The Administrative Building was a five-story structure converted from the previous central building. At the center of the building's facade hung a logo of two silver, river-like streams—the symbol of the Land of Rivers' ninja.
At this moment, a constant stream of people flowed in and out of the building's entrance. Besides the ninja of the Village Hidden in the Silver River, most of these people were clients submitting mission requests. As the only officially designated ninja village in the Land of Rivers, many people preferred not to travel far and came here instead. Although most of the requests were simple C-rank and D-rank missions, they still brought a considerable amount of income to the village. The fact that the ninja population of the Silver River Village had grown to over three hundred was largely due to this financial support.
Kaito, wearing a wooden mask, strode into the Administrative Building with the powerful gait of a dragon or tiger. Numerous gazes immediately converged on him.
"It's Dr. Agasa!" came the admiring cries from the Silver River ninja.
At one of the reception counters, two ninja from Sunagakure exchanged a look and whispered to each other, "I heard he single-handedly defeated the Dragon, Tiger, and Leopard brothers, which is why they were convinced to join the Village Hidden in the Silver River."
"The Dragon, Tiger, and Leopard brothers? The leader, has the strength of a Jonin, and the other two are top-tier Chunin. Together, they once defeated two Iwagakure Jonin. They're incredibly famous rogue ninja. He took them down all by himself?"
"Yes. This man is not to be underestimated." Seeing Kaito walk up the stairs and disappear from sight, the two Sand-nin couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"So, our mission..."
"We'll play it by ear."
"Right."
After completing their registration, the two were led to the fifth floor, where Ruri's office and the large conference room were located. The young woman leading them pushed open the office door and politely invited the two Sand-nin inside.
Stepping into the room, they immediately saw Ruri, the leader of the Village Hidden in the Silver River, and Kaito standing beside her.
"Welcome. What matter does the Third Kazekage wish to discuss with us?" Ruri said in a business-like tone, her elbows propped on the desk, her hands clasped under her chin.
The slightly older of the two Sand-nin stepped forward, pulled a letter from his chest, and presented it. "This is a personal letter from Lord Kazekage. Please, Lady Ruri, take a look."
Kaito, acting as a junior assistant, took the letter. He unfolded it, a smile touching the corners of his lips, before handing it to Ruri. "My lady, please."
Ruri rolled her eyes imperceptibly, snatched the letter from Kaito's hand, and quickly scanned it. Her eyebrows shot up. "Is this truly the wish of your Kazekage?"
"It is," the Sand-nin replied. "The Village Hidden in the Silver River was only recently established and must be lacking in its reserves of ninjutsu, as well as related technology and institutional knowledge. Our Sand Village is willing to provide you with technical assistance in exchange for some resources. Our main goal is to build a peaceful and mutually beneficial relationship between our villages."
"It seems your side has omitted the most important point—that if we accept your assistance, the Village Hidden in the Silver River is not to have any business dealings with the Konoha."
Ruri shook her head. "This is asking us to pick a side, isn't it? In that case, why should we choose you over Konoha?"
"Because the people of Konoha are arrogant and look down on a newly established village like yours. Our Sand Village is completely different; we are willing to extend a helping hand to smaller villages. And the reason we forbid you from interacting with Konoha is simply because we just had a war with them. We're trying to prevent you from being caught in the crossfire."
"Listening to you, it seems that cooperating with you really is our only choice."
"Naturally."
"Hmm, in that case, I will assign a special envoy to negotiate the specific terms with you. For now, please stay here as our guests. How does that sound?"
"Lady Ruri is indeed straightforward. We will do as you say."
After seeing the two Sand-nin off, Ruri turned her head to look at Kaito. "Cooperating with the Sand Village now should be beneficial for us, right?"
"Mm," Kaito nodded. "But in this matter of cooperation, they are more anxious than we are. We can leak some information to Konoha. If the Third Hokage has half a brain, he'll definitely try to find a way to keep us neutral. He won't just sit back and watch us form an alliance with the Sand."
"It's because of the border's security, right? Small nations like us, caught between the great powers, are natural buffer zones."
"Exactly," Kaito continued. "But right now, Konoha's focus is mainly on the Land of Thunder. They don't have time to deal with the Land of Wind, which just got a thorough beating. The Sand Village knows this, which is why they've approached us so boldly. They want to use this cooperation to infiltrate our ranks and influence the decisions of our village."
A beautiful smile appeared on Ruri's face. "Then we'll just drag it out and see which of the two gives us a better offer. In the end, we won't side with either of them."
"A truly teachable student," Kaito praised with a laugh. "Although doing this will easily earn their resentment and they might try to settle scores later, in a few years, we won't have to be afraid of them."
"We have a much more suitable and closer partner for cooperation."
"You mean the Land of Rain?" Ruri asked, puzzled. "But I heard your sanctuary has been unstable lately. I'm afraid Hanzo isn't as friendly as you imagine."
"Heh, we're cooperating with the Land of Rain, not with Hanzo." Kaito's face broke into a wide smile. "Old man Hanzo has worked hard and contributed much. He has toiled for the Land of Rain for most of his life. It's time for him to step down and let the younger generation take on the burden. I am untalented, but I am willing to take on this burden in his place."
"You really are shameless," Ruri spat, then added worriedly, "Hanzo is so powerful. You're not thinking of taking him on by force, are you?"
"Relax. I'm famous for respecting the old and cherishing the young. How could I possibly use force against an old man?" Kaito waved his hand dismissively. "Besides, I don't need to go personally. A few days ago, I sent a dashingly handsome and invincible master to the Land of Rain. If I calculate the time right, he should be arriving at the sanctuary just about now."
"A dashingly handsome and invincible master?" Ruri said doubtfully. "Are you sure you're not talking about yourself?"
"Ahem, of course not."
...
Land of Rain, Spark Sanctuary.
Ever since the war had truly ended, the sanctuary's position had become awkward. Every day, people left the sanctuary to return to their hometowns, but many more had come to see the sanctuary as their new home and refused to leave, no matter what.
"Lord Kaito, are we sure we don't need to take any measures? For example, restricting those who leave," Yamabiko Yuto suggested.
"No need. Just let them be."
At the meeting, the ice clone stood up and said, "That's all for today's meeting."
With that, he turned, left the tower, and walked out of the sanctuary. His figure quickly vanished into the curtain of rain.
Three kilometers away, the ice clone stopped, seemingly sensing something up ahead.
Under the pouring rain, a figure wreathed in steam was slowly walking toward him.