"Did you succeed with the help of Uchiha Hikaru?"
A asked in disbelief.
After all, he truly had not expected that Uchiha Hikaru—despite not being a Jinchūriki himself—would know a way to help a Jinchūriki reach the state of a perfect Jinchūriki.
If that were the case, then why had Uzumaki Naruto been sent all the way to Kumogakure to train with Killer Bee?
Uchiha Hikaru quickly understood what A was thinking. A trace of embarrassment flickered through him, but his expression remained calm and unchanged.
"This can only be considered an accident," he said evenly. "I helped her unintentionally, by chance."
"At the time, I caused quite a bit of commotion. Under pressure from the outside, she was able to synchronize with the tailed beast more easily."
"I believe that even if this incident hadn't happened, Yugito would have become a perfect Jinchūriki sooner or later."
A nodded, still a little doubtful.
Seeing this, Uchiha Hikaru said nothing more and excused himself, using the pretext of going to find Ibiki.
At this point, only Yugito Nii, A, and Mabui remained in the office.
The Raikage turned to Yugito, his expression serious.
"Yugito, what exactly did Uchiha Hikaru do in Yunlei Gorge? Why was there such a huge disturbance?"
Yugito recalled everything that had happened and recounted it as she remembered.
She only adjusted the details slightly. She said that she had been disturbed by the noise from Uchiha Hikaru's training and was forced into the raging thunderstorm. In the end, at the moment of life and death, she broke through the final barrier and successfully completed her transformation as a tailed beast.
As for everything that had happened between her and Uchiha Hikaru afterward… she buried it deep in her heart.
She felt a twinge of guilt, but there was no way she could speak of it aloud.
After listening, A seemed to sense that something about Yugito was different from usual, but he did not press the matter. Instead, he spoke a few words of reassurance.
"Yugito, you know the current relationship between the village and Konoha. Although you nearly lost your life this time, fortunately, nothing irreversible happened."
"And in the end, it turned into a blessing in disguise—you successfully became a perfect Jinchūriki."
"I'm sorry the village can't seek justice for you right now. For the sake of Kumogakure, I ask you to restrain your anger for the time being."
"For the next two months, focus on resting and adjusting your condition. You've been training nonstop for years. It's time to take a break."
A's tone carried a hint of apology—sincere, yet tinged with helplessness.
Yugito was stunned at first. Then she realized that his words were different from usual. Subconsciously, she clenched her fists, shame and anger surging up as she recalled what had happened between herself and Uchiha Hikaru.
To outsiders, it looked like suppressed resentment.
In the end, Yugito simply nodded in silence.
Perhaps letting the Raikage believe this was the best option for now…
After Yugito left, A's expression immediately shifted, and a broad smile spread across his face.
"Mabui, how are the negotiations with that Ibiki fellow going?"
Mabui looked awkward and shook her head. She opened the file beside the desk and placed it in front of A.
"Lord Raikage, we've only reached agreement on about one-third of the terms so far. The other side's profit margins are extremely tight. Just like before, there's almost no room for expansion."
"I can only say that Ibiki truly lives up to his reputation as the former head of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Force. He keeps Kumogakure under constant pressure during negotiations. There's no way to bluff him."
"In this regard, he's on a completely different level from Jiraiya."
A skimmed through the figures, frowned slightly, then relaxed.
"You don't need to worry too much. Uchiha Hikaru must have realized that his own actions nearly caused Yugito to lose her life."
"That's probably why he mentioned earlier that he was going to look for Ibiki."
"For the next round, you can raise the conditions appropriately."
"Start by doubling the profit demands. If he agrees, Kumogakure will make a fortune."
"If that doesn't work, then increase profits by twenty percent. But we must also expand the overall scale of cooperation between Kumogakure and Konoha. The current volume of goods is far too small."
"We need to move quickly—before the other villages react. Only then, once the situation is set, no matter how hard they try, they won't be able to surpass us, Kumogakure!"
Mabui nodded, committing everything to memory.
But deep down, she felt a faint sense of disappointment toward the Raikage.
Taking advantage of Uchiha Hikaru's guilt toward Yugito to expand the village's利益… From a shinobi's standpoint, it made sense.
But Yugito was one of her few friends.
Thinking of it that way, she couldn't help feeling sorry for her.
Jinchūriki… what a tragic existence.
Of course, that was only because she didn't know the truth.
If she did, she might be the one feeling jealous instead.
...
Some time later, on the other side.
Uchiha Hikaru arrived at the inn where Ibiki and the Konoha delegation were staying.
In the reception room, Ibiki stood by the table, his expression stern. Yet the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, his eyes flashing with restrained pride as he placed the documents in front of Uchiha Hikaru.
"Assistant-sama, this is the content of the trade agreement negotiated with Mabui of Kumogakure a few days ago."
"They want to further expand the current scale of trade. It seems they're trying to seize the initiative—locking down cooperation with Konoha before the other villages can step in."
"At the same time, they're pushing to increase per-unit profits, especially on Lightning Country specialties like Thunder Beef and Thunder Wine."
"Not only are they asking for a twenty percent increase in export prices, they also want Konoha to lower tariffs on those goods."
"After several rounds of talks, I pressured them into backing off. For the next round of negotiations, should we continue maintaining this standard?"
Uchiha Hikaru flipped through the documents page by page. Everything matched Ibiki's explanation exactly. Only after reading everything did he place the file back on the table.
"Ibiki, you can allow them to raise the prices on specialties like Thunder Beef and Thunder Wine," he said calmly. "But the price must stay within what Konoha's civilians can reasonably afford. A slight increase is acceptable."
"As for high-profit luxury goods—Lightning Country furniture, fur clothing, and the like—the tariffs will be increased. The higher the price, the higher the tariff."
"In addition, there must be a seven-day no-questions-asked return policy. These goods can only be sold by vendors officially licensed to operate shops within Konoha."
"As for books and films, they must undergo strict review. They are not allowed to widely spread Kumogakure's ideology or culture within the village."
"For this part, you can leave it to Jiraiya. He's an expert in this field. He'll understand what I mean."
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Bonus Chapter at 100 Power Stone
Second Bonus Chapter - 200 Power Stones
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