I Mortgaged Shukaku to Konoha!

"Hello, I am Xinxian from the Yuki Clan."

"I am Tsunade, the current Fourth Hokage. Let's check on her condition first."

Tsunade smiled.

She felt a certain attraction to the man in front of her.

According to Orochimaru, this was a Yuki Clan ninja who recognized the Will of Fire. He joined Konoha not because he admired strength, but because he recognized the will and ideas of the people.

This is exactly the kind of person Konoha needs.

"Yes, Lord Hokage!"

Xinxian breathed a sigh of relief.

He was genuinely worried that Tsunade or the other Konoha ninjas might not be very welcoming to them, given that Kirigakure had fought a localized war with Konoha in the past.

At that time, their Yuki Clan also participated in the war.

But the reality is...

After arriving in Konoha, although the Konoha hadn't made any specific arrangements for them yet, they sent his wife to Konoha Hospital and provided her with meticulous care.

A moment later.

Is my wife alright?

"It's alright. As a ninja, my body is relatively healthy. If it were an ordinary person, after experiencing those things in the past, their body would at least be weak."

Tsunade glanced at the report and then explained the specifics.

They are generally healthy.

Some of the smaller projects weren't great, but they weren't important either.

She mentioned a few points to note, then put away her documents and prepared to move on to the next department.

They weren't the only pregnant women here.

Since a minor incident occurred within the Hyuga Clan, several members of the Kaguya Clan and Yuki Clan have been receiving care here to prevent any unforeseen accidents.

Xinxian quickly called out to stop him.

"Lord Hokage, wait!"

"Um?"

Tsunade turned around and smiled, "Is there something you need?"

"It's like this, Lord Orochimaru only brought me back to Konoha, and I haven't seen him since. I wanted to ask what Shino and I need to do next? At least, I should still have some ability."

Xinxian is not a matter of self-deprecation.

In Kirigakure, he considered himself to be quite capable, but in Konoha, he felt he still needed to train and couldn't guarantee anything.

after all--

Over the years, Konoha's strength has been an undeniable fact, while Kirigakure's Blood Mist Policy, in his view, has actually led Kirigakure into an endless cycle of internal strife.

Based on what he's seen and heard in the last few days, he believes that Kirigakure is far inferior to Konoha!

"You want to work? I thought you'd rather spend some time with your wife and rest."

Tsunade was somewhat surprised.

Xinxian hesitated for a moment, then blushed and lowered his head in shame, saying, "We escaped from the Yuki Clan without taking much money, these..."

Tsunade immediately understood.

This young man wasn't really in a rush to find a job; he was just worried about not having enough money.

She thought for a moment and replied, "Your food, clothing, and shelter will currently be covered by Konoha's finances, so you don't need to worry about money for now. Of course, if you want to do something..."

After thinking for a moment, Tsunade realized that ordinary work was not suitable for the Yuki Clan for the time being.

The same applies to the Kaguya Clan.

Although Kaguya Ippei has taken on some missions, he primarily serves in the Anbu, providing assistance in operations and combat.

I want to do something!

Xinxian did not hesitate at all.

Tsunade nodded slightly.

She didn't know much about the abilities of the Yuki Clan.

but.

Kyohiko certainly knew how to use such a talent, after all, he was the one who had Orochimaru bring him back.

Having thought this through, Tsunade already had her answer.

"You stay at the hospital and take care of your wife for now. In a couple of days, I'll have Kyohiko send someone to contact you. Just follow Kyohiko's instructions then."

"In the short term, you may be assigned to participate in Anbu training, or to train Anbu trainees."

Tsunade gave a brief overview of the possible tasks.

Xinxian breathed a sigh of relief and nodded to indicate that he understood.

The Hokage Office.

"Kyohiko, Lady Tsunade went to the hospital to inspect the situation; you should know about it there..."

"Hmm, no problem, I'll take care of it."

"Ah?"

Shizune blinked, momentarily stunned.

You're making the arrangements?

Can.

You're not the Hokage!

Kyohiko ignored him and sat down, saying, "Since the Kazekage wants to visit, let him come. Our cooperation with the Land of Lightning went quite well before, so we can talk to the Land of Wind as well."

He sat down and quickly began writing.

Before long, two slips of paper were written on them, each indicating a meeting at the "Jonin Waiting Room".

soon.

Flying Thunder God, the note disappears.

Shizune lips twitched.

Really...

Fine, if the Third Hokage could tolerate Danzo's reckless behavior, how could Lady Tsunade possibly blame Kyohiko?

not to mention.

Judging fairly, she felt that Kyohiko's decisions were sometimes more correct than Tsunade's...

"Well, thinking about it that way, it seems like it's actually quite good for Kyohiko to make the decision."

Shizune paused for a moment.

Immediately, she thought of--

"If Kyohiko were a few years older, he could have become Hokage right away."

She felt that Kyohiko was more suitable to be Hokage than Tsunade.

A few minutes later, in the Jonin Waiting Room.

"Kyohiko, what's the situation in Kumogakure this time?"

"It's not Kumogakure)."

Kyohiko shook his head.

It's not yet the right time to implement the strategic plan directly in Kumogakure.

after all.

The Kumogakure is currently at its most vigilant; any slight movement from Konoha will arouse their suspicion. Now, they're telling them they want to help with the construction...

The Kumogakure might repeatedly wonder if the Konoha had set a trap for them, laying a pitfall for them.

Rather than doing that, it's better to be more patient and wait until both sides reach an agreement.

And now.

Kyohiko wanted to talk about Sunagakure.

He combined the intelligence and information gathered by the Anbu and the Konoha authorities and presented it to the two of them.

Both of them are very intelligent.

Yamanaka Inoichi is an expert in intelligence, extremely sensitive to information. If he weren't also in charge of Konoha's overall intelligence work, Kyohiko would definitely have recruited him.

Inoichi glanced at it once.

He then raised his head, a smile appearing on his face.

"Rasa can't hold on any longer."

"Senior Inoichi, your judgment aligns with mine. I also believe that Rasa wants to engage in deeper cooperation with Konoha, and repairing the trade routes is one such signal."

Kyohiko pointed to a line on the map.

This was a classic trade route from the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers to the Land of Wind during the First era, but as tensions rose between the two countries, this trade route gradually fell into disuse.

The Land of Fire and the Land of Wind now rely more on trade along their southern coast.

Once this trade route to the north is built, the Sunagakure along the way will all benefit.

Shikaku pondered for a moment and said, "This road should mainly lead to the Land of Rivers, Land of Rivers large rivers that can transport large quantities of goods by boat."

"Mineral."

Kyohiko continued.

"Yes, that's what I think too."

Shikaku nodded.

The three of them, each contributing a sentence, pieced together the general purpose of Sunagakure based on the information they had gathered.

In the end, three items were written on the list.

1. Sasori of the Red Sands.

2. Business ethics and cooperation.

3. A deeper alliance with Konoha, possibly hoping that Konoha can provide some convenience or protection to Sunagakure.

"If Rasa really thinks that way, he's being far too unrealistic."

Tsunade couldn't help but sneer, "What does he intend to offer in return? If it's just threats, threatening war if he doesn't agree, then Konoha isn't afraid of going to war with Sunagakure again!"

The current Sunagakure and Konoha are not on the same level at all.

Konoha is not afraid of another war.

but.

For Sunagakure, if war breaks out again and they are defeated again, what awaits them is not defeat and reconciliation, but rather being reduced from Five Great Shinobi Villages to one of the Four Great Shinobi Villages.

"We'll see in a bit."

Tsunade stood up, full of vigor and excitement, "Let's go! To Kikyo City!"

A border region between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers.

Rasa, accompanied by several guards, crossed the border and entered the territory of the Land of Rivers.

He looked up and gazed into the distance.

A short while later, a person returned from the front.

"Lord Kazekage, we have communicated with the people of Kikyo City. They have agreed to let us pass through to the Land of Fire, but we need their people to escort us."

"That's only right, let's go."

Rasa wasn't too surprised.

If Konoha were to allow them to freely enter and leave the Land of Fire under these circumstances, it would be far too lax.

If the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, were in power, it might be possible, but now that it's Tsunade and Kyohiko Yoshimine, and there's Orochimaru as an "advisor" in the village, it's impossible for them to do something so foolish.

Rasa remained silent, leading his men along the way. At one point, he stopped and looked at the vibrant forest, speechless for a moment.

This place wasn't originally a forest, but a desert, mostly sand and rocks, with no vegetation.

But now...

A large forest makes this place lush and green, and there is even a stream running through the forest.

Although the water flow was not large, it was a miracle of life for the Land of Wind.

But--

The miracles here were all created with the blood and flesh of the Sunagakure ninjas, including Ebizo, an important elder of the Sunagakure.

Ebizo's death...

It once paralyzed the Sunagakure's Anbu system.

He stood there for a long time.

Let's go.

Rasa trudged through the woods, following the route he had taken years before, heading towards Kikyo Mountain.

The bumpy road ahead seemed to transform into the battlefield of yesteryear, filling him with a sense of sorrow.

My Teacher, the Third Kazekage, was killed by him right here.

Kyohiko Yoshimine.

That young man, it was by stepping on their Sunagakure that he achieved his current illustrious reputation, showing the potential to inherit the title of God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju.

At least--

Compared to the current Hanzo, Kyohiko in a few years would definitely be more deserving of the title "demigod".

Rasa remained silent.

"Having an opponent like Kyohiko Yoshimine is a tragedy for our Sunagakure, and even more so for this era..."

He let out a long sigh.

Why does such an extraordinary existence exist in this era?

Without Kyohiko Yoshimine, things might have been different.

He looked into the distance.

Konoha has produced outstanding talents generation after generation; how can Sunagakure compete with them?

By now, Rasa had no answer in his heart. He even felt that perhaps a complete alliance with Konoha would be a better choice.

so...

At least they won't fall out of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

Rasa continued walking forward, and none of the guards behind him spoke.

They had also experienced that war and knew how devastating the battles could be.

That battle resulted in the loss of too many elite troops!

The Sunagakure of today is no longer able to withstand another war.

They traveled all the way to the Kikyo Mountain.

"Baki, go and inform them again."

"Yes!"

Baki vanished in Body Flicker Technique.

After a long while, Konoha sent four ninjas over.

"Lord Kazekage, please!"

"Good."

Rasa nodded slightly and followed along.

All the way to Kikyo City, he was very cooperative and did not make any unusual moves. He even took the initiative to leave the guards outside the city and went into the city alone to negotiate.

but.

Upon arriving inside Kikyo City, he was immediately taken aback.

"Kyohiko Yoshimine? What happened to you...?"

"You are, after all, the Lord Kazekage. If we really let you come all the way to Konoha, outsiders would say we are impolite. Meeting here is a good choice for both you and us."

Kyohiko smiled, then pointed to the building, "Please!"

"Thanks."

Rasa's posture was humble.

He already guessed who was inside the building.

To make Kyohiko Yoshimine like this...

It's either Jiraiya or the current Hokage, Tsunade!

Obviously.

The latter is more likely!

Rasa took a deep breath and entered the building, where he saw Tsunade sitting at the head of a table, her posture serious.

In Tsunade's matchup, a position had already been set up.

"Kazekage, please have a seat."

Thank you!

Rasa walked over and sat down.

Tsunade stood on the table.

"Kazekage, your suggestion to jointly host the Chunin Ninja Exams is indeed good, but we also have many allies on our side, so further discussions are needed."

"Of course, that's to be expected. Actually, besides the Chunin Ninja Exams, I have another purpose for this trip."

Rasa nodded respectfully, "I wish to establish further cooperation with Konoha!"

"Oh? Tell me, how do you want to cooperate?"

Tsunade curled into a slight smile.

Rasa bowed his head and said, "Sunagakure is willing to give up more mission slots and provide our intelligence network to help you monitor Ōnoki!"

"Hehe, Rasa, your suggestion isn't that important to Konoha. After all, the mission share depends on the employer's trust in each other, and Sunagakure doesn't have that kind of leverage right now."

Kyohiko spoke up to refute.

Rasa was silent for a second.

He knew that Kyohiko was right.

The Sunagakure of today is no longer what it was before the war. Many employers believe that the Sunagakure Sunagakure declined so much that they are no longer willing to hire clients there, even though many of these clients are from the Land of Wind.

Those commissions...

Most of them went to Konoha.

To some extent, he was being generous with other people's money.

Rasa bowed his head. "We are willing to sign the contract and will never break our promise!"

"If Konoha is at a disadvantage, the contract is just a piece of paper, meaningless to us. Even your Magnet Release Ninjutsu —we actually have ways to counter it..."

Tsunade shook her head.

Rasa's chips are indeed too few!

Rasa raised his head.

"What if I were to hand over Shukaku to Konoha for safekeeping? I could use Shukaku as collateral to regain Konoha's trust in our village and plead for some support from Konoha!"

One-Tail Shukaku!

A hint of surprise flashed in Tsunade's eyes.

That's Tailed Beast!

Rasa really dares to ask; isn't he afraid that Konoha will take the benefits and not reciprocate?

What's the difference between this and giving it away for free?!