Is This Really an Uchiha? / The Older They Get, the More They Love to Learn

They gave me plenty of face.

On this point, Iwagakure will not leave Hidden Leaf Village with any grounds for criticism.

After all, Iwagakure is not Cloud Village, Iwagakure is quite particular about this aspect.

During the Third Shinobi World War, when the two villages made peace, Iwagakure sent Kitsuchi, the son of the Tsuchikage, to Leaf Village to pay their respects and sign an agreement, showing great courtesy.

As old-school ninjas from the same era and longtime rivals, Ōnoki still held Sarutobi Hiruzen in high regard.

Sitting in the Tsuchikage's office, listening to the commotion outside, Ōnoki was pondering how to talk to the Leaf Village faction.

The Yellow Flash became Hokage, Yellow Flash Ōnoki acknowledged his strength, but in accordance with the tradition of the Ninja World, he still didn't hold back in testing his worth as Hokage.

The trial didn't go well; Hidden Leaf Village became more united, and the Flying Thunder God Technique still hadn't disappeared from the battlefield, with the Uchiha Clan being the new users.

In contrast, the Rock Ninja army suffered a devastating defeat, with an entire squad wiped out. Their elite Demolition Corps was completely rendered ineffective, and their disciple and granddaughter were captured.

They've been sent back now. Hidden Leaf Village is quite considerate; they checked on the two little ones before, and they seemed energetic and hadn't suffered any hardship.

Otherwise, why bother talking to Leaf Village? He can just start another round, use Dust Release first, and see who feels more pain.

"Knock knock..." There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Ōnoki said, then stood up and picked up the Tsuchikage hat from the table.

"Lord Tsuchikage, the Leaf Village delegation is about to enter the building."

"Very well, take them directly to the conference room." Ōnoki put on his hat and said with great authority, "I'll see how that White Ghost plans to negotiate today."

He was very confident; after all, negotiation was all about talking. Uchiha Clan? Forget it.

Chapter Sixteen: Is that Uchiha Clan?!

After entering Iwagakure, Uchiha Shingen formally handed over Deidara and Kurotsuchi to Kitsuchi.

Times have changed. Leaf Village no longer needs to use these two kids as bargaining chips; they were just there to gain favor.

At this stage, all of Hidden Leaf Village's diplomacy is based on one goal—to build good relations with other villages and put pressure on Cloud Village to make them submit, without harming Leaf Village's interests.

Uchiha Shingen felt he had successfully gained some goodwill. Kitsuchi's expression softened considerably, and as he led the group toward the Tsuchikage Building, Huang Tu, who had been silent for a long time, began to talk to Uchiha Shingen.

Upon entering the Tsuchikage Building, Uchiha Shingen became certain of one thing.

Of the five great ninja villages, the Hokage Building is definitely the smallest.

Kitsuchi was quite responsible in guiding the delegation. After receiving the Tsuchikage's orders from the secretary, he led the Leaf Village delegation directly to the meeting hall.

Upon entering the conference hall, the first thing one could see was Ōnoki and other high-ranking officials from Iwagakure, all of whom were already seated, but Uchiha Shingen did not recognize any of them.

He knew Ōnoki and Kitsuchi.

The Leaf Village delegation took their seats in turn, and Kitsuchi sat down next to Ōnoki.

The pigeons from Hidden Leaf Village were all in high spirits and had a great appetite.

It's been a long time since we've seen such disciplined crew members. They felt a sense of warmth and were confident they could perform exceptionally well today.

After the two groups sat down, Ōnoki didn't speak immediately, nor did Uchiha Shingen. With the two leaders silent, the others could only stare at each other.

Seeing the stubborn, defiant look in the eyes of the fat man in front of him, Uchiha Shingen decided not to let him get away with it and decided to make the first move.

"Lord Tsuchikage." Uchiha Shingen spoke, and the spirits of both sides immediately lifted.

Then they heard Uchiha Shingen rattle off a string of words.

"Leaf Village and Iwagakure have maintained diplomatic relations for decades, and have always worked together to forge ahead, making the traditional friendship between the two villages stronger over time."

Huh? What's that Leaf Village White Ghost saying?

"Under the joint leadership of both villages, the political mutual trust between the two sides has always been unbreakable, and the cooperation has yielded fruitful results. In particular, there has been close and effective collaboration in various fields of maintaining regional peace. After the turmoil in the Land of Rain some time ago, the two villages helped each other and joined hands to deal with the situation, demonstrating their brotherly friendship in times of adversity!"

After reciting this long string of words in one breath, and facing the astonished expressions of the group of Rock Ninja high-ranking officials opposite him, Uchiha Shingen waved his hand, proudly and loudly proclaiming, "Lord Tsuchikage, it is necessary for us to take this a step further and establish a comprehensive strategic partnership based on mutual trust and win-win cooperation!"

The entire room fell silent; no one had reacted yet.

The Iwagakure was caught off guard, and the pigeons of Leaf Village were even more stunned.

Ōnoki's usual mocking smile had vanished; his head was now buzzing.

Mutual support and assistance; joining hands to overcome difficulties; weathering storms together; brotherhood.

What are all these things?

Mutual trust? Win-win cooperation?

Is he speaking human language?

After replaying everything Uchiha Shingen had just said in his mind, Ōnoki was shocked.

Is this what Uchiha Clan like now?!

Even the Kitsuchi was shocked.

His gaze as he looked at Uchiha Shingen was burning with passion!

So that's how it is! His soulmate from the Kitsuchi was actually here!?

The old pigeons were not only shocked, but they also suddenly understood.

So this is how you can make up stories about ghosts!

How hasty! They had assumed the Uchiha Clan would only know how to unleash devastating attacks and would slam their fists on the table at the slightest provocation, and they were prepared to step in and save the day.

This is utterly useless! They're way more skilled than them!

"Uchiha Shingen, are you showing off your strength?" Ōnoki suddenly sneered. "How many ninja have died in Iwagakure and Leaf Village? The blood debt is endless. Where is this 'assistance'?"

"How could there not be?" Uchiha Shingen said. "Not to mention anything far back, just take the Third Shinobi World War. Iwagakure and Leaf Village stopped the unjust war started by Kumogakure and killed the bandit leader, the Third Raikage. This is a testament to the deep friendship between the two sides over the past decades."

Everyone suddenly realized that Raikage was the bandit leader!

"The actions of the Rock Ninja Army have nothing to do with Leaf Village." Ōnoki indicated that he wouldn't buy into that, but his tone wasn't as forceful.

After all, as the Tsuchikage, he still had to maintain his dignity.

"Lord Tsuchikage is truly modest. This is precisely why I said that both sides should establish a comprehensive strategic partnership based on mutual trust and win-win cooperation."

Uchiha Shingen maintained his smile and continued.

"Think about it, you and the Lord Hokage are thousands of miles apart, yet you are so in sync in fighting against Cloud Village. Isn't that mutual trust? Shouldn't we pass on this spirit of sincerity, friendship, and mutual support from generation to generation?"

The high-ranking members of Iwagakure unconsciously nodded in agreement.

They quickly realized that the other party's words flowed too smoothly, mainly because the wording was novel and catchy, and they were unconsciously drawn in.

"Stop making trouble." Ōnoki knew he couldn't just sit back and take the beating; he had to fight back. "In this war, Leaf Village has caused significant losses to Iwagakure. We acted to maintain peace in the Land of Rain. It was Leaf Village that arrogantly escalated the war. Although the two sides have reached a ceasefire, Iwagakure deserves compensation."

"Sigh... Lord Tsuchikage." Uchiha Shingen suddenly shook his head, his tone seemingly disappointed, "Your vision is too narrow."

Ōnoki: "???"

That Uchiha Clan brat is so annoying!

Where am I small? I'm big, okay?! Everyone in the village says I'm the most awesome Tsuchikage bully!

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, suppressing his anger.

"The Land of Fire Trading Merchants Association is willing to provide the Land of Earth with corporate products of various maturities to support the construction and operation of the Land of Earth's infrastructure. They can also assist the Daimyo of the Land of Earth in issuing special-purpose bonds."

"Huh?" Ōnoki was startled.

He had heard of that Trading Merchants Association and knew it controlled a lot of resources, but the association only conducted business in the Land of Fire and its allies.

He, Ōnoki, had some business acumen and had done his research on the association.

They're incredibly rich!

It seems Leaf Village is very sincere!

"It seems the Fourth Hokage is quite sincere," Ōnoki said with a smile.

It's laughable. Iwagakure, but the Land of Land of Earth is even larger, with money needed everywhere. Unfortunately, the Land of Earth is really short of money. The budget of the Daimyo of the Land of Earth is cut again and again every year. It's an unspoken rule that everyone knows the first thing to do when a proposal is cut by 30%.

Uchiha Shingen also smiled.

There's too much money in the Land of Fire right now, mainly because those nobles are just too damn rich. Heaven knows how much wealth they've accumulated in the past. Not only are market interest rates constantly decreasing, approaching the bottom line of those nobles' expected returns, but the cost of living for ordinary people has also increased.

This is not good. We need to release some of the money as soon as possible, but such a large and stable market is necessary to absorb it.

The Land of Water not suitable because it doesn't lack wealth; it's in the same situation as the Land of Fire. What it lacks are investment opportunities.

The Land of Lightning? Give me a break! This country lacks even the most basic sense of contract from top to bottom; they'd definitely break contracts and treat it like a game.

The Land of Wind is too poor. It lacks everything except minerals. Once you have too much money, you can't get back. Uchiha Shingen wants to improve the efficiency of fund utilization, not to deliberately lose money.

After much thought, only the Land of Earth is the most suitable.

The Land of Earth's financial system is even more primitive and backward than the original Land of Fire's. How can we not take action? Once the Iwagakure realizes something is wrong, it will be time to drag them down with us.

War? Iwagakure will be tied to Leaf Village by then; whoever attacks Leaf Village, Iwagakure will have to attack them.

Seeing Ōnoki's expression, knowing that the fatso was tempted, Uchiha Shingen smiled even more warmly.

Hmm? Why aren't the pigeons saying anything?

Uchiha Shingen glanced at them out of the corner of his eye and saw these birds frantically writing.

I have no idea what they're writing.

Let's ignore them, as long as they don't cause trouble.

Chapter Seventeen: The Older You Get, the More You Love Learning

The first round of negotiations between Leaf Village and Iwagakure ended hastily.

It wasn't that the talks went badly, but rather that they went too well.

The leaders of Iwagakure felt that they had never seen anything so outrageous in all their years of life.

What was supposed to be a negotiation between two groups turned into a one-man show by White Ghost from Leaf Village.

What baffled them the most was that Leaf Village's White Ghost practically jumped onto the table, pointed at their noses, and said, "Is this all you've got? I've got plenty of money, you better give me more!"

The higher-ups of Iwagakure didn't even know what kind of expression they should wear.

Angry? They want to invest, and the amount is terrifyingly large.

Happy? Being lectured like a grandson from beginning to end, and you're happy? Isn't that just being a masochist?

So they were at a loss, unsure whether to be happy or unhappy.

I really don't know what expression to make.

Gradually, Ōnoki's expression became blank.

In the end, the Iwagakure members couldn't even get a word in edgewise. They felt they had a lot to say, but just didn't know what to say. Uchiha Shingen kept talking, bombarding them with questions until they were dizzy and confused. Finally, they had no choice but to say, "Let's stop here for today and think about it."

Humiliating! Utterly humiliating!

This is an absolute disgrace!

They came with the intention of distorting the truth and maliciously extorting money!

What kind of situation is this?! I was clearly scolded, but I can't get angry; I have to smile!

Ugh! I'm so angry!

Seeing Leaf Village White Ghost leading the delegation to the hotel to rest with an air of superiority, the Iwagakure leaders, headed by Ōnoki, were both bewildered and frustrated.

But there was also excitement.

Because Leaf Village's White Ghost also proposed at the meeting that any loan to the Land of Earth must be guaranteed by Iwagakure. If Iwagakure does not approve of a project, the Land Daimyo's opinion is useless, and the association will not invest a single penny.

If this were implemented, wouldn't Iwagakure become a hot commodity in the Land of Earth? Not only can guarantees be charged, but there are also countless favors involved.

On a brighter note, Iwagakure does have allies; could that be used to win them over?

It's just a matter of going through a few more procedures to transfer the money out. Anyway, Leaf Village won't care. As long as we can repay on time, that's fine. If we can't repay, according to Leaf Village's White Ghost, we can also conditionally borrow new money to repay old debts or replace it with special bonds from the Daimyo's Court.

Once the debt is repaid, the creditor will be Tu Daming.

That's easy to discuss.

Following this logic, when a local daimyo engages in monetary diplomacy with allies, does he also need to go through the connections of Iwagakure)?