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| - Standing on a mountain peak overlooking Getsugakure, Monsūn Ryōken, the wartime leader of the village, pondered the rapidity of change. Only three days ago, there was peace. Now there is not only violence, not only a war, but a war that seems as if it shall encompass the earth in blood and flame. So long change has seemed impossible, with life as static as it would seem to be possible. Yet now when change does come, it comes not like the blocked river that it has been up until now, but like a flood of fire that consumes all in its path. He bowed his head for a moment, recalling that morning. Having been woken up the previous evening to be called to office, he had received the news of Iwagakure's attack on Konoha in shock. Rousing the entire village, he had worked on preparations through the night to mobilize the army, and that morning had sent for the Konoha-Getsu Treaty Squad, to determine their position in the war, as he had plans to break the alliance with Konoha in favor of Iwagakure's stronger stance, which they had gained with their first strike. Inosawa Yamanaka had immediately attempted to kill him for treason, but Kojimaru Sensōkajiya had restrained him, and Josho Adashino had taken command of the group, ordering Inosawa thrown into a dungeon, and pledged that they would hold allegiance to Getsugakure, abandoning their hometown, having grown used to Getsu in the past few years. In light of that, Monsūn had sent Kojimaru to contact Iwagakure with a request for negotiations. The lad should reach the Iwa army's estimated location soon... Raising his head to look over the village once again, Monsūn swung himself about, gazing over the other side of the mountain. He saw the cliffs beneath him, he saw the pass out of Getsugakure, he saw the valley below. And he saw the army. Gathered below, they looked like ants. They would march before the next sunrise, either against Iwagakure or with it. He wished he knew which, but to know the future would be to become shaper of the world, and that he was not. With a sigh, he descended the mountain at great speed, calling for the army to begin to move. Whether the alliance was consolidated or not, they would need their forces closer to the Land of Fire. He took only two thousand with him, the majority of those he had been able to mobilize in such a short time, but not the bulk of his forces, leaving half that many mobilized troops in the village, as well as another two thousand shinobi that had not been mobilized but remained in or around Getsugakure. Just outside of the Iwagakure war camp, Kojimaru raced along towards his destination, accompanied by Jākunawani Rappa'shu and the father of Hokkō Jiyūkari, a lightweight man with a large kite on his back. The three entered the perimeter of Iwagakure's scouts' vision, and were immediately hailed with a flurry of kunai. Deflecting them with the kite's metal frame, the Jiyūkari Clan head pulled out a smaller kite, throwing it into the wind. On its front was painted the characters for "Truce". The kunai stopped, and a squadron of ninja appeared at great speed, surrounding them, and began to escort them into the camp, hopefully to someone they could negotiate with. General Kitsuchi, flanked by several Jōnin-level ninja, met the diplomatic party at the edge of the camp. Kitsuchi knew, from one look at their headbands, that they weren't with Konoha; they were from Getsugakure. "What would a bunch of ninja from Getsugakure be doing here at the Iwagakure war camp? Surely you didn't come here in hopes of avenging Konoha's defeat yesterday?" the short general asked. Kojimaru chuckled, though his companions seemed more serious in their assigned task. Jākunawani gave him a disapproving glance, and he shot one back, as if to say "I have this under control". He looked back at the man before him, obviously high-ranking in Iwagakure's forces. Kojimaru thought he had learned about this man when studying other villages forces. Kitsuchi? Well, not that it mattered much at the moment. "No, we would not be so foolish as to attack with three men in broad daylight. Getsugakure's relations with Konoha have been stagnant in recent times, and the treaty between us has become strained. With your recent attack, you have gained the undeniable advantage, and Getsugakure has made the decision to break ties with Konoha. We come in hopes of an alliance, sent for negotiations." Kitsuchi immediately became serious, "You've come at a crucial time. We were just planning on completing an air raid on Konoha. Come with me." he said. He and his escort team then lead the three diplomats to a large tent at the center of the camp. There, the met a small woman named Suzumebachi. Suzumebachi, upon hearing their goal, unrolled a blank scroll onto a large table. Kitsuchi then turned to the diplomats, "We shall now write out the terms of our treaty. What are the demands of your leader?" Holding a hand up to forestall Jākunawani, Kojimaru steepled his fingers. "Neither of us shall attack the other, as should be obvious in the making of a treaty. Should one of us declare war on an entity or declare a person or entity a criminal, the other shall do so as well, provided the party which declared the war or criminal status cannot be persuaded otherwise. If a criminal of one village is captured by another, they shall be handed over immediately. Our two villages will share battleplans and knowledge of the war. Any plans for a large-scale assault or invasion must be made known to the other, if they are known ahead of time. If Iwagakure or Getsugakure is invaded, or the army of one of us is in dire need, the other shall be obliged to aid in any way possible. Lastly, any lands a village conquers belongs to themselves, but if any Tailed Beasts or Jinchuriki are captured, then they are split, two to you, one to us, with the first of every three, assuming we capture any, going to us, to ensure you do not capture two and leave us with none. These are our terms; do you accept them?" "We do." replied Kitsuchi as Suzumebachi wrote the terms out on the blank scroll. "Actually, this couldn't have come at a better time. The Third Tsuchikage is preparing to name his successor. Whoever that person is will now have the alliance of the experienced leader of your village, as well as the soon to be former leader of our own to guide them in this war. Now then, we should prepare for battle." he said. "Perfect timing," Kojimaru heard the Jiyukari Clan head say. He looked out the tent entrance, following the finger of his ally, and saw Monsun, along with what appeared to be a hundred shinobi, arriving. He had obviously gone ahead with hand-picked ninja, covering the ground in about the time that Kojimaru had, around five hours when it would take ten normally. They would be tired, but could still fight, and hopefully by the time the battle had ended the rest of the forces would arrive. As he beckoned Monsun over and sent Jakunawani to explain what had transpired, he turned back to Kitsuchi and nodded. "We will prepare as quickly as possible."
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