Windmill Town is a little-known town in the Land of Lightning.
Its name comes from the giant windmill that stands at the entrance of the town.
Now, this secluded town has welcomed a group of well-equipped ninjas.
"So? Did you find any trace of that guy?"
Inside the inn, the Fourth Raikage, A, sat in an armchair, staring grimly at the Cloud Ninja who came in to report.
"Not yet, Lord Raikage."
The scout knelt to report.
The air in the hotel was somewhat heavy.
This small room was crammed with more than a dozen burly ninjas, each of whom was Jonin- level ninja.
If other ninjas saw this, they would surely be suspicious.
Despite being such a powerful group of ninjas, everyone's expressions were incredibly solemn, even carrying an aura of resignation as if they were facing certain death.
But what if they knew who their enemy was?
He would probably immediately show a relieved expression.
"Lord Raikage, is it possible that he was just deceiving us and didn't actually intend to come here?"
One of the Cloud Ninja hesitated before speaking.
After all, the plan was far too rudimentary; they had no means to force Uchiha Mirai come, and the choice was entirely in Uchiha Mirai's hands.
"Impossible!"
A glint of light flashed in Ai's eyes, and he immediately spoke with certainty.
"Given Uchiha Mirai arrogance, he will inevitably come."
Arrogance is a characteristic of the Uchiha Clan, and the arrogance of the Uchiha Mirai will far exceed that of ordinary Uchiha Clan members.
The best proof of this is that he went to the Kumogakure alone and turned the Kumogakure upside down.
How could a man who dared to trespass on even the Five Great Shinobi Villages lack this much courage?
Moreover, he fully expressed his sincerity in the letter he sent to Konoha.
With such generous terms, Uchiha Mirai had no reason to refuse.
"Since he promised in his reply, he will definitely come. We can just wait here!"
Ai's eyes were cold, and she slightly gritted her teeth.
His hatred for the Uchiha Mirai had reached its peak.
As the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure, he had never suffered such a crushing defeat at the hands of any one person!
It's no longer a matter of hatred.
Having lost two Jinchuriki in succession, and having been humiliated by Uchiha Mirai extorted a large amount of resources, Kumogakure is now at a critical moment of life and death.
If things continue like this, it's questionable whether Kumogakure will even exist in the future.
Even if it manages to survive, without the presence of the Tailed Beast, it will never be able to return to its peak.
At this critical moment, A had no choice but to show the decisiveness befitting the Raikage!
The Cloud Ninja in the room exchanged glances, but could only swallow their doubts.
Since Lord Raikage is so certain, then as his subordinates, they should simply fight alongside Raikage to the last drop of blood.
Time passed slowly, and the air in the hotel grew heavier, as if it had turned into an invisible boulder, pressing down on everyone's hearts.
Just as they were growing impatient, a joyful voice finally arrived.
"He's here!"
At the entrance to Windmill Town, Ai watched Uchiha Mirai walking alone towards him and cautiously glanced behind him.
"What? Are you alone?"
"It's just signing an agreement, why do you need to bring so many people?"
Hearing the other person's casual and even somewhat contemptuous tone, Ai suddenly felt her face flush red, and a sense of shame inexplicably welled up inside her.
Behind him stood a row of Cloud Ninja, at least ten in total, lined up neatly behind him.
This contrasts sharply with Uchiha Mirai, who was all alone.
"Let's get started! We still need to discuss the details of the agreement."
Ai snorted.
How dare you come alone? You're really arrogant!
But this is for the best; it increases the chances of the plan succeeding!
Uchiha Mirai, you will regret your arrogance!
In the hotel.
A large dining table, covered with a clean white tablecloth, was temporarily used as a conference table.
Fortunately, there were only two ninjas negotiating this time, so the space didn't feel cramped.
Ai sat at one side of the dining table with a gloomy expression, his hands pressed against his thighs, the veins on his thick arms bulging slightly.
Behind him stood a row of Cloud Ninja, almost every one of Cloud Ninja carrying a sharp Ninja Blade on their back, exuding a chilling aura.
This intense sense of oppression would have terrified any ninja, causing them to tremble uncontrollably and break out in a cold sweat.
On the other side of the table, Uchiha Mirai was leisurely examining her fingers. She seemed to notice a piece of dead skin growing on her fingertip, and after observing it for a while, she pulled it off.
Ai's forehead veins throbbed as he tried his best to suppress the anger rising within him.
"Lord Hokage, may we begin?"
"Oh, you mean the agreement? Let's begin! Let's begin!"
As he spoke, Uchiha Mirai swept the dead skin off the table, shifted her posture, and looked at A across from her.
Ai took a deep breath.
"Your village captured two of our village's Jinchuriki and embezzled countless resources from our village. I can forgive these past transgressions, but a new peace agreement must be signed."
Regarding the contents of the agreement...
Aiton paused, then took out two drafts of the agreement, pushing one towards Uchiha Mirai on the other side, and keeping the other in front of himself.
Uchiha Mirai glanced at the papers in front of her and clicked her tongue in surprise.
"I imprisoned two of you Jinchuriki and extorted such a large sum of resources from you. I never expected that not only would you not pursue the matter, but you would even give me so much compensation?"
Even though he was prepared, he was still taken aback by the "generosity" of the Kumogakure.
To put it nicely, it's a peace treaty; to put it bluntly, it's a compensation agreement for the Kumogakure.
The agreement, though seemingly disparate, contains assets worth at least several billion taels of silver.
Such a large sum of money is almost exclusively the compensation that defeated villages are forced to pay to victorious villages after each Ninja World War.
"We want to exchange for two Jinchuriki, or even just one."
After a moment of silence, Ai spoke in a deep voice.
With his Jinchuriki in the hands of Uchiha Mirai, he will never find peace of mind.
"Switching back to Jinchuriki? That's not out of the question."
Uchiha Mirai stroked her chin with her fingers, pondered for a moment, and then spoke.
"However, the details of the compensation still need to be discussed and agreed upon."
How many do you want?
"Ten times! Ten times more! Then I'll agree."
Uchiha Mirai smiled, seemingly genuinely.
"Enough!!"
Ai slammed his fist on the table, stood up, and glared angrily at Uchiha Mirai, his eyes bloodshot with rage.
Do you really think our Kumogakure is a pushover?
Isn't that so?
Uchiha Mirai sneered.
He glanced around, his gaze gradually turning cold.
"This farce can end now. Call out all the people you arranged!"
With that, a tremendous aura erupted from his body!