The brief clash between Yashamaru and Asuma was nothing more than a short prelude.
By evening, the Konoha side had prepared a welcoming banquet for the visiting delegation. It was a simple and modest affair rather than anything lavish. After all, Konoha was in the middle of its own reconstruction and money was needed everywhere.
Afterward, Yuji and Shimizu joined the formal meeting between the senior figures of both villages.
The discussions covered projects that could be mutually promoted during the peacetime period ahead, beneficial to each village's own development. Both sides also took the opportunity to state their respective positions and principles.
Among other things, Yuji stated plainly that the Sand Village's military action against the Land of Rain had been carried out under pressure imposed by one particular party within Konoha, making it somewhat an act of reluctant necessity. Right in front of everyone assembled, he executed Danzo by reputation once more.
He also indicated that given Konoha's current friendly posture, the Sand Village had no intention of using the Land of Rain as a platform to take any action against the Land of Fire.
For their part, Minato and Hiruzen expressed hope that the Sand Village would be willing to share certain specialized pharmaceutical knowledge, such as medicines that could improve birth rates and treatments for various large-scale diseases.
They also made a point of reminding Yuji, with deliberate emphasis, of the role Konoha had played across multiple Great Ninja Wars as the village that had been on the receiving end of aggression. The implication was clear. If the Sand Village continued pursuing military expansion, what Konoha had experienced in the past could become the Sand Village's future.
Since this was the first diplomatic meeting between the two villages since the war's end, the agenda was not particularly complex. Neither side was going to make genuinely substantive concessions. Both were primarily demonstrating their own positions and principles. In short, it was largely a performance of going through the motions.
By the time the discussions concluded, it was late into the night.
But Yuji did not return to his accommodations to rest just yet.
At Minato's invitation, he was brought to meet a young man.
Hatake Kakashi.
Yuji had actually already seen Kakashi during the day. When Asuma and Yashamaru had their confrontation, Kakashi had been present.
Beyond Kakashi, others present included Ebisu, Shiranui Genma, Morino Ibiki, Yuhi Kurenai, and Might Guy among others, all members of Konoha's newer generation who had participated in the Third Great Ninja War. In truth they were not much younger than Yuji himself. They were technically a generation below Minato.
But because Yuji was young himself, only five years younger than Minato, the age gap between him and these story characters was not particularly large. The difference was mainly in experience and the path their development had taken.
A step younger than them, in the range of slightly over ten years old, were figures like Mitarashi Anko, Iruka, Uzuki Yugao, and Uchiha Shisui.
Shisui was there as well.
So it appeared he had not slipped out on his own. Konoha's senior leadership had intentionally included Shisui in the exchange gathering's roster.
To win this exchange gathering, Konoha had clearly put together a serious lineup.
"This is the one I wanted you to meet," Minato said, draping one arm over Kakashi's shoulder and introducing him to Yuji.
"Lord Kazekage," Kakashi said with polite deference, offering a respectful bow.
By this point Kakashi was already wearing his mask, with his left eye covered. Silver hair, a somewhat quiet and reserved bearing. The presence he carried was already noticeably mature beyond his years.
He had already entered the Konoha Anbu. His current assignment was guarding Kushina during her pregnancy.
Yuji knew all of this.
"Let Lord Kazekage see your Sharingan," Minato said.
Kakashi pulled down the covering over his left eye and opened it, revealing the scarred eye socket around it.
Minato's actual request was for Yuji to perform the same procedure he had done for Shimizu and the others with their Sharingan transplants, helping Kakashi gain the ability to open and close the eye voluntarily. Because at present, this single Sharingan, while providing Kakashi with meaningful combat assistance, also placed a continuous drain on him that he could not simply switch off.
"Obito's remaining eye," Yuji thought quietly.
He looked at Kakashi and said:
"I could use medical ninjutsu to fully restore your eye. What I mean is removing this single Sharingan entirely and returning you to your own original eye. That way you would also no longer have to deal with the associated burden."
"With a Sharingan transplant, I imagine the Uchiha clan must hate you quite a bit," Yuji said with dry amusement.
The Sand Village had been collecting Sharingan before Kakashi had even received his. Anyone with any intelligence would have understood that the Sand Village would eventually transplant those eyes into its own ninja. That would naturally generate a bone-deep resentment from the Uchiha clan toward anyone who carried one of their eyes outside the clan.
And now things had gotten even more pointed. Not only had an outside village transplanted their eyes, even someone within Konoha itself was walking around with a Sharingan, and making no effort to hide it.
The pressure Kakashi felt from the Uchiha clan because of this certainly exceeded anything the original story had involved.
"No need. I want to keep it. It was a gift from someone important to me," Kakashi said with quiet composure.
"In that case," Yuji said with a short laugh, looking toward Minato.
"You really want me to perform surgery on him? This is Konoha's genius, the White Fang's son. Even though our two villages have begun establishing a diplomatic relationship, things are still quite tense between us. If the opportunity presented itself, I would not necessarily be opposed to causing him a little inconvenience."
At these words, Kakashi showed no particular reaction.
Minato on the other hand smiled.
"How could I let you operate so easily? I specifically asked Lady Tsunade to be present throughout the entire procedure."
"Clever enough. You are not only hoping I will treat your student. You also want to use the opportunity to observe my actual skill level from the side, is that not right?" Yuji said with a slight smirk.
"For someone of your ability, this is surely a trivial matter," Minato replied simply.
"And my compensation?" Yuji raised an eyebrow.
"Setting aside my identity as Kazekage and the political questions between us for a moment, even speaking purely as a medical ninja, my services do not come cheaply."
"I am willing to pay you from my personal funds. A reasonable sum."
"How much?"
"You name the price."
...
"That is acceptable," Yuji said with a satisfied nod.
"Let us go then."
He said this and set off with Minato and the others directly toward the Konoha hospital.
When they arrived, they found Tsunade already waiting, carrying a distinct smell of alcohol, her eyes somewhat unfocused. She had clearly been expecting Yuji would not turn down Minato's request.
Beside her stood her quiet young companion.
Seeing Tsunade's current state, Minato looked slightly awkward. One glance made it obvious that before coming here, she had not exactly been drinking lightly.
Shortly after, Kakashi and Yuji entered the operating room together. Tsunade and Shizune followed close behind.
Once inside, Tsunade immediately turned her back to the table and instead directed Shizune to stand at the operating table and observe the full procedure, with instructions to describe every step and detail of what Yuji was doing aloud so Tsunade could follow without looking directly at the scene.
Under Tsunade's training, Shizune was at this point one of the most capable medical ninja of her age group, fully able to observe and analyze the content of what Yuji was doing in real time.
Tsunade's blood phobia made it impossible for her to look directly at surgical scenes.
Furthermore, before entering the operating room, Yuji had offered her a small warning.
"What comes next may involve a degree of blood and some things that could be, depending on your sensibilities, rather difficult to imagine. But I hope you will not disturb me while I work."
By this point Yuji had already set aside his Kazekage robes and changed into working attire, then directed Kakashi to lie down on the operating table.
He then looked at Shizune, who was visibly tense, and said calmly:
"Ready?"
The young woman swallowed once and gave a single nod.
...
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