Sakumo saw that Akira truly did not care, and only then did he nod. "Then go back and cultivate properly for a while! While you're at it, help me properly teach and supervise Kakashi. His current strength is still a little too weak."
Not being on the front line was fine too.
Although with Akira's current strength, there basically would not be any danger, what if something happened?
In any case, neither master nor disciple currently had any interest in power. Whether they performed meritorious deeds or not did not matter.
"Alright!"
Akira nodded.
Even if Sakumo had not said it, he would have done so anyway.
"Oh, right! Lord Hokage has acknowledged your contributions. He's prepared to promote you to Jonin. In addition, he's also prepared to reward you with another Ninjutsu from the Scroll of Seals. Once you return to the village, just go directly to him for these matters. You can think carefully about what you want to learn on the way back."
Sakumo continued.
On this point, the Third Hokage had not cut corners.
Perhaps he wanted to further win Akira over.
He did not dare use him, feared him, yet still wanted to rope him in and control him.
Heh!
Sakumo greatly despised the Third Hokage's thinking.
When Akira heard this, his eyes lit up slightly.
A Ninjutsu from the Scroll of Seals?
He expressed that he wanted all of them.
For example, the Impure World Reincarnation… and so on.
However, he understood that such a technique could not be chosen. The Third Hokage would not give it to him. If he chose it, it would instead bring trouble upon himself.
With his current strength, he was not afraid of the Third Hokage, but unless he was prepared to abandon everything in Konoha and directly run away, there was no need to make things so ugly.
For just one Ninjutsu, it was completely unnecessary.
At this moment, Nara Shikaku opened his mouth and asked Sakumo, "Senior Sakumo, do we need to pause the negotiations now?"
"No need!"
After hearing this, Sakumo directly waved his hand. "Just continue! Kumogakure seems to intend to slow down the progress, though their exact objective is unclear. However, they probably don't dare go back on their word."
"When the adviser arrives, it's not as if they won't be able to see the terms that have already been negotiated. If they're truly dissatisfied, they can negotiate again!"
"If we really stop now, it might instead cause Kumogakure to misunderstand and think we no longer intend to seek peace and are preparing to attack again!"
When Akira, who stood nearby, heard this, his eyes narrowed slightly.
In his view, the Third Hokage sending someone over was completely unnecessary.
Why do it anyway?
Aside from sharing the credit, it was probably more because he did not trust them. At the same time, his old appeasement habit had acted up again, and he was preparing to give up compensation and the like, right?
At the thought of this, Akira felt disgusted. He immediately spoke up. "Before that adviser arrives, Senior Shikaku, you should do your best to finalize all the material compensation terms! It would be best if you completely settle the peace treaty terms before they arrive. Just leave that adviser a chance to sign the alliance agreement. That will be enough."
"Hm?"
When they heard Akira's words, Shikaku and the others all frowned. Shikaku directly asked, "Akira-kun, why do you say that? Is there some problem here?"
Akira answered bluntly, "I've looked into the results of Konoha's peace talks with the other ninja villages after the Second Great Ninja War. In the end, basically all of them resulted in us being lenient toward the enemy and giving up on demanding compensation. The goal was to avoid forming a death feud with the other side and prevent another battlefield from breaking out!"
"Now, the facts are clearly proving that this statement obviously doesn't work!"
"Otherwise, this war would not have broken out!"
"When the timing is right, a war that should erupt will erupt no matter what!"
"Rather than being lenient toward the enemy, it's better to make up for our own losses as much as possible, weaken the enemy, strengthen ourselves, and prepare for the next war."
"Or are you willing to just hand the fruits of victory back to the enemy and swallow this grievance yourselves?"
After hearing this, Nara Shikaku and the others were stunned.
Immediately afterward, Shikaku and the others all furrowed their brows.
They were not fools. In fact, they had all participated in the Second Great Ninja War, so they were very clear about the final outcome. It really was exactly as Akira had said.
Actually, even back then, Shikaku and the others had been unable to understand the Third Hokage's actions.
But he was the Hokage, and there had not been a similar lesson before that, so they could not say much.
But now that Akira had pierced through this matter, how could they be willing?
The bloody facts had already proven that the Third Hokage's so-called "philosophy of peace" simply did not work.
At this moment, Sakumo directly spoke and made the decision. "Then we'll do as Akira said! Strictly speaking, most of the credit for the battle on this side belongs to him. The results were achieved by him as well, so naturally, his opinion should be the main one!"
"Moreover, the facts prove that the Third Hokage's way truly doesn't work. This time, we cannot suffer this loss again! Compensation must be demanded, and we must demand it while pressing against the enemy's bottom line."
"Don't forget, we are currently fighting on three fronts. Every day, we consume countless supplies, money, and grain. The lives of many ninja are also being sacrificed. If we can obtain sufficient compensation at this time, wouldn't it just happen to ease the village's logistical pressure?"
"I believe the Third Hokage will be very pleased!"
When Sakumo said the words "very pleased" at the end, he even emphasized his tone.
This showed the dissatisfaction he held toward the Third Hokage in his heart.
"I agree as well!"
Minato immediately followed up and expressed his stance.
He felt that Akira's choice was correct. This matter could not be left to the Third Hokage to handle recklessly.
What victorious nation did not demand compensation?
"We agree too!"
Shikaku and the others looked at each other, then all nodded.
How could they be willing to hand the fruits of victory back to the enemy?
On what grounds?
Did anyone know how miserably they had been slaughtered by Kumogakure before?
Did anyone know how severe Konoha's losses had been?
Did anyone know that if Minato and Senior Sakumo had not arrived with reinforcements in time, they would have already become corpses?
Moreover, since negotiations on their side had already begun, why still send someone from the village?
Was this because they did not trust them?
This incident left a knot in the hearts of Shikaku and the others. A seed of dissatisfaction had already been planted.
Sooner or later, it would take root and sprout.
"Mm!"
Sakumo nodded in satisfaction. "Since everyone has no objections, then we'll proceed like this for now!"
As he spoke, he looked at Akira and asked, "Are you setting off back to the village now?"
In that letter, there were actually not only arrangements for Akira, but also orders for Sakumo. That was for him to return to the eastern battlefield after the alliance agreement was signed again.
If that place did not have a Kage-level expert stationed there, the Third Hokage would naturally be worried.
Previously, there had been no choice. At the same time, they could conveniently scheme against the Uchiha.
Now that manpower had been freed up, it was only natural to fill the gap.
"I'll wait until the alliance agreement is signed! To avoid any unexpected changes! Kumogakure isn't exactly easy to deal with!"
Akira shook his head.
He did not want anything unexpected to happen halfway through with Kumogakure.
Of course, he knew that it should be impossible.
He had not been completely idle these past few days either. In his free time, he had used mind reading to obtain some important information from Kumogakure's negotiation representatives.
The most crucial piece of information was that the Third Raikage had already returned to Kumogakure on the day he was defeated by Akira. After that, he led troops by ship and quietly headed toward the Land of Earth.
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