Chapter 90: Negotiations and Invitations
"Where is Kinkaku's corpse?"
The Third Raikage stared at Minamikawa Yuu for a long moment before suddenly speaking.
"Hand him over."
"On what grounds?"
Kei's expression remained calm.
"He seems to be my spoil of war."
"Kinkaku is a rogue shinobi of Kumogakure. Naturally, Kumogakure should be the one to deal with him."
The Third Raikage spoke as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Furthermore, the Bashōsen and the Amber Purifying Pot on his person are also property of Kumogakure."
"By all rights and reason, Konoha should return them."
"And if I refuse?"
Kei replied indifferently.
"What does the Raikage intend to do then?"
"Then we go to war again."
The Third Raikage was blunt.
"With Konoha in its current state, I wonder if you can withstand another great war."
"The same goes for you."
Yuu's expression did not change.
"Konoha is not in a good place, but Kumogakure is not much better."
The Great Ninja War had only just ended, and every major force was exhausted.
Konoha had indeed suffered heavy losses and needed time to recover and rebuild.
But Kumogakure was in exactly the same situation.
After all, they had just lost the Second Raikage and gone through the rebellion of the Kinkaku Brothers.
Not counting the losses among ordinary shinobi, Kumogakure alone had already lost three top class powerhouses: the Second Raikage and the two Kinkaku Brothers.
If Konoha could be called weak right now, then Kumogakure was likewise in a period of extreme weakness.
"Your people rebelled, and we came to help you suppress the rebellion. Now that it's over, you want to turn on us immediately?"
Homura and the others arrived and spoke in rebuke.
"Is this how Kumogakure treats its guests?"
"Guests are treated with hospitality."
The Third Raikage was completely unceremonious.
"I do not see you as guests. I see you as bandits."
"With Kumogakure's conduct, it's hard to say who the real bandits are."
Danzo spoke coldly.
"You are quite famously barbaric in the shinobi world."
"What did you say?"
"Exactly what I said."
Danzo's tone did not change.
"There is one more thing."
"Since the Kinkaku Brothers' rebellion has been suppressed, where is our Second Hokage's corpse?"
Homura and the others also spoke up.
"That's right. Hand over Lord Tobirama's body!"
When the Kinkaku Brothers rebelled, Tobirama had died while covering their retreat, so naturally his body had fallen into their hands.
Now that the rebellion had been put down, Tobirama's corpse was nowhere to be seen.
Clearly, it had ended up in Kumogakure's possession.
"Return the two Six Paths tools, the Bashōsen and the Amber Purifying Pot, along with Kinkaku's corpse, and I will return Senju Tobirama's corpse to you."
The Third Raikage's attitude was extremely tough.
"Impossible!"
Before Kei could say anything, Homura and the others rejected it outright.
Kinkaku's corpse was one matter, but the value of the Bashōsen and the Amber Purifying Pot was simply too great.
Now that they were in Konoha's hands, there was no way they would hand them over.
Especially the Bashōsen.
Just moments ago, they had personally witnessed its power.
In Kinkaku's hands, its might was no different from a Tailed Beast Ball.
That kind of force might not be very effective against speed monsters like Kei or the Third Raikage, but on a battlefield, it was unquestionably devastating.
This was a ninja tool of real strategic value, capable of unleashing power comparable to a Tailed Beast Ball with ease.
No one would give that up lightly.
"We are willing to exchange Kinkaku's corpse for Lord Tobirama's corpse."
Koharu finally spoke.
"What does the Raikage think?"
"No."
The Third Raikage's stance remained forceful.
"The Six Paths tools are property of Kumogakure and must be returned."
The atmosphere immediately reached a deadlock.
Neither side was willing to retreat, and both possessed things the other side was absolutely determined to recover.
Whether it was the Six Paths tools, the corpses of the Kinkaku Brothers, or Tobirama's body, all of them were immensely valuable.
The corpse of a powerful shinobi was a treasure trove in itself.
If it fell into enemy hands, too many secrets could be studied from it, and one might even uncover the ninjutsu they had used during life.
For top tier shinobi like the Kinkaku Brothers and Tobirama, their corpses were naturally of extraordinary value.
Especially Tobirama's.
For Konoha, as the Second Hokage, his body had to be brought back for burial.
Otherwise, it would be a severe blow to Konoha's prestige.
And for students like Homura and Kagami, bringing their teacher home for burial was also a personal wish.
Since each side held what the other desperately wanted, negotiations became unavoidable.
And unsurprisingly, the first round of talks was extremely unpleasant.
Both sides were stuck, neither willing to yield.
"Lord Raikage."
At last, Kei spoke.
"If this drags on any longer, I'm afraid the tailed beast seal may become unstable."
Meeting the gazes of everyone present, he smiled faintly.
"The Amber Purifying Pot likely carries a rather special significance for Kumogakure."
"It would be quite a pity if it were lost forever."
The moment those words fell, everyone from Kumogakure, including the Third Raikage, changed expression.
In Danzo and the others' eyes, among the Six Paths tools wielded by the Kinkaku Brothers, the Bashōsen was naturally the most precious because of its battlefield value.
But in reality, to Kumogakure, the most important item was the one they had overlooked.
The Amber Purifying Pot.
Because that tool was needed to seal their tailed beast.
Among the Five Great Nations, only Konoha, thanks to its close relationship with the Uzumaki Clan, possessed a complete sealing inheritance.
The sealing techniques of the other four nations were mostly mediocre.
The Sand Village's sealing of Shukaku was famously poor, and successive jinchūriki had suffered because of it.
Kumogakure was somewhat better than that, but not by much.
Their advantage lay in external tools.
The Amber Purifying Pot, as a Six Paths tool, possessed formidable sealing power, and if used correctly, it could also strongly suppress a tailed beast.
Kumogakure had long relied on this treasure in handling the Eight Tails.
For them, they could lose other things, but not the tool used for sealing their tailed beast.
"You actually know that!"
The Third Raikage stood up abruptly, astonishment flashing in his eyes as he looked at Kei.
"There are no secrets in this world that remain hidden forever."
Kei answered softly.
"As long as someone is willing to investigate, many things can be discovered, can't they?"
"Lord Raikage, I think we can finally have a proper talk."
"Hmph!"
The Third Raikage snorted coldly and smashed the wooden table in front of him with one hand.
But in the end, he did not continue opposing the discussion, which was itself a tacit acceptance of Kei's words.
Thus, the next round of negotiations began.
Compared to before, this time the discussion went much more smoothly.
Both sides now understood the other's true objective and bottom line, so the pace advanced far faster.
Soon, they reached a basic consensus.
Kumogakure could forgo the Bashōsen, but the Amber Purifying Pot absolutely had to be returned.
Even then, however, the specific details remained disputed.
"Senju Tobirama's corpse is one thing, but Ginkaku was a shinobi of Kumogakure. His corpse contains our village's secrets. Why should it be handed to you as well?"
The Kumogakure side pressed the question.
"And given the value of the Amber Purifying Pot's tailed beast sealing ability, do you think one corpse alone is enough?"
The Konoha side had their own answer.
"As for Ginkaku, yes, he was a Kumogakure shinobi, but he also carried the Nine Tails' chakra."
"The Nine Tails belongs to Konoha. That power cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of outsiders."
"If you want the Amber Purifying Pot back, then both Lord Tobirama's corpse and Ginkaku's corpse must be handed over to us."
The two sides argued over the details for a long time before finally reaching a final agreement.
Konoha would return the Amber Purifying Pot.
Kumogakure would hand over the corpses of Tobirama and Ginkaku to Konoha.
Of course, as corresponding compensation, Konoha would also provide a certain sum of funds as part of the bargain.
Once the agreement was reached, both sides let out a quiet breath of relief.
"Kei, should we make a move?"
Inside the Konoha camp, Danzo looked toward the Kumogakure camp in the distance, his face cold.
"If we strike now, while they are still off guard, our chances should be quite high."
"The Amber Purifying Pot can seal tailed beasts. It is too important. If possible, we should find a way to take it back."
As soon as he spoke, everyone else turned to look at Kei.
"There's no need."
Meeting the gazes of the people around him, Kei shook his head.
"We just signed a ceasefire treaty. If we tear it up immediately afterward, how will others see us if word gets out?"
"Moreover, we may not necessarily succeed."
He looked into the distance, and the image of the Third Raikage appeared in his mind.
That man was absolutely not easy to deal with.
Even for the current Kei, although he was confident he would not lose, fighting that opponent head on would still be a great headache.
And even if he could defeat him, seizing the Amber Purifying Pot from the middle of the Kumogakure army would still be nearly impossible.
Besides, although the tool was of tremendous importance to Kumogakure, it was not truly that critical to Konoha.
After all, with Konoha's close relationship to the Uzumaki Clan, their sealing inheritance was already more than sufficient.
"What was the result of the earlier invitation to the Uzumaki Clan?"
He looked toward Homura and continued.
Among the group, Homura was responsible for diplomacy. Whether it had been the negotiations with Kumogakure or the earlier invitation to the Uzumaki Clan, he was the one in charge.
"It was rejected."
Under Kei's gaze, Homura shook his head and replied.
"They don't seem to have any intention of relocating to Konoha."
Some time ago, Kei had already sent a message to the current Uzumaki clan head, inviting the clan to join Konoha and become part of the village.
Now it seemed that invitation had been refused.
But that was hardly surprising.
The Uzumaki Clan lived in isolation overseas and lived well enough on its own.
Why would they feel any need to join Konoha?
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 10–50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]
[One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, Soul Land, NBA, and more — all in one place.]