Negotiation

"Is this Amegakure? It feels more advanced than Sunagakure."

Yi looked up, his mouth involuntarily hanging open.

Standing at the entrance of Amegakure, Hoshino Maki shielded his forehead with one hand, gazing up at the steel-forged, technologically advanced, and towering buildings before him. If one only looked at this village, who would believe it was part of the ninja world?

"Brat, Sunagakure's greatness is not for you to comment on."

The triangular-eyed ninja sent by Chōjūrō glared at Yi with displeasure, then his gaze seemed to casually sweep over Hoshino Maki.

"Yi, come here."

Hoshino Maki beckoned Yi over, who was looking a bit uneasy, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "The fact that you can see Amegakure's advantages shows you have a brain, ninja. A great thinker once said, 'When three people walk together, one must be my teacher.' For Sunagakure to become strong, it must constantly learn from the ninja villages of various countries. Learn steel smelting from Amegakure, learn transportation equipment from Kumogakure, learn business from the Red State merchant ninja. If we remain stagnant, we will only become relics of the past."

"Mm!"

Yi's eyes regained their vitality. The triangular-eyed ninja gritted his teeth and stepped forward, about to say something, but met Hoshino Maki's calm, unfathomable eyes. He instinctively took a step back, his previous momentum dissipating significantly.

I'm doing this for the greater good. When we get back to Sunagakure, I'll report this to Lord Chōjūrō!

He comforted himself inwardly.

"Shinda, what do you think?"

In a room filled with monitors, several screens displayed various scenes within Amegakure.

A man wearing a special mask asked in a hoarse voice.

The ninja named Shinda had a large birthmark covering the right side of his face, extending around his right eye, giving him a somewhat ferocious appearance.

For an ordinary person, it might be a flaw, but for a ninja, it was an advantage. In a surprise attack, his appearance could catch the opponent off guard, helping him eliminate many enemies.

Furthermore, as Hanzo's right-hand man, his political and governance abilities were also extraordinary.

Shinda stroked his chin. "The person in the middle should be Hoshino Maki from Sunagakure, invited by A. He seems to have a brain, but they seem to have some internal issues."

On the large central monitor, the faces of the Sunagakure group were magnified for study.

"How about A's side?"

"They've been at the residence we arranged and haven't gone out."

Hanzo nodded. "Keep an eye on them. If they go out, have someone follow them. Don't let them cause trouble in Amegakure."

Although the Sand Ninja had a poor reputation, it was still much better than the Cloud Ninja. If the battlefield wasn't in the Land of Rain, and if he didn't have to consider his reputation, he truly wouldn't want to deal with people from these two countries, especially when these two groups were together.

Although ninjas generally didn't live long, Hanzo, in his prime and full of vigor in middle age, was perhaps a bit too conservative.

In the torrential rain of the Land of Rain, little water managed to wet the hem of Hanzo's clothes.

Amegakure was using less and less steel for buildings, and more and more for guardrails and barbed wire. Wrapped in layers of steel, its contact with the outside world seemed to be limited to war.

Hanzo's gaze followed the Sunagakure group into the arranged residence, and then he left under the protection of over a dozen guards.

"Pakura, please ensure Yi's safety."

Pakura reluctantly turned her head aside. "You shouldn't have brought him here."

Hoshino Maki didn't bother explaining to this political simpleton. He stared into her eyes and walked towards her step by step, aggressively.

"Hey! What are you doing!"

Pakura took a step back, her tall figure leaning against the wall, and shouted somewhat flusteredly.

"Woman, you'd better—oof—"

Hoshino Maki, with his feet turned inward, clutched his stomach and doubled over in pain.

Pakura coldly retracted her fist and lightly shook her hand.

"If there's a next time, you can dedicate your life to serving the village."

With that, she used the Body Flicker Technique and disappeared.

"This woman."

Hoshino Maki gasped for air, clutching his stomach as he limped to a seat.

Although she hadn't said it, he understood that she had agreed. Now he could focus on dealing with Kumogakure.

Of course, before that, he had some minor troubles to deal with. Hoshino Maki's gaze fixed on a certain room, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

In the Amegakure conference room, the Sunagakure and Kumogakure groups sat on opposite sides. Hanzo was absent, and Shinda appeared as the mediator.

Although the Cloud Ninja had suffered a defeat, they appeared as if they were the victors.

After a few perfunctory remarks, Shinda handed the stage over to the two parties.

"Hoshino Maki, I heard Sunagakure hasn't been very peaceful lately~"

Dodai, the only one among the Cloud Ninja who had interacted with Hoshino Maki, spoke first.

"Yes, the village's finances are tight, but we still, in the spirit of humanitarianism, offer the best food and lodging in the village to our dear friends, the Cloud Ninja."

Hoshino Maki readily admitted it, then clapped his hands. Yi took a thick stack of documents and slammed them onto the table in front of A.

"Kid, are you looking for trouble?!"

Disrespecting A was tantamount to despising Kumogakure. Faced with such blatant provocation, the guards beside him placed their hands on their thigh pockets, lunging forward, ready to make the other party pay in blood.

In the tense atmosphere, A looked at Hoshino Maki, who remained calm and composed, and raised his hand to stop his own men.

"Calm down!"

Although the past A's always appeared burly and reckless, their inner strategic minds were no less than those of cunning ninjas.

He picked up the thick stack of documents on the table. After just one glance, the man as sturdy as a mountain trembled all over. He took a deep breath and flipped to the end. Seeing the final number, his hands began to shake uncontrollably.

The seemingly miniature paper in his hand was creased from his forceful grip. He could no longer suppress his anger and slammed the document onto the table with a loud bang, causing the marble tabletop to tremble slightly.

"Medical expenses of 240 million! Are you robbing me?!"

Lightning Armor instantly covered his massive body, and his rage shot out from his bell-like eyes without any concealment. The Cloud Ninjas immediately drew their weapons and stood behind A, awaiting orders.

Let alone A, everyone else present was stunned.

Shinjian's mouth hung open, and cold sweat trickled down his temples.

If these two groups were to fight here, even if Lord Hanzo himself intervened—no, if Lord Hanzo intervened, the poison would be an even greater disaster for Amegakure.

Not to mention Shinjian, even the people from Sunagakure focused their surprised gazes on Hoshino Maki.

Hoshino Maki had never mentioned the medical expenses to them!

But now, for the sake of Sunagakure's reputation, they wouldn't ask. The only one who could cause trouble was absent today due to illness.

So they also drew their weapons, warily watching the other side.

In the increasingly tense atmosphere, only Hoshino Maki sat calmly.

"What? Does the future Fourth Raikage think they aren't worth it?"

Hoshino Maki leaned back in his chair, casually placing his feet on the conference table. He lowered his head and, from somewhere, produced a nail file to trim his nails, saying somewhat carelessly.

In the quiet conference room, his voice was exceptionally clear.

A gritted his teeth and remained silent, forced to listen to the annoying fellow continue, "That's right, these guys couldn't even defeat mere Sand Ninjas. What's the point of them being alive?"

Whoosh—

Hoshino Maki blew away the nail dust before looking up. "I should have listened to the Elders earlier and forcibly read their memories. Perhaps that would have been the best choice for Sunagakure. Oh, right, I'm actually quite skilled at dispelling seals. The seals they have in their minds are really not very good."

The Cloud Ninjas' expressions changed drastically.

As Jonin, they knew some of the village's secrets. If so many people had their memories successfully read, many of Kumogakure's secrets would be stolen. This was a pain Kumogakure could not bear.

A's eyes flashed with ferocity. Since that was the case, why not just kill him?

"Lord, calm down!"

Dodai pressed A's shoulder and shook his head at him.

Since the other party dared to say that, he must have some backing.

A took a deep breath and sat back down.

Seeing that the atmosphere between the two sides had eased, Shinjian quickly said with a smile, "Since everyone can sit at this table, we can all talk."

"This amount is too much. The village cannot agree."

"The three million in loose change has already been deducted. One million per Chunin, five million per Jonin. This is already the price given in consideration of our friendly relations. You know, five million can't even cultivate one Jonin."

Hoshino Maki showed no intention of backing down, leading to a stalemate. The entire morning, both sides debated this price, and it eventually stalled at the 200 million mark.

Before the lunch break, Hoshino Maki said to A with a smile as he left, "If you think it's too expensive, you can just pay the medical expenses for the Jonin."

A's face turned ashen upon hearing this. Upon returning to his residence, he punched straight through the wall!

Next chapter will be updated during the day.