"Whoosh!"
A series of strong winds swept through the forest as a hundred Konoha Ninja moved swiftly, heading straight for the negotiation location agreed upon with the other two ninja villages.
Among the group was a young man with silver-white hair, his cold face serious, his eyes fixed intently on the direction they were heading.
At this moment, the group had entered the territory of the Land of Birds, temporarily bidding farewell to the perennial rainy weather of the Land of Rain.
Whenever they reached a treeless, open meadow in the forest, the warm sunlight overhead would bathe them all in its warmth.
The long-awaited light and warmth invigorated Shin'un, who couldn't help but look up at the sky.
The sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly.
"How nostalgic! I've been living in the Land of Rain for the past few years. It's been so long since I've seen such a lush forest and such clear weather."
"I feel like much of the dampness in my body has dissipated."
Looking at the clear weather, Shin'un sighed inwardly, and his mood lifted.
But soon, the news from the Konoha Jonin him made him forget about appreciating the warmth of the sun shining overhead.
" Lord Hirakawa, according to the schedule, we should be arriving at the negotiation location soon."
Suppressing his wandering thoughts, Shin'un straightened up, turned to look at the reconnaissance squad that Konoha had assigned to the team behind him, and instructed, "Maintain awareness of the front."
Although I understand that accidents are unlikely, I still need to take some precautions.
"Clear!"
Shin'un gave the order, and several ninjas behind him responded immediately.
After exchanging glances, the ninjas unleashed their sensory abilities.
Some released the dogs, some released the worms, and some rolled their eyes.
Several minutes passed in a flash, and among the three ninjas who maintained their senses, the Aburame Clan ninja with the largest sense range spoke first.
The masked, aloof man in sunglasses watched the Kikaichū swarming around him as he reported to Shin'un, who was standing before him:
"Report: Kikaichū have spotted a town ahead."
"Okay, I understand." Shin'un nodded, indicating that he understood.
A town has been spotted ahead; that should be the location for these negotiations.
The group continued forward through the forest without encountering any ninjas.
Soon, a city wall came into Shin'un's view, and several ordinary civilians were queuing to enter the town outside the city gate.
As a qualified ninja, Shin'un clearly did not intend to lead his men to enter the town in a proper queue through the city gate.
Without uttering a word, Shin'un charged directly towards the city wall. The other hundred Konoha Ninja followed Shin'un in unison, using their Chakra to absorb the wall and smoothly crossed it, entering the town.
However, the spectacular sight of nearly a hundred people scaling walls and rooftops together frightened several civilians and guards at the city gate.
Leaping over the city walls, the group ran straight towards the center of the small town, where the real location for the negotiations was.
A dozen seconds later, a place with a considerable area and dozens of houses came into Shin'un's view.
" Lord Hirakawa, dozens of Chakra reactions belonging to ninjas have been detected ahead."
At this moment, Hyuga Clan Jonin forward from behind Shin'un, rolling his eyes as he informed Shin'un of his discovery.
"That must mean the Sand Ninja or Iwagakure arrived before us."
After speaking, Shin'un's eyes darted around and he noticed dozens of ninjas emerging from the houses ahead, standing on the rooftops and watching Shin'un and his group approach with hostility.
"It's the Sand Ninja; they arrived before us."
Nara Shikahito, who had been silent for a long time and had been deep in thought about the negotiations from the back, finally stepped forward, walked to Shin'un's side, and said with a smile:
Their hostility was obvious, made no attempt to hide it.
"That's normal." Nodding, Shin'un also felt the obvious hostile gazes from the Sand Ninja not far away.
Turning his head, Shin'un glanced at the Konoha Ninja behind him. They, in turn, stared at the dozens of Sand Ninja not far away with hostile eyes.
"The war has lasted for several years. Which of the several ninja villages harbors any animosity towards each other?"
Nara Shikahito nodded upon hearing Shin'un's words.
Then, Nara Shikahito's gaze swept across the dozens of Sand Ninja, and when he saw a middle-aged man wearing a black robe, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Raising his chin, Nara Shikahito gestured for Shin'un beside him to look at him, and said, "Watch out, that person is Ebizo, in charge of intelligence work for Sunagakure. He should be the person in charge of Sunagakure's negotiations this time."
After speaking, Nara Shikahito turned his head and looked at Shin'un with a serious expression.
"Of course, he also has another identity: he is the Chiyo brother of Chiyo of Sunagakure."
Shin'un gazed into the distance and exchanged a look with the expressionless Ebizo.
"I see."
Nodding, since Shen Shin'un, Nara Shikahito didn't say anything more. He turned and ordered the Konoha Ninja to suppress their hostility before leading his team forward.
Meanwhile, Ebizo, who was not far away, also ordered the Sunagakure to restrain their hostility, jump off the rooftops, and stand still to wait for the Konoha team to approach.
The Sunagakure ninjas remained expressionless, their eyes revealing a hidden hostility as they watched the Konoha Ninja approach.
The Konoha Ninja also remained expressionless, their movements seemingly casual, but in reality, their muscles were tense, and they were always on guard against the Sand Ninja ahead.
Shin'un walked in the group, his gaze sweeping across the scene, taking in everything.
Before the negotiations officially begin tomorrow morning, Nara Shikahito clearly had no intention of encountering Ebizo. He led his team, ignoring the Sand Ninja forces, and headed straight for the buildings ahead.
Ebizo stood at the front of the Sand Ninja team, his gaze subtly fixed on the Konoha team, watching the back of the silver-haired boy, before finally releasing his clenched, white-faced fists.
The next day, early morning, in the conference room.
Negotiators from three ninja villages sat around a large round table, each with a person standing behind them.
Konoha, Nara Shikahito, Hirakawa Shin'un.
Sunagakure, a Ebizo of Jonin Sunagakure.
Iwagakure elder, Huang Tu.
On the high platform, a ninja who looked extremely nervous trembled as he looked around.
This ninja, Chunin combat strength is roughly equivalent to that of a Chunin, was someone the Daimyo of the Land of Birds had searched the entire country to find in order to show his importance. He sent this ninja to serve as the host of these negotiations.
However, neither Nara Shikahito nor Ebizo, nor the Iwagakure negotiating representative who arrived late last night, clearly intended to take them seriously.
After all, the six people in the meeting room were from various villages, and each of them had the strength and confidence to easily kill him.
Swallowing hard, the ninja on the platform finally spoke:
"Gentlemen, let's begin... the negotiations commence!"
After speaking, the ninja immediately sat down, keeping his eyes, nose, mouth, and mind focused, as if afraid someone would notice him.
Meanwhile, the three negotiators remained silent, observing each other in quiet contemplation.
After a silence of more than ten seconds, Nara Shikahito was the first to speak:
"In that case, let me speak first."
Turning his head, Nara Shikahito's gaze swept across the entire room, lingering only for a moment on the Iwagakure representative who was meditating with his eyes closed, before immediately looking at Ebizo on the other side.
"Ahem, I did a rough calculation on the way here, and actually, Konoha doesn't intend to ask for much compensation."
"After all, our Hokage is a kind and soft-hearted person, and all the villages in the Shinobi World should be one family."
Clearing his throat, Nara Shikahito smiled kindly and spoke to Ebizo:
"Ahem, so things are quite simple."
"We have 2,380 prisoners from your Sunagakure. To be blunt, one hundred million ryo per prisoner."
"Don't worry, as a gesture of goodwill, we'll round it down. You only need to pay the ransom for the 2,300 prisoners, which is 230 billion taels."
"See? Isn't it simple?"