The Challenge Before the Talks

The Sand Ninja and Konoha have already fought; it's time to sit down and talk.

Neither side achieved an overwhelming victory in the war, but in terms of the amount of leverage, Konoha had the advantage.

The Sand Ninja retreated three miles, and the Konoha also withdrew its troops to the mountaintop, leaving an open area to show the sincerity of both sides.

The meeting between the two leaders was scheduled to take place at the Konoha training ground halfway up Kikyo Mountain.

The representatives of the Sand Ninja were naturally Rasa, Chiyo, Pakura, while those of the Konoha Village were, needless to say, Kyosho, Fugaku, and Yashiro.

Shunren was not a high-ranking member of the army group, so he could only stay on the mountaintop and watch the two sides of the talks from afar with a group of Konoha Ninja.

With a slight flicker in his eyes, Shunren carefully recalled the plot of the original work, but he couldn't find much detail about the Battle of Kikyo Pass. Therefore, he didn't know whether the talks would be successful or whether the war between Konoha and Sand Ninja would end.

However, judging from the joyful conversation of the Konoha Ninja around him, Shunren realized that they were quite confident about this meeting, after all, they had gained a certain advantage on the battlefield. As the saying goes, might makes right, and the outcome of the meeting would definitely be in their favor.

"That's true, but I wonder if that young Fourth Kazekage will do something outrageous again..." Shunren's gaze was fixed on the red-haired man in the distance wearing a Kazekage cloak. The Fourth Kazekage of Sand Ninja, Rasa. There wasn't much information about this character in the original work; Shunren only knew that he was Gaara's father. However, based on what he had learned over this period of time, he had gained a slight understanding of Rasa's personality.

The recent extraordinary battle where Sand Ninja crossed the sea to raid Mist Ninja, shocking the Shinobi World, was orchestrated by Rasa. His two battles against Konoha at Kikyo Mountain, with their ambushes of intelligence units and sniping of medical-nin, demonstrate that Rasa is a man of considerable skill and ambition. Coupled with his youthful vigor and recent Kazekage, he is extremely warlike. Therefore, how could such a figure so easily submit to Konoha?

Therefore, Shunren estimated that Rasa would probably cause some trouble during this meeting between the two sides.

The Shunren must be prepared for another great battle at any time. The mistake that almost led to their downfall, like that of Ma Ying, must never be repeated!

Kyosho's expression remained unchanged for ten thousand years.

"They're here." Fugaku's eyes flickered slightly.

"Tch! Quite the show of force," Yashiro said dismissively.

From the foot of the mountain, three cloud-like platforms made of sand and gravel floated up. Rasa, Chiyo, Pakura slowly ascended to the mountainside by stepping on these sandy platforms.

Rasa and his group did this to give the people of Konoha a hard time before the talks began, creating the illusion that climbing Kikyo Mountain would be a piece of cake.

However, in reality, Rasa and the others were just bluffing.

If it were that easy, Rasa would have simply sent the entire Sand Ninja army to the mountaintop, instead of the two sides fighting to the death.

Putting aside the fact that the Konoha Ninja on the mountain are not to be trifled with, the hundreds and thousands of large and Barrier Ninjutsu set up on Kikyo Mountain alone made it impossible for the Sand Ninja to enter easily.

"Haha! As expected of the renowned Uchiha Clan in the Shinobi World, they managed to hold off our Sand Ninja for almost a year with the strength of the entire clan." Rasa immediately praised the Uchiha without reservation, and his hearty laughter made people feel good about him.

Upon hearing Yashiro Jonin his delight, clearly enjoying the other party's flattery.

Fugaku frowned, trying to figure out what the other person really meant.

"A pointless attempt to sow discord." The shrewd and calculating Kyosho saw right through the other party's intentions.

After careful consideration, Shunren realized the trap in Rasa's words.

First, Rasa only mentioned the Uchiha and not Konoha, revealing his true intentions. Second, although he praised the Uchiha for holding off the Sand Ninja for a year with the strength of their clan, the timeframe he set was a trap, implying that while they could hold out for a year, they might not be able to in the second. "Uchiha Kyosho!" Rasa's expression suddenly turned cold as he uttered a name that held immense prestige in both Konoha and Sand Ninja.

Kyosho said calmly, "Kazekage Ying, didn't you come here today to sue for peace?"

"Watch your words, Mr. Kyosho. We are doing this for the peace of our two nations." Rasa's gaze swept over the three Uchiha, then he said coldly, "Speaking of which, with so much of the Uchiha's power depleted, do you think you'll have an easy time in Konoha?"

"You!" Rasa's words struck Uchiha's vital point, and the impatient Yashiro's Yashiro changed.

Fugaku didn't speak, only his face darkened.

Kyosho remained as calm as ever, saying indifferently, "Let's settle this, Kazekage. Your ninja losses in this battle have been severe. Aren't you afraid that the Stone Ninja in the north might take action?"

Rasa narrowed his eyes and continued, "No need to worry, we have the Sandstorm Clan guarding the north, the Stone Ninja wouldn't dare approach!"

"Karura alone can't stop the Tsuchikage," Kyosho said calmly.

"What did you say!" As if stepping on a landmine, Rasa suddenly flew into a rage.

"Kazekage, calm down." Sand Ninja Chiyo suddenly spoke, her eyes almost narrowed to slits. She avoided looking directly into Kyosho's eyes and continued, "Kyosho, please don't use Genjutsu carelessly during the talks."

"..." Kyosho didn't speak, but the crimson in his eyes slowly faded.

Fugaku stepped forward and said coldly, "Chiyo, your puppet strings have fallen to the ground and burrowed underground!"

Chiyo paused, then gave a sinister smile. "Uchiha Fugaku, it seems the next head of the Uchiha Clan truly lives up to his reputation."

Fugaku did not deny it.

Yashiro felt as uncomfortable as if he had eaten feces.

After recovering from the slight psychological suggestion, Rasa's face twitched, and he cursed inwardly that both Kyosho and Chiyo were scheming bitches!

"That's enough of this little trick," Fugaku said. "Let's get to the talks quickly..."

"Don't rush, wait a moment." Rasa interrupted Fugaku, his gaze briefly sweeping over Kyosho's empty right arm, then he gave a gloomy smile. "How boring is it to talk like this? We are ninjas, so we should resolve this in a ninja way. Today, the ninjas from both countries can serve as witnesses..."

From the Sand Ninja side, a young woman dressed in a black cloak stepped forward. "Sand Ninja Scorch Release user, Pakura, I have long admired the Uchiha Clan Head's reputation. Please enlighten me!"