Naruto-Start by eating the golden fruit

No matter how Sunagakure Village viewed the situation, the fact remained: they were essentially coming to Konoha, begging for favorable terms. Although the "meat" they were offering was thin and not particularly tempting, they were still desperate to make a deal. Who were they really trying to fool?

That said, compared to Kirigakure, which is surrounded by the sea and thrives on its abundant seafood resources, Sunagakure, located in the barren Wind Country, had little to offer. If you had to name a local specialty, it would be the desert itself, along with cacti and desert camels.

Unfortunately, the desert didn't even have the good fortune of containing valuable resources like oil. It was just a harsh, unforgiving landscape. The true wealth of the Wind Country was concentrated in the northwest, where oases, rivers from snow-capped mountains, and rich mineral deposits could be found. However, those areas were controlled by the daimyo of the Wind Country.

As for Sunagakure? They were fortunate to have been given land to build their village in the first place. Beyond that, they didn't receive much else. Though the Wind Country provided an annual stipend to the village, it was far from substantial. As a result, Sunagakure had spent years dreaming of striking gold in the desert, though it remained just that—a dream.

When the treaty between Konoha and Kirigakure became public knowledge, Sunagakure began to reconsider their own position. The agreement between the two villages wasn't kept secret—Kirigakure, in fact, seemed eager to ensure Konoha honored it by announcing the deal on the day it was signed.

Yuya noticed this and thought, "Are you so scared people won't know you were outwitted?" Fine, let's make it public.

As soon as other nations and villages heard about the treaty, Sunagakure started to reconsider their own plans. As a so-called "great nation," Sunagakure figured that if Konoha feared Kirigakure joining the war and offered them a deal to buy time (as they too assumed), why not ask for something similar themselves?

Thus, Sunagakure decided to pursue their own agreement with Konoha, essentially begging to be "tricked" into a deal as well. Naturally, Yuya happily agreed to negotiate. Senju Tobirama, feeling reassured, knew that with both the Wind and Water Countries tied up in treaties, they wouldn't be fighting Konoha anytime soon. That freed Konoha to focus on dealing with the Lightning and Earth Countries.

Konoha's confidence surged, and by late summer, after handling the diplomatic front, the village had successfully ensured that only the Lightning and Earth Countries would remain as threats in the ongoing war. As summer ended, something unexpected happened.

A skirmish broke out between a unit from Iwagakure and a group of Kirigakure ninjas. The story was simple: though Kirigakure had technically pulled out of the war, there were still remnants of their forces in the joint army with Iwagakure and Kumogakure. Having spent months on the front lines without much action, the Kirigakure ninjas were frustrated. Then, word came from Kirigakure that they were officially withdrawing from the conflict with Konoha.

This news infuriated Iwagakure and Kumogakure. After all, the Kirigakure ninjas had been consuming resources for three months, only to bail just as tensions were rising. While the coalition's leaders grudgingly accepted that they needed to let the Kirigakure ninjas leave, tensions boiled over. A logistical misstep led to the Iwagakure quartermasters providing half the usual food rations to the Kirigakure forces. When the Kirigakure ninjas demanded more food, an Iwagakure ninja lost his temper, resulting in a deadly altercation that left several Kirigakure ninjas dead.

Upon hearing this, both the Tsuchikage and Raikage were at a loss for words. What had just happened? Had fate itself intervened to favor Konoha?

Yuya, meanwhile, found the situation surprising. Historically, the first great war between the ninja nations had seen a conflict between the Land of Earth and the Land of Water, where both the Tsuchikage and Mizukage perished in battle. But in this case, the confrontation had sparked over something as trivial as food rations.

Still, history seemed determined to repeat itself.

The Second Mizukage, Genzuki, who had a notoriously short temper, was livid when he learned that his men had been killed. He demanded that the Tsuchikage hand over the responsible parties. The Tsuchikage, however, refused, arguing that Kirigakure had been freeloading for months and now wanted more food before leaving. He was adamant: no one would be handed over.

Infuriated, the Second Mizukage marched his forces westward, bypassing Konoha's defenses entirely. Tobirama briefly wondered if this was just an excuse to start a new conflict with Konoha, but it became clear that the Mizukage's only target was Iwagakure.

With a brewing conflict between the two villages, both Tobirama and the Second Raikage tacitly agreed to a temporary truce. Each of them had more pressing matters to attend to, like harvesting rice—and watching the impending clash between the Land of Earth and the Land of Water unfold.

By early autumn of the seventeenth year of Konoha, Yuya had launched the first edition of the "Ninja Newspaper," with its inaugural headline reading:

**"Shocking! A Fight Erupts Between the Second Mizukage and the Second Tsuchikage Over Food!"**

The citizens of Konoha, unused to such sensational news in print, eagerly bought up all 2,000 copies of the first issue.

Setting up this new publication was relatively easy—after all, printing and engraving could be done with a simple ninjutsu. However, Yuya saw the value in creating institutions to control public opinion and provide information. He also predicted that other major nations would soon follow suit and establish their own newspapers, which would be a good thing, creating new jobs for ninjas across the lands.

For now, though, Yuya was content to sit back and watch the fireworks between the Mizukage and Tsuchikage.

…

In the autumn of the seventeenth year of Konoha, Yuya returned home to Konoha Village, where he paid a visit to his master, Mito Uzumaki. During his visit, he learned some troubling news: "The Land of Whirlpools wants you to return, Master?!"

Yuya frowned. What could the Land of Whirlpools possibly want now?

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