Still Talking?

"Uchiha Shingen, it's been a long time since we last met." Ai looked at his enemy, his heart burning with anger, but his face remained expressionless, and his voice was steady.

Uchiha Shingen's expression remained unchanged as he stepped aside.

Behind him, Namikaze Minato stepped forward.

"Ah, since this is a negotiation, there needs to be sincerity," Namikaze Minato said. "You're late."

"Hmph, you've become so aggressive since becoming Hokage. What about Yugito Nii?"

"We can meet anytime, it just depends on how our talks go," Namikaze Minato said.

Uchiha Shingen touched the scroll storage bag on his chest, his meaning was clear.

Ai saw Uchiha Shingen's action and felt a little annoyed.

This means that the person is still in Konoha.

In the past, Ai would have considered whether to immediately contact the Cloud Village's secret agents in the Land of Fire, and take advantage of the negotiations to organize a group of people to infiltrate Hidden Leaf Prison and retrieve Yugito Nii, and perhaps even give him a Byakugan if the opportunity arose.

However, the reorganized Konoha Military Police Force of Hidden Leaf Village are now an impregnable fortress, and the ninja clans that used to fight each other are now in perfect unison with the Hokage Building. So, apart from a large-scale military assault, there is no way to infiltrate the village.

Namikaze Minato Kumogakure a terrible Hokage.

"Then let's talk," Ai said.

The two current shadows exchanged a glance and then walked together toward a restaurant.

Halfway there, Ai suddenly stopped and looked at the Leaf Village negotiation team.

"Is there one more person than you have?"

"There's no other way, Leaf Village has good food and plenty of people," Uchiha Shingen said with a dark expression. "You can always add one more person."

"Didn't you say there were five?" Uchiha Shingen's sarcastic remarks and looked at them one by one.

Namikaze Minato Uchiha Shingen participated in the negotiations; he had no objection.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was his father's old rival, so there was no problem with that. After all, even he had to show respect to the old Hokage on the surface.

As for the two advisors, they were also high-ranking officials in Leaf Village for many years and frequently appeared on diplomatic occasions.

There was only one big fat guy left, and he was a bit of an eyesore.

"This person isn't a high-ranking member of Leaf Village, is he?" A asked Torifu Akimichi. "Who are you?"

He knew exactly who the fat man was, but he pretended not to.

Anyway, when he became Raikage, Torifu Akimichi was already semi-retired. This is a privilege of the young – not knowing the legends of the older generation.

"Go ask your father." Torifu Akimichi showed no mercy to the Raikage.

As a former member of Tobirama Squad, the biggest difference between him and Sarutobi Hiruzen and others is that he has always worked in the purely military field, and his speech and actions are more direct.

The Fourth Raikage's most respected and admired person was his own father, so he became furious upon hearing this.

"Don't the people of Leaf Village know what manners are!?"

"Politeness is for people," Torifu Akimichi said. "If I see a mad dog barking, I'll ask it if it's tired of barking."

Uchiha Shingen almost burst out laughing.

Then he saw someone in the Cloud Ninja team glaring angrily, reaching for their weapon.

"If you don't want your hands anymore, you can say so," he said.

A sudden chill filled the air, and the Cloud Ninja, whose hands were already on their weapons, stopped moving.

A layer of frost had formed on the ground.

If the Cloud Ninja hadn't been protected by Chakra, their hands would have been covered in frost.

"That's enough!" Ai said.

His powerful Chakra dissipated the chill that was spreading towards him.

"Hey, we're all familiar with each other, let's skip the unnecessary formalities," Namikaze Minato said. "Now that things have come to this, let's be honest with each other. If you want to start a war, then we can begin now."

The atmosphere became tense again, and tensions rose sharply.

The former members of Tobirama Squad had piercing gazes.

"Hmph!" Ai waved his hand.

The Cloud Ninja restrained their movements.

Then, Ai Yima took the lead and walked towards the restaurant's entrance.

No one brought up the number of people anymore.

In the shadows, several people were watching all of this.

About a block apart, four Akatsuki cloak sat at a table with wine and dishes laid out on it.

No one touched their chopsticks.

"No fight broke out." Orochimaru licked his lips. "That Minato kid, he's quite the expert at Hokage."

"I don't care, how long will they talk?" Kakuzu asked.

As someone who values every minute of the day, he dislikes sitting for long periods.

"That's hard to say. If it's quick, it'll be just a few words; if we talk in detail, a day won't be too long." Orochimaru shrugged.

Of all the people present, he was the only one who truly understood the situation surrounding the negotiations with the Great Ninja Village.

The others have the ability, but they have zero experience in this area.

"It's too long." Although Kakuzu was wearing a mask, everyone could see that his expression was somewhat distorted.

"You guys decide what to do, I'll leave it to you," Orochimaru said.

Kakuzu's gaze shifted to the red-haired youth beside him.

To be honest, the other party's appearance this time only strengthened his resolve.

Aside from money, there is no one in this world you can trust.

They even used a puppet to recruit him!

But its strength is truly formidable; its true form is even stronger than the puppet.

Moreover, he was originally sickly, but after being attacked by the Fourth Raikage, he turned into a lively young man.

"Nagato," the woman beside her said, "I still stand by my previous opinion: you shouldn't have shown up so early."

"Konan, the situation in the Ninja World is different now than before. Akatsuki must demonstrate its strength more forcefully, and exposing these eyes is a necessary price to pay."

The red-haired youth is Uzumaki Nagato.

Just as Konan said, there was a risk in him coming here in his true form.

It's not because of the need to sever ties with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

Maintaining a connection with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, while constantly draining his Chakra and leaving him withered like a log, also forces him to adapt to the power of the Rinnegan at a rapid pace.

As time went by, his strength grew stronger and stronger. Now he can control the power of the Rinnegan very well, and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path is completely under his control.

The Fourth Raikage's actions were entirely within his expectations; as expected, his first reaction upon seeing the Rinnegan was to snatch it.

That's perfect; the Eight-Tails 'Chakra brought him back to his peak physical condition.

I am deeply grateful for your hospitality.

Then he countered with a Shinra Tensei.

If it weren't for the fact that now is not a good time to collect the Tailed Beasts, and there's no money to be made, we would have just assigned them to the Fourth Raikage.

This Raikage, having just Jinchūriki, is not yet able to fully control that power. His strength has indeed increased dramatically, but it is still not enough to deal with him when his original form has recovered to its peak.

"That's not necessarily true. I think that Raikage genuinely wants to achieve peace with Leaf Village." Orochimaru was always eager for a good show, as long as he was interested.

He was interested in everything Uzumaki Nagato was going to be involved in.

"In that case, there won't be any large-scale wars in the Ninja World. What's the point of Akatsuki then?" Orochimaru asked. "Military mercenaries are our main source of income, aren't they?"

"As long as there are people, there will be conflict. Going underground will be more advantageous for Akatsuki." Uzumaki Nagato looked at the man.

Although both were among the Legendary Sannin, they Jiraiya.

As for him and Leaf Village, there was nothing more to say. The debt of gratitude Jiraiya him was settled when Leaf Village joined forces with Rain Village to wipe out Akatsuki.

"So, what do we do now?"

"The only mission from Cloud Village is to protect the Raikage and eliminate Leaf Village's forces should anything go wrong. Regardless of whether anything happens, the payment will still be made, and Akatsuki's reputation will be thoroughly established," Uzumaki Nagato said coldly. "For the greater cause, hoarding funds and throwing ourselves into the war is what we need to do now."

He shared his plans with everyone.

"The first stage is reputation, which we'll gain after completing this mission. The second step is to replace Hanzo and bring peace to the Land of Rain, which will also take time. The five great villages won't be at peace forever, but the final battle will be initiated by us."

"It's good to pursue your ideals." Orochimaru poured cold water on the woman's enthusiasm again, despite her disdainful look. "But you can't do anything without money. In my experience, once Leaf Village and Cloud Village achieve peace, Akatsuki won't be getting many missions for a long time. The mission rewards this time will probably be cut by Kumogakure. How will we solve the funding problem during this period?"

"They wouldn't dare!" Kakuzu hearing this, stopped twisting his words and slammed his hand on the table, the dishes clanging loudly. "Since we've commissioned them, whether they do it or not, they have to pay! Not a penny less!"

"They're a major ninja village; their expenditure management is very strict," Orochimaru reminded him.

"Then kill the Raikage! If they still don't pay, kill the new Raikage too, keep beating them until they do!" At this moment, Jiao seemed to be a beam of light as he looked at Nagato, "Pain, what do you say?"

"What you and Orochimaru said makes sense." Uzumaki Nagato nodded, though he was actually a little confused.

The main problem is that Kakuzu's attitude is such that he probably can't be stopped. Besides, Kakuzu is doing this for Akatsuki's finances, so even if he feels it's a bit inappropriate, he can't just directly reject Kakuzu's sincere intentions.

During this period, Uzumaki Nagato, who was not particularly skilled in organizational management, decided to humbly accept advice and demonstrate his decisiveness as a leader.

"Fine, if the Kumogakure doesn't pay the full amount, we'll kill the Raikage."

On one side, a woman named Konan watched the group's fascinating interaction with a blank expression.

Yahiko, if only you were still here!

Should we continue discussing Chapter Thirty-One?

Inside the restaurant, all the negotiators from Leaf Village and Cloud Village were seated.

Sitting next to Ai was the Cloud Ninja with the Lightning Crest on his eyepatch.

In terms of personnel quality, the Kumogakure side is clearly not inferior, Jonin of Jonin.

Unfortunately, their opponent was the world's most outrageous wall-hanging concentration camp.

Sitting next to Namikaze Minato was Sarutobi Hiruzen, a Shinobi Hero.

Considering that the current Five Kage have not yet reached the era where all five are Fourth Hokage, there is still no consensus on who is the strongest among the Fourth Five Kage.

However, among the Third Five Kage, the Shinobi Hero from Leaf Village is widely recognized as the strongest.

Looking around again, all the top fighters from Leaf Village Third's group were here.

The Ninja Academy students selected and formed by Senju Tobirama were among the most outstanding young people in Leaf Village at the time. The top group consisted of Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzō, and Kagami Uchiha. Except for Kagami Uchiha, who died young and was not well-known, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō both became genuine Five Kage- level powerhouses.

Torifu Akimichi and others were slightly less capable, but they were still top figures among the Jonin Leaf Village, strong individuals capable of holding up the sky. For example, before Tsunade, Utatane Koharu was the most powerful medical-nin in Leaf Village.

So the Cloud Ninja looked over and saw that all the living members of the Second Hokage's team were present.

Cloud Ninja, who was very clear about the entanglement, felt a pang of unease.

This lineup is very unfavorable.

They didn't think much of it when Sarutobi Hiruzen Hokage, but Leaf Village's aggressive stance now reminded them of this.

Oh, and there's one more, the resolute Cloud Village Leaf Village's White Ghost of Konoha, Uchiha Shingen.

After watching the video, and then looking at their own side, apart from their leader, everyone else seemed out of place. The Cloud Ninja suddenly felt suppressed.

They thought Raikage was truly visionary, fortunate to have hired outside help, even though that help wasn't exactly ethical, as long as he could get paid to do something, it didn't matter.

Thinking about it carefully, I'm actually a little proud of myself; one of those foreign aid workers was originally from Leaf Village.

"Lord Raikage, the war between Leaf Village and Cloud Village ended a long time ago, but Kumogakure has been delaying peace talks with various excuses. I hope that this time, they can show their sincerity." Namikaze Minato spoke first.

"Of course, peace is a matter for both sides, and we hope that Leaf Village is also sincerely friendly with Cloud Village," A said.

"Then, our conditions are very simple." Namikaze Minato began to lay out his terms.

The so-called ease and skill of a strong person means that I don't care about rhythm or routines.

The idea that "if the enemy doesn't move, I don't move; if the enemy moves, I strike later but arrive first" is utter nonsense.