Tobirama: If They Get Sunburnt Black, No One Will Call Them Idiots

Land of Lightning.

Several guests arrived in the Hidden Cloud Village today.

A team from the Hidden Sand Village had come to the Hidden Cloud Village.

As one of the hard-nosed powers of the ninja world, the Hidden Cloud Village could be said to be tough to the core. Not only was it powerful, its people were also fierce and bold.

The Second Raikage had been directly killed by the Gold Horn and Silver Horn brothers merely because he wanted peace talks with Konoha. Afterward, Gold Horn and Silver Horn led a twenty-man elite jonin squad to surround Senju Tobirama and the others. In the end, Senju Tobirama sacrificed himself to cover their retreat.

Looking across the entire ninja world, the Hidden Cloud Village had the fewest traitors and was the most protective of its own. Things like Konoha sending Hyuga Hizashi out as a scapegoat, or Hidden Sand getting its own hero Pakura killed by her comrades, could never happen in the Hidden Cloud Village.

In the original story, after Karai was implanted with an Exploding Insect, the Fourth Raikage personally went to support him despite the danger. When he mistakenly believed Killer B had been captured by Sasuke, he immediately convened the Five Kage Summit.

"What did the Kazekage send you here for?"

The First Raikage, Ai, was curious about the Hidden Sand Village's purpose in sending envoys to the Hidden Cloud Village.

Sand Hunter gave a slight bow.

"Lord Raikage, I came to the Hidden Cloud Village under the Kazekage's orders to form an alliance between the Hidden Cloud Village and the Hidden Sand Village."

"An alliance?" Ai said disdainfully. "I don't see what there is for Hidden Sand and Hidden Cloud to ally over."

Among the Five Great Ninja Villages, Hidden Sand was the weakest. The Hidden Cloud Village had always revered strength, and forming an alliance with such a weak village would be embarrassing to even speak of.

Sand Hunter was not angered by Ai's tone. He had expected this.

"Lord Raikage, please don't be so quick to refuse."

"Konoha has Senju Hashirama, Senju Tobirama, Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Izuna, and Uchiha Yan. It is unquestionably the strongest ninja village. What's more, Konoha has already formed an alliance with the Hidden Stone Village. If the remaining ninja villages do not unite, we can only be swallowed up by Konoha."

"As long as we bring in the Hidden Mist Village, then the three villages—Hidden Sand, Hidden Cloud, and Hidden Mist—will be able to protect themselves even if we cannot defeat Konoha."

Those words struck directly at Ai's weak point.

Though he was unwilling to admit it, Konoha truly surpassed the Hidden Cloud Village in raw strength. If Konoha was allowed to dominate alone, the Hidden Cloud Village would be swallowed up sooner or later.

"How would this alliance work?"

Sand Hunter was secretly delighted. He was not afraid of Ai setting terms—he was afraid Ai would not be tempted.

"Lord Raikage, once Hidden Sand and Hidden Cloud become allies, the two nations will share intelligence. If one side is invaded, the other must provide aid. Furthermore, after allying with the Hidden Sand Village, the Hidden Cloud Village must give priority to the Land of Wind in its political stance."

He continued, "In exchange, the Land of Lightning will provide the Land of Wind with a stable supply of grain, and the two sides will open trade. Hidden Sand will open its mineral veins and supply Hidden Cloud with metal ore at low prices for forging ninja tools."

After hearing this, Ai shook his head.

"From the sound of it, this alliance offers no benefit to Hidden Cloud."

"The Land of Wind lacks grain, but Hidden Cloud does not lack metal ore. Besides, having Hidden Cloud travel all the way to the Land of Wind to mine would be unrealistic in both cost and practicality. As for intelligence sharing, it sounds good enough, but who would actually hand over truly useful intelligence?"

"Lord Raikage, the Land of Wind is barren. Ore is all we can offer."

Sand Hunter's voice rose slightly.

"Does Hidden Cloud gain anything by refusing an alliance? Does Lord Raikage intend to watch Konoha grow stronger and stronger? Hidden Sand is a weak village to begin with. There is no difference between allying with Konoha and allying with Hidden Cloud. It is simply that the Kazekage does not wish to see Konoha become ever more powerful either."

"If Lord Raikage refuses this alliance, Hidden Sand will turn around and go to Konoha."

After Sand Hunter finished speaking, he waited for the First Raikage Ai's reply.

Ai fell silent for a moment.

"I agree to the alliance."

Ai could not simply stand by and watch Konoha grow stronger and stronger.

"However, the details must be renegotiated. An alliance is fine, but the terms must be equitable."

Sand Hunter let out a breath of relief.

"Of course."

Konoha Village.

Another team sent by the Hidden Sand Village had also arrived.

However, Uchiha Yan did not personally receive them this time. He directly had Nara Shikato handle the reception.

To the Hidden Sand Village, a treaty was not even as useful as toilet paper—it was too hard for that. In the original story, Hidden Sand loved nothing more than tearing up treaties, and it never knew its own strength.

At the first Five Kage Summit, the First Kazekage, Reto, had been far too greedy. First, he demanded land. Because the Hidden Sand Village had only one tailed beast, he demanded that the Land of Fire cede fertile land to make up for its resource disadvantage. Second, he demanded a cut of the funds, requiring the Lands of Lightning, Earth, and Water to give Hidden Sand thirty percent of the money paid to the Land of Fire for tailed beasts. Those two demands nearly triggered a war.

Weak nations had no diplomacy. What strength did your Hidden Sand Village even have? Everyone had no choice but to grit their teeth and accept it because Konoha was too strong. Yet at the Five Kage Summit, Hidden Sand acted as if it were something special, demanding land and money alike.

So Uchiha Yan had no intention of wasting his time and directly sent Nara Shikato to deal with them.

Nara Shikato formally received Kui Lian and his group at the Konoha White Palace.

"On behalf of the Kazekage, I have come to Konoha specifically to form an alliance."

Kui Lian pushed a draft alliance agreement before Nara Shikato.

The draft roughly stated the following: after Konoha and Hidden Sand formed an alliance, Konoha would need to provide Hidden Sand with a certain amount of food and supplies every year; Konoha would have to open trade with Hidden Sand, with Hidden Sand purchasing Konoha goods below market price; in exchange, Konoha would receive mining rights in the Land of Wind.

In other words: Konoha would provide food for free, supplies for free, and cheap goods for free, then head to that godforsaken place called the Land of Wind to dig for ore.

This treaty was far more excessive than the one the Hidden Sand Village had offered the Hidden Cloud Village.

This had all been part of Reto's plan. Konoha had fertile land and abundant resources, so naturally they had to demand more.

"I need to discuss the contents of this draft with the Hokage. You may rest at Konoha's post station for now."

Kui Lian nodded to show his understanding.

After Kui Lian and the others left, Nara Shikato immediately sent someone to summon Senju Tobirama and Hyuga Tennin.

"Arrogant."

Senju Tobirama slapped the draft onto the table.

"The Hidden Sand Village thinks it deserves this? They're shameless beyond belief. Absolutely ridiculous."

Still not satisfied after cursing them once, Tobirama added, "Was the sun in the Land of Wind so vicious that it tanned them black, so no one would call them idiots anymore?"

Hyuga Tennin took the draft and read through it, his brows also knitting tightly.

"The Hidden Sand Village presenting us with this treaty is clearly an insult."

"Their supposed desire for an alliance is fake. They're really here to mooch off us. So my opinion is—don't negotiate," Hyuga Tennin said. "The Hidden Sand Village clearly has no sincerity when it comes to forming an alliance. Just send them away."

Nara Shikato considered it, then said, "There's no need to send them away just yet. But there's no rush regarding the alliance. Let them wait first."

The three heads of the ministries reached a consensus: the Hidden Sand Village's proposal for an alliance would be left hanging for now. They would neither reject it nor accept it, dragging things out until the Hidden Sand Village lowered its terms on its own.