Chapter 88.4- One Thousand Hands

“I say we kick it further down the road. We can worry about what they do next, all we won’t. But we won’t know what they do until they do it. And by the time they move, we will have strengthened ourselves to the point where it will not matter” Shika said almost immediately after. Uzume made a noise of disagreement.

“I say we crush them now. Give them the same treatment we gave Iwa. Destroy the village and salt the earth that remains” She said, smile sharp as a dagger.

“I’m not really in the business of destroying whole villages.” I instantly refuted.

“If we want peace with either Suna or Mizu, who would both be harder to destroy than Kumo, we must show that there is some value to negotiations with us. If we just destroy everyone we defeat, then they could either become all the more likely to surrender, or they would fight to the bitter end most ardently. If the latter happens, then this war will cost us even more. A cost we can not afford” She said.

“When you say, can not afford, what do you mean?” Reiji asked.

“We lost hundreds to either death or injury during the taking of Iwa. Our battle fit population stands at just over four hundred. Suna are the least populated ninja village, and even they can field thousands more. We have won more victories than anyone else in this war, but that has meant that we’ve done the most fighting in the war so far. Suna and Mizu are both relatively fresh” She said.

“And what stops them from fighting us either way. If we let Kumo crawl back to their feet, what stops the three of them from coming at us again?” Uzume pushed.

“Because by the time Kumo is even close to being ready, we will have either secured terms with Mizu and Suna or removed them as threats. What we did in Iwa will matter for a long time. Not since the great villages were founded has one been destroyed. The entire First War passed with not a single village having to endure combat within its walls. The world is watching now. If we want to avoid being torn apart while we are weakened, now is the time to step back not to press an attack with strength we do not have.” She said.

Uzume’s lack of reply was basically her conceding the point so I nodded.

“Have terms sent to Mizu. Offer them peace and say we will not retaliate for the attacks they waged along our coast and will accept those attacks as their just reparations for the death of their Jinchuriki at our hands in the battle of Uzu.” I said with a sigh.