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OPI Chapter 427: Negotiations on Ice
🕑 Added 2025-06-11 17:12:22 +0000 UTCShinobi World, Kirigakure. A tense atmosphere seeped into every corner of the village. The civilians walking along the streets, upon seeing
Shinobi World, Kirigakure. A tense atmosphere seeped into every corner of the village. The civilians walking along the streets, upon seeing
Shinobi World, Kirigakure.
A tense atmosphere seeped into every corner of the village.
The civilians walking along the streets, upon seeing the silhouettes of numerous shinobi dashing across the rooftops at high speed, quickly gathered their children and hurried home.
Ten minutes later—
When the Third Mizukage, arrived at the village gate with two ANBU shinobi in tow, nearly two thousand Kirigakure shinobi had already assembled there.
Though the number seemed modest, including over three thousand more stationed in the capital, the total force exceeded five thousand shinobi.
“Move out!”
With a broad sweep of his hand, Eiji gave the command, his expression composed and resolute.
Yet deep down, he still hesitated about whether to risk his life to protect the daimyō.
In his view, as the Mizukage—
His foremost priority should be the safety and interests of Kirigakure. The daimyō and the Land of Water came second.
Still, they had an agreement. The daimyō allocated a portion of the national tax revenue to fund Kirigakure, and in return, the village provided military support—defending the country against invasions from other nations.
In other words, their relationship was one of cooperation, not subordination.
Publicly, however, the daimyō's status was portrayed as higher than that of the Kage.
Over time, this gave people the false impression that the village Kage were merely subordinates to the daimyō.
Even the daimyō themselves started to believe this—often acting arrogant and scolding the Kage.
In the original timeline, the future daimyō of the Land of Fire even dared to threaten Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, with wiping out Konohagakure.
Perhaps, in that daimyō's mind, as long as he cut off funding to the village, Konohagakure would collapse in no time.
Of course, this misunderstanding could be blamed on the Kage of every village, who had long indulged the daimyō and never reminded them that their relationship was one of alliance, not hierarchy.
“Yes, sir!!!”
“Mizukage-sama!!!”
Nearly two thousand strong voices rang out in unison, unleashing a wave of sound that swept through the entire area.
In the next instant—
The entire force divided into front, middle, and rear formations and shot off like flickering shadows.
“On alert! Someone ahead!”
Ao, leading the front of the vanguard, shouted a warning to the three chūnin behind him as he sped forward.
In his mental perception, he clearly sensed a presence ahead—utterly calm on the surface, but burning with a raging aura as fierce as a blazing pillar of fire. It stood motionless roughly 300 meters away—clearly waiting for them on purpose.
“H-How can there be such overwhelming presence… Compared to Mizukage-sama—no, more like—compared to the rampaging Three-Tails, this is far more intense!”
Ao’s face was filled with shock, and waves of turmoil surged through his mind.
He quickly came to a halt, turned around, and instructed one of the chūnin to report to the Mizukage. Then he ordered the other two to inform the captains of the second and third formations to halt immediately and await further orders from the Mizukage.
“What should we do now? Should we approach and make contact first?”
Two nearby jōnin squad leaders approached and asked Ao for guidance.
They were also sensory types, and naturally understood just how terrifying the chakra ahead was.
Even brushing against it with their spiritual sense from afar gave them chills and caused their muscles to tense involuntarily.
“Of course—that’s our job, isn’t it?”
Ao nodded without hesitation. “You two, come with me and check it out.”
Without waiting for a reply, he suppressed the anxiety in his chest and instantly flickered toward the source of the steadily growing chill.
The two jōnin squad leaders exchanged glances—
But they could only take their three chūnin each and follow closely behind Ao.
Less than 300 meters was practically nothing to a ninja.
In the blink of an eye, Ao, at the front, caught sight of the man’s appearance.
He had black curly hair, a blue shirt beneath a white suit, and a white overcoat draped over his shoulders.
The man stood with his right hand in his pocket beside a white bicycle, watching Ao calmly and silently.
“What a massive build… I didn’t think people like this actually existed.”
Ao stopped in place, staring in shock at the man’s towering figure—easily 3 meters tall.
He’d heard some stories about Crocodile and Aramaki—
But nothing compared to witnessing someone like this up close.
“May I ask who you are?”
Ignoring the shinobi teams that arrived one after another behind him, Ao cautiously posed the question—only to receive a response he hadn’t expected: “Sorry, I don’t like introducing myself twice. Better to wait for your Mizukage to arrive.”
Ao froze at that, falling into silence.
So did the two other jōnin squad leaders.
The man’s presence alone had already robbed them of the courage to make the first move.
“Then… may we come closer?” Ao asked cautiously.
The man smiled faintly. “No. It’s best if you all stay right there.”
Ao sighed inwardly. Just as I thought—he’s here to stop us from aiding the daimyō.
As time passed, more and more shinobi from the first formation arrived, gradually forming a loose encirclement around the stranger.
Three sharp bursts tore through the air.
Ao finally felt most of the pressure that had been weighing on him lift.
The past ten or so minutes had been crushingly oppressive—far beyond description.
He suddenly realized—being too good at sensing chakra wasn’t always a blessing.
At that moment—
Yuki Eiji, accompanied by two ANBU shinobi, stepped forward under the tense gazes of the surrounding shinobi. He stopped about 30 meters from the man and addressed him with a formal tone: “I am Yuki Eiji, the current Third Mizukage of Kirigakure. May I ask—who are you, from the World Government?”
“Ah~ lalala…”
“You finally showed up. I was almost falling asleep here.”
The man chuckled lightly, then spoke with a smile: “I’m Aokiji, Admiral of the Marine Headquarters. I’ve come to bring Kirigakure under control. Would you mind having your men return to the village, and then we can find somewhere quiet to talk?”
“Admiral...”
Eiji's heart sank the moment he heard that title.
“May I ask... does the World Government truly have no place for the Daimyō?”
Regaining his composure, Eiji looked at Kuzan with a serious expression.
“That’s a question I can’t answer,” Kuzan replied calmly. “Because I’m neither the one who makes those decisions nor the one who enforces them.”
“All I can do is try my best to avoid hurting any of you—because there's a good chance we'll end up as comrades on the same battlefield someday.”
“So please, just follow my instructions. Don't add to the pointless casualties. Believe me—none of you, not even all of you together, could defeat me.”
Kuzan’s earnest tone left the several hundred Kirigakure shinobi present utterly stunned.
But once they snapped out of their daze, their faces twisted with fury. An invisible wave of killing intent surged outward from their ranks.
Facing the rising hostility, Kuzan, with one hand still in his pocket, didn’t react at all. He simply waited patiently for Eiji’s response.
If the Third Mizukage chose to refuse—
Then Kuzan would have no choice but to steel his heart and kill a number of them, using overwhelming force to suppress Kirigakure.
But that was not the outcome he desired.
Whenever possible, avoiding unnecessary bloodshed was the one bottom line Kuzan refused to cross.
“Mizukage-sama, we can go into partial Tailed Beast Mode!”
Just then, a soft voice came from one of the ANBU standing behind Eiji.
Yet Eiji didn’t respond to the voice behind him.
Instead, he was deep in thought.
If he fully unleashed the Three-Tails and Six-Tails, and added the over two thousand shinobi present—
Would it be possible to defeat this Admiral Aokiji?
A moment later, Eiji slowly shook his head.
The entire atmosphere turned suffocating.
Because no one knew what that gesture meant coming from the Third Mizukage.
“Admiral Aokiji, it’s truly an honor to speak with you. Please...”
Eiji stepped aside, lifting his left arm to indicate the path they had come from.
At the same time, he gave a command to Ao nearby: “Send word to Terumī Daichi immediately—tell them to cease all hostilities against the World Government!”
The Third Mizukage had finally chosen to abandon the Daimyō of the Land of Water and formally open negotiations with the World Government.
This decision caused many to breathe a sigh of relief—
But also left just as many feeling disappointed and frustrated.
Eiji didn’t care how these people felt or what they were thinking.
But there were two people behind him whose opinions seemed to matter.
“Kaoru, Yukihi... ‘Partial Tailed Beast Mode’ alone isn’t enough. As for ‘Full Tailed Beast Release’—let’s not even discuss whether it would work. Even if it could, I refuse to sacrifice you both. And even if we won this fight—what then? The World Government doesn’t just have one Admiral.”
These two ANBU were none other than the Jinchūriki of the Six-Tails and Three-Tails.
“You're a leader worthy of respect.”
Kuzan looked at Eiji with a rare glint of admiration.
“You flatter me. I’m nothing more than an unworthy Mizukage,” Eiji replied bitterly, then pulled himself together and continued: “Please, let’s go to the conference room. We can talk more there—and you can meet with the Elders and the Head Elder.”
“There’s no rush.”
Kuzan calmly raised his hand to decline, remaining where he stood as he spoke indifferently: “Before we move forward, we should eliminate any elements that might disrupt unity.”
“What...?”
Eiji frowned, not quite grasping Kuzan’s meaning.
Then he saw the Admiral Aokiji slowly withdraw his right hand from the white pocket of his pants.
[Snap!]
A crisp snap echoed through the clearing, loud and clear for all to hear.
“Huh?”
The nearby Kirigakure shinobi looked around in confusion.
Until someone suddenly felt a cold breeze brush past them.
When their gaze instinctively shifted to the side—they froze.
There, a familiar comrade stood perfectly still, encased in glistening frost.
A creeping chill seeped into the air from the frozen figure. The onlooker couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath—
—and the next moment, a piercing scream ripped through the silence.
“AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!”
That scream stabbed into everyone’s ears like a blade.
And it wasn’t alone.
More and more cries followed as shinobi all around discovered that those beside, behind, or in front of them had become lifelike statues of ice.
Even the expressions of fury on their faces were perfectly preserved—
clearly, these people had been frozen to death in the blink of an eye without even realizing it.
There were over a hundred ice sculptures among the ninja ranks!
“Admiral Aokiji, what do you think you’re doing?!”
Eiji roared in fury.
Simultaneously, visible plumes of cold mist began to rise from his body.
Behind him, Yukihi and Kaoru, along with Ao and the other Kirigakure shinobi, all assumed battle-ready stances—prepared to strike at a moment’s notice.
“Like I said—just removing factors that threaten our unity.”
“Those who reacted so violently to your decision… aren’t they potential threats?”
Kuzan scratched the back of his head casually, speaking with detached calm.
In truth, he also believed these Kirigakure shinobi lacked the proper attitude toward the World Government.
So now was the perfect time to give them the same lesson the other four Great Shinobi Villages had already received—
Fear.
While he was, at heart, a kind man—he wasn’t lacking in decisiveness.
He also possessed wisdom—he understood a great many things.
And ever since his experience in the Demon Slayer World, where he annihilated over 300,000 soldiers, he had only grown more resolute in his convictions.
