The air in the Japanese-style room grew heavy at the mention of Namikaze Minato.
Baishi's hand remained motionless around his teacup.
Steam rose from the hot tea, curling and dispersing before his calm eyes, obscuring his expression.
Chiyo folded her withered hands before her, her clouded eyes fixed unwaveringly on Baishi. She had named her price, one she believed he could neither refuse nor easily stomach.
She wanted neither money nor goods, but a living person.
A former hero, now a prisoner. The most symbolic political figure in Konoha's transition from the old era to the new.
Baishi finally set down his teacup.
The base touched the table with a soft clink.
"Your reason."
He neither asked why nor refused outright. He simply demanded a reason.
The corners of Chiyo's shriveled mouth twitched into an ugly smile.
"Lord Hokage, I am not bargaining with you. Breaking the barrier around Scorpion's Nest requires an absolute understanding of the fundamental principles behind the Human Puppet technique. And that barrier combines Sasori's technology with Orochimaru's."
Her voice rasped like sandpaper scraping wood.
"Namikaze Minato is the only subject to have survived deep corruption by Orochimaru's Cursed Seal without dying on the spot. His body is the crucial key to unlocking that barrier. Only by bringing him back to Sunagakure and analyzing him with our village's secret techniques will we have a chance of finding a way to break it."
"Otherwise, we can only throw lives at it."
Chiyo spoke slowly, each word landing in the room with the weight of an iron counterweight.
She had dressed a naked political demand as an irrefutable technical problem.
Baishi tapped his fingertips lightly against the table, then stopped.
"Advisor Chiyo, you seem to have misunderstood something."
His tone was even, betraying neither pleasure nor anger.
"Namikaze