No one spoke in the hall.
Shikaku Nara was the first to look up. He didn't look at Senju Chen. He first glanced at the corner of the paper in his hand - there was a line of very small numbers there.
"Minister Chen." He said, "This is not spy information."
"No."
"Spies can't get the 'toilet usage frequency'." Shikaku said, "Spies will die."
"Two hundred and seventeen unmanned reconnaissance aircraft." Senju Chen said, "Nineteen consecutive days of fixed-point observation, with an altitude of 3,000 meters during the day and 800 meters at night. The returned images were submitted to the Public Security Department technical team of thirty-one people for comparison, and a table was built day by day."
He paused.
"To put it bluntly - we counted their kitchen smoke and latrines for nineteen days."
There was a crisp sound from the corner. The records clerk who was born in the Yamanaka Clan shook his hands and knocked the tea bowl on the inkstone, and the tea smeared over half of the paper. He didn't bother to wipe it himself.
You don't even let people go to the toilet, how perverted are you...
Hiruzen Sarutobi put the paper on the table, pressed it with both hands, and looked at it for a long time with his head down.
He has trained the most elite Anbu in his life. In order to find out the formation of a Iwagakure regiment, at least three people have to die. And what he gets back usually only says "the strength is about three thousand to five thousand".
"... These things," said the old man's voice, "Can you tell if they really know how to fight?"
"I can see that." Senju Chen said, "If we really want to start a war, the grain road will not go to the same canyon six times in a row; the commander will not stay out of the camp in rainy days; he will not drag the student soldiers to a winter camp within 30 miles of the actual control line."
"They came to see it."
"What are you looking at?" Mitokado Homura asked.
"Look at us." Senju Chen said, "See if Limb Regeneration is real, see if the iron plate that has been hammered eighteen times is real, and see if Konoha is out of his mind when he suddenly wants to teach science to children. They can't understand, so they sent five teams out to see our reaction."
"Since they want to see it, we'll take it." He stretched out his hand and pushed the last document in the suitcase to the center of the table.
Four words on the cover.
[Frost's Descent]
"Don't hit anyone." Senju Chen said, "Just hit someone."
"How?" Shikaku Nara asked.
"The first step, on the same night, twenty-seven drones flew in five groups at night, and dropped high-brightness flares directly above the five camps. They lit up at the same time, illuminating the five camps together into daylight." Senju Chen said, "Only lighting, not bombing."
"Lighting up for what?"
"Tell them: I can count every one of your tents and know how many people there are in you."
"The second step," Senju Chen's finger fell on the second line of the paper, "Four hundred meters directly above Fourth Regiment's station, Chakra Cannon fired air blasts. Three rounds. The target was not people, but air pressure. All the tents in the entire camp were overturned, camp flags were broken, and the grain piles fell apart."
He raised his eyes.
"It won't hurt anyone, but it will serve as a deterrent."
Mitokado Homura's voice rose. "Why Fourth Regiment?"
"Because Fourth Regiment is an empty shell." Senju Chen said, "It is full of student soldiers and reservists. I want those more than three hundred Iwagakure brats to tell people about this for the rest of their lives after they go back."
Someone in the hall took a breath.
"The third step. On the same night, Eagle Claw Gorge blasted at fixed points on the cliffs on both sides, completely sealing the grain road. Nine ninjas guarding the grain, drones will confirm the position of the convoy beforehand, and the blasting point is between 300 meters after the convoy passes and 400 meters in front."
"No harm?"
"No need to hurt anyone."
"There were zero deaths, zero corpses, and zero wreckage left in the entire process." Senju Chen closed the plan, "Daimyo of the Land of Earth wants to cry and has nothing to say. Who is he going to accuse us of killing? No. Accusing us of crossing the border? We don't cross the border. The drone took off within the actual control line, and its ballistic trajectory went high. Accusing us of blowing up his food channel? The cliff is in their territory, but we don't admit it, and they can't produce any evidence."
"We only do three things and don't say a word."
"Absurd!" Mitokado Homura slapped his palm on the table, and the tea bowl jumped up, "You don't kill anyone, you call this a deterrent? Iwagakure is a mud player, not an opera singer! If you blow up a piece of his tent, he will come back tomorrow!"
Senju Chen smiled.
"Elder Homura. Sometimes deterrence does not have to rely on killing people. Killing people makes people hate you." Senju Chen said slowly, "Let them know that you can kill at any time, but you didn't kill - then they will be afraid and afraid of you."
"People who hate you will form gangs to seek revenge against you. People who are afraid of you can't sleep in the middle of the night, and they will think to themselves: since he even knows whose tent my captain of the second regiment goes to every night, why didn't he kill me?"
"He will come to a conclusion - Konoha did not intend to kill me, Konoha was trying to intimidate me."
"Believe it or not, they will take the initiative to come to us to talk about "peace" in the future."
Tsunade laughed out loud in the main seat. She supported her chin with one hand, her eyes were bright, and she did not say a word.
Shikaku Nara folded the paper in his hand twice and put it into his sleeve.
"Then Minister Chen wants something from Iwagakure."
"Minerals." Senju Chen said calmly, "Chromium, nickel, and tungsten are the main materials for forging alloy steel. Although Land of Fire is also available, it is of low grade. Land of Earth's West Mountain Ore Vein has four times the chromium content of ours, but they still use it as waste residue to fill roads."
Mitokado Homura's face slowly stiffened.
It was only at this moment that he realized: From beginning to end, this boy was not discussing a military conflict at all. He was discussing a trade contract that had not yet started, and these three steps were the asking price before signing.
"Let's vote." Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly said.
Everyone looked at him.
The old man put down his pipe, folded his hands and pressed them on the tissue paper.
"Three additional items." He said one by one, "First, do not cross the border - all weapons will not fall on the other side's land within the actual control line, and the explosion points and ballistics will all be reported to Anbu for verification. Second, do not kill - if a corpse appears, the person in charge will go to my place to claim the crime. Third, do not admit - no matter what Iwagakure asks afterwards, Konoha only has four words: I don't know about it."
He raised his eyes.
"Raise your hands if you agree."
The first one is Utatane Koharu. The next one is Shikaku Nara.
Mitokado Homura pressed his hand on the table for a long time. Finally, he grabbed the piece of paper, read the line "Left knee, don't ride on rainy days" again, slapped the paper on the table, and raised his hand.
"Passed." Tsunade stood up, his voice falling like a stone, "[Frost's Descent] will be immediately handed over to the Public Security Department and Anbu for joint preparation. The execution time will be determined by Minister Chen."
Dismiss the meeting.
There was a sound of chairs moving. Senju Chen buckled the suitcase, walked to the door, and was pulled by his sleeves from behind.
Shikaku Nara yawned, his eyes were dull.
"Minister Chen."
"Shikaku-sama."
"Let me ask." Shikaku let go of his hand, "Who are you showing this hand to?"
Senju Chen didn't answer.
"Iwagakure?" Shikaku, counting down, "Or Sunagakure, Kumogakure... or the Kirigakure that just replaced Mizukage?"
The smoke in the hall has not cleared yet. The morning light casts the shadows of the two people on the wooden floor, varying in length.
Senju Chen smiled.
"Master Shikaku, have you ever chased a deer?"
"Chasing a deer?"
"Hahaha, yes, chasing deer."