Witty Naruto Life

Chapter 253 Sakura: This is my man, please step back a little!

As soon as these words were spoken, whispers immediately arose from all around.

Mifune tapped the table to quiet everyone down, then said to Gaara, "Lord Kazekage, we will only discuss matters related to the agenda at this meeting. Information exchanges will be conducted privately after the meeting."

“No, quite the opposite,” Gaara shook his head and said, “I am making it clear to everyone that Sunagakure needs Akatsuki’s intelligence. If the agenda is not approved, we will have no choice but to pay the price to Konoha.”

He needs to protect the tail inside his body; there's no room for negotiation on this matter.

We must obtain intelligence on the members of the organization.

Raikage Ayr paused for a moment, then said decisively, "Since the Kazekage has already expressed his opinion, let's vote immediately."

"Vote in favor of making the information public, and vote against it if you don't want it to be made public."

"Hokage, this is the agenda you proposed. Do you have anything to add?"

Tsunade shook her head; she had already explained the pros and cons, and there was no need to repeat herself.

Suddenly, Mifune looked at Tsunade and said in a deep voice, "Hokage-sama, there is something I need to tell you."

Immediately, he leaned close to Tsunade's ear and whispered a few words. Tsunade was taken aback at first, then looked at Raikage A with some anger.

A seemed completely unsurprised by Tsunade's reaction, saying calmly, "I'm sorry, Hokage, this matter is far too important, so I consulted the other Kage during the break."

Just consider it an act of God.

"Raikage, aren't you afraid you'll regret this later?" Tsunade slammed her hand on the table, furious at this unexpected turn of events.

Naruto and Sakura frowned, then heard Mifune announce to everyone:

"Gentlemen, after prior discussions among the three leaders, Lord Raikage, Lord Tsuchikage, and Lord Mizukage, the voting rules for this meeting will be explained,"

"The agenda for this meeting requires the consent of all leaders to be adopted. If even one leader disagrees, the agenda will be automatically void."

Gaara, Naruto, Sakura, and others who agreed with the proposal were all taken aback.

As expected, the surroundings became noisy again, with people discussing among themselves.

Gaara frowned and looked at Mifune: "Explain yourself. Neither the Hokage nor I knew about this beforehand. Why weren't we notified earlier?"

Mifune bowed to Gaara: "I apologize, as Raikage-sama said, this was the result of a temporary discussion during the halftime break a dozen minutes ago. As a neutral party, I can only respect the decision of the majority leader."

Mifune is trying to absolve himself of responsibility, but his actions are understandable, since the real decision-makers are not the samurai, but the leader of the ninja village.

To put it another way, the idea that "all member states must vote in favor for an agenda item to pass" is not entirely incomprehensible; a similar system existed in the United Nations in Naruto's previous life.

However, what was unethical was that Raikage A pulled a surprise attack, changing his mind at the last minute just over ten minutes ago, and even persuading the Mizukage and Tsuchikage.

Naruto could even see the words "politician's face" written all over his face.

Perhaps it was because she felt her younger brother wouldn't be captured by Akatsuki, or perhaps she believed Akatsuki was a clown organization, that A felt she had room to maneuver.

Tsunade couldn't help but speak up: "Raikage, why are you so determined to obstruct this agenda? Wouldn't releasing information also benefit your Kumogakure?"

This was also what Naruto wanted to ask, and the burly man with dark skin and bulging muscles snorted coldly and slowly said:
"The reason is simple: I don't trust you."

A sudden silence fell over the surroundings.

Tsunade was stunned. She instantly thought of the historical conflict between Kumogakure and Konoha, but she still felt indignant.

“You’ve been traveling extensively for years, so you don’t have such a deep understanding of the conflicts between Konoha and Kumogakure over the years,” Ai said in a deep voice, a rare hint of resentment appearing on his face.

"Do you know why the Eight-Tails went berserk in Kumogakure back then, causing us so many casualties?"

Naruto paused, realizing he had indeed forgotten this historical detail. The next moment, he heard Ai say resentfully:

"It was Orochimaru from Konoha! He infiltrated Kumogakure when Furubi's will was weakest and gave him a specially made hallucinogenic drug!"

As he spoke, a rare hint of emotion crossed his face, and he continued:
"Not only that, there was the encounter with Minato Namikaze of Konoha during the Third Shinobi World War, my father's death from exhaustion after the war, and the subsequent conflict between the Kumogakure and Hyuga clans..."

"Konoha and Kumogakure have so many entanglements, and you're telling me we're going to shake hands and make peace just because of some lousy organization? Are you kidding me!"

"You told us to make the intelligence public, but how can we believe that the intelligence is accurate? Do you know that a misleading piece of intelligence could cause countless deaths!"

Tsunade remained silent. The Raikage's refusal was based on his own past experiences, and this judgment, refined over time, had formed a prejudice against Konoha.

This hostility and prejudice towards the surrounding ninja villages is also reflected in Kirigakure and Iwagakure. This is the result of many years of ninja history and has nothing to do with Tsunade and Naruto's personal will.

Naruto quietly watched the Raikage, who was somewhat agitated, and for the first time felt a sense of 'the wheels of history rolling in'.

This burly man even held back for the last ten minutes before unleashing his true killing move against Konoha.

Naruto and Tsunade realized at the same time that it would be difficult for them to persuade the others on the field alone.

……

After a long while, Mifune looked around and announced the results of the vote to everyone.

"After tallying and verifying by the staff, in this agenda item, the Hokage voted in favor, the Kazekage voted in favor, the Mizukage voted against, the Tsuchikage voted in favor, and the Raikage voted against."

"Based on this, with a voting result of three votes in favor and two votes against, this agenda item is hereby officially void!"

The Tsuchikage, Raikage, and Mizukage exchanged glances; clearly, this voting method was something they had discussed beforehand.

When the news got out, the apparent result was that the majority agreed and the minority opposed.

"So, do any of you leaders have any questions or comments? ... It seems not. Well then, dismissed!"

One by one, everyone left their seats. Ai was the first to walk towards Tsunade and said to her in a deep voice, "Hokage, don't hate Kumogakure because of this. If you want to hate someone, hate me."

"Hmph," Tsunade shook her head dismissively, "Don't lump me in with people like you who have such rigid views!"

She strode towards Naruto and Sakura, looking at the former: "Naruto, is there anything else you'd like to do?"

Sakura looked at Naruto, who shook his head: "This result is unexpected, but they'll change their minds sooner or later. Let's just wait and see how things develop."

"If I'm not mistaken, Xiao should have started taking action by now, right?"

Naruto's plan was simple: although he hadn't succeeded in making the information public, Akatsuki's next move would definitely force the Raikage and others to make changes.

The fact that everyone there is at an Oscar level is no joke.

But to be fair, this feeling of being helplessly one step behind is indeed a bit unpleasant.

The three walked back when Naruto heard rapid footsteps in the corridor and then felt a tap on his shoulder.

Naruto turned his head and saw Chiyo looking at him with a grin: "So eager to leave?"

As she was talking, she took a small, exquisite doll out of her pocket and handed it to Naruto.

"Consider this a small token of my appreciation. You helped heal my heartache last time, and I haven't had a chance to thank you yet!"

This veteran of many years on the battlefield kept his official and personal stances very separate, yet Naruto didn't feel uncomfortable at all.

Naruto took the red-haired doll and was momentarily lost in memories.

"Thank you, Grandma," he said softly to Chiyo, feeling a tiny bit touched.

Look at what those veterans are like, and then look at what the Raikage is like!

But before Naruto could finish being moved, he saw a sly glint in Chiyo's smile:
"Since you've accepted the gift, how about you sell us the information about Sunagakure Akatsuki at a lower price later?"

Naruto expressionlessly put the doll into his ninja tool pouch: "Huh? What gift? I didn't see it. Hey, isn't this Grandma? Long time no see."

"Hey hey hey! You brat!" Chiyo pretended to be angry, and Naruto couldn't help but burst out laughing when he saw the old rascal's angry look.

After he finished laughing, he explained, "Grandma, you don't actually need to specifically come to Konoha to buy information."

Chiyo: "What, you don't want to sell?"

Naruto: "No, we'll share it for free in a little while, because the Raikage and the others will definitely change their minds."

Chiyo narrowed her eyes, carefully considering Naruto's words.

She found Naruto's unfounded confidence strange; it didn't sound like something a top intelligence expert would say.

But for some reason, looking at Naruto's expression, Chiyo felt a strange increase in confidence in his conclusion.

Perhaps this guy will pull off another miracle and convince the Raikage.

She said no more, and after a brief farewell to Naruto, she found Gaara, and the two whispered something to each other.

At that moment, the Mizukage walked towards Naruto, her gaze fixed intently on him. His performance at the meeting had left a deep impression on Mei Terumi.

"Hokage," Mei Terumi bowed slightly to Tsunade, then looked at Naruto, "Although Kirigakure doesn't have much contact with Konoha, they are very willing to befriend a strong person like you."

Then, she changed the subject, her tone becoming more playful: "It's surprising that a man from the Uzumaki family doesn't have red hair, but this look still looks pretty cool."

Mei Terumi's eyes held a slightly flirtatious glint as she naturally exuded charm towards Naruto, while Sakura stepped forward from behind him.

"Thank you for your concern, Lord Mizukage. However, I have heard that you are still unmarried, which is a great pity. Perhaps you would be better off using the time you would spend flirting with young people to go on blind dates."

Mei Terumi's face instantly turned ashen!
Ao and Chojuro behind her were stunned, not expecting Sakura to suddenly unleash her full aggression.

Sakura, however, seemed completely unfazed, simply gazing quietly at Mei Terumi, while unabashedly taking Naruto's hand in one hand and interlocking their fingers.

That expression seemed to say: This is my man, you'd better step back!

(End of this chapter)