T.L Note: Hey guys, I'm back. The semester exams went well, thanks to all of your well wishes.
By the way, there is a public POLL going on on my Ko-fi Page, everyone can participate in it and cast your votes in the poll regardless of membership. It's about a new Jujutsu Kaisen Fanfiction I am thinking about for quite some time. It's NOT a translation, but my own, so I would like you guys to participate in that poll and share your views.
Thank you, now please enjoy the chapter.
*****
"It's you again, you brat."
The next day, in an oasis on the border of the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers, Ebizo's expression darkened when he saw Hidezawa's figure.
He had left a rather deep impression on Ebizo, so much so that he even ignored the masked person next to Hidezawa.
"Ebizo-sama, I didn't expect it to be you again this time."
Hidezawa's face was full of smiles, and the kind of smile that was not a hypocritical fake smile at all; it looked more like it came from the heart.
He looked around, and soon saw a familiar figure behind Ebizo, he smiled and waved.
"Pakura-san, long time no see, I have missed you greatly since our last parting."
"..."
Pakura raised an eyebrow but said nothing, but Kabuto, who had been ignored, couldn't help but lower his head.
He seemed to understand a little what Hidezawa meant by 'inclusiveness'.
"Enough small talk, I still have important matters to deal with."
Ebizo waved his hand, leaving only Pakura in place, while the rest of the Anbu immediately retreated to the border of the oasis to guard.
Since the last incident, Pakura had already started following Ebizo, and Ebizo had also informed Pakura about some matters within the village.
Actually, if he had a choice, Ebizo really didn't want to say anything, but he knew very well that if he didn't, Pakura might really defect overnight.
Sunagakure was already unable to compare with Konoha, or even Iwagakure; the barren geographical environment and declining economy restricted their development.
If they could exchange Pakura for benefits, gritting their teeth might make it acceptable.
But if the matter was exposed and they gained nothing, then how to keep Pakura and how to gain her trust became the key.
What Ebizo could do was be honest; only honesty could slightly salvage the situation.
Moreover, Ebizo was not wrong about one thing: he still had other matters to deal with.
According to the swift hawk's report, something terrible happened in Rōran in the southern part of the Land of Wind last night — the Dragon Vein chakra had erupted.
Along with this eruption, a giant tree seemed to have formed, and this matter involuntarily made him think of Konoha.
But he quickly shook his head; the possibility of Konoha doing such a thing existed, but it wasn't very high.
The Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, had not shown any greed for the power of the Dragon Vein back then.
However, Konoha was still the most suspicious target, but any suspicion still required careful investigation.
Especially at this stage, he still had to rely on Konoha.
"Alright, then let's get straight to the point."
Hidezawa nodded, speaking with a smile.
"It's clear that you have made the right choice, and we will fully support you."
'Damn it, who would be willing to cooperate with Danzo if they had a choice?'
Ebizo snorted coldly in his heart, but he did not speak, only looking at Hidezawa with a cold expression.
"Of course, cooperation requires payment, and Danzo-sama understands this."
Hidezawa didn't care and continued with a smile.
As representatives of the contact, both he and Kabuto had seen the terms, and he also knew Danzo's bottom line.
Now it was his turn to act, and he would definitely emphasize Danzo in his actions, after all, he was just an employee.
"It's just that the demands you've made are a bit excessive. According to Danzo-sama's wishes, we can provide Sunagakure with a certain amount of food."
"However, regarding supporting negotiations with the Land of Earth, we must remain silent because Konoha is one of the Five Great Villages, and we will not interfere in the affairs between other nations and villages."
As soon as these words were spoken, Ebizo's eyes widened instantly, and Kabuto, who was beside him, buried his head even lower.
A single thought popped up in both their minds simultaneously—
'Damn it, how could this brat/Hidezawa say such shameless words?'
Not interfere?
Then what kind of nonsense were you talking about before?
What are you doing now?
"We are allies; as allies, shouldn't you cooperate with our actions?"
Ebizo couldn't hold back; he stared at Hidezawa and spoke coldly.
"This is Danzo-sama's intention; I have no right to criticize it."
Hidezawa shook his head, and he also became serious.
"Moreover, Danzo-sama anticipated that you would say this, so he has a question he needs to ask you."
"While you are dealing with Kirigakure's harassment, and at the same time strongly confronting Iwagakure, and even possibly reigniting the war."
"Have you ever thought that Konoha and Sunagakure are allies, and your actions are irresponsible to your ally as it also brings threats to Konoha?"
"..."
Ebizo was speechless, as well as extremely angry in his heart.
'If you Konoha hadn't interfered, stolen Sunagakure's intelligence, and exposed Pakura's matter.'
'Would Sunagakure be so passive now?'
"However, even if we don't support, we will make up for it in other areas."
Hidezawa continued to speak indifferently.
"Danzo-sama promises that he can allocate more missions from the Land of Rivers to you."
"And when he becomes Hokage, he can hand over the missions around the Land of Rivers to you as well."
'Damn it, promising another non-existential profit?'
Ebizo was truly exasperated; the Land of Rivers was considered to be jointly divided by Konoha and Sunagakure.
Whichever side was stronger, naturally that side would have more mission cooperation.
But 'winner takes all' was sometimes unchangeable; Konoha was stronger, so naturally more people were willing to seek them out.
At the same price, Konoha would naturally get more missions.
Sometimes, even if Sunagakure engaged in a 'price war', they couldn't compete with Konoha, because some people trusted quality more.
So given that, Danzo's promise was just bullshit.
As for him becoming Hokage, when would that old man ever become Hokage?
"Aren't you Konoha not going too far?!"
Ebizo not turning around and walking away was already showing restraint; he stared intently at Hidezawa, his eyes filled with both anger and killing intent.
"If this is your attitude, then we don't need to talk!"
"And I'm not afraid to tell you, while our current situation in Sunagakure is indeed bad, if truly pushed, Sunagakure can do a lot of things."
"You Konoha may not want to enter a new war, but sometimes war doesn't follow your wishes!"
Ebizo's threat was very direct: if they were truly pushed, they would just directly confront Iwagakure.
Once a fight broke out, Konoha, as an ally, would naturally be implicated, and then whether Konoha intervened or not, Iwagakure would definitely do something.
Kumogakure would be no exception, and Kirigakure would certainly not miss out; it could be said that this threat was very deadly.
"Don't be anxious yet; we have two pieces of intelligence for you, which you will definitely find interesting."
However, Hidezawa didn't care; he spoke with a smile.
"Speak."
Ebizo looked at Hidezawa with a sullen face; he was really in a bad mood right now.
"According to reliable intelligence, there might be a problem with one of your village's jōnin, Yura."
Hidezawa crossed his arms, and both Ebizo and Pakura's expressions changed simultaneously, even Kabuto was stunned for a moment, but he quickly thought that this should be a separate bargaining chip Danzo gave Hidezawa.
"Memory-Concealing Manipulative Sand Technique, you're not unfamiliar with this jutsu, are you?"
"How is that even possible?"
Ebizo's face was somewhat gloomy; not many people mastered this jutsu, and they were all top-tier puppet masters, could it be...
"As for the second piece of intelligence, it's about Sasori of the Red Sand."
Hidezawa lightly flicked his finger, still maintaining a smile on his face.
"He is now in an organization full of rogue ninjas, and that organization is called Akatsuki, most likely based in the Land of Rain."
"Akatsuki... Land of Rain... Hanzo?"
Ebizo's gaze became even more gloomy; they had investigated Sasori's whereabouts for a long time but had always found nothing, he didn't expect Danzo to have already obtained it.
And what made him even angrier was that Sasori had actually gone to Hanzo?
"Finally, one more thing, Danzo-sama is also worried that you might take some extreme actions, so the compensation will not be small."
Hidezawa looked at Ebizo, then shook his head and spoke.
"We will also provide a certain amount of monetary compensation; I think this is what your Sunagakure needs most right now."
"Money, huh..."
Upon hearing this, Ebizo's expression softened a little.
Sunagakure was truly too poor; any economic support was extremely important.
But soon, an unprecedented sense of grievance arose in his heart; he felt that Danzo was just giving him charity, after all, by the standards of transaction between Great Villages, it felt like he was just pitying them and throwing them a bone.
At this moment, he really couldn't hold back.
'Danzo, you truly deserve to die!'
*****
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✓ Killed For 100 Years in Hueco Mundo, Aizen Invited Me To Soul Society!
✓ Naruto: Senmei Asahi
✓ Naruto: Uchiha's Intelligence Dealer
✓ Naruto: The Fifth Hokage Is Naruto's Uncle
✓ Naruto: Who Made Him a Ninja?
✓ To Love-Ru: Spoiler Route [R-18]
✓ Naruto: The Accidental Incubus [R-18]