After Tsunade left, the office door was gently closed.
The soft sound of the hinge turning seemed to shut out all the previous intense emotions. Hokage's Office fell into a kind of vacuum-like silence for a while.
In the air, there still seems to be a faint hint of Yakumi from Tsunade, as well as the stubbornness that has not dissipated.
Shikaku Nara stood there without moving. He looked at Baishi, and then at the Encrypted Scroll document on the table that had just been presented by ANBU about the flow of Orochimaru's funds.
In the office, there was only the sound of the second hand of the clock on the wall moving, click, click, click.
Baishi's fingers were gently stroking the end of Scroll with the words "Amegakure" written on it.
The texture of the paper is a bit rough, and the two words marked with red pen look like two blood spots that have not yet dried up under the light.
"Thirty-seven billion taels."
Shikaku finally spoke, his voice was very low, as if he was afraid of disturbing something.
"In five years, blood transfusions have been continued through more than a dozen Shell Companies. This is no longer a simple material transaction."
He walked to the desk and fixed his eyes on those two words.
"Orochimaru and the 'Akatsuki' organization, or in other words, Konan, the current leader of Amegakure, have a deep bond that we have not grasped before."
Shikaku's expression is very solemn.
"Lord Hokage, this is an extremely dangerous signal. Orochimaru's forbidden technology, coupled with the force of the 'Akatsuki' organization, if they completely join forces, they will be a huge threat to Land of Fire and the entire Shinobi World."
He paused and made his own suggestion.
"We have irrefutable evidence. I suggest that we immediately raise the most severe questions to Amegakure through diplomatic channels. We can even use this as a reason to initiate comprehensive economic sanctions against Amegakure and force them to hand over all the details of their cooperation with Orochi."
This is the most direct and logical way to deal with it.
Grab the opponent's grip and punch hard.
Baishi did not respond immediately. He rolled up Scroll slowly and tied it up again with a tether, taking his time.
"Shikaku, do you think the current Konan is our enemy or a tool that can be used?"
Baishi suddenly asked a seemingly irrelevant question.
Shikaku was stunned for a moment, and then began to think quickly.
"From a standpoint, she is the leader of Amegakure. For the benefit of Amegakure, she can cooperate with anyone, including us, including Orochimaru. From this perspective, she is neutral and a tool."
"But in fact, she secretly received a huge amount of money from Rogue Ninja Orochimaru for the purchase of prohibited materials. This has violated the bottom line of our bilateral agreement with Amegakure. From this perspective, she is a potential enemy."
Shikaku's analysis is as clear and rational as ever.
"That's right." Baishi nodded, "A collaborator who is both a tool and a potential enemy. The most taboo thing when dealing with such a person is to quarrel with her as soon as they come up and completely push her to the opposite side."
He rolled up Scroll and gently placed it on the corner of the table.
"If we question her now and sanction her, what will be the result? She will immediately cut off all cooperation with us, destroy all evidence, and then completely turn to Orochimaru, or any other force willing to provide her with shelter. We will have a powerful enemy hiding in the dark out of thin air who knows us well."
Baishi stood up, walked to the window, and looked at Konoha, where thousands of lights were already lit outside the window.
"This is not the result we want."
Shikaku looked at Baishi's back, thoughtfully.
"Then what do you mean..."
"Knock on the mountain to shake the tiger." Baishi turned around with calm eyes, "We have to let her know that we have seen her trump card. But we are not going to overturn the table immediately. We have to give her a chance to explain, a chance to clean up her own house."
He walked back to his desk and sat down.
"In this way, the initiative will always be in our hands. She will be more dependent on our cooperation because of fear; in order to protect herself, she will take the initiative to cut off contact with Orochimaru. We can neutralize this potential threat without spending a single soldier."
Shikaku's eyes lit up, and he completely understood Baishi's intention.
This is not a military operation, this is political pressure. Use an invisible net to trap the other party and force it to submit.
"I understand." Shikaku said sincerely, "Conquer the enemy without fighting. Your method is better."
"Think about how to do it specifically." Baishi asked the question to Shikaku.
Shikaku pondered for a moment and soon came up with an idea.
"You can't do it in the name of Hokage's Office. It seems too deliberate and oppressive. It's better to do it as a business department and follow the regular process."
"Hmm."
"In terms of content, we can't mention Orochimaru, we can't mention funds, and we can't mention the 'Xiao' organization. We can only talk about one thing that is the most reasonable and compliant and that no one can find fault with - trade verification."
"Continue." Baishi showed a hint of approval on his face.
"I suggest that Foreign Affairs Department take the lead in drafting an official letter." Shikaku said more and more smoothly, "The title of the official letter is called, "Official Letter on Review of the Fire-Rain Bilateral Trade List."
This title is full of business-like boringness, but it also contains a hidden edge.
"The content of the letter mainly states that when we audited the recent accounts of third-party logistics companies, we found that some of the lists of materials exported to Land of Rain had data discrepancies with our customs records. In order to ensure the healthy and orderly development of bilateral trade, we hope that Amegakure can conduct an internal self-examination on this matter and will notify us of a detailed review report within seven working days."
After Shikaku finished speaking, he looked at Baishi.
Every wording has been carefully designed.
"Third-party logistics company" obscures the source of the intelligence.
"Data discrepancy" can be large or small, leaving enough room for maneuver.
"Ensuring the healthy development of trade" stands on the moral high ground.
The "seven working days" is a reminder, using tight time to create huge psychological pressure and not giving the other party a chance to calmly plan.
This is an official letter that seems to be ordinary, but in fact, every word is heart-breaking.
It is like a scalpel, accurately cutting into Amegakure's vitals, but it is also covered with a sterile coat of "routine".
"Very good." Baishi commented, "Just follow this idea. Watch it in person and let Foreign Affairs Department's people draft it immediately. Every word and every punctuation must not be wrong."
"Yes." Shikaku took the order.
"This official letter does not need to go through encrypted channels, just use the most common official Messenger and send it to the Foreign Affairs Department door of Amegakure." Baishi added.
Shikaku understands it.
The more open it is, the more upright and self-righteous it appears. On the contrary, the more it makes the person who receives the letter feel frightened.
Shikaku took the notepad and turned around to leave.
"Wait." Baishi stopped him.
"Lord Hokage Any other instructions?"
Baishi looked at the copy of the Medical Department Personnel Adjustment Plan that had just been taken away by Tsunade and prepared in advance by him, and was silent for a moment.
"Konan, I have dealt with this person several times. She is very proud and tough." There was no emotion in Baishi's voice. "After sending this letter, she will not bow her head easily."
Shikaku stopped and listened quietly.
"There is a high probability that she will give us an equally tough reply."
Baishi's mouth curved in a meaningful way.
"Just in time, let us see how much the new owner of Amegakure weighs."
Shikaku nodded and pushed the door open.
The office is quiet again.
Baishi leaned back on the chair, closed his eyes, and tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest.
Ta, ta, ta.
As if waiting for something.
I don't know how long it took, but there was another knock on the office door, three short and one long.
A ANBU wearing Crow Mask stepped in and knelt down on one knee.
"The urgent reply letters from Lord Hokage and Amegakure have arrived."
ANBU's voice had an unusual solemnity.
"Master Konan... signed it personally in the name of the supreme leader Amegakure. Her reply was uncharacteristic of normal."