"That's blatant lying! I'm the supplies advisor! I personally inspected that batch of supplies; there's no way they could have been damaged, and they're all the best from Konoha!"
Jiraiya clenched his fists, barely able to contain his anger.
The Raikage's ability to lie through his teeth is simply unparalleled.
"Yo yo yo, Third Hokage, what is your esteemed student trying to do? Unleashing such powerful Chakra is terrifying."
Ziyun looked at Jiraiya with great interest and said.
"Clap clap!"
Before Ziyun could finish speaking, Kushina went up and slapped Jiraiya twice across the face.
"This is the Kumogakure camp; we won't tolerate you Konoha Ninja behaving so presumptuously here!"
Two big slaps, enough to make Jiraiya's face swell up.
Jiraiya, step back!
Seeing the atmosphere suddenly become tense, Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly glared at Jiraiya, afraid of angering the Kumogakure.
Jiraiya realized he had been somewhat out of line and quickly composed himself.
"Alright, Third Hokage, since you've agreed, I won't make things difficult for you. However, besides ceding half of the Land of Fire, there's a second condition."
"What? There's a second condition?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer contain himself; his eyes blazed with fury.
They had already agreed to the outrageous condition of ceding half of the Land of Land of Fire's territory, so when did this second condition suddenly appear?
" Third Hokage, did I ever say that I would only ask Konoha to cede half of its territory?"
"Even if there were any, those were the prices from the last negotiation. This time is different. We suffered many casualties among our Kumogakure this time, so naturally we have to offer more."
Ziyun said with a smile, "I didn't expect that even an honest person like Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't hold back."
Was she really that unreasonable? Ziyun didn't think so.
Without formidable strength as a backing, it's highly likely that the Kumogakure would be being treated this way now.
"Your Kumogakure didn't lose many people in this battle at all. On the contrary, our Konoha Ninja suffered heavy losses, including the Nine-Tails."
Hiruzen Sarutobi the words "Nine-Tails " very hard; he was truly heartbroken.
"That's because you insisted on using the Nine-Tails. What does that have to do with us? Did I hold your hand down and force you to release the Nine-Tails?"
" Third Hokage, if you don't want to, then go back. We'll meet on the battlefield..."
Ziyun was too lazy to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Okay, what's the second condition?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi suppressed his anger and said...
"Hand over the Scroll of Seals of Konoha," Ziyun said calmly.
The Scroll of Seals is a valuable item; it contains many forbidden techniques.
For example, the Flying Thunder God Technique, as well as the Impure World Reincarnation and the Eight Gates, are all S-rank forbidden techniques.
Even Ziyun was somewhat interested in these Ninjutsu, so he naturally wanted to take them over, perhaps they could be used by the ninjas of Kumogakure.
"Okay, I promise."
Hiruzen Sarutobi gritted his teeth and agreed.
Actually, compared to the first requirement, this request is not excessive, and it even surprised Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Although the Scroll of Seals is precious, it is not as precious as the land of the Land of Fire.
"Great! I like people like the Third Hokage. Alright, after condition two, there's one last condition."
" Konoha has to pay 20% of its revenue to Kumogakure every year, that's every year," Ziyun reminded him.
"Snap!"
Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi. This condition was outrageous; it was treating Konoha like an ATM.
Moreover, conservatively estimated, 20% of Konoha's annual revenue would amount to at least two to three billion ryo.
This income was earned by Konoha Ninja through missions, risking their lives. To just hand it over to Kumogakure for nothing is like making Konoha Ninja work for Kumogakure!
" Third Hokage, you don't have to agree if you don't want to. Actually, I don't care whether you agree or not."
Ziyun looked at the furious Hiruzen Sarutobi and didn't expect him to agree immediately.
Even if he didn't agree, these things would eventually belong to Kumogakure; it was just a matter of sooner or later.
"I can agree to these conditions, but I have one question: is this the last condition?"
After thinking for a while and calming down, Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Ziyun a question.
Agreeing to these three conditions is not a problem, but what Hiruzen Sarutobi fears is that after agreeing, new conditions will emerge, which would put Konoha at a great disadvantage.
"That's right, this is the last condition."
Ziyun spoke the truth.
If Hiruzen Sarutobi had agreed to all three conditions, it would have been a great success, and Ziyun wouldn't have needed to ask for anything more.
Having obtained everything that could be obtained, if all three conditions are met, the Kumogakure will become the undisputed number one ninja village in terms of both economy and military strength.
Moreover, they have left the Second Ninja Village far behind.
As for the other Four Great Shinobi Villages, their strength has probably become roughly the same.
After all, if Konoha loses half of its land, it means it loses half of its source of income, and its strength will be greatly reduced.
At least in terms of talent, it won't be as prosperous as it was in the original work.
"Alright, if it's just this last condition, I'll agree. I hope your Kumogakure will keep its word."
Hiruzen Sarutobi knew very well that if he didn't agree now, and the battle raged until Konoha was destroyed and its inhabitants perished, all the income from the Scroll of Seals would end up in Kumogakure.
Rather than doing that, it's better to agree sooner rather than later, preserving the seeds of future power and preparing for Konoha's comeback.
"However, I need some time to persuade the Daimyo of the Land of Fire; these are conditions I simply cannot decide on my own."
Hiruzen Sarutobi then requested a grace period from Ziyun in preparation for persuading the daimyo of the Land of Fire.
Ziyun agreed, but the condition of ceding half the land alone required the approval of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.
I believe Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't dare to play any tricks; if he did, there would be no need for Konoha to exist.
" Teacher Sarutobi, can the Daimyo of the Land of Fire really agree to such harsh conditions?"
On the way back, Jiraiya felt that the Land of Fire Daimyo was very likely to fall out with Konoha this time.
After all, the territorial concessions from the previous daimyo had already greatly displeased them.
If we were to cede half the territory now, wouldn't that stingy Daimyo of the Land of Fire immediately turn hostile?
"It's alright, I've already figured out how to persuade the Daimyo of the Land of Fire."
Hiruzen Sarutobi was quite confident about this matter.
The daimyo of the Land of Fire may be a bit stingy, but is it even necessary to ask which is more valuable, money or land, or one's own life?
Putting aside other matters, the Land of Fire Daimyo spends a considerable amount of money on bodyguards every year, such as the Twelve Guardian Ninja of the Daimyo.
Hiring these people alone would probably cost a fortune. Now that the Kumogakure has come knocking, if Konoha falls, what will the Land of Fire Daimyo use to fight against the Kumogakure?
Unlike other Kage, Raikage Yeyue Ziyun is not easy to talk to.
If you dare to bargain with him, he can cut off your head on the spot, no matter how famous you are.
As expected, Hiruzen Sarutobi used this rhetoric to frighten the Land of Fire's daimyo into agreeing on the spot.
After all, he knew the strength of Kumogakure; the Fourth Raikage Yeyue Ziyun, was far more powerful than the Third Raikage.
Moreover, Ziyun's three women were also incredibly powerful: Kushina, Tsunade, and Uchiha Mikoto, who utterly thwarted Konoha.
Even without the Fourth Raikage personally intervening in this great battle, Konoha had already been defeated.
I really don't know what the Konoha High Command has been developing all these years. All that money we give Konoha every year, has it all been wasted?
" Third Hokage, I remember that the three commanders-in-chief of Kumogakure this time were all from Konoha, so why are they serving Kumogakure?"
The cession of half of the Land of Fire's territory angered the daimyo of the Land of Fire, who naturally needed to find someone to hold accountable, or rather, a scapegoat.
The daimyo of the Land of Fire had heard about this incident, so he took his Hiruzen Sarutobi on Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Well... the situation is complicated." Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't know how to answer.
Because he never expected that these three would grow to this level.
If I had known back then, I would never have let those three go, even if you killed me.
"Let's not discuss that now. After this major battle is over, it'll be time for you to relinquish your Hokage position."
The daimyo of the Land of Fire spoke coldly, then dismissed Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Actually, he wanted Hiruzen Sarutobi down as Hokage, but unfortunately, the great battle was still ongoing.
If this is forced, the morale of Konoha's army will collapse, so the Daimyo of the Land of Fire plans to wait until after the great war to replace him with a more ambitious and enterprising Hokage.
Otherwise, if things continue to develop like this, the remaining half of the Land of Fire will eventually belong to someone else.
"I see."
Hiruzen Sarutobi closed his eyes; it was finally the end.
In terms of status, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire is still above him, the Hokage, after all, he is the richest man in Konoha.
If he cuts off economic support to Konoha, Konoha will definitely fall into ruin.
If the Daimyo of the Land of Fire has said so, then the Hokage definitely won't go to him after this battle.
After that, Hiruzen Sarutobi fulfilled all the conditions he had promised to Ziyun, including giving the Scroll of Seals and 20% of the annual income to Kumogakure.