"Don't worry, Lord Daimyo."
Anko swallowed the remaining Dango in his stomach, threw Bamboo Skewer into the trash can at his feet, clapped his hands, and showed a confident and even eager smile on his face.
She patted her plump breasts and said for sure:
"Not to mention the Ninjas among the Small Countrys around us, even if we put them among the Konohas, there are only a few who can defeat me reliably.
I'm really looking forward to being able to stretch my muscles! My bones are almost getting rusty after staying here all day!"
Although what Anko said is a bit exaggerated, it is not unfounded.
As a former disciple of Orochimaru, she is not bad in talent. After experiencing the Chunin Ninja Exams incident and the follow-up Training, her strength has improved again, and she is indeed the best among Konoha Jonin.
The protection tasks were mostly uneventful, but she did have a bit of "itchy hands".
Kazahana Koyuki saw this, smiled slightly, and felt a little at ease.
With Anko by his side, plus other guards in the house and Trusted Aides arranged by Sandayu, safety should be assured.
She straightened her clothes and sat down at Main Seat, waiting for the arrival of Konoha Envoy who claimed to be Naruto's father.
Sandayu led Minato Namikaze, passed through Corridor, which was brighter and warmer after renovation, and came to the door of Reception Room of the Daimyo's Mansion.
Sandayu took the first step, gently pushed open the delicate sliding door, stepped aside, and respectfully made a "please" gesture:
"Sir, His Highness Daimyo is waiting inside, please."
With a warm smile on his face, Minato Namikaze nodded to Sandayu, then stepped forward and calmly stepped into Reception Room.
Warm sunlight shines into the room through the large lattice windows and falls on the smooth floor.
Kazahana Koyuki sits upright next to Main Seat, looking dignified.
Not far from her side, the security officer Konoha Jonin.
Mitaraishi Anko, the moment he saw the face of the visitor clearly, he froze in place as if he had been struck by lightning!
The Dango she was about to swallow seemed to be stuck in her mouth, her eyes were wide open, and her pupils were slightly dilated due to extreme shock.
That face... that iconic bright blond hair, eyes as blue as the clear sky, a warm and friendly smile...
Four...Fourth Hokage?
Master Minato Namikaze!
Anko's brain buzzed, and it instantly became chaotic.
Eh!
Are you kidding me? Didn't Fourth Hokage die in Nine-Tails' Attack more than ten years ago?
Wait!
By the way, Orochimaru is that bastard's Forbidden Jutsu.
Even Lord First... so Lord Fourth Hokage was also...
Countless thoughts flashed crazily through her mind like a revolving lantern.
Shock, confusion, disbelief, and finally turned into a feeling of being at a loss when the "legend" suddenly came to us.
Then, she suddenly remembered the promise she had just made to Kazahana Koyuki, patting her chest and vowing:
"Not to mention the Ninjas among the Small Countrys around me, even among the Konohas, not many of them can defeat me reliably!"
"My safety depends on you, Miss Anko."
Kazahana Koyuki's words of advice still ring in my ears.
Anko's cheeks instantly turned red, and a burning feeling of embarrassment, shame, and "What am I talking about?" went straight to the top of his head.
Want to... protect an ordinary person under the hands of Master Fourth Hokage?
Me?
Anko is very self-aware. She may be among the best among ordinary Jonin and can deal with some Small Country elites or Rogue Ninja with ease, but facing an opponent of Fourth Hokage's level...
It's not the same dimension at all!
Looking back at the heroic words just now, they are as ridiculous as a three-year-old child waving a stick in front of a giant and claiming to protect the rag doll behind him.
However, this wave of self-complaints and embarrassment only lasted less than two seconds, and was quickly suppressed by another, more sober thought.
Anko shook his head violently.
Wrong!
Calm down, Anko!
If the person who comes is really Lord Fourth Hokage... then is there any need to "fight" and "protect"?!
"Sir Daimyo, my name is Minato Namikaze. I am here under the order of Sixth Hokage to discuss cooperation with Land of Snow."
"You said you are Naruto's father. Is Naruto okay?"
Minato Namikaze:???
Isn't this right?
Why did the other party ask Naruto first when he came up?
It seems that Naruto is really popular!
"Naruto is very good, he is now Sixth Hokage."
"Hey, didn't that old pervert named Jiraiya just become Fifth Hokage?
Could it be that he was caught peeking into a public bathroom and was thrown into the wild?"
Minato was a little embarrassed when he heard this. Jiraiya is his teacher, but the teacher is indeed a little...
"That's not the case, but Lord Jiraiya did resign from Hokage's position."
Immediately afterwards, Minato told Kazahana Koyuki the purpose of his arrival.
"Want to build Train in Konoha? This is of course no problem, but building and operating Train will consume a lot of iron and coal. If you need iron and coal, I can give you some profit and sell you the iron of Land of Snow."
Because the environment before Land of Snow was difficult to grow crops, Land of Snow relied more on trade to survive.
Trade is nothing more than some marine goods and minerals in exchange for money, food and clothing.
Land of Snow is a resource-based country. After the operation of Geothermal Generator, the mining efficiency of the mine has also improved a lot.
Of course there is no problem in selling some to Konoha, but as a country, Daimyo and Kazahana Koyuki have to be responsible for their own subjects, so they cannot benefit too much.
In the next two hours, the two conducted detailed negotiations on technical details, iron prices, transportation costs, long-term supply contracts, etc.
Minato showed excellent negotiation skills, not only adhering to Konoha's bottom line of interests, but also fully understanding Land of Snow's position; Kazahana Koyuki took every step to ensure the country's profits while also showing its sincerity in cooperation in a timely manner.
Outside the window, the afternoon sky at Land of Snow is clear.
When the preliminary cooperation plan was finally finalized, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief.
"A pleasure to work with!"
"A pleasure to work with!"
"Shouldn't I say it's a pleasure to work together?"
Orochimaru was lazily leaning on a large chair, with long black hair hanging loosely. Golden Snake Eyes was shining with a playful and cold luster in the dim light.
There was a hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth, and she was looking at Tsunade who was standing opposite with an obviously unattractive face.
"The cooperation agreement has been reached, and you have confirmed the status of Kato Dan and Nawaki."
Orochimaru's voice is low and slightly hoarse, with a kind of bewitching magnetism, but it is even more narrow-minded at this moment.
"Why, are you still looking like this... unwilling?"
She tilted her head slightly, Golden Snake Eyes locked eyes with Tsunade's twinkling eyes.
Tsunade folded his hands on his chest, frowned, and his plump chest rose and fell due to his slightly rapid breathing.
She avoided Orochimaru's gaze that seemed to be able to see through people's hearts, and spoke harshly:
"I just think... we should respect Jiraiya's opinion."
She tries to find a reasonable excuse for "procrastination" or "repentance."
"After all, this is about him. He is unwilling to use Cloning Technology to gain immortality or 'resurrection'. We should..."
"Heh."
Orochimaru let out a short and cold laugh, directly interrupting Tsunade's words.
She straightened up slightly from her seat, a clear hint of sarcasm and anger flashing through Golden Snake Eyes.
"Respect his opinion? He is stubborn and believes that my path is astray and degenerate.
And it is this path of depravity that brings your loved ones back to you.
So now, his opinions are completely irrelevant to me.
Fair enough, isn't it?"