Is This Your Attitude Towards Peace Talks?

The familiar lottery wheel emerged in his mind once again.

[D-rank reward 40%, C-rank reward 50%, B-rank reward 10%]

The wheel spun several times before slowly coming to a halt.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining a C-rank reward: C-rank Ninjutsu, Fire Style: Ash Hiding]

Everything regarding this ninjutsu—the hand seals, chakra flow, and practical combat experience—flooded into the memory of Xuandou, as if he had already mastered it for many years.

Immediately after, the system voice rang out again:

[Ding! Main quest issued: Blood for Blood]

[Quest Description: The Sunagakure ninjas have caused heavy disasters to the Land of Fire; it is time to show them some color. Please raid five towns in the Land of Wind.]

[Quest Reward: Lottery attempt ×1.]

Xuandou stared at the quest description, lost in thought.

Logically speaking, Sunagakure had been severely crippled by this invasion and would be unable to strike again in the short term.

If he led his troops back to the village now, they would be greeted by the cheers of the villagers and the commendations of the Hokage, and the various clans would receive generous rewards based on their war merits—a scenario that would satisfy everyone.

However, would these merits be enough to push him to the position of Uchiha clan leader?

I am afraid... it is still a little short.

"Raid towns in the Land of Wind?"

He muttered to himself.

"It is not impossible."

He stood up and walked toward the troops currently resting.

Seeing the commander-in-chief arrive, the ninjas stopped what they were doing and turned their gazes toward him.

"The Sunagakure ninjas have suffered heavy casualties, and the border of the Land of Wind has almost no defensive strength."

"Since the Land of Wind wants to bring pain to our Land of Fire, we shall return it with even greater cruelty!"

"Everyone, follow me into the Land of Wind!"

"Kill!!!"

Amidst the roars, the troops prepared and set off, crossing the border and stepping into the Land of Rivers, which lay between the two nations.

This small country without a hidden village could only lower its head and give way in silence, just as it had done for Sunagakure in the past.

Three days later, the border of the Land of Wind was already in sight.

Looking at the defenseless small town ahead, Xuandou raised his hand with an expressionless face:

"Do it. We will treat them exactly how Sunagakure treated our people!"

The Konoha ninjas pounced on the town like wolves and tigers.

Cries and the sounds of destruction soon followed.

Watching the practiced manner of his own ninjas, Xuandou did not feel surprised.

In this era, hatred and plunder were already the norm, especially when the other side was the one who had provoked the war first.

Therefore, Xuandou's goal was: he must make the enemy feel double the pain!

Suddenly, Xuandou's gaze shifted.

He saw Shisui walking toward him.

"Commander-in-chief!"

Xuandou waved his hand.

"No need to be so formal; just call me Xuandou."

"Yes! Commander-in-chief!"

Xuandou was speechless, so he asked directly:

"Are you not going to participate in the looting? This is much faster than taking on mission requests for money."

Shisui did not answer, instead looking at his colleagues looting everywhere in the town. After a moment of silence, he spoke:

"Is it really appropriate... to let them loot like this?"

"Hey, what is inappropriate about it?"

Xuandou turned his head.

"Sunagakure started it. We are simply returning what they did to us back to them."

Hearing Xuandou's reply, Shisui did not seem satisfied and continued to ask:

"But with this cycle of vengeance, will the war ever end?"

"No."

Xuandou answered very bluntly.

"But as long as Konoha remains weak, the enemy will believe that invading the Land of Fire comes at no cost, and that will only ensure the war never ends."

Shisui wore a thoughtful expression and said nothing more.

About an hour later, the small town had been thoroughly ransacked.

A rough estimate put the spoils at around one hundred million ryo.

"The Land of Wind is truly poor."

Xuandou gave a cold scoff and waved his hand.

"On to the next town, keep going!"

"Ohhh--!"

The ninjas, having tasted the sweetness of easy profit, responded with excitement.

This kind of risk-free looting was far more lucrative than completing missions.

After all, the enemy nation had not mounted any effective resistance whatsoever.

As for those common soldiers and samurai, they didn't even require the use of ninjutsu when faced with powerful ninjas!

And so, the second, third, and fourth towns...

Four towns in a row were swept clean.

The wealth carried by the troop grew, and everyone's faces were filled with smiles.

Until the fifth target appeared before them.

Ahead was not a town, but a city of considerable size.

"Sand Scorpion City..."

Looking at the city across the way, Xuandou knew that this place would certainly have some level of defensive force.

Of course, it wouldn't pose much of a threat to his army of ninjas.

However, for the sake of caution, Xuandou still ordered everyone to rest for a while.

After all, with the constant traveling and looting, even ninjas, with their superior physiques, would eventually feel fatigue.

He directly ordered the distribution of special Military Ration Pill to everyone and commanded them to rest in place for two hours.

Two hours later, they would attack Sand Scorpion City!

Meanwhile, inside Sand Scorpion City.

"My lord! It's bad! A large group of Konoha ninjas has appeared outside the city!"

A Sunagakure ninja rushed into the hall in a panic and shouted toward the person in the seat of honor.

That was Shatie, who had fled back from the Land of Fire.

Over the past few days, he had barely managed to gather two hundred remnants, but he had been too afraid to return to the village.

With nearly eighty percent of his thousand-man army lost, he had no idea how to explain the situation to the village.

He never expected to hear news of Konoha ninjas invading the Land of Wind now!

"Damnable Konoha ninjas, how dare they!"

Shatie said viciously.

In his view, it had always been Sunagakure invading other nations.

Since the Third Shinobi World War, when had the Land of Wind ever been invaded by another country?

"This is outrageous!"

Shatie gritted his teeth.

But considering he only had a mere two hundred ninjas in his hands now, he felt a headache coming on.

"Send five envoys to negotiate with them."

Shatie finally gave the order.

"Be firm in your attitude and probe their true strength. Konoha is fighting on all fronts right now; they may not dare to truly tear up the peace with us."

"Lord Xuandou, five Sunagakure ninjas have arrived outside!"

Xuandou was somewhat surprised to hear the report.

"Oh? Instead of hiding from us, they actually dare to deliver themselves to our doorstep?"

"Did they say what they are here for?"

"No, these Sunagakure ninjas are very arrogant; they insist on seeing the commander-in-chief before they will speak."

Xuandou pondered for a moment, then nodded.

"Then bring them to see me."

Before long, the five Sunagakure ninjas were led over by Konoha ninjas.

The man in the lead was tall and thin with an arrogant demeanor, his gaze even carrying a hint of contempt as it swept over Xuandou.

"Are you the leader of the Konoha ninja?"

Xuandou looked at him indifferently, offering no reply.

The man didn't seem to mind, continuing in a tone reminiscent of a lecture:

"You Konoha forces have invaded the Land of Wind without cause, plundering our towns. I am under orders from Commander Shatie of Sunagakure to command you to withdraw from our borders immediately and issue a formal apology to the Land of Wind. If you do so, Sunagakure may consider letting this matter slide."

The expressions of the surrounding Konoha ninja darkened.

Xuandou, however, was so amused he actually laughed:

"Command? And an apology? If I recall correctly, it was Sunagakure that invaded the Land of Fire first and slaughtered civilians, wasn't it?"

"That is not the same thing!"

The tall, thin ninja raised his voice.

"Sunagakure's actions were a strategic advance targeting Konoha's military objectives, whereas your current behavior is nothing but barbaric conduct against the Land of Wind!"

"Konoha is currently dealing with both the Kumogakure and Kirigakure fronts. If you add Sunagakure's full-scale counterattack to that, can you really afford the consequences? Withdrawing now is us leaving you a way out!"

"I see..."

Xuandou nodded, as if in deep thought.

"So, you are here to beg us, Konoha, to withdraw our troops?"

The man across from him frowned at these words and said:

"What do you mean, 'beg'? This is a peace talk!"

Xuandou smiled and continued:

"Fine, fine, fine. You say it's a peace talk, so it's a peace talk. Then, what are the conditions for this peace?"

The ninja opposite him rolled his eyes, then replied:

"Well, as for the conditions, you must hand over all the wealth you plundered in the Land of Wind, and we, Sunagakure, will pursue this no further!"

Upon hearing this, Xuandou nodded with icy eyes and said:

"So, this is the attitude you bring to a peace talk?"