At night, I finally gave Uchiha Sen a moment of peace.
But for the survivors of Kumogakure, this night was more painful than the bloody battle during the day.
In the secret room, the lights were dim, casting everyone's shadows on the wall, like struggling ghosts.
The air was filled with the dull smell of blood, herbs and sweat.
The remaining Kumo ninjas were thousands of times more anxious than Sen.
Uchiha Sen's words are nice and the promises are moving, but how credible are the words of the winner?
Now the village's top combat power has completely collapsed, like a tiger that has been plucked out of its claws and fangs, and its fur and bones are precious. Just take some of them and you can live a lifetime of food and clothing. All the surviving Jonin and decision-makers of Kumogakure are gathered here.
Ai sat in the main seat, where his father had been.
This man, who was famous for his bad temper, just frowned and said nothing at this moment.
His bloodshot eyes filled with anger were fixed on the map on the table, because he knew better than anyone else that the current situation could no longer be solved by force or anger!
The deathly silence was broken by a hoarse voice. It was a Jonin with a broken arm. His face was a mixture of pain and madness. "We can't wait any longer! Poison their food and water! This is our only chance -"
"It's useless."
Samui's cold voice was like a scalpel, accurately cutting off his unrealistic fantasies.
She looked around at the desperate faces, and there was only an almost cruel calmness left on that beautiful face.
"Let's not talk about whether they will touch our food, but Orochimaru----playing poison in front of Shinobi World's top poison master? This will only attract more crazy revenge and make us die faster."
She tapped the table with her knuckles, making a soft sound, which attracted everyone's attention.
"What we have to consider now is not how to defeat the enemy, but how to negotiate."
Her voice was very light, but it carried the weight of a thousand pounds, "Lord Raikage died in battle, and four thousand elite ninjas are gone. Even Eight-Tails Jinchuriki was defeated. We don't have a single card in our hands."
These words were like a bucket of ice water, but they failed to extinguish everyone's last bloody passion.
"Fight them! Land of Lightning is not weak enough to stand and wait for death!" A ninja slammed the table, and veins popped out on his forehead.
"Why fight?" Samui asked coldly, "Our strongest Raikage has died in battle. Three thousand elites and Eight-Tails can't stop him alone.
If we rush forward now, what's the use except to make more orphans and widows in the village?"
With one word, the fire that had just been lit was extinguished in an instant.
At this moment, the door was pushed open violently, and a guard came crawling in, his voice trembling. "Ai, Master Ai! Daimyo----Daimyo is here with the guards!"
Before he finished speaking, a middle-aged man dressed in fine clothes and with a panic expression rushed in, surrounded by a group of warriors.
The luxurious incense on his body was incompatible with the smell of blood in this secret room.
It is Daimyo of the Land of Lightning.
"Ai! What is going on?!" Daimyo's voice was sharp and harsh, "Why did he lose? Konoha that----Uchiha Sen, what did he want?"
Ai stood up tiredly, bowed slightly, and used the most concise words to describe this tragic defeat that could be called a national disaster.
Daimyo's face turned pale at a speed visible to the naked eye. He didn't understand ninjutsu, but he understood what "defeat" and "door wide open" meant.
"Money! Land! Everything in our treasury, give him whatever he wants!" Daimyo was almost begging, "As long as he can withdraw his troops, as long as he can keep the country - we still have a chance!"
"I'm afraid, that's not what he wants." Ai's voice was as hoarse as sandpaper. "For a strong man like him, money and land are meaningless. What I'm worried about is that - what he wants is us Land of Lightning, who will never be able to stand up again."
"You will never be able to stand up again."
These words grabbed everyone's heart like a nightmare.
Fear began to ferment in the secret room, turning into whispers.
He--will he ask us to hand over all the ninjutsu secrets?"
"Or----let us surrender and merge the entire Land of Lightning into Land of Fire?"
"What's worse is to use us as cannon fodder to attack other ninja villages!"
Every guess is like a knife, cutting into their last dignity. The end of despair is hysterical madness0
Finally, Ai took a deep breath, and a determined and fierce light flashed in his eyes. He stood up straight slowly, and his voice was not loud, but it was clearly heard in everyone's ears. "Pass the order and inform all villagers, men, women, old and young, as long as they can handle weapons. If----Uchiha Sen demands, we can't afford it----"
He scanned every pale face and said word by word, "Then pick up the weapon. I want to see if this mountain of corpses and sea of blood can Uchiha Sen---- drown him!"
No one objects. It is better to die standing than to live on your knees.
They are like a group of gamblers who have lost their sights, betting on their lives and the lives of the entire country, preparing for the final gamble.
"Even if we die, we must let Konoha and the entire Shinobi World know that Land of Lightning is no coward! He Uchiha Sen wants to build his reputation by stepping on our bones, so let him try and see if this mountain of corpses and sea of blood can drown him!"
This crazy plan has the acquiescence of everyone. Rather than live in humiliation, it is better to die spectacularly. They are like a group of gamblers who have lost all their chips, preparing to use their lives to make the final gamble.
The next day, judgment came.
Sen walked into the negotiation room alone. Ai and Land of Lightning's senior executives were already sitting upright. Everyone looked like a stone statue about to weather, with tragic and decisive faces on their faces.
In her sleeves, she clutched the cold Kunai tightly, and stared at Sen who walked into the room with bloodshot eyes that had not slept all night.
As long as the other party says that they cannot accept the conditions, this place will become another Shura field.
However, Sen just calmly stretched out two fingers.
"I only have two requests."
Everyone in the room had their hearts in their throats.
"First, mobilize some food to assist Land of Frost, which has been oppressed by you all year round. Of course, it cannot affect the operation of Land of Lightning itself."
The first condition made Ai and others' heads buzz.
The expected cession of land, compensation, and offering of secret techniques—none of them.
Instead, this is an almost ridiculous request.
Is this humiliation?
Or the calm before the storm?
Or is this just an appetizer, and the truly cruel conditions are yet to come?
They suppressed the surprise in their hearts and continued to wait.