Kumogakure's Visitor.

Kumogakure, compared to Konoha, was much faster in choosing its Third Raikage. Kumogakure's style was akin to the mafia. After the Third Raikage, Ay, quelled the coup by Kinkaku and Ginkaku, he naturally inherited the position of Raikage from his father, the Second Raikage.

Thrust into leadership abruptly, a mountain of problems awaited the Third Raikage. The most pressing issue was how to quell Konoha's fury.

The Third Raikage stared at the corpse of Tobirama Senju before him, his head throbbing. If handled poorly, Kumogakure itself could face annihilation.

This was a tough situation!

They had agreed to a truce, a few years of rest before another showdown. But Kumogakure had failed to control Kinkaku and Ginkaku, directly launching a coup and killing the Second Hokage who had come for negotiations.

Even though their Second Raikage had also died, Konoha certainly wouldn't care. What business did Konoha have with whether their Raikage lived or died? They agreed to a truce, and then people in your village launched a surprise attack?

Did they have any regard for the prestige of the strongest ninja village in the ninja world?

Putting himself in Konoha's shoes, the Third Raikage knew they would undoubtedly go all out for revenge.

As things stood, he could only hope Konoha would exercise restraint and not go mad and drag Kumogakure down with them.

If that happened, the Third Raikage would have no choice but to lead Kumogakure to fight Konoha to the bitter end.

A few days later, envoys from Kumogakure arrived in Konoha, seeking to discuss the renegotiation of a peace treaty and the return of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju's, corpse.

Given Kumogakure was in the wrong, they were willing to make concessions on the previous agreement.

Konoha urgently convened a meeting. With Tobirama Senju's body being returned, Mito Uzumaki could no longer delay; they had to face reality.

The meeting was fiercely debated. The Jonin of the Senju clan had a simple demand: fight to the end!

If their own Clan Head and Hokage was killed by an enemy village, and they did nothing, Konoha might as well disband.

Konoha wanted revenge!!

Blood for blood!!!

Such cries were ubiquitous, forming the mainstream opinion.

But reality was harsh. Warfare was a grave matter of state, a matter of life and death, not to be taken lightly.

Konoha could no longer launch a proper campaign. They were broke.

War cost money!

Who would pay?

They couldn't possibly expect anything from the nobles of the Land of Fire!

However, such words couldn't be spoken aloud. Understand political correctness!

Revenge for the Hokage was the correct slogan.

Even Uchiha Nan, sitting below, wished he could applaud. His expression had to be one of righteous indignation, as if he were eager to rush to the battlefield and fight Kumogakure to the death.

Slogans had to be shouted loudly!

But when it came to actually deploying troops and fighting Kumogakure to the death, the clan heads present had to consider how long their businesses could last. They couldn't sell their ancestral property to those dark-hearted bankers of the Land of Fire.

Those vultures were always greedy.

They sat back and waited. As long as you were willing to sell, they would offer a price so low it would make even them feel ashamed.

If you didn't sell, it was fine; the price would only drop further later.

Mito Uzumaki looked at the clamoring ninja below, demanding revenge. The clan heads of each family wore sorrowful expressions and remained silent, their stance clear enough.

Revenge was possible, but not now.

Konoha was nearly depleted. If they fought further, everyone would be finished.

A major war wouldn't just involve Kumogakure; it could also include Iwagakure and Kirigakure. They might have to fight three villages at once.

Finally, Mito Uzumaki led the clan heads to a small room for the final meeting.

After much discussion among the clan heads, fighting was out of the question. However, they had to put on a strong front, lest the other ninja villages perceive Konoha as weak.

If they didn't even dare to speak up after their Hokage was killed, how could Konoha lead its minor allies, like Kusagakure?

Uchiha Nan, of course, had no objections. It wasn't an Uchiha clansman who died, but Tobirama Senju.

Mito Uzumaki personally addressed the ninja of Konoha, issuing a call to arms, vowing to seek justice and repay the blood debt.

However, in secret, the clan heads issued orders to their clan members in Kumogakure to exercise restraint.

They were not to initiate attacks. Of course, if Kumogakure dared to launch an attack, then there would be no room for negotiation; they would fight to the death together.

"If Kumogakure does not provide a satisfactory response this time, Konoha will fight them to the death!"

Facing the ninja of Kumogakure, Konoha's official statement was the harshest diplomatic ultimatum, making the Kumogakure envoy feel that his trip to Konoha might be one of no return.

However, duty-bound, he proceeded with negotiations with Konoha.

On top of the original peace treaty, Kumogakure was willing to pay Konoha an additional compensation of four billion ryo, with one billion paid in the first year and the remaining balance paid over five years.

Kumogakure, completely broke, made a significant concession out of guilt. They had no money; they truly couldn't afford more. People were already starving to death in the village.

Grain merchants had already driven prices to exorbitant levels, three times higher than during peacetime.

The Raikage naturally dealt with such merchants with an iron fist, killing several of them, but it was of no use.

But this was a business with several times the profit, enough to make people risk their lives.

What's more, the grain merchants all had powerful backing. War made fortunes by raising grain prices, and it wasn't just your village making money. Which country's grain prices hadn't skyrocketed?

Look at neighboring Sunagakure, their grain prices have almost quintupled, and they haven't said a word. Is Kumogakure the only special one?

Then Raikage, who killed the merchants, was warned.

When Konoha saw Kumogakure lower its stance, the rest of the matter became easy to handle.

Intimidation, outrageous demands, then haggling, exchanging threats, and if that didn't work, fighting to mutual destruction, and finally returning to reality.

Konoha demanded another five hundred million ryo, and the Third Raikage gritted his teeth and accepted.

Money was just an external possession.

Starving ten people was just a number, and starving ten thousand was also just a number.

He had no choice; reality was just that cruel.

He would bear the infamy so that the villagers of Kumogakure could suffer a little.

The last item to be discussed at the meeting was when Tobirama Senju's body would be returned, which was a major event for Konoha.

A village funeral would be held for Tobirama Senju, a grand affair!

The clan heads of all the clans in Konoha had to attend in person; the scene had to be spectacular!

Nobles from the Land of Fire would also be notified and all required to attend the funeral.

Konoha would collect a fee from the nobles for the funeral, using Hokage's funeral to raise money, though it was a bit unseemly.

But making money was never shameful.

Their household was on the verge of collapse, and continuous financial deficits had left Konoha unable to make ends meet.

If Tobirama Senju had a spirit in heaven, he would surely agree, having contributed to Konoha in life and still contributing in death.

This was the Will of Fire, to give one's all until death!

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