What a Shame / Raikage Annihilation Plan

On his way here, he adjusted the time of the Transcription Seal; it should be close to being unsealed now.

Chapter Thirty-Three: What a pity

The negotiations continued inside the restaurant.

But some people have run out of patience.

Why do these people keep talking?

Kakuzu has already entered the restaurant.

Despite his appearance, he's actually quite skilled at stealth.

The restaurant was quite large, so he easily infiltrated it.

Then he Earth Grudge Fear to pierce the floor, spreading all the way into the floor of the negotiation arena.

Kakuzu's version of the megaphone is complete.

Then he listened for a long time, until his brain felt like it was going to explode.

These people are really good at talking nonsense!

At first it was fine, and they almost got into a fight, but then they entered "old man mode," which was incredibly slow and unhurried.

Moreover, there was a man he had his eye on there.

As he predicted, Uchiha Shingen's price at the Bounty Exchange is now extremely high, an astronomical sum.

However, this person is not easy to kill.

The fact that Uchiha Shingen was able to learn his Earth Release: Earth Spear proves that he possesses an extremely high level of Chakra flow ability.

Before Uchiha Shingen, he was the only one in the entire Ninja World who could master the Earth Spear Nintaijutsu.

The characteristic of this technique is its fast activation speed, which can be instantaneous. Local activation does not require Hand Seals, and hardening the whole body only requires one hand seal. Its physical defense and attack power are extremely high. Kakuzu then, Kakuzu used the Earth Spear to withstand a wave of Wood Release attacks from Senju Hashirama and escaped.

To break through the Earth Spear, a powerful enough Lightning Release Ninjutsu capable of penetrating a single point is needed; Kakuzu's Lightning Release is an area-of-effect attack.

If he were to fight Uchiha Shingen now, it would likely result in neither of them being able to break through the other's defense.

Why hasn't Leaf Village launched its attack yet?

Kakuzu withdrew the tentacles of the Earth Grudge Fear.

He simply didn't believe that Leaf Village and Cloud Village were really there to negotiate.

He didn't know about the others in Leaf Village, but Uchiha Shingen definitely knew he was here.

He'd only seen a handful of Sharingan like that; there was no reason he wouldn't have noticed.

What he didn't know was that Uchiha Shingen was now thinking the same thing as him.

In the negotiation arena, Ai and Namikaze Minato engaged in a fierce battle of wits.

The difference between Namikaze Minato and Uchiha Shingen is that Uchiha Shingen didn't trust Cloud Village at all, while Namikaze Minato did have some trust in Cloud Village... no, in the Fourth Raikage.

Therefore, he was seriously arguing with A, trying to avoid war while satisfying Leaf Village's interests.

However, Namikaze Minato gradually became disappointed. He began to realize that it would be difficult to achieve a balance between the demands of Leaf Village and Cloud Village through this method.

Not only him, but everyone present felt it.

The Kunimura era was the result of the agglomeration effect of resources. Even small ninja villages like Rain Village and Kusagakure were much stronger in scale and power than the ninja clans of the Warring States period.

However, maintaining such integration capabilities requires sufficient resources.

The Cloud Village, Iwagakure, and Sand Village, located on the outskirts of the world, must develop towards the densely populated and resource-rich core areas of the continent in order to maintain their strength. Otherwise, they will be eliminated and marginalized due to resource constraints, and once they fall into such a situation, they will never be able to recover.

Leaf Village, located at the heart of the continent, must exclude these threatening forces in order to maintain its resource advantage.

Resources may not be finite, but control over resources should not be relinquished.

Before the gods appear, simply attacking high-level forces won't truly weaken a village; its overall size still needs to be reduced.

The war was one aspect, and the post-war reduction of military equipment was another.

Unlike the Land of Lightning, the Daimyo's Court of the Land of Fire will reduce its investment in ninja villages to ensure post-war production recovery, which will lead to a reduction in Leaf Village's military equipment.

This healthy reduction is necessary. Maintaining an excessively large number of ninjas during peacetime is also a burden on ninja villages, since the number of Genin can be replenished very quickly during wartime.

For a ninja village, the level of Chunin is the most difficult to replenish in a short period of time, and it is what truly determines the size of the ninja army. Normally, when a village reduces its own military strength, it is the Genin who are reduced.

Leaf Village's requirement was to restrict Cloud Village's ability Chunin train Chunin.

This is what the Kumogakure cannot accept.

They only agreed to reduce the number of Genin, which Leaf Village considered meaningless.

The negotiations thus descended into endless arguments, eventually reaching a dead end.

Finally, the arguing in the room subsided.

"It seems we can't reach an agreement." Namikaze Minato's expression was regretful; he was genuinely disappointed.

Shingen was right; the only way to weaken Cloud Village is through war.

While long-term security cannot be guaranteed, short-term stability is assured.

"It seems so." Ai's face was grim.

He was also disappointed; he wanted peace, but he could not accept the conditions Leaf Village had proposed regarding military equipment.

Once accepted, it becomes the second Sand Village.

"Since we cannot reach an agreement, then it is regrettable that the Two-Tails cannot be handed over to Cloud Village," Namikaze Minato said.

There's nothing wrong with what he said; if an agreement isn't reached, of course the Two-Tails can't be returned.

This seems very strange compared to Leaf Village's previous actions, as if Leaf Village is foolish for bringing Yugito Nii over before any negotiations were even completed.

At least some Cloud Ninja thought so.

Uchiha Shingen smiled.

The first phase has dragged on for too long!

They made the boss eavesdrop for so long, and they're not considerate at all!

Hmm, so Cloud Village hired Akatsuki. That's interesting.

In the original timeline, Akatsuki was a friendly partner of Iwagakure during their developmental period, often helping Iwagakure fight against Cloud Village.

Forget it, I won't think about it too much. I'll just finish the show first.

"Yugito Nii, it's time to go home." Uchiha Shingen looked at the Yugito Nii with a smile. "Don't worry, I told them to put less medicine in, so your head won't hurt when you wake up."

Yugito Nii didn't respond, and her expression clearly showed she had no intention of obediently returning to prison.

The Cloud Ninja silently shielded her behind them.

Ai remained expressionless.

"What? Trying to renege on your debt?" Uchiha Shingen sneered.

"Hey, you know what we're doing, right?" Namikaze Minato said.

Although Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others remained seated, they were already prepared.

"We will cover Yugito Nii's expenses in Leaf Village," A said. "But she is from Cloud Village and must return with us."

"So you're trying to renege on your debt as expected." Uchiha Shingen seemed very angry. "I'd like to see how you're going to leave with a Jinchūriki who can't use the power of Tailed Beasts."

"White Ghost, I told you, Kumogakure will pay."

"The words of the Kumogakure are worthless. You actually think you have any credibility?"

"Hand over the Two-Tails!" Seeing Uchiha Shingen Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't hold back any longer. He stood up. "Otherwise, let's fight."

The partners of several decades all stood up.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura positioned themselves on either side of Sarutobi Hiruzen. Torifu Akimichi was chubby, but he was also tall, a head taller than his companions. When he stood there, no one could block his face.

Torifu Akimichi, who has spent years on the battlefield, has eyes that are hardly kind.

Ai also stood up.

"It's a pity... but in the name of the Raikage, I declare the war has begun!"

Before he could finish speaking, he felt a sudden burst of intense Chakra erupt from behind him.

Just as he turned around, blue Chakra flames rushed towards him, filling his vision!

"Varied..."

Before he could finish speaking, a giant cat paw shot out from the flames like lightning and slammed into his chest!

Chapter Thirty-Four: Raikage Extermination Plan

The atmosphere in the town had been tense ever since the negotiation teams from Leaf Village and Cloud Village entered the restaurant.

More and more ninjas gathered near the restaurant.

Those who entered the town were all ninjas from both sides' ANBU.

In recent years, the relationship between the ANBU) of Leaf Village and Cloud Village has been particularly strained.

Suddenly, a deafening roar echoed through the sky, drawing everyone's attention.

The change originated from the restaurant.

The wall on the second floor of this two-story restaurant was broken by a tremendous force.

A beastly claw made of blue flames, amidst the debris of the building, tore open the wall, and the Fourth Raikage, his body radiating lightning, was caught in its grasp.

The next moment, the sound of walls being broken rang out one by one, and the negotiators from Cloud Village and Leaf Village burst out of the walls.

The Dodai figures from Kumogakure, suspended in mid-air, shouted loudly to the ANBU below:

"Get out of the way! That's Matatabi!"

Upon seeing this scene, all the ninjas either drew their weapons or began Hand Seals.

The first thing the two groups of ninjas on the first floor of the restaurant did was to leave the restaurant and move closer to their own side.

When Dodai and the others landed, the Cloud Village's ANBU had already gathered around them.

It wasn't that they didn't care about the Raikage's life or death, but rather that no one believed the mighty Raikage could be crushed to death by Tailed Beasts.

At the level of the Five Kage, there are indeed differences in strength among them, but they are not on the same level as others. It is basically possible for them to fight Jinchūriki who has gone berserk in a one-on-one fight.

These ANBU were unaware that the scene before them could not be simply explained by the Jinchūriki going berserk.

But they knew that the power of the Two-Tails had broken free from the control of the Cloud Village at this moment.

Boom--!

The second floor of the restaurant exploded completely, and blue flame-shaped Chakra continued to expand.

The Chakra, leaping like flames, coalesced into the form of a cat-like monster with two tails, and its size continued to expand, causing the remaining parts of the restaurant to begin to groan under its strain.

Everyone finally got a clear look at the monster's appearance.

"So this is the Two-Tails!?" Many people were seeing the Two-Tails Matatabi's true form for the first time.

Even among the native inhabitants of the Hokage world who don't read the manga, few have actually seen a real tailed beast, even though they know that Tailed Beasts exist.

Since the first Five Kage Summit, the true forms of the Nine Tailed Beasts have rarely been revealed to the world.

It is the Two-Tails Matatabi. During the first Five Kage Summit, Kumogakure purchased it from Hidden Leaf Village for a large sum of money, and since then it has become one of Kumogakure's strategic forces.

But now, the strategic force of this Kumogakure, holding the current Raikage in one hand, has a cat-like face full of anger.

Just because Matatabi approves of the Yugito Nii doesn't mean he'll like the rest of the Kumogakure.

Although not as violent as the Eight-Tails, Matatabi has still caused disturbances.

A traditional Jinchūriki has only two possible endings in his life.

Either be imprisoned for life.

They will either die suddenly during one of the Tailed Beasts' rampages.

There is also an unconventional Jinchūriki, only one: the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki.