You are strong?
The muscular men of Hidden Cloud Village all laughed, and even the fair-skinned handsome man, C, found it amusing.
How much strength could a fat person from Konoha Village have?
Muscle is strength! To them, fat was a sign of laziness, weak will, and not being manly enough.
Although the phrase "A man should fight robots" didn't exist here, the meaning was the same.
They didn't think highly of Choji at all, only finding it funny.
They felt the fat person from Konoha hadn't understood the situation.
Then, Choji lunged forward with a punch, shattering a half-human-sized rock!
"The rock isn't hard enough. Can you give me a harder one?" The fat person's fist was bloody and mangled, with bone faintly visible, but he didn't even look at it. He allowed his body to consume fat for self-repair, his lips pressed together, his expression extremely serious as he spoke.
Hidden Cloud Village had so many muscular men, each usually practicing with millstone-sized rocks. If you asked for other things, they might not have them, as the environment was harsh, but rocks? Rocks were plentiful.
Fourth Raikage loudly said, "Good kid, interesting. C, go get some granite from my backyard."
"Yes, Raikage-sama."
"Bang!"
"Crack!"
"Rumble!"
Choji remembered Shikamaru's words: maintain politeness while hitting the rocks with all his strength, regardless of the reason. Just hit them.
One rock after another was brought up, and one after another was shattered by him.
Numerous rocks were met with his evaluations of "too small," "not hard enough," and "feels soft when hit."
Ino slightly closed her eyes, using her sensory communication ability to connect Shikamaru and Choji. The two of them cheered on the fat person while observing the expressions of Fourth Raikage and others, adjusting the dialogue as appropriate.
"Today, I am nothing; today, I shall be something. I will not lose!"
"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Don't underestimate any full-figured man!"
"If Heaven hadn't given birth to me, Choji, it would be an eternal night! This is a punch that fuses all my beliefs!"
Fourth Raikage's expression gradually changed. He had seen Akimichi Clan Ninja on the battlefield and knew the Akimichi Clan's Secret Technique, but this was the first time he had seen the fat person's method of using breathing to expand his fat.
As one of the top Taijutsu masters of his generation, he immediately recognized the value of this breathing method.
He also felt a sense of empathy for the fat person's gritted determination.
He had always believed that only those who painstakingly honed their Taijutsu could be considered true Ninja. People like Ino, like Minato Namikaze, who, at a young age, reached the same level as him with just a few Ninjutsu techniques, he inherently looked down upon. They weren't on the same path; different paths lead to different outcomes.
Fourth Raikage's personality was impetuous. Now that Choji looked pleasing to him, he felt this little fat person was a talent.
At this moment, he couldn't help but think, why not send Karui to marry someone far away? Just let the other Konoha Ninja leave and keep this little fat person in Hidden Cloud Village.
Fourth Raikage's imagination ran wild.
Karui, one of the protagonists, was a little moved. Initially, she didn't think much of Choji, but after the fat person roared and shattered a giant rock more than two meters tall with a single punch, the black beauty's expression gradually changed.
Observing closely now, this fat person was quite appealing to look at.
"No!" When Choji shattered the sixth giant rock, Karui noticed the crucial point: this 'appealing to look at' wasn't her imagination, but rather, this guy was getting thinner! With each punch, a large amount of fat burned in his body, and he would shrink a size.
Soon, a Choji with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, known as Konoha's second most handsome, appeared.
Fourth Raikage had sharp judgment and could tell at a glance that fat Choji couldn't beat Karui, but thin Choji completely suppressed Karui in terms of strength, speed, and other aspects. The previously agreed-upon second match for the marriage proposal was no longer necessary.
He said to Karui very directly, "How about it, Karui? Are you satisfied with this little fat person? How about him?"
Even though the men and women of Hidden Cloud Village were all incredibly straightforward, Karui still blushed. She was, after all, a 15-year-old girl. How should she answer such a question?
C knew that Fourth Raikage's bluntness had returned. How could it be so fast? Even when buying pork at the market, you have to haggle a bit.
This marriage was just a facade; secretly, they still needed to communicate with Konoha on many fronts.
If you, old man, finish it in a few sentences, the people from Konoha will turn and leave, and much of my work here will be impossible to do.
He quickly stepped forward to mediate: "You young people still need to communicate more, hmm, communicate more to increase mutual understanding."
He and Darui, one on each side, forcibly pulled Fourth Raikage away.
Fourth Raikage was bewildered. What did that mean? I think the little fat person is quite good. Do you have different opinions?
Karui secretly breathed a sigh of relief. From the way things were going, she almost thought she would be marrying far away to Konoha that afternoon after a morning meeting.
Karui was graceful and generous. When Choji mentioned he was a little hungry, she immediately led the group to eat and, incidentally, to tour Hidden Cloud Village.
Once she left Hidden Cloud Village, it would probably be very difficult for her to return.
Ino didn't go sightseeing with them but went to the Raikage's office for a secret meeting at the Ninja Village level with C and Fourth Raikage's Advisor, Dodai.
The conflict between the two sides was sharp, but Jiraiya still wanted to make one last effort, not wanting to shatter the last peace of the Ninja World.
Fourth Raikage did not attend this meeting; C and Dodai could fully represent him.
The result of the negotiations was no result. Konoha could make very few concessions, and Hidden Cloud Village wanted more, making the conflict completely irreconcilable.
Ino returned to her lodging, picked up a pen to write a letter to the Village, explaining that her negotiations had reached a stalemate, and awaited further orders, then released a messenger hawk.
"Miss Yamanaka." A male Ninja suddenly appeared in the shadows behind her.
Ino turned around.
She immediately recognized this pale-skinned man, whose face was as calm as stagnant water. He was usually normal but wore a midriff-baring outfit during battle.
This was the First Son-in-Law of the Hokage, the guy who, in the original timeline, married into the Yamanaka Clan and changed his name to Yamanaka Sai.
Ino felt a little strange that her first official meeting with Sai was in Hidden Cloud Village, but she had seen many storms. At this moment, as if completely unaware of him, she asked with a hint of doubt, "Who are you?"
"I am Lord Danzo's subordinate. There is an important mission that requires Miss Yamanaka's assistance."
He had barely started speaking when Ino understood: this was about making her take the blame! Danzo had thought it through well!
"Do you have any proof of your identity?"
Sai handed her a scroll. Ino checked the sealed mark, then opened the scroll using the Jonin class method.
Inside was indeed a command letter written personally by Danzo.
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