Bloody hell did this story ever fight me, but, with two black eyes, a broken femur and a punctured lung, with a quick tag in from SeerKing, I got it finished, enjoy and happy new year!

I couldn't help but groan as I covered my face with my hands, an innocent-looking scroll unfurled before me, detailing a bunch of information that I didn't want to see right now.

"How bad could it be?" Aoi questioned with a humorous grin. "It's just a progress report from Jiraiya and Naruto, right?"

I parted my fingers to glare at my friend and guard from between them in response before sighing and pulling my hands away from my face. "Well, it starts with them going to Takigakure to look into the Nanabi's disappearance," I said, getting a nod from my guards and two advisors. "It starts off well enough, asking around, talking with the village leader… right up until Naruto-kun nearly killed the man for throwing the Jinchuriki out of the village for the Akatsuki to hunt down."

A wince rippled through the room as the words left my mouth. "What's the damage?" Hiashi questioned hesitantly.

"Minimal," I replied. "Jiraiya smoothed things over, and they're tracking the jinchuriki down now."

"Alright, what's the source of the headache then?" Tsume questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Waterfall is demanding the return of their Jinchuuriki should we find her," I replied with another groan. "This is freaking ridiculous. They throw her out of the village, and now that people are suddenly asking questions, they want her back."

"They suddenly realized that their bargaining chip for their part in the alliance went missing," Genma commented with a chuckle. "And I take it you don't plan on forcing her to return?"

"Oh, if she wants to, she'll be free to," I said shrugging my shoulders. "But if they think for one second that I am going to send her back there for them to heap more abuse onto, then they will be crushed underfoot."

"Don't think Waterfall would be able to get anyone sympathetic to listen to them if they tried to force the issue," Tsume snorted in amusement.

It was a longstanding understanding between the villages; if you didn't have the strength to hold onto your Jinchuuriki, then it was essentially free game for those who could.

"Still, it's a headache and a half to deal with," I groaned out, slumping against my desk as the others in the room chuckled in amusement.

"Well, sorry to say, but I got some reports for you to look at," Chika announced, as she entered the room, holding a folder of documents and another scroll. "Might want to look at the scroll first, it's from Suna."

I let out a heavy sigh at that, ever since the conclusion of the Oto-Suna invasion I had been left dealing with Sunagakure and the owed reparations for damages and loss of life. What didn't help matters was the fact that Suna was short a Kazekage and their council was waffling between trying to continue the war and trying to get into my good graces.

Popping the wax seal I unfurled the scroll and carefully read through the message within. "Well, that's less of a headache," I said after a few moments. "They finally got off their asses and elected a new Kazekage, Gaara."

"The jinchuriki?" Aoi questioned in surprise. "Damn, either they're desperate, or he underwent a serious change of heart."

"The latter, if I'm not mistaken," I said reading through the message. "And I think we have my little brother to thank for it, he's asking that I pass on his thanks to Naruto-kun."

"That freaking kid…" Gemma said laughing a bit as he shook his head in surprise. "He can make friends with anyone."

"And what are they saying in terms of reparations?" Hizashi questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Even if it was minimal, their saboteurs still did damage to our infrastructure and killed civilians."

I hummed in response as I considered the scroll. "That is the difficult part for them," I said finally. "They, simply put, can't pay, not with their Daimyo sending most of the missions to us, and on top of that, there was apparently a lot of negligence for what the previous Kazekage considered to be 'worthless' when it came to trade goods."

"Rasa was an idiot." Tsume growled.

"No arguments here." I sighed. Generally, I didn't speak ill of the dead, but Rasa had been a colossal idiot. How had he gotten elected as Kazekage? Had it solely been his strength with the Gold Dust Magnet Release? If so, the Wind Daimyo was an even bigger idiot than I initially thought. "Fiscally, they were already scraping at the bottom of the barrel before the Oto/Suna Invasion; now they're down to the barest of bare dregs. The Fifth Kazekage is suggesting an informal meeting between us in person to discuss the matter without having the various councils bog things down as they usually do."

My advisors and guards shared looks amongst themselves at the information as they seemed to hold a silent conversation. "You're already planning on agreeing to the meeting, aren't you?" Aoi sighed knowingly.

"Of course," I replied with the trademarked smirk of all Uchiha before frowning. "After all, the last thing we need is an open war between the smaller nations to take Suna's spot as a 'Great Nation'."

"You are not going anywhere without the Hokage Guard Platoon." Genma stated firmly.

"Naturally. You, Aoi-kun and Chika-chan were going to be my choices." I informed him with a slightly superior smirk. "Gaara will be bringing along his brother Kankuro, sister Temari and former Jonin-sensei Baki as his guards. He suggests somewhere neutral as a meeting point, just not Yugakure, as the prices there are exorbitant for Shinobi at our level."

I snorted in response to that. "They were idiots to allow the Civilians that much power over the village," I commented as I began reviewing the countries that we could use for our meeting.

Yugakure had been, altogether, a well put together shinobi village, they produced solid shinobi with solid skill sets, and given a few generations could have very well usurped Sunagakure as a Great Nation.

And then the Jashin Cult debacle happened.

Really, the fact that Hidan had been involved with it should have been evident enough for what happened next.

"Anyways, I think we should meet in the Land of Song," I said after a few moments of thought, the Land of Song was a very minor country that didn't even have a shinobi presence outside of a few Missing-nin that the Daimyo hired for protection.

Hell, their only claim to fame was in the entertainment industry as musicians.

"I'll get a message prepared then," Chika said with a smirk as she moved to do just that.

"The work never stops," I commented as I moved onto the next set of papers in front of me, a frown creasing my face as I read it. "Aoi, get ANBU to look into this guy," I ordered with a growl as I passed the page over to him. "Seriously, how many times do you have to say no before they get the picture that we are not going to assassinate his business rivals inside of Konoha."

"Right, I'll get ANBU on it," Aoi said with a nod as he moved out of the room.

Letting out a sigh I stared at the paperwork in front of me. "Well, at least it isn't too bad today," I muttered to myself, drawing chuckles from Genma and my advisors as I started working again.

I took in a breath as I looked over the small capital of the Land of Song where I would be meeting with Gaara.

"Quaint little place," Aoi commented as he looked over the town, leaning against a tree as we assessed the area, a long ingrained practice for shinobi. "Hopefully it's still standing when we leave."

I snorted in response as I began to move forward. "Then let's hope it doesn't come down to a fight," I replied simply as we made our way into the town.

We drew quite a bit of attention as we walked through the streets, not only because of the fact that we were shinobi in a country that had so few of them, but considering the fact that I was the Hokage, well, we had quite a crowd of, thankfully, discreet observers.

Even though they were being discreet about it as they could be, they were civilians, and the quickest way to irritate a shinobi, was constantly observing them, made us twitchy and ready to lash out at spies.

Thankfully, however, they knew well enough to leave us alone as we entered the small inn that was to be used for the meeting.

As we had expected, Gaara and his siblings were waiting for us to arrive in the cleared out dining room where the inn's staff was nervously waiting to see to our needs during our meeting.

"Greetings to you, Hokage-sama," Gaara greeted respectfully as I took my seat across from him.

"And greetings to you in return, Kazekage-sama." I inclined my head in respect. "Congratulations on gaining your position. I know my little brother would want me to congratulate you in his stead."

A small smile crossed Gaara's face at my mention of Naruto. "Is Naruto well?"

"He is. Just as enthusiastic and full of energy as he ever is." I sighed dramatically before adding seriously, "I trust the Suna Council didn't kick up too much of a fuss when you told them you were planning on meeting me?"

Behind him, Temari and Kankuro pulled faces of irritation and disgust, with Baki grimacing as Gaara replied placidly, "They were...obdurate...about the situation, until I pointed out that we were at risk of losing our status as one of the Great Five Villages if nothing was done and we had little else to lose as it was."

I had to wince at that. Suna was suffering because of the tug of war between the fat fool of a Wind Daimyo and the militaristic Fourth Kazekage. Rasa had been far too focussed on the military forces of Sunagakure, as well as displaying their might to all and sundry, while the Wind Daimyo was infamous for being a cheapskate and miser, only spending the bare minimum on the military portions of Kaze no Kuni. With Rasa dead, the Wind Daimyo had even had the cheek to try and reduce the Suna military to beneath the current level of their forces, which he legally couldn't do; Suna had the responsibility to keep their forces at an absolute minimum level of numbers, which was twice what the Daimyo wanted.

I personally gave it about a year before someone assassinated the idiot and replaced him, but Suna didn't have that long.

"Then we should get into what we can do to ensure that both the Council and the Wind Daimyo have no reason to be any more of a pain than they already are." I said easily. "Fortunately, the number of deaths and the level of damages that can be attributed to Sunagakure are fairly minor, and as it can be confirmed that Orochimaru murdered the Fourth Kazekage over a month before the invasion, the amount that my Council has set as being the absolute minimum for reparations isn't too high, but…"

"...but it is still beyond Sunagakure's ability to pay." Gaara said stoically. "The stupidity and short-sighted vision of my father has almost bankrupted my village, and the ongoing antagonism from the Wind Daimyo doesn't help matters by much, if at all."

"Indeed." I nodded. "I would turn the mission requests he sends Konoha down, but my own Council, while not nearly as much of a pain as it was under Hiruzen-sama's reign, would still protest and kick up a fuss at the loss of income. Something I could do, though, would be to refuse any mission that would take my Shinobi inside of Kaze no Kuni itself, which amounts to almost half of them. I can give the excuse that my Shinobi are needed to secure Hi no Kuni itself, given the unrest happening in certain countries, such as Tori no Kuni, Na no Kuni and of course, the recent destruction of Ko no Kuni."

My lips tightened at the last country I mentioned. Sasori of the Red Sands and Deidara the Firebug Bomber had been responsible for that. Ko no Kuni, or the Land of This, had been a small, peaceful nation who had been targeted by Akatsuki earlier than in the original timeline because, I suspect, I had killed Kakuzu.

"If you could do that...the Daimyo would likely offer the missions to us." Baki mused. "Iwagakure, Kumogakure and Kirigakure are all a fair distance away, and the Wind Daimyo is a snob who only offers his business to one of the Five Great Villages. In the mid and long term, that would be advantageous, but it doesn't offer us any means to repay Konoha in the short term."

I smirked in response. "But, there is a way," I replied in response. "It is a bit unorthodox, but I think in the end it can bring about a result we are… both happy with."

Gaara raised an impassive eyebrow in a response. "By all means," he replied, gesturing for me to continue.

"There are a couple of parts for this," I informed him as I folded my arms across my chest. "Firstly, we would like you to copy for us some A-Ranked Wind Ninjutsu scrolls that your village has, secondly, I would like the dedicated ambassador for Suna to be Temari," I pointed to the dirty blonde haired girl who blinked in response as her two brothers and teacher twitched at my demand. "She will be staying with me while she is within Konohagakure, and I can guarantee her safety as such," I shrugged a bit. "Finally, Sunagakure will be required to hand over all of your Chakra Conductive Metal, and you will not be allowed to forge any for a year starting the day you sign the treaty."

I rolled my neck a bit as Gaara began to mull over the information. "So you will be treating my sister as a damned hostage then!" Kankuro shouted as he slammed a fist on the table between us.

Looking over to him, I pinned him in place with a glare momentarily, before looking back at Gaara. "Technically yes, we need some kind of insurance that Sunagakure isn't going to attempt to renege on our deal and attempt another invasion," I informed the Kazekage specifically. "She will be treated with every courtesy and with great respect as a guest rather than a hostage, but I still need collateral to ensure you don't betray us," I blinked before shrugging. "And it will get the council off my ass about it as well."

Gaara had his usual stoic expression on his face as he took this in, but I could see his entire body tense up in anger as he considered my words, only for Temari to set a hand on his shoulder - certainly a surprise for me as Gaara's sand usually let no one touch him.

"Gaara, it's okay," she said gently to her brother. "I don't think the Hokage will mistreat me if we did do this," she turned her gaze to me. "But… why me specifically?" she questioned.

"Other than the fact that you are the Kazekage's sister and former Kazekage's daughter?" I replied rhetorically. "Because, it is quite obvious to me that Gaara cares quite deeply for you and Kankuro," I pointed out. "Only an idiot would think he would abandon either of you to invade Konoha. Now, as for why I didn't ask for Kankuro… well, it's an old, stupid bias dating back to before the Warring Clans Period. Basically, handing over a Kunoichi was considered a sign of submission from the opposing party."

Gaara let out a sigh of resignation as he nodded. "I… can agree to that," he said finally. "I do not necessarily like it, however."

I gave him a sympathetic smile. "Well, it could be worse...I am planning on selling your Chakra Metal back, at a fraction of its cost, a year and a day after the treaty is signed. And if Sunagakure is in dire straits, as an ally I can, of course, outright give the Chakra Metal back outright. As for Temari-san, she will not stagnate in Konohagakure; she will be free to practice her jutsu as normal and we will not ask her for any secrets not agreed upon in the treaty. My little brothers would be very disappointed in me if I were to abuse my guest, and I do try to be a good role model for them."

Gaara let out a small sigh of relief as he nodded in understanding. "I see, thank you then," he replied.

"There is one last matter that should be brought to your attention," I told him with a small frown. "There is a group that is a threat to all of the jinchuriki in the nations right now, they are known as Akatsuki and are each considered to be S-Ranked shinobi, we have confirmed that among their members is Sasori of the Red Sand."

"Wait… really!?" Baki shouted in response. "Who...who else…?!"

"Kisame Hoshigaki of Kiri, Itachi Uchiha of Konoha, Diedara of Iwa and finally Kakuzu of Taki, who I killed last year," I listed off the members. "Unfortunately our intelligence network has yet to track all of the members."

"The Monster of the Hidden Mist, the Clan Killer, the Terrorist Bomber and the Immortal Bounty Hunter, teamed up with the Greatest Puppeteering Genius of the Sunagakure Puppeteer Corps…" Kankuro said with trepidation. "That's one heavy lineup. At least we don't have to worry about Kakuzu anymore."

"Indeed," I replied with a sigh. "As a part of the alliance you will be updated on Akatsuki's movements and of any new member we learn of them."

"This is troubling because Sasori would know everything about Shukaku's last hosts," Gaara stated with a troubled frown. "As such he would know my own limitations and abilities."

"Gaara…" Temari said with a worried frown.

"Then surpass what your predecessors were capable of." I said with a smirk. "So he knows what they could do...so what? Both of your senpai were middle-aged men when they became Jinchuriki; you have carried Shukaku since you were born. Your connection with the One-Tail is likely to be more pronounced as a result. Use that. I can give you a few Jinchuriki methods that Iwa gave us when I married my husband that might help with Shukaku. If not that, then Jiraiya-sama can have a look at your seal. Anything that can be done to improve your chances should be taken, within reason."

Gaara frowned at me as he narrowed his eyes. "Why are you doing this?" he questioned me cautiously. "Why would you go so far?"

I couldn't help the smirk that came over my face. "Because, the Akatsuki are in the way of my plans to create a true peace in our world," I told him confidently. "And I will not abide by them doing that, not to mention, they are targeting my little brother," my smirk turned downright vicious as I met Gaara's eyes. "And that is a bad idea if they want to continue living."

Gaara shuddered in response to this declaration as he directed his gaze away momentarily. "You scare Shukaku more than Naruto did when he transformed," he said tonelessly. "I… am not sure how I feel about that."

I chuckled in response as I leaned back into my chair. "It shows Shukaku is smart," I told him calmly. "But, that is neither here nor there, was there anything else you wish to cover?"

Gaara shook his head in response. "When shall we meet for the treaty signing?" he asked me.

"I think next month will be good enough for you to get things in order for the treaty signing," I said with a shrug. "As for where, we can hold the ceremony in Sunagakure."

"Which would help boost our economy a bit, thank you," Gaara replied.

"It is of little concern," I assured him as I stood up. "If that is all, then I shall take my leave, I wish you a safe journey, Kazekage-dono."

"Thank you, same to you, Hokage-dono," Gaara replied, bowing his head a bit as we left the inn.

"Well, that went well," Genma commented with a grin as we walked towards the exit of the town. "And the town isn't even on fire, so that's a win."

"Indeed," I replied, smiling as I walked. "One step closer to my dream."

Aoi chuckled. "When you first told it to us as a kid, I thought you were crazy," he stated in amusement. "But now, all five of the great villages are in this alliance, scary to think you don't think you've achieved it."

I smiled back at my teammate. "Of course I haven't, after all, it is something for the generations following us to complete," I said calmly. "I know they can do it."

"And there's Lady Hokage's insanity showing itself," Chika said teasingly. "It's infectious."

The four of us laughed as we left the town and began the journey home.

"Well, this brings back memories," I commented as I strode across the sand of Kaze no Kuni, leading a procession of shinobi and important civilians towards Sunagakure for the treaty signing.

"Well, at least this time we don't have to deal with people trying to assassinate us," my mother commented with a chuckle as she walked alongside me, the shinobi of the precession moving at an easy pace so the carriages could keep up with us. "Although, we didn't have to deal with whiny nobles last time."

I chuckled in agreement, looking back at said carriages where some of the self important civilians were complaining about the heat. "We would have never gotten anything done if that had been true," I said with a roll of my eyes. "I am the Hokage, and they think I am here to see to their every little bruise."

"They learned quickly not to think that," Roshi commented with good humor, remembering when I lost my temper when a noble demanded I see to his 'sore feet'. "Always good to put them into their place. Idiot civilians..."

I snorted a bit in response. "That's what happens when you inbreed," I replied.

And wasn't that ironic, a child of a clan complaining about inbreeding, but hey, the clan actually hires genetic specialists to do a 'genetic' purity plan that helps ensure that the Sharingan remains strong, while also ensuring that the effects of inbreeding are non-existent and ensuring that any arranged marriages within the clan aren't accidental incest or anything like that.

"Sunagakure ahead!" one of the scouts called out from ahead of the procession.

"Right then, show time everyone," I called out to the rest of the escort as the shinobi took up their proper positions, the high walls of Sunagakure appearing in the distance as we drew closer.

As we approached the canyon that was the entrance to the village, we were met by Gaara with a retinue of Sunagakure shinobi. "Welcome to Sunagakure, Hokage-dono," Gaara greeted, nodding to me politely.

"Thank you, Kazekage-dono," I replied, nodding back to him with a warm smile.

"Please, follow me, we have prepared accommodations for you and your party," Gaara offered, gesturing for us to follow him as we began to enter into Sunagakure proper.

"Thank you for that," I replied genially as I fell into step beside him. "It would be good to get those nobles to shut up for once, not like they're actually walking or anything."

Gaara passively blinked in response as we both glanced behind us to the carriages carrying said nobles. "My sympathies," he replied neutrally. "Thankfully, I do not have to deal with nobles like that."

"It is something to be grateful for." I said dryly, faking a shudder. "Sunagakure is lucky that it is isolated enough from the Capital of Kaze no Kuni thanks to the desert that taking casual trips to bother you is too troublesome, to quote the Nara Clan's famous saying."

Gaara smirked a bit in response. "I am willing to agree to that benefit," he commented dryly, subtly glancing at the nobles behind us. "I can only imagine the frustration."

"They produce a full half of the paperwork I have to deal with on a daily basis," I replied, my lips forming into a thin line. "I'm actually in the process of convincing the Daimyo to allow me to get rid of them from Konoha."

"I wish you luck with that," Gaara murmured in reply as they walked into the lobby of a rather high class hotel. "I have personally all of your rooms are up to standard," he informed in a more normal tone of voice. "I do hope you enjoy your stay in Sunagakure."

"It shall be an experience to remember, no doubt," I replied easily as I followed a bellhop leading me and Roshi to our assigned rooms.

Seriously, why was it, whenever I wanted to sign a treaty with some country, there had to be a stupid amount of pomp and ceremony?

I was sitting in the noon sun of Sunagakure in an artfully crafted formal kimono observing tradition with a few people seemed to be dealing with sunstroke.

If the nobles were trying to push back against me in this kind of passive manner, it was backfiring horribly because I thought ahead, I had cooling seals lining my clothes.

As I sat there, half wishing we had an excuse to simply speed this ceremony on, or better yet, end it all together. It seems that some higher power had been listening in.

Because an explosion ripped through one of the neighbouring buildings interrupting the speaker as both myself and Gaara leapt into action, the jinchuriki's sand leaping into action, protecting the citizens from the debris and rubble as I cast my kimono aside, revealing my combat outfit on underneath.

"Evacuate the civilians, now!" I ordered loudly, allowing my commanding aura to ensnare those around me. "Protect the innocent first, then identify and counterattack the enemy until they are dead or captured!"

The leaf shinobi let out varying affirmations as they began to work with the suna shinobi to escort the assorted civilians out of the way and towards safety as Gaara's sand began to spread through the village.

"More explosive tags were found," Gaara said with a frown as he focused on moving his sand through the village. "This was definitely planned in advance."

I grimaced in response shaking my head as I continued scanning the area my [Sharingan] active as it processed the actions and reactions of the surrounding people. "The question is, who is the target," I replied, not only had the both of us made a number of enemies for a number of reasons, and I wouldn't put it past the nobles to organize the assassination of one of their peers for their own gain.

My eyes narrowed as I saw a cloud move on the horizon. "Sandstorm," I warned, my [Sharingan] tracing the flow of chakra through the storm. "Chakra controlled."

"I can deal with it," Gaara replied as he gestured, the sand surrounding us surging forth to push against the encroaching sandstorm, subjorning the sand for his own use.

Seriously, out of all of the jinchuriki, Gaara was one of the most versatile when it came down to it. His sand could defend him from a numerous number of attacks, create more sand, overwhelm a large number enemies, all at the same time.

Turning my gaze away from the battling sand my gaze narrowed at the sight as a number of purple-red chains began to skate across the sand towards us. "Sealer!" I called out in warning, even as I threw out a handful of kunai on the ground surrounding the two of us. "[Sealing Art: Tenfold Barrier]!" the seals on the Kunai lit up as a barrier sprang to life around us, halting the advance of the chains towards their target.

Studying the script I traced the chakra leading away from us towards what looked to be an alley. My eyes further narrowed as the light sound of an instrument reached my ears. "Stay in the barrier, I'll deal with the sealer," I advised my counterpart who nodded in agreement.

"I will begin tracking the one manipulating the sand," he agreed quickly.

I dashed off without another word as I began to follow the trail of chakra that was controlling the sealing array. The chakra was a simple thing for me to follow, even as it began to recede, the user no doubt realizing I was following it, to a building that had been in the alley next to where the ceremony had been taking place.

Without hesitation I threw out a kunai with an attached explosive note into the wall of the building, the following detonation leaving a sizable hole in the wall that revealing a multicolored barrier wrapped around a bald man with a long horizontal scar across his face, wearing the robes of a monk and carrying a wooden biwa across his lap.

His eyes went wide as the house began to crumble around him before he frowned, the sound of his biwa picking up more chains began to swirl around me, trying to wrap me in a barrier of some kind.

A flick of my wrist launched a hiraishin kunai off to the side, allowing me to flash out of the barrier with no issue as I began to scatter more across the area. "Curious technique," I commented, my eyes flicking across the various chains around the area, and then turned to the barrier. "It almost seems like an Uzumaki technique, where did you learn this?"

He plucked at his biwa again, prompting me to teleport to another kunai as more chains rose up where I had been standing, he was being really obvious about how he was controlling his technique.

"Really, you should surrender," I sighed, shaking my head. "Even with that curious technique of yours, you are so far out of your league it isn't even funny."

The sealer gritted his teeth in anger as he glared at me. "And leave Sunagakure in the hands of that bloodthirsty monster?" he spat out, plucking at his biwa again.

Before I could teleport, however, I felt my own shadow begin to rise up around me, pinning me in place. "Oh? A Nara technique now?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow before I let out a small chuckle. "But really? A bloodthirsty monster? That is your complaint, poor naive boy," I laughed again as he gave me an uncertain look that quickly became alarmed as my chakra began to flare, overpowering his technique with ease. "That is exactly what a Kage is."

I announced with a grin as I stepped forward, I could feel my [Mangekyou] pulsating for activation, but pushed it to the side for now. "Each and every one of us is a monster that is charged with the defense of our village," I continued, each of my steps bringing me closer as his chains tried to bind me, only to be literally cut down by my kodachi. "After all, what better way to defend against a monster than with another monster?"

"He has rampaged through the streets many times, killing his own people!" the monk-like man snarled.

"Because his father wanted to make him into a monster by improperly sealing Shukaku into him," I countered with a smirk as I made my way closer to his barrier. "Because the Shukaku weaseled his way into his mind, turning him into his puppet to slake his own lust for blood. But then, I suppose for a simple mind such as yours would never look at the cause, and only see the result."

I could see him shake slightly in response as I moved closer to him. "Even if what you say his true, he shouldn't be the one to lead the village!" he shouted out in desperation. "He is a cold-blooded murderer!"

I couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up from my throat at his defense for his actions, actually doubling over from the hilarity of the statement. "You never were a shinobi were you, monk?" I questioned as I got my laughter under control. "That is what it means to be a shinobi, our very existence is to be a weapon, a killer, to harden our hearts to accomplish our mission, I didn't become a hero of Konoha by asking nicely, I slaughtered our enemies until they stopped challenging us, I killed those who sought our downfall.

"Young man, this is the world you live in," I told him gently as I came up to his barrier, meeting his gaze. "This is a world of monsters, good, evil, they don't exist, there is only the living, and the dead."

I lashed out with my sword, my scalpel active across the blade as I cut through his barrier. "The question you must ask yourself, how do you change that?" I told him as I stepped towards him, his body limp as he stared at me. "Is it by perpetuating said violence and leaving your village weak and another to take the same role as the last, or do you shore up the hope the village has, and do your best to help it grow?"

The sealer swallowed tightly as he met my gaze with a shaky one of his own. "What do you mean?" he questioned, his uncertainty clear in his voice. "What hope are you talking about?"

"Gaara, of course," I replied with an easy shrug. "He is in the midst of a change, for both himself and this village, so, what do you want that change to be? The same as his father, who ruled with an iron fist and lusting for war and more bloodshed? Or… do you want to see what lies beyond the horizon?"

The sealer inhaled sharply at my question, I could see my words racing through his head as he processed them before slumping in defeat. "I… surrender," he sighed out, his body going limp as he sat before me.

I nodded as I pulled out a chakra sealing tag and placed it on his back before picking him up and moved back towards Gaara.

Said Jinchuuriki was looking somewhat pensive as I arrived, staring off far to the east. "The sand manipulator will no longer be a problem," he reported, looking at the sealer that I was carrying with a raised eyebrow.

"He surrendered," I informed him with an easy shrug. "You should keep an eye on him, he has potential."

Gaara nodded in understanding before looking around. "I suppose the ceremony is cancelled then?" he questioned, drawing a snort from me.

"Oh no, that just means they'll want to do it over from the beginning," I replied, rolling my eyes at the situation and drawing a sigh from Gaara.

"Joy," he stated flatly.

"Welcome to politics," I nodded sagely in agreement.

Congratulations, you have stopped the Sunagakure coup d'etat!

Relationship with Sunagakure has been improved

Relationship with Gaara no Sabaku has been improved

+50,000 EXP gained

Konohagakure is now formally allied with Sunagakure

You have entered into an alliance with all five major shinobi nations!

'Peacemaker' Title Received

Peacemaker - Reputation gains improved by 500%

"We may be having some trouble, Leader-sama," Zetsu announced as he rose up from the floor. "Konoha has brought Suna into their alliance, all of the Great Nations are allied now."

The corpse of Yahiko narrowed its eyes in response as he processed this information. "It matters not," he declared finally. "Let them have this minor victory, their peace is but a fleeting one, it is only through the pain that I shall bring them, that they shall understand true peace."

Off to the side, the blue haired paper controller worried her lip in concern, looking at Yahiko's corpse regretfully. If he had still been alive, he would have been excited for the news, would have been pushing the group to join with the alliance.

But now…

She shook her head, those thoughts were not necessary, they have chosen their path, and they will bring peace to the world, whether the world wanted it or not.

END CHAPTER

Yuriko's Stats

Name: Yuriko
Level: 106
EXP: 368,745/700,000
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Title: Godaime Hokage (+100% Reputation with allied Shinobi, Command of Konohagakure Shinobi, you can gain 25% of experience given out for missions completed by loyal shinobi)
Secondary Title: God of Shinobi (+50% to all stats +100% Reputation with all allied Shinobi +10% Damage with all ninja arts. Skill [Aura of Absolute Command] active)
Fated Title: Fatechanger (+100% to all stats.)
STATS
HP - 20,025
CP - 95,800
STR - 120 (300)
INT - 160 (400)
DEX - 200 (500)
VIT - 120 (300)
WIS -160 (400)
LUK - 60 (150)
Ryo - 342,761,998