they could be assigned to carry out missions of a more delicate nature. Mostly those missions concerned village security, plots against the hokage. The ANBU kept an eye on all the clans, all the ninja artifacts. They didn't receive any glory for their actions, as sometimes their exploits were far from glorious. In order to ensure the survival of the village and it's safety the ANBU operatives sometimes did things that were never discussed later without need. Naturally such assignments were never made public, or very carefully covered up.
Hiruzen knew about the nature of the ANBU operatives. He as the hokage knew many secrets, hoped that most of them would remains hidden even after his death. Some matters were best kept hidden, some questions must never be asked or answered. Being a leader of the village was a heavy burden, it required an ability to make tough choices, sometimes to sacrifice your own morals and sense of justice. Perhaps Hiruzen looked like a kind old man, but those who knew him knew, that he could be quite merciless when it was required. The old hokage had no tolerance for those who threatened is village, so it was not surprising that the sand village ambassadors feared for their lives.
The negotiations would took place behind a large oval table, with the third hokage sitting at one end and the sand representatives at the other. It created quite a bit of room for both parties, another security measure.
"Lord hokage. We thank you for agreeing to these negotiations. We hope that we will be able to come to an agreement."
"Indeed." Hiruzen leaned back slightly with a neutral expression. This was a very complex matter. Konoha needed peace, and more than likely that the sand representatives knew that. On the other hand the sand suffered a catastrophic military defeat, with a great deal of their shinobi still held prisoner by Konoha.
"As you know, the rogue ninja Orochimaru killed and impersonated our kazekage. This whole conflict was his doing. We of course admit that we fell for it and betrayed your trust, but the hidden sand village wishes to put that conflict behind us and work towards the restoration of our friendly relationship."
"Such matters are not that easily left behind. Betrayal is not something that is forgiven easily, on the contrary, it is usually never forgiven at all."
"Lord hokage, we understand you are … upset by the events, but Orochimaru ….."
"You do not need to stress the importance of that man. I know about his ability to influence events, that is the reason we are talking today, otherwise the idea of peace would've been laughable."
"Then you accept the peace proposal?' the sand ambassadors didn't dare to share a hopeful look.
"I always prefer peace to war for I've seen too much of it in my life."
"Then we can discuss the conditions of the peace agreement."
"Yes, we can. If we achieve peace I will naturally order all of the captured sand ninjas to be released. But what are you willing to offer Konoha?"
"To start, we would like to reestablish trade. The hidden leaf was one of our most important trade partners."
"Yes, mutually beneficial trade is a good proposal, but as I said it is mutually beneficial. I asked about what are you willing to offer Konoha?"
The ambassadors turned to each other and began to discuss something quietly. It was clear that they needed to weigh their answers carefully. A bad peace agreement could be as crippling as any invasion.
"We agree to cut the taxes on trade in half for the next five years."
"Ten." Hiruzen stated. There wasn't much room left for discussion there and the sand representatives agreed. "Also, 3% of all you mission profits will be sent to Konoha until you will cover the cost of all the damage the hidden leaf suffered."
This was a much more serious demand, but after some struggling the sand representatives agreed. The percentage the hokage demanded was reasonable, it would not cripple the sand economy, though it would take several years to cover the damage cost this way. The hokage couldn't just end the conflict with the village that betrayed Konoha. Now on the other hand it looked like the sand was punished, while at the same it didn't ruin the sand village. Both received peace at a cost that satisfied those present.
"What about reestablishing the alliance?"
"Lets start with a cooperation agreement. If there will be no conflicts in the future we will be able to upgrade it to a full alliance, but until the trust will be regained." Hiruzen offered. "We can start by working together against Orochimaru. After all we all have a score to settle with that snake."
"Yes, Lord Hokage, that would be a good way to start, taking it slow."
"Precisely." Hiruzen nodded and stood up. "My secretaries will draw up the agreement by tomorrow and will gather again to discuss details and sign it." Hiruzen spoke and walked out of the negotiations chamber. He could've asked for more, but right now was not the time to be vengeful. Orochimaru was the enemy and Hokage now could safely free up some much needed resources to work against the snake sannin. The sand would not try anything again. They would seek a chance to avenge their own kage, and make Orochimaru pay for his deception. That was the mistake Orocimaru was making again and again, he made too many enemies. It didn't matter how skilled or smart or clever you were if you had too many of those who wanted you dead.
…
"Whoah, that was so cool, Sasuke-kun." Sakura said with the dreamy expression when she saw how Sasuke went through a set of slashed with his new sword. His sharingan greatly simplified the process of learning, but when it came to swordplay knowing the and memorizing the techniques was not the same of using them masterfully.
"No, it is not, it needs much work." Sasuke frowned.
"But it looked perfect." Sakura objected. Naruto grumbled something, but just kept sitting with the arms crossed on his chest. He called Sasuke a showoff already and naturally got smacked on the head by Sakura.
"You didn't see perfect. Hayate-san said that I will have to practice my body to memorize the movements. I still have to concentrate to get them right, but I should be able to do it almost automatically."
"Ha, your eyes won't help much with that, huh, Sasuke?" Naruto grinned. No matter how talented Sasuke was, he would not escape hard work. That was just that simple, a talent was like a diamond in the rough. Much work was needed to make it show it's true potential.
"Naruto …. " Sakura turned to the blonde genin getting ready to smack him again for being rude.
"Unfortunately the dobe is correct on that one." Sasuke sheathed the sword. He now carried the weapon on his back, it was more practical for a shinobi as it didn't get in the way of anything this way.
"Hello." Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke, crouching down on the railing.
"You are late again, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said with a bored tone leaning on the railing of the bridge.
"Oh you see, I ….. slept in." Kakashi shrugged.
"Best excuse so far. You are improving sensei. Maybe one day your excuse will actually be believable." Sasuke sighed.
"Oh, I am glad."
"Hey sensei, what are you going to teach us? You promised no missions today, so it should be something special." Naruto grinned.
"Ah yes. I actually talked with Toero yesterday after he was ….. finished with you."
"Finished, good choice of words, sensei." Sakura nodded. After the training she was hurting all over, even her hair hurt and that was supposed to be impossible. When she actually made it home she nearly fell asleep in the shower, but surprisingly recovered by morning almost completely. She even felt different lately, like her body was lighter, it was easier to move, easier to keep breathing steadily when fighting.
"Anyway I wanted to catch up on the things he taught you, about your progress."
"Oh and what did he say about us?" Sasuke asked with interest evident in his voice. He wondered what opinion their secondary team leader had.
"He said …. hmmm. He think …. errr."
"Well?" Sasuke looked annoyed.
"Sorry, trying to say it in a way that won't offend you. I suppose he means that you are improving, but still have a long way to go."
"Not very detailed." Sakura frowned. "Details are for me. What is important is that he had talked with someone who is willing to teach you something, in exchange for a little help from me."
"So, you are dumping us on someone again?"
"No, I will stay right here and keep an eye on you three. As for the ninja I speak of, she needs a bit more practice with instructing others, so everybody wins."
"Tsk, who is it?" Naruto asked.
"Its me." The genin turned around and saw Tenten standing on the opposite end of the bridge.
"Hi there. Everything ready?" Kakashi asked.
"Sure, Iruka-sensei said we can have the classroom."
"Classroom?" Naruto didn't look thrilled. He didn't have that many good memories of the academy, but as luck would have it fifteen minutes later he was sitting at the front row of his old classroom along with Sasuke and Sakura.
"This brings back memories." Sakura smiled. Sasuke and Naruto shared a look both remembering the one incident they both would prefer to forget and turned away from each other with a disgusted shiver running down their spines.
"Sakura, just …. lets listen." Sasuke rubbed his forehead. Sakura nodded and looked back at Kakashi who was sitting at the far corner his face buried in his little orange book.
"Man, our sensei is a total slacker." Sakura sighed and then got hit on the head with a piece of chalk, which obviously came from the same corner Kakashi sat at. Without another word Sakura turned around just as Tenten finished writing something on the board.
"Alright, I am going to teach you this." Tenten proudly presented a complex looking symbol she drew on the board. The genin didn't seem impressed.
"It would be great to know what that is." Naruto rubbed his head.
"That is a storage seal." Tenten said with some surprise.
"A what?" Naruto asked once more, this time utterly shocking Tenten, who also looked at Sasuke and Sakura. All three genin showed various signs of being at least partially unfamiliar with the concept.
"How come Toero didn't kill you yet?" Tenten asked.
"He tried." Sasuke said. "Please explain."
"Alright. This is a basic seal that allows you to seal one object inside of the other."
"Oh, I get it." Naruto nodded and Sasuke noticed how Naruto suddenly rubbed his own belly. No wonder the blonde was suddenly so interested in the concept it was sort of a personal matter.
"This is the most basic of storage seals, most chunin know it, but I am very familiar with it because of my fighting style. This particular seal is simple, but very stable, allowing you to seal almost any weapon or other gear."
"How do we use it?" Sasuke asked.
"First you must learn to apply it correctly. A single, minor mistake and it either won't work, or will work, but not the way you want it to." Without another word Tenten opened the drawer on Iruka's desk and pulled out three rolls of parchment and the necessary equipment.
"Copy that seal in every little detail."
The assignment was clearly boring and the genin tried to finish it as quickly as possible. Tenten watched patiently sitting on the edge of Iruka's desk, while Kakashi giggled over something he read in his book.
"Done." Sakura declared proudly. Tenten nodded and approached to inspect her work.
"It sucks." Tenten frowned, making Sakura slump down in her seat miserably. "This how it should look when done perfectly." Tenten unrolled one of her scrolls and showed them her own work. Sakura had to admit that when compared her own seal really wasn't good. Sasuke seemed to struggle with the decision, but then unrolled some more parchment and started over sparing himself public humiliation.
"Seems just like mine." Naruto shrugged. Tenten rolled her eyes and took Naruto's parchment. She looked at his work, then at Naruto, then again at his work.
"It is perfect."
"Ha!" Naruto grinned. "I guess that calligraphy nonsense paid off."
"Umm, you could make several more, just in case." Tenten offered handing the parchment back. Naruto eagerly got back to work again. Sakura was too busy looking at her teammate with wide eyes. Fine, she could handle Naruto being better than her at physical exercises, but at writing? Her mind was refusing to believe this. This was impossible, beyond comprehension. She would have an easier time believing that Naruto was secretly a genius, which he wasn't.
A hand rose, grabbing the top of Sakura's head and turning it back to her parchment. Sasuke then tapped it, signaling her to get back to work. Sakura blushed and got back to work. Sasuke clearly seemed concentrated on the task now, while Naruto worked with his usual goofy grin as if he was enjoying himself.
"Better, but still not good enough." Tenten looked over Sakura's work. Sasuke got something similar, while Naruto made three perfect seals.
"Fine, no need to waste any more time, you don't need me to practice, just keep working on it and show me the results later. Right now I'll just show you how to work these." Tenten cut Naruto's parchment with a kunai, so that every genin had a seal in front of him.
"Place the object you want to seal on the seal and charge chakra through the symbol. That all there is to it. Repeating the process with have reverse effect of unsealing whatever you had sealed earlier. Just … "
"Ohh, let me try." Naruto pulled out a shuriken. He then tried to do just what Tenten had suggested.
"Bwhaaahhh!" Naruto slumped back his face black. His piece of parchment was now all black, it actually looked burned.
"Just don't overload the seal with chakra." Tenten finished narrowing her eyes.
"Yep, now things are the way they should be." Sakura sighed in relief. She repeated the exercise with ease. Sasuke took three attempts to unseal the kunai he used, but also succeeded.
"Alright, you can practice all you want, not that you can actually hurt yourselves with this." Tenten shrugged. "If you will need any pointers or more explanations, find me. Hey, Hatake-san, what about our deal?"
"Yeah, yeah, sure." Kakashi pulled down his book for a moment and made a shadow clone. "There he will show you everything you need."
"Good enough." Tenten nodded.
"Sensei, what is your clone going to teach Tenten-san?" Sakura asked.
"Oh, something that will work well with her style. I might show you later, just not now."
"When then?" Naruto asked after rubbing his face clean with his sleeve that now showed a large dark stain.
"Don't you have work to do?" Kakashi asked. His students immediately went back to work, leaving him more time to catch up on some reading. Just as planned.
…..
"So, what do you think?" Tenten landed on her feet. The field in front of her was littered with some many weapons that one could think that a huge battle took place here.
"This attack lack precision, but more than makes up for it with raw firepower." Toero looked over the area. A second later the weapons began to disappear, but not all. Still over 90% of the weapons turned into little puffs of smoke, but whatever damage they caused remained.
"Too bad it is so draining for me. I can only keep it for several minutes."
"There is room for improvement then, but I can say the same about myself. Still this is a good way to increase the amount of damage you can potentially cause."
"Thanks for talking to Kakashi for me. I tried talking to the third after Gai-sensei told me about the technique, but understandably lord hokage is too busy, he just redirected me to that masked perv."
"It was a good exchange of experience. Team 7 severely lacks in basic survival techniques. I am surprised they survived the second stage of the chunin exams. I personally had no desire to explain the use of storage seals, so in a way you helped me as well." Toero nodded.
"Come on, sure they can be annoying, but they are fun too, but whatever. I guess we are even once more. Knowing you tend to be quite useful. Thanks." Tenten smiled, but Toero looked at her neutrally. She again wondered if Toero would answer and was almost prepared to leave when she heard a single phrase.
"You are welcome."