"But since Takigakure(Village Hidden by Waterfall) and Konoha have a good relationship, if they haven't asked Konoha for help yet, then they probably haven't been attacked by the Akatsuki."
Tsunade understood what the issue was, but didn't seem too worried about it.
Aoba remembered that, in the anime, Team Seven had once escorted the leader of Takigakure.
"In that case, when the Five Kage Summit ends tomorrow, why don't we take a detour and visit Takigakure to check things out?"
Hearing that, Tsunade nodded, "That does sound necessary, just to give them a heads-up. I just don't know who their current Jinchuriki is. If necessary, we could bring them back to Konoha with us."
Aoba thought for a moment. He remembered that the Seven-Tails' Jinchuriki was a sporty tanned girl.
"I'll listen to whatever you decide, sensei."
"But speaking of that, what kind of price do you want Kumogakure to pay?"
Having made their decision, Tsunade shifted the topic back to the Five Kage meeting.
Honestly, she didn't have much patience for those people from the Hidden Cloud. Even when they needed help, they couldn't act like they were asking for it, always pulling out those moral manipulation tactics instead.
Aoba shrugged helplessly, "I haven't really thought about it, but since it's about protecting the Eight-Tails, how about they just send the Eight-Tails' Jinchuriki to Konoha?"
If possible, Orochimaru could even use him for clinical experiments.
Tsunade frowned slightly, "That kind of demand, Kumogakure definitely wouldn't agree to that, right?"
She remembered that, back then, Aoba had wanted the Fourth Raikage to trade the Eight-Tails for Samui and the others. But he refused, choosing instead to pay a huge amount of money and grant a lot of mission shares.
They probably still hadn't recovered from that loss.
Otherwise, they wouldn't be so desperate to mooch for free now.
"Then we can just leave. There's nothing left to squeeze out of them anyway."
Aoba looked completely indifferent.
"You're not planning to set up a ninja base in Kumogakure too?"
Tsunade gave him a curious look. Judging by how he handled things in Kirigakure and Sunagakure, this brat seemed to really like that kind of method.
And to be fair, it really was a good strategy.
Over the past six months, the two bases in Kirigakure and Sunagakure had already provided nearly half of Konoha's domestic revenue.
And that number was only going to rise.
The main reason was that labor in those two villages was far cheaper than in Konoha, and Kirigakure relied entirely on Konoha as its only export port.
Naturally, the money just flowed in.
Of course, those two villages also made plenty of profit for themselves this past year.
After all, things that used to be unsellable, like Kirigakure's sea fish or Sunagakure's special fruits, now had proper sales channels.
"The main issue is that Kumogakure's hatred for Konoha is too high. A lot of people there don't think straight. I'm afraid before the base is even built, our people might get wiped out," Aoba sighed helplessly.
"That is a problem," Tsunade admitted with a nod. Then, her tone shifted, "But if you really want to unify the ninja world, this could also be an opportunity."
"Hm?", Aoba looked at her in confusion.
"Think about it. If someone from Kumogakure actually dares to lay a hand on a Konoha ninja, wouldn't that give us the perfect reason to declare war on them?", Tsunade said it bluntly.
After all, Samui and the others were no longer considered people of Kumogakure.
Aoba was stunned, "Sensei, since when did you become this devious?"
"You're blaming me for that?", Tsunade pinched his waist in irritation, "Didn't I learn it from you?"
"Hiss!"
Aoba sucked in a sharp breath, then quickly said, "Then let's add that condition too."
Seeing him wince in pain, Tsunade finally let him off.
"Alright, we'll go with that. Either they hand over the Eight-Tails to Konoha, or they allocate a section of land in Kumogakure for a ninja base, same as in Sunagakure. If they refuse, we just walk away."
"Got it, sensei."
———
That evening, the sound of knocking on the bedroom door woke the two who had fallen asleep.
"Wake up, it's time for dinner!"
Outside the bedroom, Kurotsuchi gritted her teeth as she kept knocking, carrying the meal box delivered from the Land of Iron.
'Those two are unbelievable, doing that sort of thing in broad daylight.'
At the dinner table, Aoba was surprised to see Kurotsuchi back again.
"Kurotsuchi, didn't you go see your grandfather? Why are you back already?"
Kurotsuchi lifted her head, looking annoyed, "Don't mention that old man in front of me!"
"But you'll have to return to Iwagakure sooner or later, right?", Aoba asked again.
"I'm not going back! I'm running away from home!", Kurotsuchi clenched her fists, clearly fuming.
Just thinking about what happened that afternoon made her angry. She'd spent all day chasing after those two, couldn't find them anywhere, and had no way to vent her frustration.
She made up her mind, if they didn't let her beat them up and apologize properly, she wasn't going back to Iwagakure.
She was grown up now anyway; she could take care of herself.
"…", Aoba just looked at her oddly, thinking to himself, 'Your grandfather's probably thrilled you're not coming back.'
Kurotsuchi noticed his strange look and suddenly remembered what he'd said earlier that day. Her face instantly flushed red.
"Wh–why are you looking at me like that?"
Aoba snapped out of it, "If you're not going back to Iwagakure, then where are you planning to go?"
"Eh?"
Kurotsuchi was stumped, she really hadn't thought that far.
"Do you even have any money on you?", Aoba asked again.
Her expression turned awkward. She'd only come along to see the excitement of the Five Kage Summit, planning to head back to Iwagakure with her grandfather after. Now she barely had any money left.
But in this situation, she really didn't want to see her grandfather or father anytime soon.
"You're flat broke, don't even have a place to stay, what, are you planning to become a wandering ninja?", Aoba looked at her teasingly.
Kurotsuchi bit her chopsticks, gritting her teeth as she thought hard.
Then, suddenly, her eyes lit up, she'd come up with a great idea.
She stretched her hand out toward Aoba.
"?"
Aoba blinked, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Lend me money!"
Kurotsuchi grinned mischievously. She'd just remembered she still had some dirt on him.
"Aoba, I know your secret, you know. You wouldn't want—"
She glanced quickly at Tsunade, who was quietly eating her food and not joining their conversation.
She didn't dare finish her sentence in front of her, Tsunade wouldn't spoil her like Aoba did. If she said it aloud, she'd probably get beaten up.
Aoba's mouth twitched. It wasn't like he wouldn't lend her money if she really needed it. Was she just addicted to saying that line now?
"Fine, borrowing money's no problem, but where are you going to live?"
Kurotsuchi blinked innocently at him, her big eyes full of expectation.
"…"
Aoba was speechless, 'This girl really knows how to play her cards.'
He turned to Tsunade and as
ked, "Sensei, how about letting Kurotsuchi stay in the Senju compound too?"
After all, they were already housing plenty of people, one more wouldn't hurt.