Konoha: Offer your heart to the Hokage!

Moreover, the situation this time is completely different from that of the Five Kage Summit twelve years ago. Kumogakure has achieved nothing of substance in this battle, and its initiative to propose peace talks will inevitably come at an extremely heavy price.

As veteran elites of the Hidden Cloud Village, they had never bowed down to their enemies in such a humiliating way.

As Jin Jiao took the lead in organizing the group, more and more people echoed his sentiments.

The Raikage was publicly humiliated and looked displeased.

When the war began, Chloe's team went missing unexpectedly, and he initially planned to cause trouble for Iwagakure. However, after being persuaded by others, he temporarily set aside his hatred for Iwagakure and joined forces to attack Konoha...

He compromised back then, and now he's left with a mess.

Now, you want him to compromise?

Tolerable or unbearable.

"enough!"

Enraged, Raikage slammed his fist on the table, shattering it.

"No talks? What else do you want?"

"Do you think I want to negotiate? Can't you see the price the village has paid?"

"It's been three years. Over a thousand Cloud Ninja have died in battle, yet we still haven't been able to set foot in the Land of Fire. This war seems endless."

An elder spoke up in rebuttal: "It's difficult to break through head-on, but we have Iwagakure and Sunagakure as allies. The three of them will continuously wear down Konoha. Konoha's losses in the war will certainly not be less than ours. As long as we persevere, victory will ultimately belong to our allies."

"Keep dragging this out? Do you really think you can hold out until the end?" The Second Raikage looked disappointed and slowly shook his head.

"Leaving aside the fact that Onoki and Shamon had long lost their will to fight and were taking a passive approach to the war, Konoha has now lost Hashirama Senju, but gained Zenin Jinji. He alone saved hundreds of seriously injured Konoha ninja."

"What about our ninjas? Once their injuries become too severe, they will surely die. Their ninjas are growing stronger with each battle, while our Cloud Ninja are dwindling. Aside from Hashirama Senju, in my opinion, Konoha is far stronger now than it was before the peace treaty was signed. So tell me, how do we defeat Konoha like this?"

"..."

The elders looked at each other, none of them able to come up with a feasible solution.

At this moment, Kinkaku stepped forward and volunteered, saying, "Lord Raikage, please give me another year! With just one more year, the chakra cannon that I led the development of can be officially deployed to the battlefield. Its power is enough to break through all of Konoha's defenses!"

"Really, one year is enough..."

It is true that the chakra cannon is only a year away from completion, but it involves the issue of charging, which requires a massive amount of chakra that cannot be accomplished by one or two people.

It would require a large number of ninjas to simultaneously output chakra, or for a Jinchuriki to infuse it with Tailed Beast-level chakra. Once peace talks are reached, even if Kinkaku and Ginkaku personally fund the construction of a chakra cannon, they wouldn't be able to fully charge it.

The damage to the village's interests is a minor matter.

Once the peace talks are finalized and the war ends, the wartime system will be transformed into a peacetime system. As the pro-war faction, their power will be greatly weakened, a large amount of special funding will be cut off, and many research and experiments will be forced to stop.

This is what Jinjiao finds most intolerable.

He needs to fight for the greater good!

"One year?"

“That old devil Tobirama Senju has already transferred all the Edo Tensei ninja from the other two battlefields to our side. If we don’t negotiate today, that old devil will dare to send the Edo Tensei ninja as the vanguard to attack our Kumogakure homeland tomorrow.”

"The casualty figures at that time may even exceed the total of the past three years. As the Raikage, I cannot accept letting the villagers gamble their hopes for a year from now."

"Raikage..."

Jinjiao wanted to say something more.

The Raikage didn't give him a chance to speak, forcefully interrupting, "Enough! Golden Horn! I am the Raikage!"

The Raikage's power is limitless...

When the Raikage said those words, he intended to disregard all sentimentality and forcefully dictate the direction of Kumogakure.

Golden Horn's face was extremely ugly, and he said viciously, "Raikage, you will regret this!"

With those words, Jinjiao slammed the door shut and stormed out with his younger brother.

boom!

The loud slamming of the door echoed in the conference room.

The Raikage was neither angry nor punished for this. A resolute look flashed in his eyes as he continued to address the high-ranking officials: "We must admit that in this war against Konoha, we, the Hidden Cloud Village, have in fact lost."

"But defeat is not terrible. If we can't win now, there may be a chance to turn things around in the future. But we cannot keep exhausting the village's remaining resources for the sake of so-called face and dignity. The most important thing to do now is to cut our losses in time."

"You should know that every day we waste arguing here, dozens or even hundreds of Cloud Ninja will die on the front lines."

"The sooner the war ends, the sooner Kumogakure can recover. If we continue to fight to the death, we will only suffer the consequences. Therefore, no matter the cost, we must immediately begin peace talks with Konoha."

In the silence, no one raised any further objections.

No matter how unwilling they were, they ultimately chose to negotiate. Once the general direction was set, the focus shifted to the small details.

According to custom, in peacetime, alliances or peace talks involving small-scale wars only require sending an envoy of elder rank. However, in this unprecedented war that has lasted for three years, only the Shadow himself can intervene.

Although the Raikage was eager to make peace, he was not blinded by greed.

Tobirama Senju has a terrible reputation, and no one can guarantee he won't do something during the peace ceremony, like killing himself. With the Hidden Cloud Village losing him as Raikage, a gap has been created in their high-level combat power…

Let alone Konoha, even Iwagakure, who was an ally yesterday, might turn around and tear Kumogakure apart.

Therefore, it is necessary to send Tobirama Senju to Kumogakure for peace talks.

Only in this way can the safety of both parties be guaranteed.

"Send an envoy to Konoha to extend a peace invitation. Invite Tobirama Senju to come to Kumogakure in person to negotiate."

An elder, looking worried, asked, "Is Tobirama Senju willing to come? Isn't he afraid we'll use this opportunity to kill him?"

"He will definitely come."

Raikage stated confidently, "The old devil Senju possesses the Flying Thunder God Technique. To be honest, even if I wanted to kill him at the negotiation site, I simply couldn't."

“He knows this himself. So, if he wants to end this war, he will definitely come…”

Chapter 158 The Shadow Guard Assemble!

While discussing the details of the peace talks at the Raikage Building, the Gold and Silver Brothers quietly arrived at the research and development base for the Chakra Cannon.

All the researchers stationed here are members of the Gold and Silver Horned Feather Robe clan.

Although they did not awaken any special bloodline techniques, they, who possessed the bloodline of the Sage of Six Paths, developed their own unique technological branch in the field of Sage Ninja Tools research. With their unique decryption methods, they were able to develop the Chakra Cannon.

They have received news that the Raikage has invited Tobirama Senju to Kumogakure to sign a peace treaty.

Kinkaku raised his hand and stroked the cannon barrel, which was forged entirely from chakra metal, his eyes revealing an undisguised resentment.

It was just one last step away.

Once completed, this colossal cannon is estimated to be powerful enough to shatter meteorites from outer space. If its muzzle were pointed at the Land of Fire, a single shot could potentially strike Konoha's homeland. This ultimate ninja tool, possessing such extraordinary destructive power, could completely reverse the tide of the war and turn the tide of battle.

Even if Konoha were to sue for peace, the initiative would remain firmly in the hands of Kumogakure.

Unfortunately, the short-sighted Raikage couldn't understand any of this.

He ruined the Cloud Village's dream of rising to power.

"Big brother..."

At that moment, Silver Horn walked over. He even had a white robe in the style of the Raikage in his hand, which he draped over Gold Horn's body from behind.

Jinjiao asked in astonishment, "Second brother, what are you doing?"

"Brother, are we going to depend on the Raikage lineage for the rest of our lives?" Silver Horn asked coldly. "The position of Second Raikage should have been yours, but unfortunately the First Raikage was biased."

"The village has suffered heavy losses under the leadership of the Second Hokage. Kumogakure needs a Raikage who can truly lead it to greatness."

"Since the second generation is so short-sighted, why don't we take their place?"

The research base was filled with members of the Hagoromo clan. Witnessing the scene before them, their faces showed no fear or hesitation, only fervor, as they chanted in unison, "Third Hokage! Third Hokage!"

Goldhorn's eyes flashed as he accepted the Raikage robe, saying, "You're right, Silverhorn. Since the Second Hokage doesn't understand how to be Raikage, I'll take on the role!"

"However, since we brothers just offended the Raikage, he will probably be on high alert against us."

Silverhorn's face turned fierce: "The safest moment is precisely the most dangerous moment. When we arrive at the peace talks, we'll take action directly, eliminate the Second Raikage, and kill Tobirama Senju in the process!"

In any other ninja village, publicly murdering a Kage would be an unforgivable crime. Even if the perpetrator succeeded, they would never be accepted by the village, let alone succeed to the Kage position.

But Cloud Village is different.

The village has a mafia-like atmosphere, believing in the supremacy of strength.

As long as the successor can demonstrate the necessary strength and toughness, and offer enough incentives to win over all parties, the village elders will be happy to support the new Raikage's ascension.

The Raikage Building is where peace talks are being held; the Gold and Silver Brothers are discussing the details of killing the Raikage.

...

The news of the Raikage proposing peace talks was first delivered to Uchiha Kagami at the front lines. Then it was relayed back to Konoha via the urgent courier service of the Ninja Crows.

When the news reached the Hokage Building, it caused an uproar.

The discussion was mainly filled with celebratory sounds.

This war has lasted for three years, and it's finally coming to an end. Moreover, it was the most short-tempered and arrogant Cloud Village that initiated the peace talks. Because it was the other side that took the initiative, it also signifies that Konoha, as the victor, will gain the greatest benefit from the peace negotiations.

Shen Er also showed a genuine smile.

Because it was a ninja crow from the Uchiha clan that delivered the message, it reached him immediately. He was very pleased that Kumogakure had finally done as he had hoped, requesting peace talks from Konoha and even appointing Tobirama to participate in the ceremony in Kumogakure.

What happened next...

"I'm counting on you, Gold and Silver Horn brothers!" Shen Er said silently in his heart.

Amidst the heated discussions...

Shen Er stepped forward and stated: "Peace talks are possible, but the Hokage should not go to Kumogakure; the Raikage should come to Konoha. We are the victors, and there is no reason for us to voluntarily go to the defeated nation to negotiate."

As a loyal retainer of Konoha, no matter how happy one is inside, one still has to maintain appearances.

"Elder Shen'er is right!"

"The Raikage was so arrogant before the war, he should have come here in person and knelt down to apologize to the First Hokage in front of the Hokage Rock!"

Under Shen'er's influence, voices of agreement rang out one after another.

Tobirama Senju was deeply moved; in this situation, if he simply nodded, the war with Kumogakure could end immediately. But faced with the choice between ending the war immediately and his own safety, he unhesitatingly chose the latter…

Warm and caring.