Hinata Bought Off by Shikamaru

The situation in the Shinobi World is always unpredictable; after several months of calm, Hinata overheard some news.

The Kumogakure intends to participate in the Joint Chunin Exam held by the Sunagakure in July. After several communications between the Raikage and the Kazekage, the Sunagakure has agreed to the Kumogakure's request.

While the Joint Chunin Exam various countries are a rare and grand event in the Shinobi World, they are still just Chunin Ninja Exams, and the participants are only slightly better Genin. They are not worth the major Shinobi Village taking too seriously.

The actions of the Kumogakure were quite unexpected.

Konoha and Sand Village are allies, so it's understandable that the two countries would jointly host the Chunin Ninja Exams. However, Hidden Cloud Village, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure have always operated independently, and Kumogakure has never invited neighboring smaller countries when hosting the Chunin Ninja Exams.

Sand Village Konoha n't yet know what considerations led Kumogakure's request.

However, Konoha already had some guesses about Kumogakure's intentions.

The Kumogakure had done something similar before. After the Nine-Tails Incident, the Kumogakure sent envoys to Konoha, ostensibly to sign a peace treaty, but in reality, they were plotting to the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan.

After the Five Kage Summit, the Raikage sent an envoy to Iwagakure, but the two sides ended up having a rather unpleasant encounter.

Although Konoha doesn't have much information, Kumogakure's purpose is quite obvious... Kumogakure wants to gather four portions of the Impure World Reincarnation.

With Konoha now powerful, the Raikage dared not target Konoha, so he naturally set his sights on the other Three Great Shinobi Villages.

Although Kumogakure had ulterior motives, Sunagakure was the organizer of this Joint Chunin Exam. Since Sunagakure had already agreed, Konoha naturally couldn't say anything more.

That's the situation!

At the BBQ Restaurant, Shikamaru rested his chin on his hand, looking utterly bored.

"To stop the Kumogakure's conspiracy, we must rely on the power of the Byakugan!" Shikamaru said solemnly.

Hinata rolled her eyes, speechless.

"Why don't you ask someone else? How about I introduce you to Tokuma? That guy is Jonin from the Hyuga Clan, and he's really strong!"

Shikamaru sighed with a worried look on his face, and said with a disdainful expression, "Jonin! If the Kumogakure takes any action, it will be difficult to stop them with just Jonin."

"Moreover, once we engage in battle with the Cloud Ninja within the Sunagakure, I'm afraid the Sunagakure will hold our Konoha accountable, and the Hidden Cloud Village might even turn around and bite us."

At this point, Shikamaru stared at Hinata with dead fish eyes.

"But you're different!"

"Hinata, if you go, the Kumogakure will definitely not dare to act rashly."

'Sizzle sizzle...'

Hinata picked up a piece of grilled meat, dipped it in the sauce, and started eating it with 'smacking' sounds.

"I don't want to go to Sunagakure to eat sand!"

"Even if you invite me to barbecue, I absolutely won't go! The sandstorms are terrible for my skin!"

Look at me!

Hinata turned her face to the side, allowing Shikamaru to see her fair and delicate skin clearly.

"Think about Temari again... our skin quality is on completely different levels!"

Shikamaru placed a bulging wallet on the table and said in a frank manner, "I am in charge of this Joint Chunin Exam. If anything goes wrong during the exam, I will bear a lot of responsibility."

"Hinata, we've practically grown up together, you're not going to abandon me, are you?!"

Hinata: Don't make it sound like we're childhood friends!

Shikamaru continued to tempt her, "If you agree, you can eat as much delicious food as you want when you get to Sunagakure!"

Hinata: "..."

Hinata rolled her eyes. These paltry favors were utterly insignificant to Hinata. As the heir to the Hyuga Main Family, why would Hinata care about the cost of a few lavish meals?

Even so, Hinata was still a little tempted.

It's not that Hinata lacks backbone, it's just that being treated to a meal feels really good. It's not just about enjoying the food, but a sense of satisfaction that comes from the soul.

"Actually..."

"I don't think we'll suffer any losses even if the Kumogakure's plot succeeds, right?"

Hinata asked, puzzled, "As long as Kumogakure takes action, it will inevitably offend Sunagakure. What does that have to do with Konoha?"

"The Impure World Reincarnation was divided into four parts, and it's impossible for Kumogakure to collect them all."

Shikamaru, looking utterly helpless and resigned, said, "Everyone knows this, but we have a common enemy right now."

"Once the relationship between the Five Great Shinobi Villages is fractured, they may not be able to work together to deal with the Akatsuki in the future."

What Shikamaru is considering is also what the Konoha High Command are considering.

The Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure is like a spoiled child who never grows up; he tries to snatch anything good he sees.

The two villages had already had a very unpleasant falling out when the Kumogakure sent an envoy to the Iwagakure. If the Kumogakure were to offend the Sunagakure as well, the little trust that the Five Great Shinobi Villages had worked so hard to build would immediately vanish!

This matter is undoubtedly most advantageous to the Akatsuki.

That's right, it's most advantageous for the Akatsuki.

Hinata has already begun planning how to have Black Zetsu secretly sabotage the relationships between the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

"Sigh! Since you've said that, I have no choice but to go even if I don't want to!"

Hinata reached out and picked up Shikamaru's wallet, weighing it in her hand.

"It's been almost two years since I graduated. You don't have this little bit of savings, do you? If you don't bring your bankbook, you probably can't afford to support me!"

Shikamaru: "..."

Although he had prepared himself to be thoroughly humiliated by Hinata, Shikamaru still felt a pang of pain in his heart when Hinata actually agreed.

My savings for my wife...

After carefully examining Hinata for a few moments, Shikamaru sharply remarked, "Hinata, whoever marries you will be incredibly unlucky."

Hinata: (╯‵□′)╯┻━┻

"Shikamaru, it's been a long time since we trained together. Let's go to the Back Mountain later!"

Shikamaru immediately perked up and shook his head vehemently, saying, "Absolutely not!"

"All right!"

Hinata didn't press the issue. She glanced at Shikamaru sideways, gave a light snort, and said indifferently, "If you don't want to go, then don't go..."

Shikamaru: "..."

Hinata was bribed by Shikamaru with a barbecue and a culinary trip Sunagakure the Land of Wind. Reluctantly, she agreed to accompany him to Shikamaru to oversee the Joint Chunin Exam.

However, there are still several months until the Joint Chunin Exam, so anything could happen.

Hinata gave Shikamaru a good beating in the Back Mountain of Konoha. Before leaving, she secretly left a mark to arrange a meeting with Black Zetsu.

One of White Zetsu's clones remained near Konoha, checking on the area periodically. Given White Zetsu's underground travel speed, Black Zetsu could reach Konoha within a day once he received the message.

Hyuga Hiashi made a valid point: since they were destined to be enemies of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, they should weaken their power beforehand.