Violet-Eyed Serpent: Ch.29

“So, what are your answers?”, I asked, staring at the gathered Kage as each of them looked at the scroll in front of them before I smiled as the lesser villages looked at each other and nodded.

“We of the smaller villages agree to this arrangement.”

“Quick to agree to this arrangement, huh Hisen?”, Onoki asked with a smirk and I watched as Takigakure's leader smiled while lowering his hand.

“Takigakure is always at risk of being attacked by Iwagakure. With this, though, we won't have to worry about it.”

“Hmm, and what if I don't sign?”, Onoki asked to no one's surprise as he looked at me before I shrugged.

“Then, you don't sign. What, did you expect a war or something?”, I asked, watching as Onoki narrowed his eyes at me before scoffing.

“No, I expected a leader that would push on this dream of yours. Instead, you keel over and back off at the first sign of trouble, something that a leader should not do.”

“Can I ask you something, Onoki?”, I began and Onoki raised an eyebrow at my words but nodded with a smirk.

“I'd be open to help a foolish young man.”

“When did you start thinking less like a leader and more like a soldier?”, I asked, something that made Hiruzen and Ay smirk as Onoki narrowed his eyes.

“What are you implying?'

“If you were a true leader, you would sacrifice your pride if it meant that your people live to see another day. I've only been a leader for a month or so and even I know that my life is now to the people that put their trust in me.”

“Yes, but you were not forced to watch your son waste away to wounds that were caused by the bastard in front of you,” He spoke with a frown as he looked directly at me and I sighed as the others remained silent.

Well, all except for the Mizukage, who smiled before nodding in agreement.

“I agree, Tsuchikage. For what reason should we join the efforts of a man who has massacred so many of our closest friends, allies, sisters, brothers and many others? If he can lament about the fact that he lost friends and family during the wars, why can't we do the same?”

“Because I was not the one who invaded someone else's country nor was I the one who decided to try and kill off an entire clan. At least the Raikage was somewhat remorseful over his actions.”

“And being remorseful resulted in him losing shinobi at the crucial point of battle, did it not?”

“You mean when you betray me?”, Ay asked with narrowed eyes and I frowned as I saw the Mizukage turning his glare towards the muscular man.

“You would have done the same if the opportunity presented itself.”

“Okay, okay. I understand that there's a lot of tension in here and I know that this is a lot to ask of you guys, but would you rather we get stuck in fighting another war, losing more people and being forced to walk this path all over again?”, I asked, watching as the two Kage continued to glare at each other before looking at Onoki as he stood up.

“I've had enough of this. You all can talk as you please, but I am not going to sit here and pretend that trusting a boy who has walked over the corpses of countless shinobi is something I will do,” He spoke as he stood up and I watched as the man began walking away from this table.

“Onoki, do you honestly believe that strength comes from intimidation and not cooperation?”, I asked, watching as he stopped in his track before turning to me as I continued.

“Let me remind me that your village was once as powerful as Konohagakure and Sunagakure in terms of military might, but now here you stand, not afraid of me but afraid of the change this may bring,” I said, watching as he turned with a glare and his fist clenched.

“I'm not asking for forgiveness nor your love, but when you walk that door, you tell your people that you had one chance to break this cycle, to help them see their children grow old and you chose to cling to your grudges instead. When you do, let us see how long they follow a man who'd rather doom them to another war than sign a piece of paper.”

“You are gutsy, but you are not wrong. My village needs trade routes, stability and time to recover from the years of poor leadership. If this United Nations council means that my people won't have to send children to fight grown men again, then I will sign,” The Kazekage spoke and I smiled before turning to the Raikage as he grunted.

“You are too powerful of an enemy for me to ignore, but at the same time, your power brings too much of a risk to have you as Kumo's enemy. I'll sign.”

“Konoha will sign,” Hiruzen spoke, but then again, he was the one who appeared to be most in support of this. Still, I gave a thankful nod before looking at Onoki and the glaring Mizukage.

“…This does not mean I trust you at all, but I trust war even less. If it must come down to this or war…I'll sign,” He sounded as if he was forcing himself to say that, but even so, I had a thankful smile as I bowed my head in thanks before looking at the final piece of the puzzle.

“I'll sign…if you return what you took.”

“And what did you take?”

“Isobu the Three-Tailed Turtle and Saiken the Six-Tailed Slug,” I answered, ignoring everyone's gaze while staring directly at the Mizukage.”

“And are they with you?”, The Raikage asked and I didn't say anything as I looked at everyone before letting out a soft sigh.

“Should I?”

“If you want everyone to trust you, it's better to be open./ That and there's nothing anyone can do,” Isobu and Saiken said respectively, to which I nodded before a shell-covered tail grew and a slimy slug tail grew out on my lower back.

“They are with me, yes.”

“We want them back.”

“All things taken in war are the spoils of war for the victor. That is the one rule all shinobi agree upon, is it not?”

“It is the ironclad rule that we all follow,” Onoki nodded while not even trying to hide his smirk, to which the Mizukage looked around at support only for everyone to look back.

“Do not look at us for help. You betrayed me during battle.”

“And I am not obligated to help since everyone broke the promise the villages made to Lord Hashirama to not use the Bijuu as weapons.”

“Hey, a word from the Bijuu on the side. Why the hell do you know their names?”, The red-haired woman standing next to a sighing Tsunade asked with a raised eyebrow and I smiled at the sight of Kushina Uzumaki looking at me with a frown before answering.

“My eyes are how I knew.”

“…So, you just know their names because of your special eyes?”

“Pretty much, yeah. Why, is Kurama on a rampage right now?”, I asked, not surprised when her eyes flashed red before she winced.

“Okay, yeah. Yeah, he is rampaging.”

“Eh, don't worry about that. According to Saiken and Isobu, he's the most problematic of the nine of them and also the most emotionally reclusive.”

“Enough!”, The Mizukage exclaimed, standing up to his feet and I sighed as the personal guards immediately took their place in front of their leader with their weapons at the ready.

Yahiko, Konan and Pakura looked like they were about to step in as well before I raised my hand, ignoring the few of the guards looking at me as I sighed and walked in between them.

“Everyone, calm down. This is a neutral area so no fighting, please.”

“No, I will not sit here for a second longer and be made a fool of the same boy that interfered when he should not have,” The Mizukage said with a frown and I watched as he walked to the door with his guards following after him.

“Lord Mizukage, I will ask this. Are you ready to face the full might of the shinobi world should this come down to a battle?”, I asked, watching as the man paused at the door with his hand on the doorknob.

“…Is that a threat, Uzumaki?”, He asked without turning around, but I could feel his chakra exuding from his body as I walked closer and shook my head.

“No, I'm simply letting you understand what you're choosing. You said earlier that I will nto make a fool of you, but you are currently acting just as foolish as the Tsuchikage. Suffering is something I realize all shinobi share as a constant and yes, I was venting a bit earlier when I spoke to you all. However, I also know that real peace found right here and through our collective agreement is the only path forward.”

“Quite frankly, I'm also tired of funerals,” The Raikage spoke up and I nodded in agreement while the guards began to relax as I smiled and walked past the Mizukage's guard to hold up a hand to him.

“A leader is supposed to lead one through whatever rough situation they are in and bring them to a greater life. Will you be the leader you can be?”, I asked, keeping my hand out as the Mizukage looked at it before he nodded and shook my hand.

“Very well. I hate it, but if only because I will not force my people to fight the world on their own.”

“That is all I ask. Now then, before we get this paperwork signed, I'm sure you are all wondering why I had asked for you guys to be here,” I said while looking at each of the Jinchuriki and trying to recognize them.

'Okay, there's that priest guy that was the Jinchuriki of Shukaku before Gaara and a young girl and teenage boy from Kumo so that's definitely Yugito and Bee. Roshi looks the same as he did as the anime if a lot younger and Han definitely is still a young boy that looks to be barely 12 years old. The Jinchuriki for Chomei appears to be a male version of Fu? Yeah, probably her dad and then there's the most memorable one, Kushina Uzumaki. The mother of Mr. Talk-no-Jutsu himself.'

“Pretty much, yes. You have simply said the names of the Bijuu we hold, names that we ourselves have struggled for years to acquire.”

“Oi, how did you get the name so easily?”, Bee asked and I raised an eyebrow at the lack of rap before realizing that the Raikage probably told him not to.

“Firstly, like I said, my eyes are what allowed me to learn your names. I myself do not know how, but I was a normal boy with normal eyes one moment and I found myself with these eyes in the next.”

“I see. So, they're not your natural eyes,” Hiruzen spoke up and I shrugged as I crossed my arms.

“They could not be or they could be. I could care less since they helped me a lot over the years. Now, back to the Jinchuriki, I wish to ask a favour of you all.”

“Which is?”

“I wish to extract a small portion of your Bijuu's chakra,” I revealed the true reason I called this meeting, watching as the leaders immediately narrowed their eyes while the Jinchuriki frowned.

“You want to rip our Bijuu out?”

“No, I want to take a bit of their chakra.”

“And how would you do that without ripping our souls out?”, Roshi asked with a raised eyebrow and I sighed before answering.

“As you all know, I can absorb any and all forms of jutsu, but added to that is that I can also absorb and store all forms of chakra in my body. Therefore, if you call forth a bit of your Bijuu's chakra, I can then absorb it and do so without injuring or weakening either you or the Bijuu.”

“Would that not add to your power, then? If you can store this chakra, that is,” The priest from Sunagakure asked with a frown and I nodded as I sat down on the chair.

“It will.”

“Then what makes you think that we would let you do so?”

“…Because there is another reason for why I called this Kage meeting other than just for a peace treaty,” I answered, watching as everyone grew wary while Yahiko and the others just looked confused.

“What is this reason?”

“A few days ago, I found out that Madara Uchiha is still alive,” That sent a wave of silence throughout the room, everyone looked shocked at my words while those from Konoha looked petrified.

“…Are you trying to play games, Uzu-”

“A mane of black spiky hair, dressed in traditional red armour from the Warring State Days and with what I have read to be a Mangekyo Sharingan that gives him a blue Susano'o, I believe the ability is called. Is that description accurate, Lord Hokage, Lord Tsuchikage?”, I asked the two oldest men in the room who would know him and everyone looked at the two men to see the surprising sight of Hiruzen gritting his teeth while Onoki was speechless.

“…That is correct. So, he…he survived the battle against Lord Hashirama?”

“He did, but not without fatal injuries. That is also why he was accompanied by an army of white-skinned beings…that can also use the Wood Style. He appears to have cultivated them from the cells of Hashirama that he most likely took from their battle in the Final Valley.”

“So, the monster is still alive and he has an entire army of Wood Style users at his beck and call? Lovely. Just fucking lovely,” Onoki growled and I nodded before turning to Ay as he looked at me.

“So that is why you wanted to make this alliance.”

“That is why, yes, unless there are some of you that think that you can take on Madara Uchiha and his army?”, I asked and was not surprised when everyone immediately shook their heads.

“I didn't think so. Now, do you understand why I wanted your Bijuu's chakra?”

“You believe that you're the only chance we have against him?”

“That depends. Lord Hokage, Lord Tsuchikage, can I be considered in the same league as him?”, I knew that at this point, Madara was nothing but a man withering away the rest of his days, but I needed to sell this to the best of my abilities before something happens.

“Hello~!!”

'I spoke too soon,' I thought with a mental curse as Zetsu's spiky-haired form grew out from the ground and kicked the table away, everyone immediately on guard while I frowned as the figure looked at me.

“Hey, Nagato~!!”

“Hello, Zetsu. Everyone, this is Zetsu, just one of the many Wood Style users that Madara has.”

“I wouldn't say many. There's only like five thousand of us and we're only as strong as Jounin.”

“That's still more than enough,” Ay murmured and Zetsu grinned before he turned back to me with a sly smile.

“So, Nagato, you thought about Madara's offer?”

“What offer?”, The Kazekage asked and I frowned while looking at the grinning being.

“An offer to find out where my eyes came from and to work under him and I do faintly remember tearing apart the soul of the messenger who brought said offer to me.”

“Eh, Madara said that you were like the Second Coming of the Sage of the Six Paths, especially with your eyes and everything so we had more than one Zetsu stationed around the village. Actually, we have about…six hundred of us scattered throughout the armies now and I'm sure you know what jutsu we love to use, right Nagato?”

“The one with the spores,” I muttered, shaking my head as Zetsu simply grinned before I looked to Yahiko as he placed a hand on my shoulder.

“What is the one with the spores?”

“Zetsu releases a spore into the air. If someone breathes it in, a white mass of flesh forms around their body that constantly absorbs chakra. It's easy to get off if you're strong enough, but if you can't find Zetsu, he can just simply continue to grow more and more spores until one is out of chakra.”

“And I have six hundred others ready to shoot them out at a moment's notice. So, if you don't want to have a massacre on your hands, I'll just be taking Nagato and we'll be on our way.”

“How do we know that you won't try and kill us even if he does go with?”

“You don't~”, The Zetsu spoke with a mocking smile and Hiruzen frowned at his behaviour while the Zetsu and I went back to staring at each other.

“If I go with, do I have your word that you won't do anything.”

“Promise.”

“Okay, then. May I first make sure that everyone signs this agreement before we leave?”

“I'll be back tomorrow and everyone better be gone or else I'm going to the villages and taking out everyone there.”

“How will he-”

“Zetsu can travel through the ground so he can sense exactly where the living are,” I answered, Zetsu nodding in agreement at my words while Ay grimaced as he nodded.

“Remember. Tomorrow or we Zetsu are fighting back. Ba-Bye now~!!”, He waved with an excited cackle as he sunk into the ground and we watched him leave before I let out a sigh as I looked at the leaders.

“So…who wants to sign first?”

A/N: A lot of revelations, a lot of talking, but more importantly, we're finally meeting the big boss~!!

How that is going to go, we'll have to wait and see.

As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one….

Ba-Bye~!!