It's Not Something a Human Could Have Written / Kumo Bows Its Head

"With a down payment of 3 billion taels, the remaining 3 billion taels will be loaned out for a term of three years, with principal and interest evenly distributed monthly. The final 4 billion taels will be advanced by a money exchange designated by the association. After three years, Kumogakure will repay the association in a lump sum."

Everyone was immediately filled with doubt.

That sounds pretty good; it really shows they've considered the well-being of Kumogakure).

That's not right.

Absolutely not.

Uchiha Fugaku was the one among them who knew the association best, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

"Shingen, what's the interest rate? Never mind, just tell me directly, how much more money will it be?"

"Clan leader, why are you asking me? This kind of thing needs to be approved by the association itself," Uchiha Shingen unhappily. "If you keep treating me like a bad guy, I'm going to get angry."

"Stop talking nonsense, just give me a estimate."

"This..." Uchiha Shingen originally wanted to decline so as not to affect these people's judgment, but seeing that Uchiha Fugaku was almost showing Uchiha Sasuke- style "I'm the best because the sun is shining" expression, he had no choice but to make a rough estimate.

"One-fifth more, perhaps..."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "But we can't calculate it that way. This is a political calculation. If we transfer 10 billion directly, the Kumogakure might rebel."

Uchiha Fugaku: "Heh..."

"Shingen, huh?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked leisurely, "Let's put the interest issue aside for now. The money you designated for this bank... isn't it all from the Land of Fire, right?"

Wow! These guys are getting better and better at their job!

"After all, the Land of Earth and the Land of Water have joined in now. I really don't know how the bank will manage the funds..." Uchiha Shingen shrugged.

That's the truth; he doesn't care how others allocate the funds.

He's in charge of risk control.

Namikaze Minato understood, and he excitedly slammed his hand on the table.

"See! You said you didn't know how to do it! You're the best at it!"

After saying that, the Lord Hokage happily began to daydream.

Uchiha Shingen lost his expression.

He felt his reputation was about to be further damaged.

Why!? Why does nobody understand him!

Uchiha Shingen felt that the world had misunderstood him too much; he was so cold.

Indeed, on a cold night, only a cup of hot tea can warm the heart!

Chapter Thirty is utterly inhuman writing.

I've changed my mind.

Namikaze Minato really liked banging on the table today.

He slapped his forehead first, then said, "Shingen, you'll be there during the negotiations too!"

"Why?" Uchiha Shingen's face immediately fell. "The battle is over, I need to request a rest. Besides, Lord Hokage, you said it yourself, if I participate, it will be detrimental to the negotiations."

"If you don't participate, I'm afraid I won't get the money," Namikaze Minato argued confidently. "Cloud Village has objections, so be it. They already had objections anyway. With our relationship, we don't care about this little bit of impact."

"I protest! You, as Hokage, are showing favoritism!"

"Protest overruled, no... nepotism? This..." Namikaze Minato retorted habitually, then realized something was amiss and asked in astonishment, "Shouldn't appointments be like this?"

Uchiha Shingen was also taken aback.

That's right, the ninja village system is inherently based on nepotism.

It's only when you don't appoint relatives that things go wrong.

Oops! Wrong word!

"I haven't finished protesting yet," Uchiha Shingen quickly tried to salvage the situation. "How can the Hokage go back on his word?"

I'd rather not participate than join you. With someone like you, the Hokage, participating would be like working overtime with you.

He doesn't want to work overtime; he wants to enjoy the warmth of the Leaf Village night!

"Oh, there's no one else here, it's alright." Namikaze Minato chuckled. "Since you're already here, it wouldn't be right for you to leave. Come on, let's get this going."

The Hokage openly cheating, Uchiha Shingen felt pitiful and helpless.

He looked at Uchiha Fugaku with anticipation.

"Do more serious things. You have a woman now, so stop going to those shady places," Uchiha Fugaku said. "Since you have the ability, you should take on more responsibility."

"Young people should take care of their health," Sarutobi Hiruzen added. "The cafeteria has changed now, and the food is much better."

You have no right to say that!

"I understand..." Uchiha Shingen reluctantly accepted the fact.

Outnumbered and outmatched, there was nothing we could do.

"That's more like it." Namikaze Minato stood up and put his arm around Uchiha Shingen's shoulder. "We've been through thick and thin together. You'll be working in this building eventually, so consider this a good opportunity to get familiar with the environment."

Thanks for the invitation, but I don't want to come back.

He went through all that trouble this time not to experience eating at the Midnight Diner Tenten again.

His dream is to travel the world.

But the people in the Hokage's office clearly didn't think so; they warmly welcomed Uchiha Shingen's self-inflicted trap.

When the liaison frog told them that Uchiha Shingen was coming back, they planned to let him go.

Namikaze Minato regretted it as soon as he approved the order yesterday.

Such a useful tool for reviewing agreements and a negotiation expert, and they actually got away with it.

All I can say is, they came back just in time.

"Alright, now that Shingen is back, everyone, let's work hard tonight and finalize the manuscript, as well as the agreement to be signed with the association, all in one go."

Namikaze Minato set the tone for tonight's overtime work.

"Once we're done, I'll treat everyone to a late-night snack."

With the tone set, Uchiha Shingen stopped thinking too much about it. On the bright side, at least he could get some free food.

Uchiha Shingen didn't believe that the people in the cafeteria were serving ordinary meals to the people in this office.

Although the previous cafeteria was so badly criticized by the overworked administrative staff that even a dog wouldn't eat there, Uchiha Shingen had eaten at the Hokage's office, so it wasn't much worse than when he ate at a restaurant in the shopping district.

A new cafeteria, a new cuisine—it's definitely something to look forward to.

He began to carefully review the agreement. The division of labor had been clearly defined, and he would be in charge of all the financial matters.

Others also had their own responsibilities.

For example, in military matters, Uchiha Fugaku was in charge.

Sarutobi Hiruzen also wants to handle the diplomatic aspect.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura are responsible for the rights and obligations of both parties, and are not involved in the flow of funds.

Although Torifu Akimichi was being held in slingshots, he was also responsible for overseeing some additional terms and conditions.

The spirit of hard work and dedication quickly became the norm in the Hokage's office.

At the same time, in the Raikage Building, the Raikage's Office was also brightly lit.

Dodai sat at his desk, looking at the clauses before him, he felt dizzy.

The draft agreement that Leaf Village sent this time was completely different from the past; it was extremely fragmented and convoluted, and the writing style was completely devoid of any sense of everyday life.

After looking at the Dodai once, I felt it was just a pile of dry words, but upon closer inspection, I couldn't find any flaws.

He's not the only one watching; as the acting Raikage, he also needs a team of secretaries, and now everyone is working overtime with him.

The head of the ANBU also pulled him over to watch it together.

The two people watching were seeing stars.

"Lord Raikage," the head of the ANBU, having just recovered from the ordeal, offered his opinion, "This style of writing is similar to that of the Land of Fire's Trading Merchants Association, but it's not as refined and complete; there are traces of patchwork. Presumably, it wasn't drafted by White Ghost."

"Saru, I'm just acting as the acting Raikage, just call me by my name." Dodai felt a headache coming on. "I'm afraid I'll have to go to Leaf Village to sign the contract this time as the acting Raikage. Do you think Uchiha Shingen will be there?"

"I heard that his non-participation this time was decided by the Hokage."

"Oh? Is that rumor true? He sets all of Leaf Village's financial policies, and the association belongs to him, not the Uchiha Clan."

"Such rumors do exist, but Uchiha Shingen was a free ninja in Leaf Village and held no official position."

"Saru, I'm afraid we'll have to trouble the ANBU to work harder on this matter during this time," Dodai said. "Uchiha Shingen a very good negotiator, especially adept at utilizing the power of that association. He played a significant role in making Hidden Mist Village and Iwagakure allies of Leaf Village."

"I understand. Our spies in Leaf Village have already sent someone to inform them, and they will definitely find out."

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the same emotion.

My testicles hurt.

It's been a long time since the Kumogakure has had to worry about money.

In the past, the Kumogakure had slightly stronger financial resources than the Hidden Leaf Village.

But at some point, the world changed. Leaf Village's financial strength has expanded dramatically, while the impact of Kumogakure's repeated defeats on its financial strength has begun to manifest.

Leaf Village's demands this time were outrageous. They initially proposed 15 billion ryo in compensation alone, which would be even more when converted to the Land of Lightning's currency. In addition, the compensation included miscellaneous non-monetary assets such as the Amber Purifying Pot.

The two sides eventually reached an agreement on a compensation of 10 billion ryo, but it still had to be settled in the Land of Fire's currency. They also agreed to forgo the Amber Purifying Pot and not reduce the mission share of the Kumogakure, but they had to hand over the Perfect Jinchuriki technique.

For the Kumogakure, this is already the best possible outcome, and it's impossible to reduce it any further.

Now, the only thing the Kumogakure can do to negotiate is work on the terms of the agreement.

Only...

This agreement is utterly inhuman; it's so convoluted!

Chapter Thirty-One: Cloud Village Bows His Head

Making the Kumogakure submit is no easy task.

Of the five great ninja villages, aside from Leaf Village, Cloud Village has attacked the most villages.

Leaf Village primarily adopts a passive approach, while Cloud Village is mostly proactive.

Logically, it should have been attacked by the masses long ago.

However, the Cloud Village's long-standing image of a rough and tough guy, coupled with its formidable military strength and flexible diplomacy, has prevented such a thing from happening.

Even if they lose, they can safely retreat back to their homeland. As long as they show a willingness to die for their country, no one will want to be the first to stick their neck out.

But that's no longer possible.

Of the five great ninja villages, three have allied with Leaf Village, whether due to circumstances or self-interest. In terms of diplomacy, Cloud Village has become utterly useless.

Militarily, Cloud Village suffered a series of setbacks, losing two Raikage and two Jinchūriki.

Economically, the economic blockade imposed by the three kingdoms of Earth, Fire, and Water has begun to show results.

They had no choice but to bow their heads.

What compensation, what handing over the Perfect Jinchuriki technique—these were things that were never possible before.

They can no longer adopt a "shattered jade" stance; if they did, it would mean the Fourth Shinobi World War —four villages against one.

Sand Village was naturally not a friend of Leaf Village, but it didn't like Cloud Village much either.

Ōnoki would just happily chime in.

As for Hidden Mist Village, these terrorists have caused trouble for Cloud Village before, but Leaf Village used to be their main tank, and now Leaf Village is no longer the main tank, but is inseparable from Hidden Mist Village.

Of course, that's not entirely true; it all depends on whether Cloud Village dares to take the gamble.

The Fourth Raikage would probably dare, but Dodai definitely wouldn't.

If this goes wrong, he won't have the face to face the Third Raikage.

Thus, in the middle of the 54th year of Leaf Village, the Cloud Village negotiation team, led by Dodai, arrived at Hidden Leaf Village.