Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Third Raikage arrived in the Land of Hot Water almost simultaneously.
But they did not fight.
If the two started fighting now, it really would be war.
Besides, the future Fourth Raikage A was still in Danzo's hands, and the Land of Earth was eyeing the Land of Lightning hungrily.
The Third Raikage did not want to fight Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to fight even less. All he wanted was to review documents in the Hokage's Office.
The two sides began negotiations.
"Lord Hokage, why did your Konoha Shinobi invade the Land of Hot Water?"
The Nara representative answered first:
"To guard against your invasion of the Land of Hot Water, of course. If our Hokage Advisor hadn't received word and brought men here ahead of time, you'd probably have troops massed at the Land of Fire's border by now, wouldn't you?"
Kumogakure's negotiator immediately flew into a rage.
"You were clearly the ones who sent troops first."
"Oh? If that's true, why did Lord Danzo run straight into your vanguard?"
"Because we received word that your Shimura Danzō had brought men into the Land of Hot Water first."
"So you planted spies in our Konoha? Are you trying to start a war?"
The Cloud Ninja hurriedly tried to find the right words.
After much back-and-forth, the two sides reached an agreement.
No fighting.
But Hiruzen Sarutobi did not make Kumogakure pay to ransom the young A.
Kumogakure also dropped the matter of A's injuries.
When Danzo heard the news, he immediately launched into a tirade.
"Monkey, oh, Monkey, you still love compromising. The interrogation squad is already here, but you won't let me use them, and you won't even demand compensation. Too soft. I really should be Hokage."
The young A and his