Thunder and Sui Alliance
Konoha
Hokage Building
In the rest room, Naraku cross-legged in his Hokage robes. Behind him was a large "ninja" character on the wall, with two people sitting cross-legged on either side below. On the left were Hatake Sakumo and Namikaze Minato, and on the right were Mitokado Homura and Uchiha Fugaku.
"The Kirigakure has suffered heavy losses because the attacker was Uchiha Zensui, a Konoha S-rank missing-nin. How do you all think it's best to handle the Kirigakure's request for financial assistance from Konoha?"
Naraku put down the scroll in his hand and quietly consulted the four Hokage Advisor below.
After the collapse of the former Senju Group of consultants, the seating arrangement in the conference room was rearranged, with Naraku sitting at the head and several important consultants seated below.
"I think Kirigakure is being unreasonable. They were attacked by missing-nin, what does that have to do with Konoha?"
Back then, Konoha was also attacked by the Nine-Tails Incident, orchestrated by Uchiha Zensui, and we still managed to rebuild and deal with it ourselves."
Mitokado Homura didn't quite understand the demands of Hidden Mist 'Kirigakure letter and rejected them.
Information about Uchiha Zensui is top secret, and the only superior he is in contact with is the Hokage Naraku; no one else knows his identity.
"The Fourth Hokage, Kirigakure has been severely damaged. I heard that even the Mizukage sacrificed himself in this turmoil, and most of the village has been reduced to ashes."
Kirigakure's current situation, it's one thing for them not to lick their wounds, but how could they dare to make a request to Konoha that is ostensibly for help, but is actually a demand?
"The Kirigakure is not the Sunagakure; our relationship is merely a normal diplomatic liaison, without any alliance treaty. The Kirigakure's request for help is something to ponder."
Uchiha Fugaku spoke with maturity, knowing that Uchiha Zensui had previously been the captain of Naraku's Guard Corps, indicating that his identity was not simple.
"If it's 20 billion ryo, perhaps we can provide some assistance. After all, Kirigakure has promised to repay within a certain period. As one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Kirigakure still has that much credibility."
But two hundred billion taels, that's really quite baffling."
After reviewing the letter that Kirigakure had sent to Konoha, Namikaze Minato expressed sympathy for Kirigakure's plight, but he thought the Namikaze Minato of 200 billion ryo was a bit outrageous.
"The Kirigakure is in turmoil; I believe this is a good opportunity..."
Hatake Sakumo rose to fame very early, and even after not carrying out high-risk missions for many years, his number of missions ranging from S-rank to A-rank still ranks among the top in Konoha's Jonin.
Hatake Sakumo felt some sympathy for Kirigakure's plight, but that didn't stop him from taking advantage of their misfortune and extracting more benefits from Kirigakure.
"Yes, everyone is right. Kirigakure's letter is somewhat unreasonable, and our relationship with Kirigakure is just so-so. We don't have any mutual assistance treaty, so this request is indeed worth considering."
However, as one of the Five Great Nations, it's not unreasonable for us to express our sympathy and offer some assistance to Kirigakure, which was attacked by missing-nin from Konoha. It's just that Kirigakure's demand for 200 billion ryo is really excessive.
Finally, Sakumo is right; the fact that Kirigakure suffered this attack might just be an opportune moment.
Do you all think it's better to reject Hidden Mist's request and send a large force of ninja to explore Kirigakure's islands, or to provide financial assistance to Kirigakure and maintain diplomatic relations between the two countries?
Bang! Bang!
Just as Naraku finished speaking, there was a knock on the conference room Daimon.
"Please come in!"
Naraku called softly, and a ninja wearing a vest pushed open the door and entered. He walked to the middle, bowed slightly, and said loudly:
"Fourth Hokage, intelligence from Kirigakure! Yamanaka Inoichi requests it be delivered immediately! Please review it!"
"Delivered immediately? Bring it here."
Naraku beckoned, took the scroll handed over by the Intelligence Division ninja, opened it and slowly read through it. After finishing reading the scroll, he looked thoughtful and tossed it to Namikaze Minato below.
"The Kumogakure and the Kirigakure have formed an alliance? They're providing a free grant of 30 billion ryo to help the Kirigakure rebuild its home? Who would have thought the Kumogakure would change its ways... The Fourth Raikage..."
After reviewing the information, Namikaze Minato was somewhat surprised by its contents and handed the scroll to Hatake Sakumo below.
After the alliance between the Lightning and Water Kingdoms was established, the Intelligence Division reported the information immediately. Naraku had already guessed what the Kumogakure would do next: they would definitely send a letter to reprimand the Konoha for its ineffective pursuit of the missing-nin.
"A lightning and water alliance? Kumogakure truly has great ambition. The Fourth Raikage is much calmer than the Third Raikage."
After reading the letter, Mitokado Homura admired the Fourth Raikage's actions. During the Third Shinobi World War, the Third Raikage took advantage of the Land of Wind's Kazekage and invaded the Land of Wind without hesitation.
The Mizukage of the Land of Water died in battle, and the Fourth Raikage's actions were completely contrary to those of his father, the Third Raikage.
"In order to avoid friction, or even Shinobi World War, we can't ignore Kirigakure's demands for a lightning-water alliance."
Otherwise, the Land of Lightning's massive assistance to the Land of Water couldn't be without ulterior motives. If the Kumogakure were to question Konoha and the situation wasn't handled properly, the eastern and northeastern borders would inevitably fall apart...
After reading the letter, Uchiha Fugaku was able to deduce the next move of Kumogakure based on the alliance between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water, as well as the Land of Lightning's strong support for the Land of Water. His implication was that there was an underlying intention to transfer funds to quell the conflict.
"The Fourth Raikage may seem reckless, but he is actually meticulous and cautious, and is a figure that cannot be ignored."
"When the Third Raikage died at the hands of Iwagakure, the Fourth Raikage A, put aside past grievances, made peace with Iwagakure, and retrieved the Third Raikage's body, earning the praise of the Tsuchikage, Ōnoki."
Namikaze Minato had fought the Fourth Raikage many times and knew a bit about him. He knew that the Fourth Raikage not as reckless as he seemed. Based on the Fourth Raikage's actions, Namikaze Minato always regarded the Raikage as a flexible and capable person who was both scholarly and martial.
Listening to the advisors below discussing, Naraku rubbed his temples, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
They were thinking about how to divide the Land of Water with the Kumogakure, but reality has taken a turn for the worse so quickly; the Kumogakure has changed its ways.
Considering Naraku's previous visit to Kumogakure and his interactions with the Raikage, the Raikage's actions were somewhat unexpected, yet also somewhat reasonable.
"This matter must be handled with utmost care. If things go wrong, it could trigger Shinobi World War. Konoha for a long time, and although the country is powerful, we, who have experienced the Shinobi World War what consequences it would bring."
Since the end of Third Shinobi World War, no Capital City has engaged in friction or provocation, and all have enjoyed peace. We, Konoha, should also cherish this hard-won tranquility.
"Uchiha Zensui, an S-rank missing-nin, is truly utterly wicked. Furthermore, he was my bodyguard. Years of pursuit and manhunt have failed to bring Uchiha Zensui to justice; this is also my dereliction of duty."
Naraku sighed and slowly said, "This morning Naraku met with Uchiha Zensui. Konoha couldn't catch or touch Uchiha Zensui, which is naturally due to Naraku's reasons."