No Way to Change the Subject

Faced with the two elders' arguments, Dodai's reaction remained the same; he shook his head firmly.

"As I said before, this is only your Konoha's side of the story, and we have no idea what the real facts are."

First of all, I don't believe that the ninjas of our Kumogakure would do such a thing. Our delegation from the Kumogakure came to Konoha with sincerity to negotiate with you. How could we kidnap members of your Hyūga Clan under such circumstances?

Therefore, I have reason to suspect that these are all lies, all your excuses, and that your goal is to kill our Kumogakure ninjas to achieve your ulterior motives."

The Dodai's words were full of loopholes, and Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned as he sat behind his desk.

He realized that this Dodai was already being unreasonable, and it was even too lazy to put on an act, which was why it came up with such a flawed reason.

As expected, Mitokado Homura was enraged by this reason, and the old man slammed his fist on the table in anger:

"Dodai Tsuchikage, please watch your words! What ulterior motives could Konoha possibly have? It is common knowledge throughout the Shinobi World that Konoha is the most peace-loving village in the entire Shinobi World! How could we possibly provoke or cause trouble?"

At this moment, one of the members of the Kumogakure delegation behind the Dodai suddenly couldn't help but chuckle, muttering under his breath:

"Yes, Konoha is indeed the most peace-loving village in the entire Shinobi World. It never provokes trouble during the Shinobi World, and it always takes the hits."

Although he deliberately lowered his voice, he still spoke clearly. The Hokage's office wasn't large, so everyone present heard it.

Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately glared angrily in the direction of the Kumogakure delegation, especially at the person who had just spoken those words.

The person who just said that has incredibly thick skin. Even though others overheard him, he remained proudly seated, acting as if to say, "What can you do about it?"

Utatane Koharu, seemed unable to bear this humiliation. He continued with a cold laugh:

"But the problem is, in every Shinobi World War, Konoha has been the victor, hasn't it?"

That's the truth; at least none of the people present could refute it. In the previous Shinobi World Wars, Konoha had indeed never lost.

Meanwhile, within the Kumogakure delegation, someone was secretly making noises, whether it was complaining or stirring up trouble:

"Yes, it's true that we never lost a single Shinobi World War, but in every Shinobi World we were the ones who took the initiative to be attacked. Perhaps the Konoha Ninja just have that gene for being beaten up."

Another ninja from Kumogakure chuckled and added:

"It seems that's true. When we're on missions, if we happen to encounter Konoha ninjas, they generally don't take the initiative to attack unless they have no other choice but to retaliate. "Konoha

"Heh, so weak, so lacking in ambition, no wonder Konoha is in this state now."

Another ninja from Kumogakure) wholeheartedly agreed, completely disregarding Hiruzen Sarutobi and the three elders present:

"Yes, I really don't understand how such a weak village has survived. If you want to survive in the Shinobi World, you have to fight, rob, and kill."

This weakness, this decay... Ah, Konoha will be doomed sooner or later...

"Cough cough..."

At this point, Dodai coughed twice, pausing the complaints of his subordinates.

There's no way around it; humiliation and belittling must be done in moderation. If we were to say during these negotiations that Konoha is doomed, those old guys on the other side would get really angry.

Or to put it more simply, if you curse the other party to die right at the start of negotiations, they're bound to explode. So you have to wait until everyone's tempers are about to flare before you start hurling insults.

Dodai coughed, effectively silencing the various chaotic words of the young members of the Kumogakure delegation. They all fell silent, demonstrating Dodai's formidable authority.

After silencing them with coughs, Dodai looked ahead, then glanced at Hiruzen Sarutobi, and then smiled, seemingly quite embarrassed:

"Hehe, sorry, I'm a young man and I'm not very good at speaking. Please excuse my poor manners."

However, the young people of our Kumogakure are so full of energy. Compared to the young people of the Konoha who are clearly young but pretend to be mature, I think they are much better."

A vein throbbed on Hiruzen Sarutobi's brow, and he felt a surge of anger rising within him.

What does it mean that Konoha's young people, despite their young age, are acting mature for their own age? Isn't that just mocking themselves? Mocking their own weakness in dealing with external threats? Ordering Konoha's ninjas to be too weak in their own way?

How could this be? Am I really that weak in the face of outsiders?

Thinking of this, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but recall the mission he had given to Yun Yan and Kakashi some time ago.

At that time, I asked them both to be restrained and cautious when they reached the border of the Fire Country, and not to cause trouble. Of course, they didn't listen in the end.

Yes, I understand. I'm not weak when it comes to dealing with outsiders; I'm just cautious and restrained!

And it was precisely because he remembered this matter that Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly had an excellent reason to criticize Dodai. The old man leisurely said:

"Actually, the young people in Konoha aren't particularly mature for their age. Sometimes they're quite impulsive, which really gives me a headache."

For example, there was a young man who was on reconnaissance and patrol on the border of the Fire Country a while ago. My original order to him was just to conduct reconnaissance and patrol, but who knew that he would suddenly run into your country's territory and cause some trouble.

Oh dear, I heard that matter was quite serious, causing considerable trouble for your country and village's territory.

Huh? Isn't this what we were discussing in this negotiation? How come the topic of the negotiation has changed so suddenly?

Isn't that right, Dodai envoy?

That wasn't easy! Hiruzen Sarutobi finally gained the upper hand!

Moreover, the thing that finally gave Hiruzen Sarutobi the upper hand was something Yun Yan did this time.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, why don't you sincerely thank Uchiha Yunyan? Quickly say thank you, Yun Yan!

Unfortunately, Hiruzen Sarutobi was not in that mindset at all. He just stared at the Dodai, watching its Dodai change. Such changes in expression were truly rare on his face.

Before Dodai could say anything more, Hiruzen Sarutobi the opportunity to reveal his true thoughts:

"Dodai Tutai, I don't know when, but the content of our negotiations with your Konoha has changed. Shouldn't our negotiations be about the border conflict? Shouldn't it be about resolving this issue? How did it veer off to something else?"

What I mean is, we should get back to the main topic and re-discuss more important issues like border frictions and conflicts. Other minor matters can be put aside for a while, right?

Dodai immediately saw that Hiruzen Sarutobi was trying to change the subject and drag things out, which he naturally disagreed with.

Then Dodai slammed his hand on the table, his expression extremely domineering and even ferocious:

"No!

While discussing border frictions and conflicts is certainly an important matter, the most important thing now is not those. The most important thing now is that our delegation from Kumogakure was killed by your Kumogakure Hyūga Clan leader Hyuga Hiashi!

Without a doubt, this is a huge provocation against our Kumogakure! We absolutely cannot accept this!

What's the point of discussing border frictions and conflicts if this issue cannot be properly resolved?

"Perhaps it is precisely because this matter cannot be properly resolved that our Fourth Raikage, in a fit of rage, has escalated this border conflict and friction into a border war!"

At this point, Dodai glared fiercely at Hiruzen Sarutobi and the three elders:

"Gentlemen, how about we try war? We, the Kumogakure, are not afraid of war. On the contrary, every ninja in our Kumogakure yearns for war! Yearns for battle!"

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura's momentum was immediately suppressed. How could these two weak old men possibly fight against the ruthless bandits of the Shinobi World who would start a fight at the slightest provocation?

Therefore, the two elders from Konoha felt a chill run down their spines and remained seated, unsure of what to say.

As for the other elder, Danzo, he had remained seated silently and gloomy throughout the entire ordeal, and he was still the same in this situation. At most, he raised his eyelids slightly and glanced at the Dodai after hearing the word "war."

Hiruzen Sarutobi, sitting behind his desk, was now experiencing an extreme headache.

It's the same old trick again, threatening war at the slightest disagreement. It's definitely a method typical of Kumogakure, though this ruthless style is certainly effective against Konoha.

Konoha is cautious and thoughtful... no, it's more like they're meticulous and prudent. They certainly can't afford to start a war like Kumogakure does, where a disagreement can easily escalate into a conflict.