How Much Longer Was It Again?

Currently, Leaf Village is strong while Cloud Village is weak, so Namikaze Minato will not be polite.

The relationship with Iwagakure and Hidden Mist Village can be more amicable because their conflicts with Leaf Village are not actually that sharp, and many things can be reconciled.

On this point, Namikaze Minato agreed with Uchiha Shingen's philosophy.

There's no such thing as a "you're good, I'm good, everyone's good" mentality. Leaf Village needs to clearly distinguish between those who can be won over and those who must be resolutely suppressed.

When trying to win someone over, do so within your means; when trying to suppress someone, do so without reservation.

"Cloud Village must compensate for the losses caused to the Land of Hot Water in the last war, and also bear all the expenses incurred by Leaf Village in maintaining a military standoff with Cloud Village." Namikaze Minato said succinctly, "The Land of Frost is the Land of Land of Lightning's private territory, and we will not interfere with that, but a portion of the Land of Daimyo of the Land of Lightning's mission share must be handed over to Hidden Leaf Village."

"That's impossible!" Ai immediately refused.

Are you kidding me? There was room for negotiation on the first part, but absolutely nothing on this last point.

The fate of Sand Village is imminent.

Within ten years at most, Sand Village will face financial depletion, its ninja army will shrink to its lowest size, and it will even be unable to guarantee the resources for training lower-ranking ninjas.

This is no joke. At that time, Sand Village will have to make a choice: whether to go all out and fight Leaf Village to the death, or to withdraw from the ranks of the Five Great Ninja Villages and become a subordinate force of Leaf Village.

Even with geographical factors contributing to unification, the vast Land of Wind can disintegrate when its military strength is lacking.

It will become the first major power to be dismembered, Sunagakure will become like Amegakure.

"Such conditions are tantamount to a declaration of war, forcing Kumogakure to fight to the death," A said sincerely. "Kumogakure truly has no intention of continuing the war. Leaf Village should offer more realistic conditions."

"Since it was the Kumogakure that started the war, they must bear the consequences." Namikaze Minato remained unmoved. "The winner takes all; this is consistent with the Kumogakure's long-standing practice."

"Cloud Village is not at that level yet, nor will it ever reach that level," Ai said firmly. "Of course we know that peace must be achieved through strength, and if Leaf Village wants to attack Cloud Village, it must be prepared to perish together with them."

"That's hard to say." Namikaze Minato smiled slightly. "Many people are dissatisfied with the actions of Kumogakure over the years, and Leaf Village is no exception. However, since this is a negotiation, I am willing to hear your terms."

"Our conditions are also very simple." A glanced at Namikaze Minato, assessing whether the other party truly intended to force Cloud Village to submit through military means. "Kumogakure will also join the Leaf Village -led Trading Merchants Association. As fellow great ninja villages, and with Cloud Village being stronger than Iwagakure and Hidden Mist Village, it should have a status second only to Leaf Village. Of course, the losses and expenses incurred by the Land of Hot Water and Leaf Village in the war were indeed due to Cloud Village will compensate for them."

Namikaze Minato chuckled and leaned back tactically.

Because he knew someone would be playing the villain.

No kidding, nobody in Leaf Village would even ask the Uchiha Clan for a seat.

Because in this matter, only Uchiha Shingen has the final say; Uchiha Fugaku's opinion doesn't count.

"Raikage, are you used to acting like a thug?" Uchiha Shingen said. "If anyone from Cloud Village dares to enter the association's gates, kill them on the spot. If you don't believe me, send someone over."

"Uchiha Shingen, I'm only ignoring your killing of Killer B for the sake of peace between our two villages," A said, looking at Uchiha Shingen. "Don't push your luck."

"Oh? Your brother can't die, but others can?" Uchiha Shingen retorted.

Then he looked at the Cloud Ninja and laughed, "Your Raikage is no good. You can't even treat everyone equally. Why don't you switch to Leaf Village?"

"Bang!" Ai slammed his fist on the table, and a piece of it was knocked off. "White Ghost!"

A brighter white light filled everyone's vision as a fist larger than a person slammed the rest of the table, along with the floor, down to the next level.

The Cloud Ninja suddenly stood up, Leaf Village Ninja remained motionless.

Uchiha Shingen stood still, Susanoo Fist suspended in mid-air, his five fingers spread out, and large pieces of debris fell down.

"Trying to show off your strength here?" Uchiha Shingen looked at A, his murderous intent undisguised. "Come on, I haven't settled the score with you over the Second Hokage yet!"

"Kinkaku Ginkaku were killed by my father; everyone knows that." Lightning crackled around Ai. "Don't give me that crap!"

"Bullshit! Everyone knows you scum ambushed the Second Hokage! And the Second Hokage killed Kinkaku Ginkaku along with their subordinates, and you just strolled around afterwards and pretended it was none of your business?"

On the Leaf Village side, Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others stood up upon hearing their teacher's name.

"The Fourth Raikage." Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression was grave, as if filled with regret. "Old man, may I ask a question? Is Kumogakure going to abandon peace talks?"

His hand, seemingly unintentionally, grasped the hem of his shirt.

"Third, since Cloud Village doesn't want the Two-Tails anymore, that's fine too," Uchiha Shingen suddenly said. "That woman is useless as a prisoner, but she's quite useful as an experimental subject."

Sarutobi Hiruzen.

That's right! Wood Release experiments can't be done on our own people, but they're okay with taking prisoners!

"Shingen, thank goodness you reminded me," Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but praise. "How is the Two-Tails Jinchūriki doing now?"

"He has a great appetite and sleeps soundly." Uchiha Shingen gave a thumbs up. "The physical abilities of Jinchūriki are unparalleled; one is worth ten in an experiment."

"Wait a minute!" Ai suddenly called out.

Both groups looked at him.

"Who said we wouldn't talk?" Ai said expressionlessly. "What's wrong with me habitually slamming my fist on the table? I slam it in my own office too, and I have to change the table every day."

He spoke with such conviction that both the Cloud Ninja and the Leaf Village were taken aback.

The Cloud Ninja thought this made sense, while the Leaf Village Ninja thought, "Is this Raikage crazy? Why are you slamming your fist on the table just because you're unhappy? And your own desk? Are you trying to slack off?"

Namikaze Minato especially felt this way.

With so many documents on his desk, he'd practically have to crawl inside to write a single word; there's no room for him to slack off. He'd be the first to disbelieve that he wasn't trying to take a break.

"Then let's continue our discussion," Namikaze Minato said.

When the Hokage spoke up, everyone gave him face.

Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others sat down, Uchiha Shingen also withdrew his Susanoo arm.

"Go, bring a plank of wood and a table," the one-eyed Cloud Ninja with Lightning Crest ordered his men.

The Yun Cloud Ninja responded and quickly went down to move the table.

How much longer until Chapter Thirty-Two?

The near-miss between Leaf Village and Cloud Village did have some impact.

The loud noise coming from the restaurant almost caused a fight between the two groups of ninjas waiting downstairs.

Fortunately, Cloud Ninja downstairs to move the table, arrived just in time.

Soon, a brand new table was brought in.

The problem was that the size of the wooden planks was not chosen correctly.

"No need to change it." Uchiha Shingen stopped the Cloud Ninja was about to go down to replace the wooden planks.

As soon as the hand seal was formed, snow-white ice crystals covered the crack in the floor.

That would be perfect.

The table was set back on, and the two groups of ninjas, having finished their work, hurriedly left the negotiation area and went downstairs.

"Let's continue talking, Raikage," Namikaze Minato said.

Ai habitually draped one arm over the table, but paused briefly before putting it down, making sure the table was sturdy.

"We should calm down," he said. "Cloud Village and Leaf Village are major ninja villages. The rules of this Ninja World, whether it's war or peace, are decided by the Five Kage. That's a fact."

"That's a fact." Namikaze Minato nodded. "But Leaf Village is not Sand Village, and Cloud Village needs to understand that."

The Sand Village was confronted and beaten by the Cloud Village, and their One-Tail was almost stolen.

As a result, Sand Village not only stopped fighting Cloud Village, but also joined forces with Cloud Village to attack Leaf Village.

After Leaf Village defeated Sand Village, they showed no mercy and relentlessly attacked and killed them.

As the direct instigator of the Third Shinobi World War, the Kumogakure actually suffered relatively limited losses in the war itself. Instead, it suffered greater losses in its battle against the Ninja World Leaf Village after the war ended. However, precisely because of this, even after such a major defeat, the Kumogakure still had the resources to negotiate with the Leaf Village.

According to Uchiha Shingen's thinking, the Kumogakure was too lucky in the Third Shinobi World War. Everyone was exhausted and injured, and the Cloud Village couldn't be so uncooperative.

"But we can't touch the mission quota. When Sand Village and Leaf Village signed the contract, Leaf Village didn't directly touch Sand Village's mission quota; it was the client's own initiative," Ai emphasized. "At the very least, the conditions given to Cloud Village can't be worse than those given to Sand Village, right?"

"Cloud Village is different from Sand Village; Cloud Village has been constantly expanding its army," Namikaze Minato said. "Of the three Ninja World Wars, two were initiated by Cloud Village, and you are still continuing to expand your army! You have become a major destabilizing factor in the Ninja World. Therefore, handing over a portion of the mission quota is the minimum you should show, at least to convince Leaf Village of Cloud Village's sincerity in peace."

"Isn't Leaf Village also expanding its military?" Ai objected. "Without power, one cannot protect their village. Strengthening their own power as much as possible is something the Five Great Villages have always been doing. If that's the case, then Leaf Village is also a warlike village."

That's the truth.

In this world, the five great villages are all at the top of the food chain. Leaf Village, which always appears to be passively facing enemies, is no less cunning than the other villages.

During Shimura Danzō's lifetime, the Leaf Village ANBU were highly active in the Ninja World and were known for their ruthless methods.

But there's no point in discussing this at the negotiating table.

That's not the concept either.

"Leaf Village has not expanded its military." Namikaze Minato said calmly, "The number of ninjas has increased to some extent, but they are all ninjas who were originally from the village. These ninjas are not usually engaged in external missions, but they have been transferred out to meet the needs of clients and to ensure the safety of the association's staff."

Hearing the Lord Hokage's words, the entire Cloud Ninja group's expression was one of utter disbelief!

What village could possibly have so many idle ninjas? Have all the unregistered ninjas in your village come out now?

This doesn't even count as military expansion!?

"Lord Raikage, what you're saying now has nothing to do with the affairs between Leaf Village and Cloud Village," Sarutobi Hiruzen said. "What we're discussing now is Cloud Village's sincerity towards peace."

"Yugito Nii is a sign of sincerity." A looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen. "Third Lord Hokage, after losing all its Jinchūriki, Cloud Village didn't take any action, did it? If they didn't have expectations for peace, why would they only be talking about Yugito Nii now?"

"That's just your village feigning weakness to incite conflict between Iwagakure and Leaf Village." Sarutobi Hiruzen toyed with his pipe. "Lord Raikage, Leaf Village is aware of everything."

"Then let's talk about Yugito Nii." A didn't directly answer Sarutobi Hiruzen's question. Instead, Leaf Village Yugito Nii first provide concrete evidence to prove that Yugito Nii is safe and unharmed before we can discuss this part of the terms."

"Okay." Namikaze Minato nodded and said to Uchiha Shingen, "Shingen, thank you for your help."

Uchiha Shingen took out Summoning Scroll and tossed it to A.

Ai caught it and handed it to the ninja behind him.

"No need for all that trouble." Seeing the Cloud Ninja carefully studying the Summoning Technique formula, Uchiha Shingen said, "Just input your Chakra."

"Do as I say," Ai said.

Even if he has the idea of capturing those Jinchūriki who have already betrayed the village or are nominally not under the actual control of the ninja village, it doesn't mean he doesn't care about Yugito Nii.

Yugito Nii also Perfect Jinchuriki that Kumogakure had painstakingly cultivated.

Even disregarding her combat prowess as Jinchūriki, her experience is crucial to the Cloud Village.

The Cloud Ninja spread the scrolls out on the floor and channeled their Chakra into them.

With a bang, the smoke exploded.

The smoke quickly dissipated, Yugito Nii lay quietly on the ground.

"Yugito Nii, can you hear me?" Cloud Ninja with lightning patterns on his eyepatch crouched down beside Yugito Nii and called out.

"What's going on?" Ai's expression was unfriendly, because Yugito Nii hadn't reacted at all.

"She probably ate too much and fell asleep while they were serving food. The food standards in Hidden Leaf Prison are very high," Uchiha Shingen said nonchalantly. "Just slap her a few times and she'll wake up."

The Cloud Ninja resisted the urge to complain.

A group of people started messing around with the Yugito Nii, but of course no one actually slapped it; the Cloud Ninja had their own methods.

The light of Medical Ninjutsu flashed intermittently.

After a while, Yugito Nii reacted.

The Jinchūriki opened his eyes groggily and saw a familiar face.

"Lord Dodai?"

"Yugito Nii, you didn't encounter anything, did you?" Dodai asked.

"Hmm, Leaf Village only sealed me away... Ouch!" Yugito Nii clutched her head; the effects of the drug hadn't completely worn off, and her head was throbbing. "They actually put drugs in my food! That Uchiha Shingen ordered them to do it; I heard it with my own ears."

Everyone present immediately turned their attention to Uchiha Shingen.

"Stop staring at me." Seeing that even Namikaze Minato and the others were looking at him, Uchiha Shingen was displeased. "After all, he's a dangerous prisoner. It's not unusual for him to put some drugs in his food, is it?"

No, it's normal not to feed them.

Everyone thought to themselves.

"What kind of seal did you use?" Uchiha Shingen.

"Why are you so nosy?" Uchiha Shingen glanced at him. "As if telling you would solve it."

Ai: "... What I mean is that you should untie her first. How will I know if she's alright if you don't untie her?"

"Once we've reached an agreement, we'll resolve the issue for you. Besides, doesn't she know better than you whether there's a problem or not?"

Uchiha Shingen was getting impatient; he felt they needed to speed things up.