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Dawn broke, and the morning sun streamed in.
Shin awoke in his soft bed, feeling well-rested. There had been no urgent matters to wake him during the night, so he had a rare, uninterrupted sleep.
"Dress me!" he called out.
As soon as he got up, the waiting maids outside heard the movement and filed in. They served him as he washed and changed into fresh clothing.
Just as he finished his breakfast and was about to go for a walk in the garden to aid digestion, Aono hurried over. His face was filled with barely suppressed joy, and he practically jogged over.
"My lord!" Aono called out.
"Great news!" He bowed, his voice trembling with excitement. "The Land of Lightning... has backed down!"
He then handed over an urgent report. "They've sent an envoy delegation. They entered the capital before dawn this morning, saying they want to conduct peace talks and end all border conflicts!"
Shin took the urgent report, scanned it, and casually placed it aside. "They arrived quite quickly!"
"Yes, my lord!"
"Minister Tanaka is already waiting in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs conference hall. The envoys from the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth are also present, just waiting for your instructions!" Aono's tone barely concealed his excitement.
Shin looked up. "Send someone to inform Nara Shikato. Tell him to go to the negotiation site immediately to observe. Tell him to listen and watch carefully!"
In his opinion, the wisdom of the Nara clan should not be confined solely to the battlefield—that would be too much of a waste.
Diplomacy was also a battlefield without smoke and fire, and such grand-scale international games were the best occasions to hone their skills.
Nara Shikato?
Aono paused for a moment, then immediately bowed and replied, "Yes, my lord. I will attend to it immediately!"
With that, he quickly withdrew.
"Prepare the carriage. We're going to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs." Having dealt with this matter, Shin instructed his attendant. He was ready to enjoy the show.
"Yes, my lord!" the attendant respectfully replied.
At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the highest-level conference hall, all parties had taken their seats around the long negotiation table. The atmosphere was solemn.
Minister Tanaka leaned back in his chair, a victor's composure on his face.
Behind him, a little further back, sat a row of young people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance, including Nara Shikato. They were all there to observe.
Nara Shikato had chosen a position that allowed him to take in the entire scene.
On Minister Tanaka's left and right, the envoys from the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind were whispering to each other, their faces showing expressions of enjoying the spectacle without caring about the consequences.
Across from them, the Land of Lightning's envoy delegation appeared somewhat outnumbered and outmatched.
The leading civil official, named Ram, had his hair meticulously combed.
"Cough." Minister Tanaka cleared his throat and was the first to speak, his voice echoing throughout the conference hall. "Lord Ram, I don't think we need to waste time on pleasantries."
"Regarding your country's former envoy, Darui, openly advocating war, and your country's series of unfriendly actions along the border—on behalf of the Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Wind, I hereby express our strongest protest and condemnation!"
Ram immediately straightened his back, feigning composure.
"Minister Tanaka, the so-called war threat is likely a misinterpretation of diplomatic rhetoric. That was merely our side's... a somewhat intense emotional expression regarding your unfair trade policies."
"As for border skirmishes, I believe there are misunderstandings involved."
"Emotional expression?" The Land of Earth's envoy immediately slammed the table, sneering. "What an 'emotional expression'!"
"Lord Ram, all of us heard with our own ears that your Lord Darui was clamoring to start a war! Is this how your Land of Lightning expresses emotions? Is it by holding a knife to our throats and forcing us to concede interests?"
This remark made Ram mentally curse Darui, that idiot, and all eighteen generations of his ancestors.
The Land of Wind's envoy then slowly twisted the knife, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Indeed, we don't want to worry about Kumogakure shinobi bringing war to our doorstep while we're enjoying Fire Crystal."
"After all, your country's style of doing things has always been overbearing."
The three parties, in a synchronized effort, instantly backed Ram into a corner.
Fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. He could only seize on the loophole that the three countries had excluded the Land of Lightning from trade to retort.
"The cause of the friction, I'm sure the three of you are also clear on! Your side's concerted trade blockade, excluding the Land of Lightning, is itself an unfriendly economic declaration of war!"
"Our reaction is merely a reasonable response to this unfair treatment!"
A fierce war of words thus began.
In the lounge next to the conference hall, Shin leaned back on the sofa, quietly listening to the sounds of argument coming from the audio device. A hint of boredom even appeared in his eyes.
He had already written the script for this play.
Just as he was bored and drowsy, a Shadow Guard pushed open the door. "My lord, an urgent report from Konoha."
"Oh?" Shin's eyes immediately opened. He took the scroll and unrolled it.
The letter was sent by Minato, and the content was brief:
The Land of Lightning's border troops launched another probing harassment last night, but the intensity was low and they were repelled by our side. The situation is currently still under control.
After reading the letter, Shin smiled, his eyes full of mockery. "Heh, at the end of their rope."
In his opinion, such a trick was too crude.
On one hand, they were arguing at the negotiation table, and on the other hand, they were creating tension at the border, attempting to use this as leverage to gain benefits at the negotiation table.
This tactic was very consistent with the impression of the Land of Lightning's group of simple-minded, brawny hotheads.
"Pass this message to Minister Tanaka." Shin casually tossed the scroll to the Shadow Guard.
"Yes, my lord."
The Shadow Guard took the order and withdrew.
After all this, Shin finally relaxed completely.
The Land of Lightning's cards had been played—it was nothing more than this.
Inside the conference hall, Ram was still fighting back desperately, his face flushed with anger.
Just then, an attendant quickly walked over to Minister Tanaka and handed him a note.
Minister Tanaka unfolded it and looked, first startled, then his face became strange.
He cleared his throat, interrupting everyone's arguments.
Looking at the sweating Ram, Minister Tanaka tossed the note to the other party and asked, "Lord Ram, I have a question I'm very curious about."
"You send an envoy delegation to negotiate on one hand, and on the other, you engage in some underhanded little tricks at the border... Is this your sincerity?"
"Or does the Raikage think that we can't even see through such a trick?"
As his words fell, the conference hall fell silent.
Ram looked at the content on the note, his brows immediately furrowing.
The envoys from the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth also looked shocked, then their expressions turned to undisguised disdain, and they burst into laughter.
"So that's it! This is the Land of Lightning's peace negotiation!"
"Truly eye-opening! Hahahaha!"
Ram's lips trembled. "This, there must be some misunderstanding!"
"Misunderstanding..."
Hearing this, Shin knew that this negotiation would not yield any results. It had already entered 'garbage time' prematurely.
Since the show had ended, he was too lazy to listen to these boring verbal battles anymore.
He got up and left directly.
Instead of wasting time here, it would be better to go back and handle a few more government affairs concerning people's livelihoods.
When he pulled open the door to the lounge, the intense sounds of argument from the adjacent conference hall immediately became clear.
There was Minister Tanaka's furious roar, unrelenting because he was in the right.
There was the Land of Wind and Land of Earth envoys' sarcastic support.
Interspersed with the anxious and futile explanations of Ram, the Land of Lightning's envoy.
Shin left with a smile on his face, not looking back.
Outside, the sun was bright, and the capital was peaceful and harmonious.