The Rock and the Cloud had always been hostile to each other. While the Cloudâs war against Konoha was purely for resources, theirs against the Rock was because of the hatred that was always there.
Onoki was very aware of this. If the Cloud did really ask Hanzo for help, then their first target will definitely be them.
Hanzoâs name made Onoki extremly afraid. In his view, the most powerful living Ninjas of the time were him, Hanzo, the 3rd Hokage and 3rd Raikage.
If it was only the 3rd Raikage facing him, Onoki would be confident that he wouldnât lose. However, he knew that he should not be able to face the two together.
Moreover, if Hanzo of the Salamander actually comes to this battlefield, the Cloud would have 5 Kage tier Ninjas. The Rock did have four Kage Tier Ninjas, but Roshi was killed. The Sand front also needs Kitsuchi for its leadership. For now, this front only has Onoki and Han, the Gobi Jinchuriki.
âOld man, this situation is very unfavorable to us. What are you going to do?â Asked Han.
âThere are only two ways for us to take. One is to retreat before Hanzoâs arrival, and the other is to join forces with Konoha to resist this alliance.â
âJoin forces with Konoha? Tsuchikage sama, will Konoha be willing to cooperate with us?â Said Gari.
âIf Hanzo really arrives, weâll be all in the same boat. Once weâre defeated, Konoha should be next. I believe theyâll understand this much.â Said Onoki after some silence.
âIn that case, how do we deliver this information to Konoha? If we just tell them, they might just not believe it.â
âHan, youâre going to throw this Cloud quasi Kage to Konohaâs camp. They have the Yamanaka clan, and they should have someone to read his memories and thoughts. While they may not believe what we say, they should believe what they see.â
Han nodded and ran towards Konohaâs camp with the Cloud captive.
Onoki sighed. He knew that by asked for Konoha help, he is going to pay. After all, while Hanzoâs arrival is a major threat to them as well, this new alliance should have the Rock as its 1st target. What should Konoha be interested in?
After Han took the half dead Troy to Konohaâs camp to explain his intentions, Minato told him to leave the Quasi Kage to them.
As soon as he did that, Han ran into the distance without looking back. Witnessing the horrifying Golden Flash, he knew that he should be no opponent of him, even with the power of the Gobi.
After Han left, Minato once again summoned the higher ups of the camp to a meeting in his tent. Seeing the beat up Troy, everyone one knew that Ryoâs plan was a success.
âThe next step is negotiation. With this, we are giving the Rock great help. I believe itâs appropriate to ask for something back!â Minato wasnât just fit to be a Hokage for his strength, his political wisdom was also on par.
âMinato San, Konohaâs repertoire of Earth Release Jutsus is lacking!â Said Katachi Uchiha.
As soon as his voice fell, the tent was full of excitement. The old man, and the head of his clan, knew well what to ask for.
The next day, Minato went with the result of his discussions to negotiate with Onoki. Konoha demanded an S class Jutsu, 5 A Class Jutsu, and supplies that were ending in their camp.
Negotiations naturally didnât go well. Onoki just couldnât give away an S class Jutsu.
The most important thing in such situations is to stay calm. After the negotiations failure, Minato just retreated, and the Rock didnât hear from Konohaâs camp for days.
With time passing by, and his Sensor Ninjas detecting Cloud Ninjas going in the way of the Rain Country, Onoki couldnât help it anymore.
He took the initiative and contacted Minato for second negotiations, and finally they reached an agreement: An S-Class Jutsu, 3 A-class Jutsus, and Rock not stepping foot into the Rain Country.
After the completion of the negotiations, Minato personally intercepted the Ninjas Going from the Cloud Village to the Rain Country.
After that, he returned to Konohaâs camp.
He immediately took Ryo with the Flying Thunder God to the Wind Country, through which the latter entered the Rain Country.
The Rain Country was just like depicted in the Manga, a small country where it rained all the time. Because of the fact that it was a main battlefield during the 2nd Shinobi World War, the countries boundaries were very strictly guarded.
The countryâs hidden village was the Village hidden in the Rain. Their Ninjas have developed several secret techniques. Because of that, they were great when it came to assassinations, hence thatâs what theyâve been mostly hired to do.
Ryoâs knowledge of the country from the Manga was from the Pain reign era. As for the base of the Akatsuki, Ryo couldnât remember anything that guided him to their hiding place.
The problem was that, whether it was the Rain Country or village, both were totally different from what Ryo remembered.
The Akatsukiâs base should be outside of the village. And that leaves Ryo with no clue for finding them.
His only path was the use of the transformation Jutsu, along with the use of Chakra Camouflage Jutsu to look like an ordinary merchant, and then try to trace the Akatsuki through the Rain village.
Although the Rain Country was small one, it was still a whole country. Ryo was trying to find a needle in a haystack.
Moreover, Ryo didnât know anything about any of the Akatsukiâs Chakras. Even with the use of the Sage mode, he should not be able to find them.
Finding nothing after a whole day of searching, Ryo was tired, and entered hotel nearby.
In his past life, Ryo liked to drink a few cups when he had no work. Being a minor in Konoha all the time, he never got the chance drink the Narutoverse Drinks.
Most of what people drank here was pure sake, but it didnât matter to Ryo. He ordered a small bottle and started drinking.
Next to him, were two drunk men talking.
âHey did you hear? Hanzo Sama will negotiate with Yahiko san from the organization tomorrow.â The fat one of the two talked.
âWhat are you talking about? How do you know?â The Thin one responded.
âI heard that itâs a meeting about peace, and about the 3rd counties of Fire, Earth and Wind. As for my knowledge of the matter, donât forget that my auntâs daughter-in-lawâs third brother is Hanzo guard!â Said the fat man proudly.
âHer brother? Where will the negotiations happen? Letâs go together and watch!â
âNo! Tomorrowâs negotiations are for Ninjas only. Do you want to die? And I only know that they will negotiate near the Rain village, thatâs all!â
After that, the conversation between the two became less interesting, but Ryo was satisfied with the unexpected information.
âSure enough, itâs like they say; the best place to get information is hotels and brothels!â Said Ryo to himself.
After drinking some Sake, Ryo rushed to the Rain village ahead of schedule. Entering the Sage Mode, he found a place with many Ninjas in it.
So he went ahead, killed one of them sneakily, and then mixed himself into them.