Four days later.
"Immoral, absolutely immoral!"
In a town on the border of the Land of Birds, Shin'un, his face flushed, leaped between rooftops, quickly Earth Flow towards the Konoha Village's headquarters.
This morning, feeling restless, Shin'un decided to leave his post and take a good look at the Land of Birds town where he had spent five days.
Whether it was good luck or bad luck, Shin'un wandered aimlessly through the streets and, by sheer chance, stumbled into the town's brothel district.
Heaven help us, Shin'un had never been to such a place before and was completely unaware of anything unusual about his surroundings at first glance.
At most, it just felt like all the shops on this street were exceptionally flamboyant, and there were four or five scantily clad, glamorous women standing in front of each shop.
Every time Shin'un looked at these alluring women, they would openly display their broad-mindedness and seductive figures, leaving Shin'un stunned.
At this time, one or two slightly older women would always walk up to Shin'un and solicit customers, and the reason they used to solicit customers was quite strange.
It wasn't, "Guest, please buy something."
It wasn't like saying, "Guest, please have something to eat."
Instead, it's, "Guest, would you like to play?"
Heaven have mercy, Shin'un's heart is as blank as a sheet of paper. Whenever this happens, he would righteously declare, "Ten to fifteen days, and a fine of up to five thousand yuan!"
After saying that, Shin'un, with a serious face, left the somewhat bewildered old woman behind and continued walking forward with his hands behind his back, admiring the decoration style of each shop on the street.
Perhaps due to the recent Second Shinobi World War, this red-light district didn't have many idle people strolling around.
At first glance, one's gaze is completely filled with the flamboyant and glamorous women dressed in front of each shop.
Perhaps it was because he hadn't made any money in a long time, after Shin'un had been wandering around this street, which was only a little over 200 meters long, for more than an hour, a long-haired older woman standing in front of a shop on the side of the street couldn't help but ask.
He stepped forward and hugged Shin'un's arm, trying to soothe Shin'un's fatigue with his broad chest.
The Shinobi World today is both cold and warm.
With a leader in place, the older women at the other shops couldn't bear to Shin'un alone enduring the cold winds of the world.
They all surrounded Shin'un, their dozen or so fair arms groping and warming Shin'un body, and they all spoke up:
"Handsome guy, come have some fun! It's only 1000 taels! My shop has a king-size bed!"
"One thousand taels? Sister, I only need nine hundred taels! Not only will I get a large bed, but also a mixed-gender hot spring, and I can do everything!"
"Nine hundred taels? I only want six hundred taels. Although my shop doesn't have a king-size bed or a hot spring, I do have a husband!"
"..."
Surrounded by the crowd and feeling the warmth from the older women around her, Shin'un was so moved that she blushed with embarrassment.
Unfortunately, after much Shin'un, Shen Yun decided not to trouble these kind-hearted older sisters any longer. He used his Body Flicker Technique to escape from the crowd and leaped onto the roof to leave.
The older women were left behind, looking regretful as they slowly dispersed.
"Squeak~"
Pushing open the gate, Shin'un walked into the Konoha compound with a serious expression, only to be met by Nara Shikahito, who was leading a group of people to negotiate.
Seeing the door open, Shin'un approached with a slightly flushed face, Nara Shikahito immediately said:
"What's wrong? You said you were feeling down and wanted to go out for a walk, are you feeling better now?"
"Great! Excellent!"
Upon hearing Nara Shikahito's words, Shin'un immediately stood up straight and replied with a smile, "After looking at the scenery outside, I feel very peaceful now."
Nara Shikahito raised an eyebrow, looking at Shin'un standing upright with a smile on his face. He vaguely sensed that something was wrong, but didn't say anything.
Nodding, Nara Shikahito said:
"Alright, in that case, I'll be going now. The negotiations with the Sand Ninja are nearing completion, and I can't afford to slack off."
After saying that, Nara Shikahito turned around and walked straight towards the gate...
Seeing this, Shin'un suddenly remembered something and, noticing that Nara Shikahito was about to leave, quickly asked:
" Nara- senpai, now that the negotiations have reached the final stage, have the Sand Ninja agreed to all thirteen conditions we listed?"
Just as Nara Shikahito was about to step out the door, Shin'un's question from behind interrupted his steps.
Turning around, Nara Shikahito looked at Shin'un with a strange expression.
"That's strange. You've never been interested in tedious things like negotiations and document handovers. Why are you being so proactive now?"
Upon hearing Nara Shikahito's words, Shin'un immediately laughed.
"Wasn't I reminded of this a few days ago?"
"I myself didn't even know the contents of the intelligence I submitted."
"I think I should pay more attention to similar things in the future, so as to avoid encountering such embarrassing situations again."
Upon hearing Shin'un mention this, Nara Shikahito couldn't help but laugh.
"That's true. Besides, given your age and abilities, you'll definitely need to deal with this kind of thing in the future, so it's good to familiarize yourself with it beforehand."
After saying that, Nara Shikahito looked up and thought for a moment, then said:
"Under normal circumstances, the Sand Ninja Village would never agree to all thirteen conditions we listed."
"But we do have over two thousand Sand Ninja prisoners. Because of these two thousand prisoners, the Sand Ninja were hesitant to act rashly and agreed to most of our conditions."
"Of the thirteen conditions, the Sand Ninja only objected to one."
"One?" Shin'un blinked, having roughly guessed it.
"It should be the one about sending hostages to Konoha."
Nodding, Nara Shikahito said:
"That's right, all other conditions are negotiable. The Sunagakure can agree to anything for the more than two thousand prisoners from the Land of Rain."
"This is the only condition that the Sunagakure is unlikely to agree to."
"After all, that list of thirteen people involved relatives of most of the high-ranking officials in Sunagakure, so naturally they wouldn't agree to it."
At this point, Nara Shikahito shrugged and said nonchalantly;
"But it doesn't matter whether they agree or not; this condition was just an add-on anyway."
"As long as they meet the other twelve conditions, Sunagakure will be unable to oppose Konoha for at least twenty years."
"At that time, Sunagakure might even have to rely on Konoha to retain its status as one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages."
Shin'un nodded and thanked Nara Shikahito.
"I understand, thank you Nara- senpai."
"Hey~, don't be so polite with me." After thanking Shin'un, Nara Shikahito waved and turned to walk out the door, leading two or three clerks towards the negotiation room.
Taking a few steps forward, Shin'un watched Nara Shikahito's retreating figure, lost in thought.
" The Sand Ninja only objects to the clause regarding sending hostages."
"In other words, it's now certain that the Giant Puppet Prototype will be handed over to Konoha."
"In that case, I'm relieved."
Turning around, Shin'un walked towards his room.
"Once the handover is complete, I must see this so-called Giant Puppet Prototype with my own eyes. Only then will I be able to determine whether it is what I'm thinking of."