Chapter 263: Jiraiya's Invitation, Persuading Temari to Surrender
That night, Akiyama Makoto was not idle either.
Naturally, he wasn't busy satisfying Anko and Kurenai, but was working with Kurenai to seriously reinforce the sealing jutsu defense level of the entire Akiyama residence.
Under their combined efforts, the defense level of his house even exceeded that of the Konoha barrier.
This was even without anyone manning it. If someone was, unless the opponent used space-time ninjutsu, even White Zetsu wouldn't be able to enter silently.
Of course, he couldn't do that for the time being, as that would mean he knew of White Zetsu's existence, which would immediately make him a thorn in Obito's side.
Although he wasn't afraid of Obito right now, if the Akatsuki came for a group fight, he still wouldn't be able to hold out.
So the most appropriate thing for him to do right now was to build a defense system that matched his status level. That way, even Konoha wouldn't say much.
In the short term, he positioned himself as a figure similar to Hanzō the Salamander. Although he wasn't in a major hidden village, his own strength and the power under his command were enough to make the various villages wary.
After finishing all this, it was already late at night. He rested well for the night, and the next day, he changed into a black mourning suit. He led Anko, Kurenai, Karin, and Yūgao, who had also changed into mourning clothes, to attend the ceremony.
In addition to the orthodox mourning attire, they all wore a nameplate on their waists, bearing the "Zhen" family crest that he had rushed to make.
This almost confirmed his relationship with Anko and Kurenai. But at this time, everyone just tacitly accepted it; no one cared too much about it.
Of course, Sarutobi Asuma was an exception—but as Hiruzen's son, he had to receive and send off the mourners, so he naturally didn't have time to care about Kurenai's affairs.
Besides, by now, he had pretty much given up.
Due to Makoto's intervention, and the fact that too many people had witnessed the conflict between Hiruzen and Danzō before their deaths, the attitude towards Hiruzen had also quietly changed.
This didn't affect Hiruzen dying as a warrior who sacrificed himself for Konoha, but it was difficult for him to rest in peace as a flawless hero anymore.
The collective funeral proceeded in an orderly, concise, and rapid manner. By noon, all the necessary work had been done.
After all, for Konoha, this was still a time of war.
According to the intelligence sent back by his shadow clone, the Sand Village had gathered an army of more than five thousand at the border, led by Chiyo.
Clearly, the Sand Village couldn't accept the outcome of Rasa dying, the Jinchūriki being captured, and all of Rasa's descendants becoming prisoners. They wanted to take back a portion of the village's wealth.
Otherwise, whether the Sand Village could even maintain its status as one of the Five Great Nations was an unknown.
But Konoha couldn't even find a person in charge right now, so they naturally couldn't agree to the Sand Village's demands.
Fortunately, everyone knew that the Sand Village was just posturing; they didn't dare to cross the border by even a step.
Who told Konoha to have the new "Reaper Flash," Akiyama Makoto? There were several versions of his title circulating in Konoha.
It was just because he wasn't a real ninja, and Konoha hadn't publicly acknowledged his identity, which led to endless debates about his title. In a sense, this was a manifestation of his fame.
"Yo. Want to go for a drink?"
Just as he was about to go home for lunch, he suddenly received an invitation.
He turned to look. It was Jiraiya.
Before he could refuse, Jiraiya said, "Sure enough, that guy that day was you, wasn't it? Hehehe, I'm guessing that was when you had just learned the Flying Thunder God, and then you ran outside to taste the flavor of big sisters."
"Ah, we seem to be kindred spirits. I hear you write novels too?"
Jiraiya came to his side, winking and poking him with his elbow, which made him unable to help but laugh.
"Alright. I know a hot pot place—"
"Okay, okay, I know you want to go to your own hot pot restaurant. Don't worry, it's on me. I still have that much money."
Then, Jiraiya took him to the hot pot restaurant. The two of them took a table, while Anko and Kurenai took a separate one. Karin took the initiative to come over and serve food for the two men.
"Ah, as expected of you—I've heard for a long time that you're suave and dashing, winning the hearts of such beautiful kunoichi at this age. I heard there are several other girls who can't come over just because they're too young. Can you tell me how you did it?"
"As long as you put away that perverted look and walk around as the true Sannin Jiraiya, are you afraid no one will like you?"
He didn't want to talk about this topic with Jiraiya.
Because although he had many women around him, these were all his wives. He never touched women he didn't intend to take responsibility for.
As for Jiraiya, he had no objection to him frequenting the red-light districts. Since this world had such legal places, Jiraiya doing such things was irreproachable.
The only thing was that Jiraiya also peeped on women's bathhouses in Konoha. This made him physically disgusted.
Even if the people around him wouldn't be affected, the people Jiraiya peeped on might include his neighbors and acquaintances.
Jiraiya laughed awkwardly, seemingly sensing the unkindness in his tone, and didn't continue the topic.
He turned serious and said, "What do you think about the position of Hokage?"
"As long as you become the Hokage, I'll take over your shift as Hokage, how about it?"
His one sentence choked Jiraiya back, making the old man blush.
Then he laughed loudly three times to hide his embarrassment. "Sure enough, we're very alike. It seems convincing you to be Hokage is impossible."
He nodded. "I don't mind doing some things for Konoha, but forget about being Hokage. I don't have a sense of belonging to this village enough to shed my blood for it, but there are people I care about living here, so I will protect this place."
Before coming, Jiraiya had obviously investigated all of his information in detail, so he naturally knew about him almost being crippled by a genin a year ago, and understood that he couldn't treat him like a hot-blooded youth like Naruto.
He could only say, "How about this? I'll refuse the two advisors for you, but you have to go with me to bring the real Kage back—you've been using her name for a long time, it's time to make everything legitimate, isn't it?"
He feigned surprise. "Sister Tsunade?"
"Hahaha! You guy, you're actually calling her 'sister' first... That's right, it's Princess Tsunade. I've already obtained her intelligence."
He looked at Jiraiya with a half-smile. Clearly, Jiraiya didn't know that he had already contacted Tsunade in advance, and was confident in solidifying the title of "Sister Tsunade" before Jiraiya arrived.
So he nodded. "Alright—Senpai, is this the only thing you called me for?"
"Actually, there is one more thing. Before I came, I guessed that you didn't want to be Hokage, but you still need a suitable identity in Konoha."
He looked at Jiraiya in slight surprise. His words finally piqued his interest.
"So I suggested they acknowledge the status of the Akiyama family in Konoha, and at the same time give you a position compiling Konoha's history. In the future, even the historical materials of Konoha can be handed over to you to manage—of course, provided you are interested."
"For this, Konoha can also specially grant you an official robe. The style... have you seen Minato's photo? It's similar to that style."
"In a sense, you can understand it as a symbol that you have the strength of a Hokage, but without the Hokage hat, you are not a true Hokage."
He stroked his chin. Koharu and Homura... they don't seem that hard to get along with... No wonder they do clerical work. When they really start sucking up to people, they can make you very comfortable.
He felt that it was probably because the setting of him not being Hokage, not touching power, and yet being able to be used by them as Konoha's talisman was too satisfying for them, so they had done such superficial work.
But to this, he could only say that they were celebrating too early.
Because he would definitely help Tsunade seize power from their hands. At that time, they probably wouldn't be able to smile.
"The conditions are good, but I can't accept them now."
Jiraiya asked in surprise, "Why?"
"Because I can only accept these from the Hokage. Accepting these from their hands... what would that make me? Their man?"
"Although these two advisors aren't strong, their thinking is quite broad. But I think they're thinking too much."
Jiraiya was slightly taken aback, then realized what was happening, and a look of annoyance appeared on his face.
He wasn't good at these power struggles, after all, he had no experience in this area.
But Jiraiya wasn't stupid. Once Makoto said it, he realized he had almost been used.
He sighed. "Sure enough, this kind of thing should be left for Tsunade to worry about—Alright, alright, let's not worry about this. Cheers!"
After a few cups of wine, Jiraiya laughed again, and even pulled him to ask where his strength came from.
Faced with this kind of question, he just replied calmly, "Let me go to Mount Myōboku for a tour, and I'll tell you."
Jiraiya could only withdraw the question with a dry laugh, and began to chat with him about some experiences and gains in writing. In this regard, the two indeed had some common topics.
In the end, it was a happy gathering. Jiraiya agreed to set off with him in three days, and he calmly watched him leave.
"You guys go back first. I have somewhere else to go."
He bid farewell to Karin and the others and headed towards the Konoha Prison.
Soon, he arrived at the prison gate and saw a familiar person.
Morino Ibiki took the initiative to step forward. "So it was you—uh."
Ibiki, who could talk eloquently in front of students, was actually a little tongue-tied at this moment.
He knew what he was hesitating about. "Just call me by my name. I'm not a ninja."
But Ibiki shook his head. "Lord Akiyama, may I ask what business you have here?"
He rolled his eyes at Ibiki. I told you to call me by my name.
Hearing the title "Lord Akiyama," he was worried a sandbag-sized fist would come flying at him. Fortunately, it wasn't "Ximen Daguanren" (a notorious adulterer from Chinese literature).
"I want to see Temari and the others from the Sand Village. Is that okay?"
Ibiki looked troubled. Makoto continued, "Maybe I can persuade them to surrender."
Hearing this, Ibiki's eyes lit up slightly.
He naturally didn't suspect that Makoto had any purpose harmful to Konoha. He was just worried that Makoto doing this was against the rules.
But if Makoto could save Konoha and the Sand Village from war, then it wouldn't matter if he broke the rules a little.
"In that case, my lord, please come this way."
Subsequently, he entered the prison and walked to the deepest part.
To his surprise, the innermost part was a huge cell covered with various seals. After opening it, the living conditions inside were actually quite good. Water and electricity were all available. It was just that Temari and the other two were wearing prison uniforms and shackles, staying in their respective rooms and unable to come out.
"Eh?"
Seeing him, Temari exclaimed in surprise.
Then her eyes turned red, and she stared at him fixedly.
Kankurō even slammed his shoulder against the bars, looking as if he wanted to eat someone.
Instead, Gaara sat calmly cross-legged, like an old monk in meditation.
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