The December sky was bitterly cold. Even though the snow was blocked by the Floating Continent, icy winds still howled.
Ryuji and Minato stood on opposite sides of the main rooftop. Their thick robes flapped violently in the wind, yet their faces remained unchanged as they stared at each other. The atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
Minato didn't yield or change his stance in response to Ryuji's words; instead, he seemed somewhat confrontational.
Because he knew Ryuji didn't want war.
Low efficiency, high risk, low gain... using war to solve problems was undoubtedly a foolish decision, a last resort.
Ryuji was a smart man who liked to maximize benefits.
Therefore, even though he held an absolute advantage now, with the opportunity to destroy Konoha, he didn't want to do it.
Because the risk and reward were disproportionate.
Precisely because he understood this deeply, Minato maintained a hardline stance even in such a passive situation.
They were already passive enough. If they appeared weak as well, the upcoming negotiation would be completely at the other's mercy.
But he forgot one thing.
The reason Ryuji didn't want war was the subsequent impact of destroying Konoha, not conventional reasons like casualties.
He could very well not destroy Konoha (the faction), but destroy Konoha (the village). As long as he didn't achieve results that would make the entire Shinobi World feel threatened, that would suffice.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!!!
The air whistled.
At Ryuji's mental command, dozens of knight puppets descended from the Floating Continent.
Propelled by Chakra from behind, they charged into the forest.
Greatswords swung, lances thrust, chainsaws cut, kunai were launched, Chakra Cannons fired... Although they were all the same model of puppet, the weapons installed on them simulated various environments and situations, equipped with weaponry sufficient to handle relevant conditions and environments.
Explosions, clashes of weapons, angry human roars, dying wails, and the sounds of machinery being shattered continuously erupted from the forest.
This sudden change made Minato unable to remain composed any longer.
"Enough!" Minato lowered his head. "Stop playing these tricks. What will it take for you to let this end?"
"Enough?" Ryuji couldn't help but scoff. "Wasn't it your Konoha that initiated this dispute?"
"..."
Minato opened his mouth but found he couldn't refute it.
Because Ryuji was stating facts.
Konoha struck first. Konoha unilaterally tore up the original alliance agreement. Now, seeing they can't win, they come saying 'enough, stop' and such… how is that any different from a bandit?
'Why did Hokage-sama do such a thing?'
Minato felt a headache coming on.
He instinctively raised a hand to massage his temple, hoping to alleviate the pain.
But raising his hand, he remembered the gas mask on his face and could only let it drop.
He took a deep breath, then bowed at a ninety-degree angle to Ryuji. "I apologize. This matter was our fault. Please be magnanimous and let it end here. Konoha will give you a satisfactory explanation."
"Hmm, finally showing some sincerity."
Ryuji nodded with satisfaction, raised his hand, and beckoned.
Nearly a hundred more knight puppets flew down from the sky, hovering in the courtyard.
Ryuji addressed the people below. "All of you, go to the Mechanical City first."
"But you..." Karura and several guard captains looked at him with worry.
They all knew Ryuji's physical condition. Leaving him alone would make him completely at their mercy.
However, Aka and the others had no objection.
They all knew Ryuji's capabilities. Upon hearing his command, they guessed his plans and thus weren't worried at all.
"Don't worry, Master will be fine."
After reassuring Karura, Aka jumped out, allowing a knight puppet to grasp her shoulder and fly skyward. Gin, Kuro, and Kana followed suit.
Karura and the four guard captains looked at each other, then at Ryuji.
Seeing nothing unusual from him, they nodded.
"Take care, Captain!"
Leaving those words, they called out to the people in the courtyard and also flew away with the knight puppets.
Minato watched them leave without the slightest hindrance.
Because hindrance would be useless.
With so many people, even with his speed, he couldn't be everywhere.
He could perhaps intercept a dozen or so ordinary Shinobi, but doing so would only anger the other party, causing the negotiations to fall apart, with no practical benefit.
And besides...
Minato gazed at the bandages wrapped beneath Ryuji's kimono, his eyes flickering.
'Ryuji was severely injured yesterday. Now he was alone. We could take advantage and capture him.'
'If we could capture him, then the situation would...'
"Are you thinking that if you capture me, you can use my life as leverage to reverse the situation?"
Hearing the voice, Minato looked over and met Ryuji's playful gaze, jolting awake.
'Such an obvious opening, I can think of it, but would Ryuji not?'
Considering this, Minato thought of Ryuji's playful look and continued speculating: 'Could this guy be deliberately setting a trap?'
Although Ryuji was alone now, severely injured, unable to engage in strenuous exercise, if they attacked, he would likely be no match.
Before yesterday, Minato wouldn't have given it a second thought.
But Konoha had ended up in this situation precisely because they viewed this Sunagakure's delegation with an ordinary person's perspective.
They thought Sunagakure was powerless to resist, that detaining them and demanding benefits from Sunagakure was a sure thing.
As a result, Ryuji produced an endless stream of methods that slapped their faces resoundingly.
With such a lesson, no matter how promising an opportunity seemed, Minato dared not naively believe it.
"Of course not!"
Minato forced a smile, trying to maintain his usual tone.
"Is that so?" Ryuji scrutinized him suspiciously for a moment, then withdrew his gaze and simply sat down on the spot. "Suit yourself. I have only one demand. If it can be met, I'll leave with my people right now."
"Please state it."
Hearing it was serious, Minato's expression grew solemn.
Ryuji stared at him, speaking slowly. "Thirty-one of my people died. I want Konoha to hand over three hundred and ten lives in compensation."
"That's impossible!"
Minato refused without hesitation.
"Not only three hundred and ten lives in compensation, but also compensation for our losses in this incident... the time, effort, money spent on training Shinobi, bereavement payments, weapon losses, especially my mechanical bird and Iron Fortress… ten times compensation for everything!"
"That's impossible!" Minato stated firmly. "We can compensate for the losses. Even a hundredfold compensation. But three hundred and ten comrades' lives? Absolutely impossible."
No village could agree to such conditions.
If a village needed to sell out comrades' lives for stability, did such a village have any right to exist?
No matter what, Minato couldn't agree to these terms.
"Keep considering. I'm in no hurry anyway." Having said that, Ryuji turned toward the direction of the city district, admiring the scene there.
The sky was blocked by the Floating Continent, its sharp bottom reflecting raging flames. Thick columns of smoke rose everywhere. Knight puppets occasionally flew past.
Explosions, clashing weapons, furious human roars, children's cries... the tragedy of war woven from various sounds echoed in the sky.
Minato's heart burned with anxiety, and he shouted, "Any conditions can be negotiated slowly. Can you at least make them stop first?"
"Namikaze Minato, I told you from the start. Aren't you mistaken about something?" Ryuji still looked toward the Konoha city district direction, saying calmly. "I dislike war; that doesn't mean I can't wage war. Haven't you realized yet that my willingness to negotiate with Konoha is already a great favor to you? And yet you're trying to bargain with me."
"We can offer more money!"
"More money?" Ryuji couldn't help but laugh.
He pointed at the city district where battle flames burned, sneering. "If you're willing to pay more money to buy their lives, that means their lives are more valuable. So why would I accept less valuable money?"
"No..."
"Shut up. Don't make my perception of you turn to disgust." Ryuji turned his head, glaring fiercely at him. "You can use money to buy your comrades' lives. Do you think I'd trade my comrades' lives for money?"
"I didn't..."
"Enough nonsense. Three hundred and ten lives. Not one less. And don't try to pad the numbers with low-ranking Genin. Instead of wasting time bargaining with me here, why not try stopping me directly."
'This...'
Minato's heart was in turmoil.
If he had the confidence to stop it, he would have acted long ago.
But to use three hundred and ten comrades' lives to exchange for Konoha's safety... he couldn't do that either.
Just as Minato was internally conflicted, not knowing what to do, Hiruzen and the Konoha's experts finally arrived.
They looked at the empty courtyard and Ryuji sitting with his back to Minato on the main rooftop, glancing at each other in confusion.
'What was going on?'
'Had we captured the enemy's leader?'
'But it didn't look like it.'
'Were they negotiating peace?'
'But the battle flames in the Konoha city district showed no signs of lessening.'
"Let's go up and see."
Hiruzen jumped onto the main rooftop. Homura and the other experts followed.
A group of people surrounded Ryuji, their gazes as if they wanted to devour him alive.
Ryuji showed no fear.
He stood up, smiling slightly. "It seems all of Konoha's decision-makers are here. Then make your decision quickly. Agree to my conditions, or choose destruction. Decide for yourselves!"
"Shut up!"
An old man in hemp robes loudly berated him.
Ryuji looked over. He hadn't seen him before.
But from his attire and those Byakugan eyes, he could tell he was from the Hyuga Clan. Though emaciated, his presence was imposing, a pair of cloudy eyes emitting an oppressive gaze.
He must have been an extremely formidable figure in his time.
Ryuji ignored him, instead giving a weird laugh to Minato. "Minato, can I take his attitude as Konoha's answer?"
"Wait, they don't know the details!" Minato finished speaking, quickly explaining the conditions Ryuji had proposed to the others.
After hearing it, another old man stepped forward. "Hmph! You've all grown soft with age. Such conditions and you still hesitate? Just capture him and use him as leverage to make Sunagakure stop the attack!"
"Old man, it might not be that easy," An old woman sighed. "Although I don't know the specific situation, this fellow is the mastermind who brought Konoha to this state. I don't think such a person would leave such an opening."
Hearing this, the old man called 'old man' also fell silent.
Though his mouth was sharp, he wasn't truly so old as to be blind. They had to admit that current Konoha was much stronger than the Konoha of the First and Second's early days.
While there were no god-like monsters like the First Hokage or Madara, compared to them, the younger generation now was clearly stronger. They weren't truly lacking in capability; they had encountered an enemy even they couldn't handle.
Such an enemy… would he leave such an opening?
Obviously not.