"First, I want the largest forest."
"I am the boss of the tailed beasts. My forest must be more than ten times larger than the Two-Tails' forest."
"And also…"
The Nine-Tails proposed a long list of additional conditions.
All of them were meant to display its status among the tailed beasts.
It was a tailed beast with nine tails.
The leader among tailed beasts.
Naturally, it had to enjoy the highest treatment.
However, in Uchiha Ren's eyes, these were all insignificant demands, so he agreed immediately.
Besides, Uzumaki Mito could still live for a long time.
For now, he would draw a cake to trap the Nine-Tails.
As for whether those promised conditions could be fulfilled in the future—
Cough, cough.
That could be discussed when the time came.
"Also, from now on, Uzumaki Mito is not allowed to bind me with chains again!"
When the Nine-Tails said this, its resentment was deep.
Clearly, it had many opinions about Uzumaki Mito.
"Hmm… as for that…"
"As long as you honestly stay in the sealed space and submit chakra every month at the agreed time, I actually don't care about the conflict between you and Uzumaki Mito."
"As for the chains, binding, spanking…"
"You can discuss those matters with Uzumaki Mito yourself."
Uchiha Ren did not want to get involved in the messy affairs between the Nine-Tails and Uzumaki Mito.
One was an old woman in menopause.
The other was a sharp-tongued, arrogant, black-bellied fox.
If these two lived together and didn't fight, that would be abnormal.
Let them settle their own conflicts.
"No!"
"Mito, that smelly old woman, that stinking **—I can't communicate with her at all!"
"She's a crazy old hag!"
"I only cursed her a few times, and she immediately lost her temper and started using violence against me!"
"She's only relying on the sealed space. Otherwise, I wouldn't lose to her!"
The Nine-Tails rambled on, denouncing Uzumaki Mito's evil deeds over the years.
"I heard a certain smelly fox speaking ill of me behind my back again."
Uzumaki Mito had also arrived in the sealed space.
But the Nine-Tails was not afraid at all now.
Uchiha Ren currently needed its cooperation.
The Nine-Tails refused to believe Uzumaki Mito would dare attack it in front of Uchiha Ren.
"I cursed you!"
"Uzumaki Mito, you're a stupid crazy old hag! A smelly ***!"
Uchiha Ren listened patiently.
After all, the Nine-Tails wasn't cursing him.
Still, the Nine-Tails really did curse rather filthily.
"Uchiha Ren, I'm starting to lose control…"
Uzumaki Mito's face turned iron-blue.
Her hair floated without wind, and several chains appeared around her body, ready to strike.
At any moment, she looked prepared to bind the Nine-Tails into a turtle-shell knot and whip it fiercely.
"Enough, Mito!"
"As the saying goes, take one step back and the sea and sky broaden."
"Konoha needs the Nine-Tails' chakra!"
"Previously, because you were unable to connect hearts with the Nine-Tails and become a perfect jinchūriki, every extraction of tailed beast chakra wasted a huge amount."
"Logically speaking, those losses should all be recorded under your account!"
Uchiha Ren stopped the eager Uzumaki Mito in time and issued a soul-searching accusation.
"You're putting that on my head too?"
Uzumaki Mito looked indignant.
Clearly, she hadn't expected Uchiha Ren to be this shameless.
"If not on your head, then should it go on mine?"
Uchiha Ren said it as if it were perfectly natural, not caring about Uzumaki Mito's feelings at all.
This time, he chose to stand on the Nine-Tails' side.
After all, the one providing chakra was the Nine-Tails.
The Nine-Tails was a super-large power bank that could save Konoha ten digits worth of money every year.
As coal prices rose, that number would only grow higher.
"Now Kurama is willing to cooperate with Konoha. This is a business with massive profit and almost no cost."
"But for Kurama's sake, I won't argue with you over past losses."
"From now on, without my permission, you are not allowed to bind the Nine-Tails with chains again!"
Uchiha Ren spoke calmly.
Behind him, the Nine-Tails laughed wildly, arrogant and delighted.
"Mito, did you hear that?"
"This is all because of my face."
"On what basis?! The Nine-Tails' broken mouth curses with filthy words! Am I supposed to endure it?"
"That's simple. You can curse back at the Nine-Tails."
"As long as you don't use violence."
"Surely you won't lose to the Nine-Tails in a cursing match, right?"
Uchiha Ren smiled and asked Uzumaki Mito in return.
"How could that be possible?!"
Uzumaki Mito clearly refused to bow her head.
"Then we have three rules agreed upon, Mito."
"In the future, if you still attack and harm Kurama, whom I regard as my beloved friend and dearest brother, I'll deduct money from your one million ryo each time."
"Beast!!"
"You black-hearted bastard!!"
"I don't agree!!!"
Uzumaki Mito overheated.
Signing that damned contract had already made her regretful enough to turn her intestines green.
Now Uchiha Ren was even targeting that one million ryo.
"Enough, Mito!"
"I am Hokage!"
"What I say goes."
Uchiha Ren smiled as he spoke.
After saying that, he carried the cat in his arms and eagerly left the Konoha Power Plant.
It was already the latter half of the night.
He still had to return and sleep.
Uzumaki Mito stood in place, furious but powerless.
She denounced Uchiha Ren as a beast and a black-hearted bastard.
But Uchiha Ren could no longer hear a single word.
"Mito, stop cursing. Uchiha Ren has already gone far away."
"But you're right. Uchiha Ren really is a beast."
"A black-hearted bastard…"
The Nine-Tails did not stand with Uchiha Ren just because Ren had temporarily protected it.
"Shut up!"
"You smelly fox, you're not a good thing either!"
"What? You still want to attack me?"
"Don't want your money anymore?"
"I'm your big financial sponsor. You rely on me to make money!"
Uzumaki Mito's face turned dark, and her entire aura became terrifyingly gloomy.
But her reason remained.
She silently withdrew the chains behind her.
"Smelly fox, ***!"
"**!"
Three days later.
Konoha remained calm and peaceful.
But the situation in the ninja world had become even more rotten.
The Rain Village had fired the first shot of armed resistance against the nobles.
The nobles united with the four great ninja villages to crusade against the Rain Village.
But now, this super-hot topic had already become yesterday's news.
The two large-scale battles between Kumogakure and Iwagakure had become the new hot topic.
Not only had they fought violently, they had even deployed tailed beasts and jinchūriki.
Konoha's news writers worked like they had been injected with chicken blood, staying up day and night to spread the latest news across the ninja world.
After all, traffic was money!
While the heroes of the ninja world risked their lives on the battlefield, Konoha's signal base stations quietly spread outward from the Land of Fire, slowly infiltrating the surrounding small countries and minor ninja villages.
Far across the sea, Kirigakure had always received news less quickly.
The Third Mizukage, Suito, led Kirigakure's forces and set up camp in the Land of Bears.
Konoha TV's daily news had become Suito's must-watch program.
Based on messages from every direction, Suito judged that the relationship between Kumogakure and Iwagakure had changed from allies sharing a bed but dreaming different dreams into enemies who would not stop until one side died.
The relationship between the two villages had completely fallen to the bottom.
There was no longer any chance of restoring the past.
The rights and wrongs in the middle were difficult to discuss.
But every clue pointed toward one thing:
Whether it was the Rain Village or the war between Kumogakure and Iwagakure, the mastermind behind the curtain was Konoha!
Even Kirigakure's internal contradictions, which could explode at any moment, had countless hidden ties to Konoha.
Those socially active elements wandering the streets and alleys of the Land of Water loved selling erotic videos while freely distributing magazines published by Konoha.
The magazine was called Yilin.
The entire thing was filled with chicken soup essays mixed with private goods.
It contained specially tailored articles targeting Kirigakure, constantly provoking the nerves of the village's bloodline clans and vigorously promoting the superiority of bloodline clans ruling ninja villages.
Konoha was the best proof!
Most importantly—
This magazine could not be banned no matter how hard they tried!
That low-class thing, the Hokage of Konoha, had bundled this magazine together with erotic short films.
Who could possibly ban the circulation of erotic short films?
In short, Suito concluded that Uchiha Ren was an enormous villain.
Sooner or later, Kirigakure would be dragged into chaos by him.
He really wanted to stay still and do nothing.
But the situation no longer allowed it.
The nobles did not care about right and wrong in the shinobi circle.
They only wanted to kill those traitors in the Rain Village.
The Water Daimyo had already issued eighteen golden-arrow orders in one day, commanding Suito to march Kirigakure's army toward the Rain Village.
There was even a threatening tone between the lines.
Perhaps the Mizukage position would be better held by a shinobi from a bloodline clan…
Of course, the Wind Daimyo was the same.
Sunagakure's continued observation, along with small-scale friction at the border with the Rain Village, had made the Wind Daimyo extremely dissatisfied.
"Press forward! Press forward for me!"
The Wind Daimyo flew into a rage inside his sleeping palace.
Only after sending more than a dozen golden-arrow orders did he force Mosa to take further action.
The Lightning Daimyo and Earth Daimyo, meanwhile, were under enormous pressure.
Their tables were piled high with snowflake-like letters.
Daimyō from across the ninja world were writing to them, demanding that they settle the conflict between Kumogakure and Iwagakure as soon as possible.
Compared with the Earth Daimyo, the Lightning Daimyo could truly be called a sufferer.
Iwagakure had betrayed trust and joined forces with Konoha and Sunagakure to carry out a shocking scam in the Land of Lightning, harvesting an enormous wave of crops.
Across the Land of Lightning's cities, batch after batch of flying people appeared, massively increasing the workload of local offices.
Every day, large numbers of victims went to government offices demanding an explanation.
Some even carried corpses to petition.
There were also major figures in the Land of Lightning who had been harvested, loudly demanding that the Land of Earth and Iwagakure give an explanation.
But no matter what, the Lightning Daimyo's position as a victim was fixed.
He urgently met with the Earth Daimyo.
After a brief exchange and mutual sharing of views, the two decided to jointly step forward and mediate the conflict between Kumogakure and Iwagakure.
The daimyō indulged in pleasure, but the existence of the Rain Village concerned their lives and fortunes.
At this moment, their work efficiency was extremely fast.
From deciding the negotiation time, to choosing the location, to separately contacting the Third Raikage and Onoki—
All kinds of miscellaneous affairs together only took one or two days.
The Earth Daimyo and Lightning Daimyo personally stepped forward to mediate.
This eased the soon-to-expand war situation between Iwagakure and Kumogakure.
The ninja forces of both sides retreated thirty li from each other, maintaining a safe distance.
A peace conference would soon begin.
Far away in Konoha, Uchiha Ren was amazed by the daimyō's efficiency.
Iwagakure was still fine.
They were guilty thieves.
Backstabbing an ally was not respectable.
Although the two battles had caused considerable losses, the harvest from one Ponzi scheme was more than enough to compensate.
In fact, it could be considered profitable.
If relations between Iwagakure and Kumogakure could be reconciled, Onoki would be very willing to talk with Kumogakure.
Previously, he had been tempted by Konoha's sugar-coated shells and accidentally failed to hold himself back.
His underpants had fallen off.
And Iwagakure had not even signed an alliance treaty with Konoha.
This meant their cheating behavior had at least used protection.
Baby Kumogakure, Konoha wore it, and Iwagakure wore it too!
But Kumogakure's dark-skinned victims were not so easy to persuade.
The dark-skinned brutes were Fat Tigers, not fat cats.
When they encountered betrayal, they liked using fists and blades to fight for justice.
They would not foolishly jump into a river.
Moreover, the Third Raikage was currently wrapped up like the Second Tsuchikage, Mu.
His whole body was covered in bandages, riddled with wounds.
He had nearly lost his life.
And now Iwagakure wanted to change its mind and repair the old relationship?
Too late!
Return our money!
Naturally, Iwagakure could not spit out the benefits it had already swallowed.
Otherwise, hadn't Onoki taken that punch for nothing?
The Lightning Daimyo had probably paid a huge price.
Uchiha Ren sat in his office, reading the latest intelligence while thinking about the current situation.
Even if Iwagakure and Kumogakure made peace, from now on they would only be united in appearance but divided in heart.
They would guard against each other constantly.
What a pity.
The two villages had not fought themselves into exhaustion and bled to the last drop.
But no matter what, the original strategic goal of breaking apart the Iwagakure-Kumogakure alliance had been achieved.
"Hokage-sama, the negotiation went smoothly!"
Soon, Kakuzu pushed the door open, his face carrying an excited smile.
He interrupted Uchiha Ren's thoughts.
"The Land of Rain has four large iron mines, three coal mines, and also…"
"All of them have been mortgaged by Hanzo of the Salamander in exchange for Konoha's support in grain and daily necessities."
"I originally thought I would have to grind with Hanzo of the Salamander for a while."
"But Sunagakure suddenly intensified its attack and raided the Rain Village's defensive line."
"Good work. Looks like Hanzo of the Salamander got anxious."
Uchiha Ren poured Kakuzu a cup of cola and invited him to sit.
After Kakuzu sat down, he explained the entire negotiation process from beginning to end.
The conditions Konoha offered were not harsh.
Compared with those smugglers, they could already be called extremely merciful.
But for the sake of the Land of Rain's interests, Hanzo of the Salamander kept bargaining.
Recently, however, the bargaining failed.
Sunagakure's frontal blow and the intelligence that Iwagakure and Kumogakure were about to negotiate caught Hanzo of the Salamander off guard.
He could only fully accept Kakuzu's terms.
"Why didn't Hatake Sakumo come with you?"
"Didn't he go to the Rain Village negotiations?"
"Little White Hair doesn't have the courage to step outside Konoha now."
"He's busy with marriage meetings."
"How's the progress?"
"He's already met dozens of women…"
"It should be soon, right?"
"Dozens and still nothing? Looks like Hatake Sakumo has high standards."
"The main reason is what Hokage-sama said that day scared him."
"He wants to choose a woman whose appearance and character both meet the standard before marrying."
"How could there be that many good women in this world?"
Without realizing it, Uchiha Ren and Kakuzu's conversation drifted off-topic and turned to Hatake Sakumo.
"Oh right, Hokage-sama."
"In a couple of days, Little White Hair is going to sign a contract with me."
"He has thought it through."
"He wants you to serve as the guarantor."
"What contract?"
"The contract where, after Little White Hair dies, half his family fortune goes to me, and I take responsibility for protecting his wife and son."
A triumphant smile appeared on Kakuzu's face, like a profiteer who had succeeded.
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