Game of Shadows - 129 (Patreon)

Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto nor The Gamer. I own nothing, really.

Cover Art: Kissuli.

Chapter 129

[Onoki]

He looked at the scroll in front of him, set on the table amongst other papers that detailed completely different things. Onoki wondered though, in the midst of going over its content, did the other Kages in the room get similar messages? Chances were that they did, not only because it’d made perfect sense, considering what the thing said, but also because of the frowns and overall thoughtful expressions around the room of the Summit.

Maybe it wasn’t completely accurate to say that he was thinking over the contents of the message though. It was more that he was thinking over something that’d he’d often gone over, the past and the future. This time though, he did so taking into consideration a new variant, as he’d been doing as of late.

Eiji Satou had had that effect on the world.

‘Peace,’ Onoki thought, somewhat in awe as he scanned the room around him once more. For once, there was silence in it, nobody was arguing or discussing or anything of the sort. Everyone was going over what they’d been informed of, certainly. That wasn’t what was important to Onoki at that moment though. ‘To think that peace finally seems attainable.’

Despite all the little batches they’d found on the road, despite all the fights that almost broke out between several of their peers, the five of them were reaching it. Agreements were hashed out, concessions were made, grudges were put aside. It was like a dream come true. And Onoki knew exactly why that was, because there was a common enemy and someone willing to set them straight if they were too stubborn.

Akatsuki and Eiji Satou.

‘Terrorists and a child, that’s what the world needed to reach peace,’ Onoki mused incredulously, leaning back on his chair. It was disappointing, so very disappointing, but it was what it was. It was better peace achieved with less than ideal circumstances than no peace at all.

He was worried though, because the fact was that this new era was brought by the prodigiously powerful boy. Onoki wondered, then, if the peace would last without Satou around to enforce it. If Akatsuki dealt with him, not only would they all be left with the terrorists to take care of, but they’d be left without the impartial party to help preserve peace.

Although, he had to admit, Eiji Satou was proving to be a monster. One not unlike those he was often compared to. Onoki had been reluctant to truly admit to himself this fact, mostly because the boy wouldn’t have been the first nor the last to be compared to geniuses of the past and the present. Now though, after he’d dealt with S ranked ninja after S ranked ninja? After he’d apparently taken out the Monster of the Hidden Mist and the Clan Killer.

The legend of Eiji Satou was already reaching everywhere. Spreading fear and awe in equal parts and bringing even better prospects to Konoha and in a somewhat lesser part Suna for having helped the Squad in the past and likely in the future, if the thing with the Kazekage’s sister was anything to go by. Even Kirigakure was benefitting from this, just for the fact that Satou carried one of their swords and they seemed to support this.

This was making all of them wonder if they should more actively get involved on that team. If only for the good publicity it seemed to be gaining with the general public and, more importantly, the Daimyos. Those latter ones could, by themselves, affect the income of a village dramatically. That had been exactly what happened to Suna, after all.

So, Onoki, the Tsuchikage, found himself wishing well upon a ninja of Konoha. He could see, with some luck and good decisions, the entire world thriving if they could survive the global threat, Iwagakure and the Land of Earth included. That not only meant better circumstances for his people, but a better position for his successor to take over, whoever they might end up being. The fact that it would likely be his own granddaughter only made him more eager to give her an easy time to get used to things.

Chances were the peace wouldn’t last for very long, he knew, but it was better than nothing. At the point in life he was at, Onoki would take whatever he could manage, really. Anything to stop feeling another bloody war creeping behind him. Anything to stop worrying about what would happen to his family and his people.

Anything to be able to finally rest a little easier.

Onoki snorted softly to himself, looking down at the scroll once more. His own people would probably ponder on what the world had come to, when they responded to a call from a Konoha nin. Not because they’d balk at the thought, but because they’d similarly wonder about the changes that had happened around them just like he’d been doing before.

As it was, Onoki took aside a piece of paper and started writing orders he’d issue with Akatsuchi. He could afford to send one of his guards away, after all. Not only was he in his home village, surrounded by his people, but even with the tensions that sometimes broke out between his fellow Kages and even him sometimes, a fight was unlikely. Nobody wanted to be the person left out of things while the other Nations allied themselves, that would be a rather… precarious situation to be left in, that was for sure.

Despites this, the orders he had to give were… They made him uneasy. It wasn’t very reassuring to be the last resort in case things went to shit. He’d much prefer for things to go well and for his people to not need to get involved. Not because he didn’t trust them, but because of what it would mean.

‘I’m really too old for this shit,’ Onoki lamented.

[}-o-{]

[A]

‘You ask a lot out of us, brat,’ the Raikage thought to himself, fighting to hold back a sneer.

If only he hadn’t been put in the position he had been, maybe he’d have fought back more with all that was happening at the moment. Akatsuki might be a great danger to most other major Villages, with their subpar Jinchuriki, but to Kumo? To Kumo they were a minor annoyance. A had no doubt that his brother could easily deal with anyone that came his way except maybe the Uchiha and Hoshigake duo and that was only by himself.

With A or Yugito to assist him? It was certainly doable, if not easy.

Things were a little more complicated than that and all because of whoever that damned Uchiha had been. Not only had they made a fool out of A and his village, but they’d caused a lot more trouble than that. With A’s reputation and general trust from the public in pieces, he’d been replaced. Replaced by someone that should have been thought of in such a manner, that was for sure.

The damned fool hadn’t had enough with almost causing another World War by attacking Iwa when things were clearly not at the best of times. They’d risked one of their main advantages in Yugito. When they were the only ones that hadn’t lost a Jinchuriki besides those villages that only had one to begin with, they hadn’t used that and instead had messed everything up and left the girl in Konoha’s clutches.

A could have told them that would happen, just as he could have told them that it wasn’t a good time to cause conflict. Not when everyone was on edge and everyone knew that Kumo had an advantage. All that would have caused was for everyone else to ally against them. Maybe it was wrong of him to do so, but A was fairly sure that it had been good that the Weaver had all but crippled them.

It had been a devastating blow and one that his forces would never forget. Eiji Satou would be forever ingrained in the minds of his people just like the Flash was in Iwa’s. However, what that unfortunate – or fortunate, depending on the point of view – day had done was set them on a somewhat equal ground as everyone else. Kiri and Iwa had lost Jinchuriki, Suna was barely holding on, Kumo had now suffered a great loss and Konoha was now the only one somewhat fine. This meant that if a war did break up, then the main target would be the Leaf.

Not that a conflict of such manner was likely now, with everyone seemingly craving for some peace. Some for practical reasons, some for emotional ones, but everyone wanted to avoid conflict. Personally, A wasn’t of the same mind and neither were most of his people. What nobody wanted was to be the one to cause the war, because that’d set them right back on everyone’s sights.

Now though, things were changing once more. Peace seemed like something that would actually take hold for some time and it seemed that the world was starting to realize that there would be someone else to be at the top with the Kages. Eiji Satou was pushing for peace and it was as effective as the Hokage and the Tsuchikage doing so too. The Mizukage and the Kazekage didn’t seem to be in a rush to go against them either.

‘What a position to be in,’ the Raikage lamented, bringing a hand up to massage the bridge of his nose.

It was what it was, he could blame the previous “Raikage” if he could be called that. A could also blame Eiji Satou, the other Kages, Akatsuki, and whoever else. It wouldn’t change a thing though. He’d still be stuck where he was and having to make decisions anyway. So, he did.

His people would complain, he was sure. Some might even consider rebelling or something equally as drastic. A couldn’t do much about that other than deal with it when it happened. Refusing to sign the peace with the other villages would have been a worse decision, he was sure.

A had thought those would be all the concessions he’d do. Sign peace giving up as little as possible and be done with the whole thing. It had been wishful thinking, but A had willingly fallen for it. Now, it was being brought up that things weren’t quite that simple. Signing peace meant being almost allies with everyone else, and it also meant that he was expected to give assistance against a common threat if required.

It was nowhere in the things he’d signed but it was understood that he would. Especially with someone that was already known at the date of the aforementioned signing. Refusing to help fight Akatsuki would be bad and to be quite honest, A wanted them dealt with anyway. Because he was being surprised by entirely too much stuff as of late and he didn’t want one such surprise to be concerning his brother and his health.

‘Still,’ he mused, his eyes moving around the room, to see that he wasn’t the only one that had been given much to think about by one Eiji Satou. ‘Not pulling any punches, eh, brat?’

It was worrying, if not outright frightening, the power the boy was amassing. The more time passed, the closer the Weaver was to being unstoppable. Soon, they’d have nothing to do but wait for him to drop dead if they wanted to do something that he wouldn’t like. The other Kages could be fine with that, but A? A wasn’t.

And yet, he could do nothing. It said everything that needed to be said about the situation, really. And it all but answered the question as to what he would do.

The only thing he could really do.

Do as the brat asked, galling as it was.

[}-o-{]

[Mei Terumi]

She could hardly believe what she’d just read.

It might just be the third best piece of news she had ever gotten in her life, with the first being the day Kiri was freed from the Third Mizukage and the second being the day Konoha decided to support her cause. She had to do quite a bit of effort not to burst out laughing as she processed it. Not only because she couldn’t afford to do that lightly anymore as a Mizukage, but also because it seemed that her fellow Kage were having much less enjoyable time.

Except maybe Senju, who was looking quite amused herself.

Still, it’d be less acceptable coming from her, since at least the Hokage had the excuse of being from the very same village as the cause of the whole thing. Regardless of that, Mei took a mental note to do something nice for Eiji Satou. If he was going to do what he said he would, then what he was asking for was nothing. She’d have to do something else, probably regarding the talk they’d shared before the mess the boy had just dealt with happened.

Not only had the boy taken out one of the most dangerous Mist Missing Ninja alive, but he’d gotten the Legendary Sword that Kisame Hoshigaki had. Samehada was now being offered back to her, just like that. No matter the fact that Satou said he couldn’t use the sword. Mei was very aware of the fact that he could look for someone else to wield it instead of giving it to the Mist. Any agreement he had with them was regarding Nuibari, after all, and they were grateful for that much.

Samehada, however? It was believed, by a lot of people, to be the strongest of the Seven. Even if that wasn’t true, it was still one of their village’s treasures being handed back to them for what was, in her opinion, hardly a price at all. Helping deal another hit to Akatsuki? She’d have considered doing that for free.

Eiji Satou was making a move there, Mei was sure. He wasn’t giving them the sword because he needed to. No, he was giving them the sword because he wanted them to be allies. He wanted them to have his back, just like Konoha and Suna were. Just like Iwa was starting to do.

Because the boy knew that they weren’t his allies. They were Konoha’s allies, and if his little stunt during the first meeting of Kages was any indication, he was more of an independent party to the whole thing. Interesting and certainly something to look into, but more than that, it was something she could use to her advantage.

And he likely wanted a little support in case one of the other Kages needed a little more convincing.

Not that Mei needed much convincing herself to do as he wanted.

Someone that strong, someone that could try to strong arm ninja villages into peace, could only be a good alliance prospect. Mei would make sure to have a good relationship with Satou and his squad, that much was certain. With the precarious state that her village was in after the Civil War, it was hardly surprising that she was lacking in the power that one of the big five was supposed to have.

The Suicide Squad that Eiji Satou had made though… That could be an asset. One shared with all the other villages but an asset all the same. Mei wanted that on her side. So what if she wasn’t alone on that side? With the state her village and her nation was left in after Karatachi? Mei would be grateful if she could at least start building back what they’d once had, nevermind being stronger than the rest.

In the spirit of doing just that, the Mizukage had already sent word back to her village in order to go over the list of things the Weaver had given her before dashing all the way to Suna.

She’d gotten an advantage over Iwa and Kumo with just that, she was sure. If her information was right, the latter was as far as one could be from being on good terms with Satou, while calling what he had with the former being a friendly relationship was an exaggeration. Konoha was firmly well, but so were they with Kiri, so that was fine. And after what Suna had gone through, they were in about the same state as the Mist was. Having an actual friendship in the Kazekage and a member in the aforementioned leader’s sister was good, but maybe Mei could get to enjoy those same benefits with a bit of effort.

Maybe Kirigakure would never get over its bloody past while she was the leader, maybe even because of her being the leader, but Mei could make sure that her successor would have a much easier time bringing their home back to its former glory. So what if she had to suck up a bit to a boy that was closer to being a preteen than an adult? With the world they lived in creating monsters at even younger ages than his, that wasn’t much of a problem at all.

Her pride wouldn’t stop her from doing her best for her home.

She hadn’t led a war against her own people to let something as minor as her ego get in her way. No, Kirigakure deserved better and she’d sworn that she would give as much as she could back to it. If that could be brought to them by a teenager, then that’s who she would get to help them. It was as simple as that.

So, still repressing a smile, Mei Terumi set out to do just what the aforementioned teenager had asked her to do. Some people might mock her for that, but those people clearly didn’t know what being a Kage meant. As far as she was concerned, being a Kage meant that you were responsible for the wellbeing of your village and the people in it.

And that, as it so happened, meant having Eiji Satou on their side.

[}-o-{]

[Tsunade Senju]

She could have cackled.

Oh, that brat was one of the few highlights of being a Hokage.

Tsunade would have given just about anything to watch her fellow Kage’s as they learned that Satou had not only taken out Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki but also battled two other members of Akatsuki while also running all the way from Iwa to Suna. If the brat’s stunt against Kumogakure hadn’t cemented the idea that Eiji Satou wasn’t someone to be underestimated, then this one certainly had. There was no way that anyone would ever think he was just a child punching above his weight class ever again.

That was, however, not only hilarious but also somewhat worrying. Tsunade was aware, after all, that Eiji hadn’t quite been taken seriously in his fights, which had given him the upper hand. Now, that would never happen again. This was his last opportunity to use that card. From now on, he’d face opponents that would go at him with everything they had.

And to make things worse, he’d lost an arm.

Above all else, Tsunade was a medic. This meant that she’d already gone through the medical information Eiji had sent her as part of his reports. Nothing in there said that he couldn't have had the arm reattached. And yet, not only had the boy’s medic failed to do so, but Suna’s medics had too. While there was some chance of the former sabotaging Satou, there was no way the latters would.

That meant there was something else preventing the operation from being carried out. She had some theories for that, but nothing regarding the battle pointed towards anything remotely close to what she was thinking about. ‘Unless, of course, that armor structure had more to it than just chakra and an edge,’ Tsunade mused, frowning for a moment.

That was a worry for another time when she could get a look at the issue with her own eyes.

As it was, she had other things to do.

Fortunately, it didn’t look like she would have to convince any of the other Kage’s to carry out Eiji’s “orders”. The brat could word them however he liked, and Tsunade was sure that her counterparts wouldn’t be thinking about the whole thing with that word in particular, but that’s what they were. The boy had the nerve to order around Kages.

And they were going to listen.

It was hilarious.

‘A good drink would make this even better,’ Tsunade thought with a smirk.

There was something that was bothering her though. Looking down at the scroll in front of her again, she read over the words “change of plans” and “had to involve more Kages than I wanted in this”. That sounded more like Eiji, to just contact one or two of them instead of everyone. A daring one, he might be, but he wouldn’t have taken such a risk.

Unless something warranted it.

‘What could have forced his hand like this?’ Tsunade wondered. Even more worrying was the fact that he hadn’t explained much at all, except what he needed done. She’d known that he’d act more independently in the future after what he’d done during the first Summit meeting, but she hadn’t quite expected this. ‘Further proof that something’s going on here. He should have gone slower at this.’

If she hadn’t known any better, she’d have thought this was one last ditch effort to end things. An attempt to pull all the strings he had available and try to deal with Akatsuki once and for all. One fell swoop to take care of everything or die trying.

That wasn’t Eiji Satou though. That boy was, above all else, someone that used his time as best he could. He wouldn’t just rush like this when he could use that time to get better, which he needed now more than ever. With an injury like his and the toll what he’d done had to have taken on him physically and psychologically, it didn’t make sense for him to jump into the fire once more.

No, something had happened.

‘My good mood is, once more, ruined,’ Tsunade lamented, leaning back on her chair and doing what she needed to cheer herself up. Which at that very moment wasn’t very difficult, since she only had to look at A’s expression to feel much better. She could only imagine how much it must have hurt the man to have to listen to the brat’s orders.

Onoki, for his part, was likely reacting a little better, but that was about it. Gaara was as unreadable as ever, but Tsunade was reasonably sure that he was only thinking about doing what his friend asked. He could be simple minded like that sometimes, she had gathered after a few interactions while working with Hiruzen. As for Mei… Tsunade was surprised to see that she seemed to be in a just as good mood as she herself was. There was something going on there and the new Hokage was sure she knew who the cause for that was.

‘If nothing else, you are an entertaining person to work with, Eiji Satou,’ Tsunade thought to herself, shaking her head with a smirk. Certainly one of the silver linings to being Hokage. She’d get to see this kind of shit often, she could bet. ‘Still, what is going on that you aren’t telling, brat?’ she wondered once more, her eyes moving down towards the scroll and finding once more the last few words on the thing.

“I’m taking the battle to Akatsuki.”

Tsunade could summarize what she thought about that in a much better sentence herself. It was… somewhat tragic, that things had to come to what they did and that place would have to see more war. The world they lived in was an unforgiving one and one that didn’t care for much, if anything at all. With some luck, maybe they could make this the last time such a thing had to happen there for some time.

‘Shit’s going to go down in Amegakure.’

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How’s it going?

It’s a little sad that I couldn’t fit in a Gaara PoV, but I’m a little short in time and I’d already reached the word count needed for a chapter. Besides, I think what’s going on in that side is clear enough, from mentions that I’ve made in several places through this chapter and previous ones. If that’s not enough… Well, I apologize. Maybe at any other time I would have made an effort and written longer chapter, but it’s what it is.

On an unrelated note, writing A’s chapter was awkward and slightly silly. Why, oh why did he have to have that name?

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Discord Link: discord.gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: Have you ever traveled by plane? I have, a few times when I traveled to and around Europe for a bit some years ago.

See you.