"Since the ins and outs of this matter are already clear."
"Kirigakure must take responsibility for this."
"I propose three points of compensation. First, Kirigakure needs to pay Iwagakure a total of one hundred million ryo in compensation. This money will all be spent on the dead and injured Iwagakure ninjas from this conflict, as well as their families. Second, the responsibility of the main culprit must be thoroughly investigated, especially that Kirigakure ninja with the mustache. I have his portrait here... Finally, Kirigakure needs to admit its mistake and apologize in the mainstream media of the ninja world."
The First Mizukage had just shown a slight attitude of weakness and concession after being reprimanded by Uchiha Makoto, and the First Tsuchikage immediately seized the opportunity.
Without any hesitation, he concisely stated the compensation terms in the venue.
This was a very seasoned move.
And the compensation terms proposed by the First Tsuchikage, at first glance, did sound reasonable.
But...
Uchiha Makoto felt that it was impossible for the First Mizukage to agree to such a solution.
The compensation money was easy to solve.
Although one hundred million ryo was not a small number, and some smaller ninja forces in the ninja world might feel the pinch, Kirigakure was, after all, one of the six great ninja villages. It was impossible for them not to be able to afford this amount.
The real difficulties were the latter two conditions.
The mustached ninja the First Tsuchikage mentioned was the Second Mizukage of Kirigakure, Hozuki Gengetsu. To thoroughly investigate the responsibility of the main culprit—undoubtedly, this phrase usually meant demanding the head of the main culprit.
And Hozuki Gengetsu was one of the pillars of Kirigakure, a junior in whom the First Mizukage had placed high hopes—such a ninja could not be easily abandoned by the First Mizukage!
Even if it was the person the First Tsuchikage had named!
Admittedly.
The First Mizukage was indeed very old, at an age where he should be retiring at any time.
But...
Not every ninja becomes like Sarutobi Hiruzen in his old age.
The young Sarutobi Hiruzen was indeed the most outstanding of the younger generation in the village, otherwise, Senju Tobirama would not have passed the position of the Third Hokage to him when he was about to die. But the old Sarutobi Hiruzen became weak, indecisive, and soft-hearted, with a muddle-through attitude.
In the original story, Orochimaru, in his pursuit of eternal life, completely turned to the dark side and plunged headfirst into human experiments.
If Orochimaru had used outsiders for his human experiments, it would have been one thing, but he actually laid his hands on the villagers. This was something that could not be forgiven by the village. Yet Sarutobi Hiruzen still cherished their master-disciple relationship and went easy on Orochimaru, ultimately letting him escape from Konoha smoothly.
And his attitude towards his old partner, Shimura Danzo, was even more exaggerated, almost forming a complete set of thought patterns.
In the first stage, he claimed that Shimura Danzo had done nothing.
In the second stage, he said that perhaps Shimura Danzo had done some things, but it was for the sake of Konoha, so they could wait and see; Shimura Danzo had good intentions.
In the third stage, he said that perhaps some action should be taken, but things had already spun out of control, and now it seemed that whatever they did would cause problems.
In the fourth stage, he said that perhaps something should have been done back then, but now it was too late.
Time is a butcher's knife, turning a ninja who was called a hero in his youth into a bear.
But the old man before them was the First Mizukage.
He was a powerful ninja who had fought his way through a dark era like the Warring States period.
And following the trend of the times...
At an age when he should be retiring to take care of his grandchildren at home, he started a new venture and established the great Kirigakure.
The years had not weakened the First Mizukage's will, but had tempered it into steel.
Now the First Tsuchikage was demanding Hozuki Gengetsu's head... how could he possibly agree to such a thing!
As for the third condition...
Compared to the first two, this was actually a matter of face.
But this was probably the condition the First Mizukage was least likely to agree to.
For a great ninja village, face cannot be stained with even a speck of dust. If blood is shed, the substance can be contained, but once it cannot be contained and affects the face, it can turn into a major event that could destroy a sect or a family.
"Hmph, you're dreaming."
"I'm telling you, if these are the conditions, you'd better give up this idea right now!"
"What does that damn evidence of yours from Iwagakure prove... It only proves that Kirigakure ninjas fought with your Iwagakure ninjas, but what does that prove... Does it prove that it was Kirigakure's fault... I think it's clear that you're trying to turn the tables on us!"
"I was just showing some deference to Lord Light Shadow for the sake of peace in the ninja world, wanting to make a small concession, but I never expected you to dare to propose such conditions!"
As Uchiha Makoto had expected.
The First Mizukage quickly and sternly rejected the compensation demands made by Iwagakure.
The First Tsuchikage rolled up his sleeves and glared fiercely at the Kirigakure side...
"You... I see you have no intention of solving this matter at all!"
"Is this kind of behavior from Iwagakure the attitude of wanting to solve the problem?"
"..."
"Kirigakure, what do you want then!"
"At most, we'll give you some medical expenses and that's it... this matter ends here."
"That's impossible!!"
"..."
"Everyone has casualties, it's just your Iwagakure being relentless here. Can a ninja's business be called an attack... If you're not skilled enough, go home and train properly... Don't come out and embarrass yourself!"
"What, how dare you..."
"...."
Ninjas... are a bunch of rough people.
Compared to calmly reasoning, they prefer to solve problems with their fists.
At first, it was a normal exchange, haggling over conditions, but both sides had bottom lines they couldn't compromise on.
And everyone's temper was not small.
The two Kage were still restraining themselves, maintaining their decorum, but their deputies... what the boss couldn't say, they naturally had to say.
Gradually, it turned into pure verbal abuse, a meaningless emotional outburst.
"How satisfying, how satisfying, their curses are so vicious."
Uchiha Makoto sighed in his heart, not getting involved.
He never thought from the beginning that this matter could be resolved without any waves.
If they could really sit down and negotiate and solve the problem smoothly... then how could the ninja world have ended up in such a mess in the future.
So Uchiha Makoto just quietly enjoyed the beautiful scenery before him.
Curse on, curse on...
This is a place for arguing.
As long as they don't start fighting, it's fine.
Anyway, you can't possibly do what you're threatening to do, rush across a sea into the enemy's lair and kill them.
And from an outsider's perspective.
Uchiha Makoto knew that when people's emotions were running high, the worst thing to do was to step in and try to reason with them.
And Senju Tobirama couldn't help but start communicating with Uchiha Makoto with his eyes again.
"Hey... are you just going to watch them argue?"
"What else?"
"I'm worried they'll start fighting. Don't let this fall apart."
"....."
The two of them exchanged glances.
The two groups from Kirigakure and Iwagakure were arguing fiercely, while the various ninja forces of the ninja world were enjoying the show.
Until the First Tsuchikage spoke again.
"Lord Light Shadow, you be the judge."
At certain moments, people can indeed become so focused that they ignore everything else around them.
At this moment, the First Tsuchikage remembered—he actually had an ally on his side.
"I think... at this point, we should eat first."
Uchiha Makoto looked at the First Tsuchikage's expectant gaze.
After thinking about it carefully.
He still felt that they should have lunch first.
As for the ally?
It was also time to make a deal with Kirigakure in private!
Senju Tobirama received Uchiha Makoto's eye signal and immediately started playing the straight man.
"Right, right, let's eat first!"
"We've been negotiating all morning, it's time for lunch."
Uchiha Makoto announced that they should eat first and then continue discussing a solution in the afternoon. The ninja forces from all over the ninja world were naturally very happy. After all, it had nothing to do with them, and getting a free lunch in Akatsuki Village was great.
Freeloading is always a pleasure!
As for Iwagakure and Kirigakure...
First Tsuchikage: "Then let's eat first?"
First Mizukage: "We should solve the problem first!"
Grumble, grumble...
First Mizukage: "Hmm... let's eat first..."
Thus, the kitchen of Akatsuki Village began to serve the dishes.
To cater to everyone's tastes and the appetite of ninjas.
It was a buffet.
A variety of dishes were brought out one after another.
Ninjas...
Commonly known as people who endure.
They usually didn't get to enjoy such a luxurious lunch.
Faced with the extremely rich variety of dishes before them, the ninjas who had been watching the show all morning instantly turned into gluttons.
The lunch lasted for more than two hours.
And at Uchiha Makoto's signal.
The higher-ups of Takigakure also took this opportunity to start running around for Akatsuki Village, their loud voices attracting many people.
They talked about the benefits Akatsuki Village had brought to their village.
Canned fish was really profitable.
It made those who had been lurking in the dark, planning to kick Takigakure while it was down, retract their fangs.
They cursed the nobles of the Land of Waterfalls.
The nobles were a bunch of greedy vermin who exploited ninjas—this was what Uchiha Makoto had specifically requested.
But once they started complaining, it became endless.
The Takigakure higher-ups were clearly expressing their true feelings.
They had clashed with the nobles of the Land of Waterfalls more than once recently.
After all, the big shots in the aquatic product industry of the Land of Waterfalls were not without backing.
And many of them were just fronts for the nobles.
Now Takigakure had forcefully entered an entire industry, and had killed their men without even a word of notice.
This was a bit... too disrespectful.
Of course, the death of a few fronts was no big deal.
The most crucial issue was profit.
The nobles actually just wanted to find an excuse to get a piece of the canned fish business.
And the propaganda of the ninja-as-a-tool theory was so good that even the ninjas believed it, and had believed it for so many years.
To the point where some nobles also really believed it.
These guys thought they weren't asking for much, a 50-50 split would be fine, as a favor to Takigakure!
They really thought that the ninjas would always back down in the end.
And upon hearing that someone wanted to take half of the profits from the canned fish.
The Takigakure higher-ups immediately exploded.
In the past, when we had no money, we acted as your tools, earning a little living expense to barely survive.
Back then, when our Takigakure was being beaten black and blue by Konoha, we didn't see you proactively come in to mediate, acting as if it had nothing to do with you.
Asking for a little more funding from the Daimyo was like asking for your life.
Now, we finally have a little hope for a better life!
When it came to their own vital interests, how could the Takigakure ninjas obediently submit—there's a huge difference between not having a cow and having one.
But when tradition and interests intertwined, things were bound to be extremely complicated.
So although the Takigakure ninjas were very unhappy, they were also maintaining restraint.
Half was too much!
But they could give up thirty percent in exchange for the nobles' support for Takigakure's canned fish.
If handled properly...
With the obstacles from the noble level gone, more of the Land of Waterfalls' market would be opened up, and Takigakure's interests wouldn't suffer much compared to before.
They might even turn a misfortune into a blessing and earn a little more.
So at least for now, there had been no incidents of "heaven's punishment on the wicked."
But it was hard to say for the future.
But... the Takigakure ninjas were truly, truly unhappy!
It was clearly our Takigakure that was beaten up by Konoha. We finally managed to cling to Akatsuki Village's thigh and got a chance to turn things around.
Now, our lives haven't even gotten better yet!
We could have enjoyed this profit all to ourselves!
The Takigakure higher-ups were complaining endlessly, some of their words even touching on taboos that were absolutely unspeakable in the past.
The surrounding ninja forces listened with trepidation.
But what the Takigakure higher-ups said was all true!
Normally, such topics would not be discussed in public.
But Uchiha Makoto had specially prepared a lot of drinks during lunch—they were called drinks, but they were actually low-alcohol wheat juice.
Ninjas were known for their large appetites.
They could really drink wheat juice by the case—chilled wheat juice tastes so good!
And the current occasion was very suitable.
Everyone here was a ninja, there were no outsiders. It was just everyone complaining about the dissatisfaction in their lives.
What could be so wrong with that!
Everyone present, every single one of them, had dissatisfaction in their hearts!
It was just that they usually didn't have a chance to say it.
In the ninja world.
Ninjas had always been the service providers, and nobles had always been the clients.
The ninjas' single source of income also made them have to attach great importance to the completion of missions.
Once a ninja failed to complete a mission, messed it up, or completed it but ultimately received a bad review, they would really be pressured by the village!
The strong ninja-as-a-tool ideology ultimately completed the ideological closed loop for this mode of behavior.
The most classic example is the legendary ninja of Konoha in the original story—Konoha's White Fang.
He was forced to commit suicide to atone for his "crime" by the village's public opinion just because he failed to complete a mission.
Various factors led to ninjas being in a weaker position compared to nobles in the ninja world.
If a mission is not completed or the client is not satisfied with its completion and gives a bad review, the ninja has to be pressured by society. And when pressured, they can't even talk back, but can only endure in silence.
Under the influence of alcohol.
Now that someone had taken the lead, others naturally followed.
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