Chapter 210 Land of Lightning Itinerary (Part 1)
Regarding the reconstruction of Former Site of the Land of Whirlpool, the formal consultation between Konoha and Hidden Mist lasted for another three hours that afternoon.
The two sides exchanged views one by one on more than a dozen details such as the distribution of voting rights for Management Committee, the staffing of Joint Sealing Research Institute, and the rotation cycle of the troops stationed in the three countries.
Although not all the terms were decided on the spot, the big framework has been set up.
Tri-Party Joint Development Land of Whirlpool Joint Protected Area, Hidden Mist contribute 40%, Konoha and Hidden Cloud each contribute 30%.
The management organization is composed of representatives from the three parties. Sealing Ruins Academic Research is equal and open. Once these core principles are determined, the remaining technical details will only be a matter of time.
Although Land of Lightning has not received the exact documents, Sōji is sure that Fourth Raikage will not refuse, and does not dare to refuse.
In the evening, when Sōji and Shadow Guard came out of Hokage Building, a gorgeous sunset was burning on the horizon.
Karin followed him, holding a thick stack of consultation minutes in both hands, and the red clouds in the sky were reflected on the lenses of his glasses.
She was silent for a long time until she walked out of the square in front of Hokage Building before speaking softly, "Brother Sōji, what happened to Land of Whirlpool... I didn't have time to talk about it at the meeting this afternoon, but I actually...
"I know."
Sōji did not look back, his voice seemed particularly peaceful in the dusk, "You are the descendant of the Uzumaki Clan, Land of Whirlpool is yours"
Hometown."
"Don't worry, I won't let anyone turn your hometown into a pure military Base."
Karin pressed his lips hard, swallowed back the emotions that came up, then pushed up his glasses, and his voice returned to its usual crisp tone, "Well, I believe you, brother Sōji!"
After returning to the post house, Sōji left Karin, Utakata and Muku alone, and ordered the three of them to be responsible for the follow-up detailed consultation and survey docking with Konoha.
Karin, as Uzumaki Clan, is the source of confidence at the negotiation table: Utakata sits as Six-Tails Jinchuriki, which is both a guarantee of force and a status symbol.
Muku maintains point-to-point contact with Hidden Mist Intelligence Division and is responsible for synchronizing the progress reports of both parties.
At the same time, Ye Tong, Mangetsu, and Firefly set out for Land of Lightning the next day as originally planned, serving as an advance team to prepare for the subsequent Jinchūriki practice arrangements.
"Starting from Mao Hour tomorrow, walk from the east gate of Konoha and take a boat to East Harbor. You can reach Kumogakure within five days."
With that said, Sōji handed a pre-prepared road map to Ye Tong, "When you arrive, look for Mabui first. She is Raikage's secretary and we have already contacted her in advance."
"Received!"
Ye Tong nodded, then folded the route map and put it away in Ninja Tool Pouch. The dark brown ponytail flickered in the dim light of the lantern on the corridor.
With a slight flicker, it disappeared.
Early the next morning, Ye Tong, Mangetsu and Yingying set out with light equipment.
On the morning of the same day, Sōji and Third Hokage had a brief one-on-one meeting in Hokage's office, confirming the specific departure time and personnel composition of the survey team.
When Shikaku was sending Sōji out of Hokage Building after the meeting, he suddenly asked something unrelated to the meeting.
"By the way, Captain Sōji, how old are you this year?"
"Fifteen!"
In this regard, Shikaku was silent for a moment, then looked up at the blue autumn sky above Konoha, with a hint of rare candor in his tone.
"Fifteen years old, a few years older than my son, but he has already been able to rewrite the Shinobi World pattern. What a formidable young man!"
"It's not me who changes the situation."
In response, Sōji shook his head and said in a calm voice, "It's the right time. Land of Whirlpool should have been rebuilt, but I just happened to be the one to do it."
Hearing this, Shikaku didn't say anything else.
Watching the blindfolded boy walking away along the stone road in front of Hokage Building, the white of Divine Robe gradually blurred into a moving light spot in the autumn sunshine.
Shikaku stood for a while, then put his hands into his sleeves and whispered to himself, "Sōji...Kaguya...Shinobi World will be reborn or destroyed in your hands?"
After discussing the details of Land of Whirlpool's reconstruction, Sōji and others set off from the north gate of Konoha in the early morning of the next day.
The morning mist was condensed into fine frost particles by the cold air of early winter, hanging on the bare ginkgo branches on both sides of the post road, making a tiny clicking sound with every step.
The personnel allocation for this Land of Lightning trip has been carefully calculated. The three Ye Tong people had set out lightly as an advance team the day before. They took the waterway and were expected to arrive at Kumogakure two days earlier than the home team.
Sōji took another route with Karin, Utakata, and Muku.
That is, exit from the northeast direction of Land of Fire and go north along the coastline of Land of Hot Water and Land of Frost.
Although this road is a bit longer than the waterway, it has some good scenery along the way, and the hot spring resort at Land of Hot Water is just the place for the group to rest and replenish their supplies after the long voyage.
Land of Hot Water's hot spring resort is located on a cliff near the sea. When you open the window, you can see the gray-blue sea in winter.
Utakata was soaking in the open-air hot spring, leaning his head on the boulder beside the pool, sighing vaguely, "This is what living is like!"
Muku sat on the other side of the pool, carefully poking the rising steam from the water with his fingertips. He had become accustomed to using his sense of perception to touch the emotional fluctuations of the people around him.
"Brother Utakata, all you are thinking about is tomorrow's breakfast, right?" Muku suddenly spoke.
.. Can you please stop peeking into other people's thoughts at this time?" Utakata put the towel on his face helplessly.
On the other hand, Karin didn't go to the hot springs.
She was sitting in the guest room of the post house, with a Hidden Mist message scroll that she had just received spread out in front of her. Her eyes scanned the text line by line, and then she raised her head and looked at Sōji standing by the window.
"Sister Mei's reply has arrived."
Saying that, Karin pushed up his glasses, "Hidden Mist has officially approved the framework agreement of Tri-Party Joint Development Land of Whirlpool Joint Protected Area."
"Konoha's senior Shikaku also moved very quickly. His working group sent the first survey schedule yesterday."
"Just wait until the matter on Land of Wind's side is over, and Master Ao will take over the docking work on Hidden Mist's side."
In response, Sōji did not look back, "Well, that's good!"
Three days later, a group of people crossed the Land of Frost border.
The landform of Land of Frost is completely different from that of Land of Hot Water. The coastline here is replaced by towering cliffs. Coniferous Forest stretches from the foot of the mountain to above the snow line. The air is filled with the mixed smell of rosin and frozen soil.
Karin wrapped himself tightly in his coat. Muku was surprisingly not afraid of the cold. Satoru's physique seemed to have no reaction to temperature changes.
Utakata walked behind the two of them, Bamboo Pipe slowly turned in his fingers, looking beyond the treetops of Coniferous Forest towards the north direction.
"Land of Lightning Kumogakure!"
Utakata whispered the place name, "Third Shinobi World War was still hostile during the period, but now the two countries are allies. Times have indeed changed."
And all of this stems from the white-haired boy in front.