Chapter 59 The Ultimate Negotiation Strategy
Nara Shikahiro secretly gestured to Jiraiya, who nodded slightly and then addressed the Sunagakure members again:
"Fine, you guys win. I'll be straightforward too: twenty million ryo! That's my bottom line!"
"Twenty million...okay, but we will pay in equivalent gold dust, and in five years, one installment per year."
The bottom line that the Sunagakure members had agreed on beforehand was roughly this much, so Rasa readily agreed at this point.
Hanzo remained silent, but he listened with great envy.
Great powers are indeed advantageous.
For Amegakure and Sunagakure, simply agreeing to withdraw and not enter the Land of Rain again within a year is considered their 'reward'.
As for compensation in real money to Konoha? That only exists in dreams.
"Now that the terms of cooperation have been agreed upon, let's discuss the specific arrangements for dealing with Iwagakure."
"Oh, we're finally getting to the point," Jiraiya said with a smile.
Since they've all come, it's expected that a cooperation agreement can be reached.
The real issue that needs to be negotiated is how to deal with Iwagakure... or rather, who should be the main force in the attack.
The strength of Iwagakure should not be underestimated.
How to arrange the relationship, the risks each of the three parties will bear, and the potential losses are all issues that none of them will easily compromise on.
Rasa said calmly:
"The formidable enemies we face from Iwagakure include... the Tsuchikage Onoki, his son Kitsuchi, the air force, the demolition force, and as many as 10,000 Iwagakure ninja!"
"The Tsuchikage Onoki is undoubtedly the most threatening among them.
His son, Kitsuchi, also possesses Kage-level strength and leads 300 elite Iwagakure troops proficient in Earth Release ninjutsu, which has a significant impact in large-scale battles."
"Then there are the two special units, the air force and the demolition force.
Although they are a small number of elites, their combat power should not be underestimated.
The demolition force has a strong wide-range killing power, and the air force is an extremely troublesome enemy that most ordinary ninjas find difficult to deal with effectively."
"Finally, there's the entire Iwagakure army itself... Even though they've suffered considerable losses since the start of the war, there are still as many as 10,000 of them.
This number itself is the greatest threat, and they might even be more dangerous than the Tsuchikage himself!"
Hanzo nodded slightly and said softly:
"With the three of us joining forces, Iwagakure has absolutely no chance of winning.
Given Onoki's personality, he might choose to hold his ground and then have the troops left behind in the Land of Earth come to support him, but the most likely scenario is that he will decide to retreat directly and wait for the next opportunity."
"So this will likely be a pursuit battle.
We need to break through the obstacles and troops left behind by Iwagakure to hold them off, and then pursue them until we drive them completely out of the Land of Rain. Is that what you mean?" Jiraiya said.
"That's right. Our Amegakure strength is definitely not enough to be the main force in the attack, so only Konoha and Sunagakure can make the decision."
Rasa then said:
"Your Konoha is the strongest, so you're to be the main force... Even if I say that, you wouldn't agree so readily, would you?
So what's your stance?
Are you going to negotiate with conditions?
Or will you refuse to agree no matter what?"
"us..."
Jiraiya was about to answer when he noticed Souji making a gesture of four and five to him, so Jiraiya changed his answer:
"First, let me ask you, according to our intelligence, one of the two Jinchuriki of the Tailed Beasts in Iwagakure is wandering around and his whereabouts are unknown, while the other is staying in Iwagakure in the Land of Earth. Is this also what you know?"
"Jinchūriki?"
Rasa was somewhat surprised by the sudden mention of the Tailed Beast Jinchuriki, so he looked at Ebizo, the advisor in charge of the Sunagakure intelligence department.
"That's the same information we received."
Do you know the whereabouts of the Four-Tails Jinchuriki?
"Hmm? You mean... there's a possibility that a Four-Tails Jinchuriki might appear?"
"That's right!"
Ebizo frowned slightly, pondered for a while, and then said:
"Well... as far as I know, although that Jinchuriki left because of his conflict with Onoki, he should still love Iwagakure, the village where he came from.
Your concerns can't be ruled out..."
"Given Onoki's cunning and cautious nature, he might actually contact that Jinchuriki and come to the Land of Rain as a precaution.
If a major crisis occurs in Iwagakure, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki might intervene in the battle..."
"That is indeed a possibility. Your Konoha has certainly considered things thoroughly."
Rasa spoke again:
"We'll discuss the Jinchuriki issue later.
Let's get back to the main topic.
We've already suffered heavy losses, so this time we hope to minimize casualties. Your Konoha will be the main force, while we and Amegakure will provide support and attack from both sides."
"If you want to talk about conditions, then let's talk about conditions. Of course, if you absolutely refuse to agree, then there's no distinction between primary and secondary. We'll join forces and launch a full-scale attack from the front.
How about that?"
Jiraiya glanced at Souji and Shikahiro, somewhat puzzled, but still firmly stated:
"No, we won't choose either of them. Our demand is... that Sunagakure lead the attack! Especially old man Onoki, you must be the ones to deal with him!"
"What?"
"Vanguard!? Ridiculous!"
Hanzo and the others from Sunagakure were all taken aback by Jiraiya's request.
The reason the three parties joined forces was to ensure victory and reduce losses, but if they were to be the vanguard... the casualties would be extremely heavy!
Rasa slammed his fist on the table and shouted angrily!
"Jiraiya! We absolutely will not accept this request! You're just wasting everyone's time!"
"..."
Jiraiya did not answer, but looked towards Souji.
The Souji smiled slightly and said:
"No, everyone in Sunagakure, you will agree."
As soon as the Souji spoke, everyone in the meeting room looked at him.
"You are..." Hanzo was meeting Souji for the first time and did not recognize him.
"I am Mochizuki Souji. Although I don't like it, the title given to me by Sunagakure is Bloodstained Kunai."
"oh..."
Hanzo had heard rumors about Souji, but in his opinion, this person was just a newly emerging Jonin. It was strange that he was even qualified to attend this meeting, let alone understand why he was the one to speak on behalf of Konoha at this time.
"Brother Souji..."
Minato looked at Souji with some nervousness.
Although they had communicated beforehand, the Souji said he had a key trump card for negotiations, but he did not tell them what it was.
Rasa glanced at Souji a few times, recalling the losses he had suffered because of the other party a couple of days ago, and felt a surge of hatred in his heart.
That's a quantity of goods worth tens of millions of Ryo! How long would he have to toil away panning for gold dust in the desert to accumulate that much?
But Rasa outwardly held back, and said in a deep voice:
"So? What reason do you intend to use to convince us to accept your absurd demands?"
"Well...didn't I visit the Sunagakure camp a couple of days ago?"
The Souji laughed:
"I met someone I never expected at the time. Who do you think it was?"
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End of this chapter....