"Taiga, get me a beer and her a Mint Fruit Tea."
The izakaya owner smiled and nodded. "Coming right up. Light on the ice."
"What happened?"
Hoshino Maki clasped his hands behind his back and leaned his head curiously toward her cheek.
"Get away!"
Pakura shoved his face aside and turned her head.
Hoshino Maki scratched his head, then looked as if he understood. He covered his mouth and whispered something in her ear.
"Ugh!"
Hoshino Maki felt a sharp pain in his abdomen and doubled over like a shrimp.
Pakura's face flushed red. Gritting her teeth, she hissed, "Say something like that again, and I'll cripple you!"
Hoshino Maki smoothly gave a French military salute. "My bad, my bad. Now that I think about it, it wasn't these past few days."
"You!"
Hoshino Maki sprang three yards backward. Seeing people around them sneaking glances in their direction, Pakura took several deep breaths and forced herself to calm down.
"Just tell me. What do you want?"
Hoshino Maki glanced around, then led Pakura to a quiet corner.
"You know the village is about to send out troops, right?"
Pakura rolled her eyes. She'd heard that just a few minutes ago.
"I know. Don't tell me you're asking me to help you?"
She crossed her legs, folded her arms over her chest, and leaned back in her chair, looking at him with amusement.
Hoshino Maki cleared his throat. "It's not about asking you for help. It's a win-win! I've got brains, and you've got brawn. Put them together, and we're the perfect match, right?"
As her gaze grew more and more dangerous, his voice trailed off. Then he changed his tune. "You've got brains, all right?"
Pakura propped her cheek on her left hand and tapped it with her index finger. "I can help you. Ten million."
"Are you robbing me?"
Hoshino Maki's shriek drew the attention of the people around them. He hurriedly lowered his voice. "I'm just an ordinary Medical Ninja. Where would I get that kind of money? How about I sell you some supplies on the side?"
"Don't you dare!"
Pakura arched her slender brows and lowered her voice. "Have you forgotten that I was there when you negotiated with the Cloud Ninja?"
"How could I forget? It was the biggest failure of my life."
"Hm?!"
The two of them bickered for a while longer, and Pakura reluctantly accepted an appearance fee of eight million.
"Thanks."
Hoshino Maki picked up the beer on the table and raised it to her.
He knew she hadn't agreed to help him for the money. Their rivalry was now out in the open among the village's higher-ups, so this was also a way of choosing sides.
"Hmph! I'm doing this for the village."
Pakura casually picked up her cup and clinked it against his. Then, as if it had only just occurred to her, she asked, "Who did you ask first?"
"Who else? The only Elite Jonin I know are you and Kojima. Who else would I ask?"
"Oh? Aren't you usually on good terms with all of them? How come you only know the two of us?"
Hoshino Maki shook his head. "It's different."
He'd only been gaining momentum for a few months, and most of his dealings with them had been based on mutual interests.
That wasn't to say those ties were weak, but relationships like that needed time to grow. And time was exactly what he lacked.
If he asked those people to pick a side now—especially on the future of the village—he wasn't confident he could stand up to Rasa, who'd been building his influence for years.
After all, the benefits he'd brought to the village were temporary, while Rasa's mines could provide for the village for generations. And that wasn't even counting all the blood Rasa had shed for the village.
Right now, the only people he felt confident relying on were Pakura, Kojima, and the shinobi of the Tōsen Clan. Chiyo's side still had to guard the village. And even if she could offer support, combining the forces of those two clans might produce a result where one plus one was less than two.
Of course, he wasn't going to bring only such a paltry force. The two sides were competing only for the most powerful Jonin. The others would still follow the Elder Council's orders, and Hoshino Maki's force wouldn't be too far behind.
Even the Kazekage faction agreed with that. If everyone were allowed to form teams freely, Rasa might end up with no Medical Ninja at all, which would be far too embarrassing.
Pakura saw how troubled he was. Cradling her teacup in both hands, she hesitated. "If you want, I could call a few people over."
Hoshino Maki was taken aback, then shook his head. "I'm not going to live off a woman."
Pakura gave a cold laugh. "Is Chiyo's help not living off a woman?"
"She—"
"She what?"
"Nothing. My teeth aren't in great shape. The doctor told me I should eat more soft food."
Hoshino Maki figured it wasn't appropriate to badmouth the old woman behind her back, especially in a crowded place like an izakaya.
Pakura rolled her eyes and stood up to leave. "Wait for my word."
Sending out troops wasn't as simple as making a snap decision and charging ahead. Negotiations with the Cloud and Stone, supply distribution, choosing the right moment, rotating the defensive lines—when a machine ran, countless gears had to work together behind the scenes.
During this time, Hoshino Maki had to recruit troops, distribute supplies, and negotiate with the Cloud Ninja.
The Elders had also realized he was good at domestic affairs and negotiations, so they simply handed all of it to him. With people from the Kazekage faction keeping an eye on things, nothing could go wrong anyway.
"Sir, a message from the Intelligence Department."
"Bring it here."
In the Kazekage's Office, two desks faced each other, with a guard standing beside each.
Hoshino Maki and Rasa were both working there, but their situations couldn't have been more different.
Two tall stacks of documents still sat on Rasa's desk. He frowned as he buried himself in the paperwork. Hoshino Maki, meanwhile, had his legs crossed on his desk and was sipping tea with mint and orange peel as he leisurely read the last document in front of him.
The shinobi who entered to deliver the report glanced at Hoshino Maki, then immediately lowered his head and presented the message with both hands.
Whether he'd tell anyone what happened in there was anyone's guess. So many people came and went from the Kazekage's Office that there was no knowing who'd let it slip.
Hoshino Maki took the message and looked it over. His brow furrowed, and after a moment's thought, he waved the Intelligence Department shinobi away.
"Rasa, finished yet?"
Rasa didn't reply. He continued reviewing the documents with his head down.
"I'm just saying, at this rate, the Elder Council will have been replaced by the time you're done."
Now that their rivalry was out in the open, Hoshino Maki wasn't about to miss a chance to take a jab at him.
If you'd never been worked like a corporate drone or grilled by a boss, how could you improve your efficiency?
"Shut up!"
Rasa irritably scratched his head and growled.
He considered himself a calm person, but this guy was just too noisy!
Yet he couldn't refute him. After all, Hoshino Maki worked faster and did a better job.
"I'm afraid I can't."
Hoshino Maki stood up and waved the document in his hand. "There's a meeting in the Elder Council Hall in half an hour. Be sure to listen carefully when I speak."
With that, he shut the door behind him.
Bang!
Rasa slapped the desk. "The most important thing for a shinobi is to judge the situation in real time! Domestic affairs are just side issues!"
He shook out his clothes and left the room, leaving the four guards inside staring at one another.
"Yesterday, a Konoha squad raided the Cloud Ninja's largest granary on the front line. They used a large number of Fire Release techniques. By the time the AB Combo arrived, the granary had already suffered heavy losses."
"According to the information provided by the Cloud Ninja, Minato Namikaze is the leading suspect."
"Was he faking his injury?"
Moyuzi asked with a furrowed brow. As a Medical Ninja, her greatest concern was facing an assassin as fast as Minato. He was a nightmare for Medical Ninja. If he'd fully recovered, the safety of the Medical Corps would face a serious challenge.
Hoshino Maki shook his head. "Not necessarily. A lot of time has passed, and Tsunade is back. She may well have healed his injuries. But no matter how much he's recovered, we need to prepare for a fully healthy Minato."
"Besides, I suspect Konoha planned the granary attack in advance. Even if Minato Namikaze wasn't the one who carried it out, someone else would have. The harvest ended not long ago, and the weather is getting colder. If the Cloud Ninja don't have enough winter clothes and food, they'll have to choose between launching a direct assault and retreating. An assault would mean facing Konoha's ironclad defenses; retreating would make this winter a disaster for the Cloud Ninja."
The Elders looked at Hoshino Maki's impassive face. Even those from the Kazekage faction couldn't help admiring him.
Weren't you the one who'd caused the Cloud Ninja all this misery?
How could you act as if nothing had happened?
Just then, Hoshino Maki continued, "I think the Cloud Ninja are more likely to risk a direct assault. That would put us in an even stronger position at the negotiating table."
They were already in such dire straits, and he still wanted to squeeze them for more. Honestly.
"Well said!"
The Elders nodded in agreement.
Only then could they be completely sure this kid was a true son of Sunagakure.
"As for the Iwa Ninja, with Ōnoki personally on the battlefield, Jiraiya's forces are currently at a disadvantage in their fight against the Iwa Ninja. That's good news."
Hoshino Maki hadn't yet heard anything about Jiraiya using Senjutsu. Whether he hadn't been pushed far enough yet or there was some other reason, he didn't know. But even if Jiraiya entered Sage Mode, Hoshino Maki didn't think he could defeat Ōnoki outright. After all, unless you knew Space-Time Ninjutsu, fighting Dust Release was difficult.
"The Sannin aren't acting together. Could there be some sort of scheme?"
One of the Elders furrowed his brow. The others thought it over as well. Some were already wondering if they should avoid fighting this war altogether. The Ino-Shika-Cho, Uchiha Clan, and Hyuga Clan hadn't joined the battle yet, and Tsunade and Orochimaru hadn't appeared either. Sunagakure wouldn't find those opponents easy to deal with.
"Whether there's a scheme or not, this is a good opportunity for us."
Hoshino Maki looked around and spoke clearly. "If the Cloud Ninja choose to launch a direct assault, Konoha will have to send reinforcements. Minato Namikaze can't solve the problem by himself, so the most likely reinforcements will be the Uchiha Clan. As for the Iwa Ninja, Choza Akimichi's build makes him a poor match for Ōnoki, so the Hyuga Clan will probably reinforce them. That means our most likely opponents are the Ino-Shika-Cho and Konoha's other Jonin, with at most one of the Sannin joining them. Whether it's me or Rasa, these are the best opponents we could hope to face."
Even though he knew Tsunade wouldn't go to the battlefield, and that Orochimaru would probably drag his feet if he did, he still included them.
After all, he couldn't explain how Tsunade's fear of blood and Orochimaru's double-agent game factored in.
"My recommendation is that we send out our troops in mid-October, after the three sides have reached an agreement."
The Elders exchanged glances but said nothing. In the end, Chiyo made the decision.
"If there are no objections, we'll do as Hoshino Maki suggested."
She stood and looked straight at Hoshino Maki. "I heard you took A's belt during your clash with the Cloud Ninja. If possible, I'd like you to bring me a gift of equal value. This isn't a request from Chiyo. It's a request from a mother."
Hoshino Maki fell silent for a moment, then clenched his right fist over his heart and bowed. "I won't fail you!"
Thanks to @Juicy Grilled Meat and @Cat's Hangar for the two Monthly Tickets!
Thanks to @cyfight, @Melon Skin Watermelon, and @Book From Tribe123 for the Monthly Tickets!
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