"Since envoy put it that way, I'm willing to accept his proposal. Five hundred million it is. But we want half in resources and half in cash. Furthermore, the additional two million for operational expenses is non-negotiable."
Shikaku, seeing the opportunity, readily agreed to Darui's terms.
In Darui's heart, a herd of wild horses roared past.
'Damn it, I fell for it!'
But since the words had already been spoken, Darui couldn't back out now. Besides, five hundred million in ransom was still within the Kumo's ability to pay.
"Fine, I'll go back and prepare the money and resources. I hope you'll treat our Raikage well. The expenses from here on shouldn't be that high, right?"
According to Darui's calculations, raising the money was the easy part—they could send it immediately. But the resources were a bigger problem; even at top speed, transporting supplies from the village would take at least half a month.
That meant another 15 days at a million a day—fifteen million in extra cost. Not exactly pocket change.
"Don't worry, don't worry. From now on, lodging and meals are on the house, same treatment as before!" Shikaku promised generously.
"Good. In that case, I'll head back now!" Darui turned on his heel and left without waiting for Kurotsuchi.
"Um, what about our Iwa..." Kurotsuchi thought perhaps the price could still be lowered.
"Kumogakure already settled on the price. If you think it's too high, we can continue to wait." Shikaku didn't press, just tossed out the comment casually.
But to Kurotsuchi, the threat in his words was clear.
"Fine... I'll also go back and prepare the money and resources!"
Seeing her charm tactics fail, Kurotsuchi could only sigh inwardly and leave.
Watching the future Tsuchikage depart, Hikari retracted his gaze, stood up, and stretched lazily.
"Well, that's the performance over. Shikaku-senpai, I'll leave the rest to you."
"No rush, Hikari. Do you think they know we were just acting?"
"Of course they know. But it doesn't matter. With two hostages in our hands, they'll definitely pay up."
Shikaku nodded. "True enough. With hostages, they have no choice."
---
"What a cold place..."
Wearing a black cloak, Obito stood atop the wall of the Land of Snow's capital, gazing at the sparse crowd below with cold indifference.
'Just a bunch of ants.'
From the ground at his side, a White Zetsu emerged.
"Yikes, so cold, so cold! I can't stand it!"
White Zetsu, true to his nature, put on a dramatic show the moment he appeared, always curious about the world and acting in ways others found bizarre.
"Have you found the Land of Snow's queen?"
"Found her!" Zetsu immediately dropped the antics at Obito's question. "She's in the palace. Word is she's planning to establish joint trade with other nations. Won't our interference be risky?"
"Risky? Hah."
Obito sneered, his body slowly phasing out of existence before vanishing completely.
"Awww, leaving me behind again? You're such a bad boy!" Zetsu jumped around oddly before sinking back into the earth.
---
Inside the Land of Snow's palace.
The sound of a brush scratching against paper echoed relentlessly, accompanied only by faint breathing. In this frigid weather, the place felt especially desolate.
Suddenly, the writing stopped. Kazahana Koyuki set her brush on the rack and massaged her numb right hand with her left.
"I really don't understand what's so great about being king. My uncle betrayed everything for this. How foolish."
As queen, Koyuki held the greatest authority in the Land of Snow.
But with that came the burden of saving it. Whether due to Kazahana Dotō or not, the Land of Snow was now steeped in poverty, its people starving and freezing.
In such circumstances, Koyuki had no choice but to focus on diplomacy. By leveraging Land of Snow's unique advantages, she sought alliances with other nations in hopes of rescuing her people from their suffering.
For now, though, all she had were endless petitions to review and affairs of state to manage.
"I wonder how Kamizuki-san and Ino are doing... Have they made it back to Konoha?" She murmured, reaching for her brush again. But before she could continue, a shadow appeared before her.
"This Kamizuki-san you mentioned, can you tell me his name?" a hoarse male voice asked.
Startled, Koyuki instinctively wanted to call for help. But the moment she looked up, she saw a blood-red eye.
'What... is this...?'
With that thought, her gaze turned vacant.
"So fragile. I expected more resistance." Obito sneered at the enthralled Koyuki.
Her beauty didn't interest him in the slightest. To Obito, in this world, no woman other than Rin mattered—everyone else was trash.
"Madara-sama's Sharingan is not something a mere mortal could ever resist." White Zetsu emerged from the ground and flattered Obito.
Obito cast him a cold glance before turning back to Koyuki.
"Your name?"
"Kazahana Koyuki."
"Identity?"
"Queen of the Land of Snow. Actress."
So far, her answers seemed normal. That was when White Zetsu suddenly piped up.
"What's your bust, waist, hip size?"
"87..."
*Thud!*
Enraged, Obito kicked White Zetsu square in the face, sending him flying.
"Don't waste my time."
White Zetsu crawled back up, rubbing his cheek. "Hey, not the face! Don't you want to know her measurements? Or maybe you'd rather find out with your own hands..."
"Shut up!"
Obito felt his reputation being tarnished by this idiot. He was Uchiha Obito—a vengeful spirit, a man who had killed even his teacher and his teacher's wife. How could he ask something so stupid? And besides, Rin was the only woman he cared about.
"Say another word, and I'll kill you."
White Zetsu immediately fell silent. He wasn't afraid of death, but there were still so many amusing things in the world—this wasn't the time to die.
Seeing him back down, Obito exhaled slightly.
Then, as his gaze returned to Koyuki, his eyes involuntarily drifted toward her chest.
'If Rin had lived, she'd definitely have been bigger than her...'
Just imagining Rin growing up was enough to make Obito's face heat up.
"Who defeated Kakuzu?"
"The Kamizuki-san you spoke of—what's his full name?"
Koyuki's eyes grew more clouded, but she gave no answer.
In an instant, the three tomoe in Obito's right eye spun, a surge of even stronger eye power about to erupt.
-----
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