No need to go to the battlefield!
The village gained recognition from major powers and received two years' worth of funding to maintain its operations.
After hearing Tsunade's conditions, Hanzo slowly leaned back in his chair, squinted his eyes, and pondered for a moment. Then, he gently waved his right hand behind him, as if receiving a command. The Amegakure ninjas in the room gradually dispersed...
The Amegakure ninjas who had stormed in from outside withdrew from the room, while the ninjas inside used various stealth techniques to disappear. The oppressive atmosphere of being fully armed, tense, and on the verge of a storm vanished instantly as Hanzo's attitude changed.
Hanzo the Salamander, leaning back in his chair, held up two fingers and said calmly to Tsunade Senju:
"Of the conditions just presented, I want to add one and modify another. Eighty years... I want to add that the Land of Fire cannot invade the Land of Rain within eighty years. Also, regarding financial support, I need five years' worth of food funds, not just two."
"The first clause, 'neither side invading the other's territory,' has been changed to twenty years. The second clause, 'providing the Land of Rain with two years' worth of food and financial support,' is already quite generous. You must understand... two years' worth of food supply is no small amount, and we will use the first record as the standard."
Seeing that Hanzo was beginning to relent and the Amegakure ninjas in the room were gradually leaving, Tsunade loosened her clenched fists and frowned.
Hanzo the Salamander shook his head and said, "Twenty years without invading the Land of Rain? No, at least fifty years. If I negotiate this contract for only twenty years, then when the Land of Fire invades the Land of Rain after twenty years, wouldn't I, as the leader of Amegakure, become a laughing stock? And after deducting two years' worth of food and funds, I need three years' worth."
"Alright, let's compromise then. Thirty years it is. Hanzo, please remember this important point: it's a thirty-year period of non-aggression between the two sides, not just the Land of Fire not aggressing the Land of Rain... And your three years' worth of food and funds, that's fine too! But you must give us two years to prepare. Only after two years will the Land of Fire begin to provide assistance..."
"If we continue to provide funding after two years, I won't even know who's in power in Konoha. That's absolutely unacceptable... We must start this year, and..."
"..."
Tsunade Senju and Hanzo the Salamander conducted a thorough discussion on the politics, military, economy, ninjutsu, culture, and other aspects between Konoha of the Land of Fire and Rain Ninja of the Land of Rain. After some bargaining, the bargaining chips they offered became closer and closer, which meant that their wishes had basically reached an agreement!
However, just as the alliance was about to be finalized, Hanzo the Salamander abruptly changed the subject, saying, "Alright, Princess Tsunade. Let's put the previous issue aside for now. Our conditions are basically aligned. I'd like to discuss this with the higher-ups in Amegakure before making a decision. I'm truly sorry... it may require you to wait about two days."
"Hmm... why not sign the contract today? Well, although Konoha's terms are very generous, such an important matter should be discussed and agreed upon by everyone. Let's just stay in Amegakure for a couple more days."
Tsunade Senju originally intended to facilitate the signing of the alliance, but then she thought that if the upper echelons of Amegakure did not agree with the alliance, signing it might have the opposite effect. If it aroused the rebellious mentality of the Amegakure ninjas, it would be bad. So she compromised on the timing of the alliance signing.
"Alright, someone, Princess Tsunade and the Konoha ninjas back to their resting place..."
Hanzo spoke to thin air, then stood up and said to Tsunade Senju, " Princess Tsunade, I won't see you off. I will now summon the upper echelons of Amegakure to discuss the contents of this negotiation... and then make a decision."
"Well then, I look forward to good news from Lord Hanzo."
Tsunade Senju also stood up and addressed Hanzo the Salamander.
After the negotiations concluded, Tsunade Senju, Sato Hideaka, and a group of Konoha ninja, led by the Amegakure ninja summoned by Hanzo the Salamander from his office, braved the drizzling rain and walked through the streets and alleys of Amegakure, returning to their massive Gothic-style residence. After escorting the Konoha Ninja back to their designated location, the Amegakure ninja responsible for the escort finally withdrew...
Across from the residence, the Sunagakure ninjas seemed unusually calm...
The Sunagakure sentry posts remained in their original locations, with no additional personnel or significant adjustments to their positions. They quietly guarded against any potential incidents and monitored the movements of the Konoha Ninja, just like the previous two instances.
However, the more this was the case, the stranger it seemed to Sato Hideaka. The purpose of the Konoha Ninja's trip was clearly to meet Hanzo and negotiate with Hanzo. Logically speaking, the Sunagakure should have taken some action at this time. Their efforts to maintain this calm appearance seemed more like they were covering something up.
As for the Sand Shadow... it's rather unusual that with powerful figures like Chiyo and Ebizo, they haven't made any response to this matter at all!
Back in the building, under Tsunade's command, the Konoha ninjas inspected the house again. After confirming that there were no abnormalities, especially the presence of Sunagakure, they settled down and waited for news from Hanzo two days later.
After settling everything in, Tsunade Senju returned to Sato Hideaka's room, looking at him with a half-smile, and said, " Hideaka, how did you come up with that method of acknowledging his position as the leader of Amegakure... It's really quite something that he changed his attitude over just a nominal title."
Tsunade Senju was still somewhat apprehensive about the situation. Although she was confident that she was no less powerful than Hanzo the Salamander, this was, after all, Amegakure. If a real battle broke out, even she would not be able to withstand the sheer number of ninjas from the opposing village. If a real battle occurred, there probably wouldn't be many people left Amegakure alive.
However, this very remark that angered Hanzo became the turning point of the negotiations, making it a truly contradictory and bizarre negotiation!
Sato Hideaka smiled calmly. Such things were very common in his previous life, and this mentality was easy to understand. A nation often reveres and fears powerful nations, and its people often harbor feelings of inferiority towards those stronger than themselves, yet they desperately crave recognition from others. Under such circumstances, a series of strange things can occur:
For example, in order to gain the recognition of major powers, countries often pay a great price to satisfy their sense of honor and enhance their status in the eyes of other countries!
Sato Hideaka blinked his blue eyes and smiled mysteriously, "This is a secret. I can't tell you all the secrets!"
"You little devil, you're still hiding things from your master! It's infuriating! I've taught you everything I know!" Tsunade Senju sternly, feigning anger, but seeing Sato Hideaka's unmoved expression, she immediately deflated.
"Alright, I'm not kidding anymore. Judging from my conversation with Hanzo, I'm not particularly worried about his attitude during this negotiation. On the contrary, those old fogies in the Sunagakure advisory group seem a bit abnormally calm... They definitely won't let us sign an alliance with Amegakure easily, but they haven't taken any action at all. It's really strange."
"Yes, that's what I was worried about when I came back." Sato Hideaka nodded in agreement, rubbing his temples with a slight headache. "Sigh, I feel like we're in a really passive position like this. If only we knew what Sunagakure was doing, we wouldn't have to keep guessing like this...it's so troublesome."
"Wait, movements... Tsunade- sensei, the Sunagakure Village is acting so confidently now, is it possible that they know our whereabouts?" (To be continued.)