His political career, his prestige, his everything—all of it would end here.

To advance was destruction; to retreat was also destruction.

An unprecedented sense of humiliation and powerlessness gnawed at his heart like countless ants.

"I understand your situation, Raikage A."

Uchiha Kei's voice rang out again. This time, it seemed to lack some of the indifference of someone looking down on all living things, and instead carried a hint of calmness that seemed to see right through his inner struggle.

"As a Kage of the Five Great Ninja Villages, you cannot retreat. Especially when you have been scared off by the enemy without a drop of blood being shed, despite launching a war under the guise of a winter exercise. This would be a devastating blow to your prestige and the morale of the Kumogakure."

Raikage A's fists clenched, making a cracking sound.

Every word from the other side was like a precise blade, slicing open his wounds and sprinkling salt on them.

This feeling of being completely seen through made him feel even more humiliated than the bombardment from just a moment ago.

"Therefore, I have prepared a way out for you."

Kei's voice was unhurried, as if he were stating a plan that had nothing to do with him.

"A way out that will allow you and your eight thousand subordinates to leave here with dignity and return to the Kumogakure."

Raikage A's pupils constricted sharply.

A way out?

He could not understand.

He was the one who started the war, he was the one who flaunted his power, and he was the one currently trapped in a desperate situation.

Why would Uchiha Kei, as the victor, pave a way out for a defeated aggressor?

This did not align with the logic of the Shinobi World.

The victor should trample the defeated underfoot, drain the last drop of their blood, and devour the last piece of their flesh; that was the norm.

"The Land of Whirlpools has no intention of being enemies with any nation in the Shinobi World. All we want is the right to develop peacefully and the dignity of not being coveted or violated by anyone."

Kei's voice carried a sense of grandeur and calmness that transcended the conflicts of this era.

"And as for today's battle, my goal has already been achieved. I have demonstrated the power of the Land of Whirlpools to the entire Shinobi World, and that is enough. As for annihilating all of you here, apart from gaining eight thousand corpses, a pile of scrap metal, and an undying blood feud with the Kumogakure, it offers no substantial benefit to me or the Land of Whirlpools."

"I am a pragmatic person, Raikage A. What I pursue is the maximization of benefits, not meaningless slaughter."

Raikage A's breathing became heavy.

He began to try to understand this terrifyingly young opponent before him and his way of thinking.

It was a type of logic he had never encountered before—cold and precise, as if a merchant were calculating costs and benefits.

"Therefore, here is my proposal."

Kei's voice finally threw out that so-called "way out."

"The Kumogakure's fleet can claim that it encountered a powerful, unknown sea beast near the coast of the Land of Whirlpools."

"This sea beast, comparable in size to an island, possessed the power to control wind, waves, and lightning. The Hidden Cloud fleet engaged in a fierce confrontation with it during the exercise and, after paying a certain price, finally repelled it."

"But because the fleet was severely damaged in the fierce battle, continuing the exercise was no longer possible, and it was forced to return."

This script instantly materialized in Raikage A's mind.

His heart skipped a beat.

A sea beast.

He recalled a piece of intelligence that all the major Ninja Villages had received not long ago.

Near the coast of the Land of Whirlpools, a mysterious giant turtle of unimaginable size had once appeared.

So, that was no coincidence.

Had he already calculated all of this back then?

A chill shot up Raikage A's spine, straight to the top of his head.

This Uchiha Kei—just how deep did his planning go?

"In this way," Kei's voice was like a devil's whisper, full of temptation, "you preserve your face and that of the Kumogakure. A fierce battle with a legendary sea beast is not a disgrace; on the contrary, it can showcase the bravery of the Hidden Cloud Ninjas. And the fleet being damaged and forced to return is also a perfectly reasonable explanation."

"You have avoided a war that was destined to end in total annihilation, preserved the lives of these eight thousand elite Ninjas, and secured the future of the Kumogakure."

"And I, too, have obtained what I wanted."

"An external environment for peaceful development."

Raikage A spoke with difficulty, his voice as hoarse as sandpaper rubbing against sandpaper: "What do you want?"

"It's very simple."

Kei's voice returned to that irrefutable calmness.

"In exchange, the Kumogakure must immediately issue a public statement to the entire Shinobi World upon returning."

"First, formally recognize the Land of Whirlpools as an independent sovereign state."

"Second, sign a public, legally binding, thirty-year non-aggression treaty with the Land of Whirlpools."

"Third, open trade routes between the Kumogakure and the Land of Whirlpools, and guarantee their safety."

Raikage A fell silent.

Killer Bee, Shi, and all the high-ranking officials of the Hidden Cloud who could hear this telepathic conversation behind him also fell silent.

Were these conditions harsh?

No, not at all.

One could even call it a humiliating mercy.

Trading a war destined for defeat for the official recognition of a major power and thirty years of peace.

No matter how you calculated this deal, the Kumogakure was profiting.

Yet, it was precisely this feeling of "profiting" that made Raikage A feel a sense of unprecedented frustration.

He was like a robber who had stormed into someone's house aggressively to commit a robbery, only to be pinned to the ground by the homeowner with a single finger.

The owner not only didn't kill him but gave him a steamed bun and told him to get lost, on the condition that he never return and that he tell everyone that it was the owner's benevolence that gave him that bun.

Accepting meant that he, the Fourth Raikage, the supreme leader of the Kumogakure, had been played in the palm of the other's hand from beginning to end in this game against Uchiha Kei.

All his actions, all his anger, and all his decisions had been within the other's calculations.

The other party had even designed his retreat path after failure in advance.

This was no longer a war.

This was, through and through, a dimensional strike.

The illusionary projection in the sky had long since vanished, and the sea breeze was still roaring.

But in Raikage A's ears, there was only silence.

All he could hear was the violent and painful beating of his own heart.

Fight or retreat?

War or peace?

Destruction, or living in humiliation?

This question, after Uchiha Kei provided that way out, seemed to only have one answer left.

Yet that answer was as heavy as a mountain, pressing down on him until he could barely breathe.

He slowly closed his eyes, and on that face, which was always full of tyranny and arrogance, a look of painful struggle emerged.