Naruto's civilian cannon fodder starts with the three-body technique

Chapter 422 Loss of National Rights and Humiliation
"This is a good idea!"

Fuma Tetsu's eyes lit up as he analyzed, "Now, the Land of Lightning's fleet has been crippled by the Leaf Village's Iron Wall Army and cannot recover in a short time. In this sea area, our Land of Waves is the new maritime overlord. We no longer need to worry about threats from the Land of Lightning. We can move our main fleet to the Land of Water, strengthen the blockade, capture their merchant ships, replenish our own transport capacity, and obtain the supplies on board!"

Kakuzu nodded and then added, "However, we must also be wary of Kirigakure's desperate measures. They are skilled in water-style techniques and might send elite ninjas to infiltrate the Land of Water using summoning sea beasts or other covert methods to cause damage and retaliation on our Land of Waves. No, we must strengthen our defenses. Merchants are a bunch of opportunists; if unrest occurs, they'll think our Land of Waves is unsafe and the business environment is bad, which will definitely affect this year's trade volume."

Fuma Tetsuya confidently replied, "Lord Kakuzu, rest assured! We were prepared for this. Many members of the Uzumaki clan have had their sensory abilities greatly enhanced after taking the special medicine provided by Lord Otokage, and quite a few have even awakened the ability of 'Kagura's Mind's Eye.' With them on the defensive, those Kirigakure ninjas who want to sneak in and cause trouble are simply walking into a trap!"

“Very good.” Kakuzu was completely relieved and straightened his robes. “Let’s go and meet our ‘guests’ and see what kind of ‘sincerity’ they can bring to our Land of Waves.”

In a simply decorated yet dignified meeting room in the Land of Waves, the Kirigakure negotiation delegation, led by Minazuki Yuki, had been waiting for a long time. The delegation's deputy was Ao, who was beginning to make a name for himself in Kirigakure.

When Kakuzu and Fumitetsu entered the conference room, one could clearly sense the barely suppressed sense of humiliation among the members of the Kirigakure delegation.

After both sides took their seats as host and guest, without much small talk, Mizuki Yuki went straight to the point, her tone filled with barely suppressed anger:
"Mr. Kakuzu! We have come here on behalf of the Daimyo's Mansion of the Land of Water and Kirigakure to lodge the strongest protest with your Land of Waves! You have blatantly violated the Shinobi World Convention by brazenly sinking a large number of our civilian merchant ships and fishing boats, causing countless civilian casualties and property damage. This behavior is extremely barbaric and inhumane! It must be stopped immediately!"

Kakuzu listened expressionlessly, and only after Mizuki Yuki finished speaking did he slowly say, "Clan Chief Mizuki Yuki, have you forgotten that the Land of Waves and the Land of Water are currently at war? Moreover, it was your Kirigakure that launched a surprise attack on the Land of Waves without declaring war! The Land of Waves was merely forced to defend itself and carry out a legitimate counterattack."

He paused, his tone tinged with sarcasm: "In a state of war, attacking any enemy ship that enters the war zone, whether military or civilian, is entirely in accordance with the prevailing laws of war in the ninja world. Besides, compared to your Hidden Mist Village's pirate practices of massacring entire villages and clans at the drop of a hat, our attacking of ships is already quite 'civilized'."

"You!" Minazuki Yuki was so speechless by Kakuzu's words that her face turned pale.

Seeing this, Ao chimed in, his tone equally sarcastic: "Mr. Kakuzu certainly knows how to downplay the issue! Your Land of Waves doesn't just attack merchant ships, does it? Before, at Whale Harbor, you plundered towns and cities of my Land of Water, looted noble fiefdoms, and seized a great deal of wealth. How do you account for that?!"

Upon hearing this, Kakuzu not only did not get angry, but instead let out a low, ambiguous laugh.

He looked at Qing, his emerald eyes seemingly able to see through people's hearts: "The winner is king, the loser is a bandit. Do I need to teach you such a simple truth, young man?"

He leaned forward slightly, exuding an invisible pressure: "If it were our Land of Waves that had been defeated, would your Hidden Mist Village ninjas have shown mercy to our civilians and wealth? Burning, killing, and looting are traditional skills of some pirate ninjas, aren't they? Do you need me to help you recall what you did when you destroyed the Land of Whirlpools?"

Kakuzu's irony directly pierced through Kirigakure's pretense of standing on the moral high ground.

Mizuki Yuki and Ao's expressions grew even more grim. They knew all too well what kind of place Kirigakure was. In the ninja world, they were indeed known as "pirate ninjas," almost on par with the "sand bandit ninjas" of the Land of Wind. In wars, their actions against the losing side were always appalling, with burning, killing, and looting being basic operations.

Now that Kakuzu had exposed her to her face, she was speechless.

The atmosphere in the meeting room fell into a tense silence.

After a long while, Minazuki Yuki took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anger and humiliation in her heart, and asked the most crucial question: "Mr. Kakuzu, I don't want to argue about these meaningless questions anymore. I only want to ask one question: what exactly does your Land of Waves want in order to lift the sea blockade against the Land of Water?"

Kakuzu didn't answer the question directly. Instead, he leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, and asked casually:

"I've heard that since you were blockaded, prices in the Land of Water, especially for food and cloth, have been rising steadily, and by quite a bit. Do you think that if this situation continues for another year or two, your Land of Water might experience a complete economic collapse due to shortages of supplies, or even trigger a large-scale civil war?"

Kakuzu's seemingly casual yet incisive question precisely struck at the Achilles' heel of the Kirigakure delegation.

Minazuki Yuki's pupils contracted sharply, her face turned deathly pale, and she opened her mouth, only to find that she was completely unable to answer the question.

Only after the Land of Water was blockaded did they realize how fatal and vulnerable an island nation dependent on external resources would be when blockaded by overwhelming naval power!

In the past, the Land of Water dominated the seas with its powerful navy and had smooth trade routes, and had never experienced the pain of having its throat strangled.

Now, the Land of Waves has taught them a bloody lesson with cold reality. In this negotiation, the Land of Water has no room to struggle for its fate, and the initiative is firmly in the hands of the Land of Waves.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was so oppressive it was almost suffocating, and the morale of the members of the Mist Village delegation plummeted.

Kakuzu, seeing the other's pale face, knew the time was right. He stopped beating around the bush, leaned forward slightly, and his emerald eyes swept over Mizuki Yuki and Ao before finally revealing the Land of Waves' conditions:
"Then I'll be frank. If the Land of Water wants the blockade lifted, it must do the following: "

First, given that your country launched a war without declaring war, causing enormous losses and casualties to our nation, you are obligated to compensate us with one billion taels of silver…

Kakuzu uttered an astronomical figure, causing Minazuki Yuki's eyelids to twitch.

"Secondly, the Land of Water must open five major port cities, including Whaling Port, to merchants from the Land of Waves, granting them most-favored-nation status, and setting tariffs no higher than..."

Kakuzu's tone remained calm, but his words were like a thunderclap: "Third, the Land of Water must permanently cede the Land of the Sea and its surrounding islands, as well as the three islands in the west of your country, namely Rainbow Island and Crescent Islands, to the Land of Waves, in order to compensate for the territorial and spiritual losses suffered by our country in this war."

"What?! Ceding territory and paying reparations?! That's absolutely unacceptable!"

Minazuki Yuki abruptly stood up, her voice sharp with emotion, "Our Land of Water is one of the Five Great Nations of the ninja world! How can we commit such a humiliating act of surrendering our sovereignty?! How can we possibly have the face to stand in the ninja world after this?!" Ceding territory—this touches upon the most fundamental bottom line and dignity of a great nation!

Upon seeing this, Kakuzu's stiff smile vanished instantly, replaced by a cold indifference.

He slowly stood up, straightened his robes, and made as if to leave: "Since your country has no sincerity, it seems there's no point in talking. Let's continue fighting then. Anyway, we in the Land of Waves have plenty of time and patience. We'll talk again when you've come to your senses. Fuma Iron, see the guests out!"

"Yes, Lord Kakuzu." Fuma Tetsuya immediately responded and stepped forward.

"you--"

Minazuki Yuki trembled with rage, pointing a finger at Kakuzu, "How can you negotiate like this?! You're asking for an exorbitant price and won't allow any negotiation?! You terminate the negotiations as soon as someone tries to negotiate—this is clearly a complete lack of sincerity!"

“Sincerity?” Kakuzu stopped and glanced back at her. “Sincerity is based on strength. Does your country have the strength to bargain now? Or do you think the Land of Water’s economy can last another year or two?”

Minazuki Yuki froze on the spot as if she had been doused with a bucket of ice water. She knew that Kakuzu was right. The Land of Water could not afford to wait!

Seeing that Kakuzu was really about to leave the meeting room, Ao, who had been silently observing, hurriedly spoke up: "Mr. Kakuzu, please wait!"

Kakuzu paused, but did not turn around.

Ao took a deep breath and said quickly, "It's absolutely impossible to cede the Land of Water's mainland territory! This concerns the dignity of the Five Great Nations and the balance of power in the ninja world established by the 'God of Shinobi,' Hashirama Senju! I think the Land of Waves doesn't want to become the target of everyone's criticism either, right?"

Upon hearing this, Kakuzu slowly turned around, his gaze falling on Ao with a hint of scrutiny.

He was well aware that it would be extremely difficult to directly take a piece of flesh from an established superpower, and it might even attract the apprehension and interference of other major powers.

The Land of Waves is not yet fully developed and should not provoke other major powers too much. Its previous asking price already included room for negotiation.

Aomi Kakuzu stopped, calmed down a bit, and continued, "The issue of the Land of the Sea is something we can discuss."

He deliberately emphasized that the "Land of the Sea" was not the native land of the Water Country.

Kakuzu sneered inwardly, but remained outwardly calm, and sat back down in his seat: "Oh? Tell me about it."

Qing organized his thoughts, trying to salvage some face for the Land of Water: "The Land of the Sea, as a vassal state of our country, can be legally transferred, but there is absolutely no possibility of ceding an inch of the Land of Water's own territory! This is our bottom line!"

Kakuzu quickly weighed the options in his mind. The Land of the Sea was not small in size, had decent resources, and was in a key geographical location. Annexing it would greatly increase the strength of the Land of Waves, and would not immediately provoke a strong backlash from the other four major powers.

After all, the change of ownership of vassal states is not unprecedented in the history of the ninja world. Other major powers may be happy to see the Land of Waves, an emerging power, to counterbalance and weaken the Land of Water. As long as the superficial balance of power among the five major powers is not completely broken, there will not be too much of a problem.

“Agreed.” Kakuzu finally relented, but his tone remained forceful. “The Land of the Sea and all its affiliated islands must be ceded to the Land of Waves unconditionally. Furthermore, the terms for opening trading ports remain unchanged. As for the method of reparations…”

Kakuzu paused, then proposed an alternative: "Considering your country's 'face,' paying monetary reparations directly would damage the dignity of a great nation. Therefore, let's offset it with equivalent resources and ninjutsu. I need copies of all the Water Release ninjutsu scrolls from the Land of Water, as well as thirty-year mining rights to five large mines..."

In the ensuing negotiations, Kakuzu fully exploited the Land of Water's sense of urgency and his own dominant position, pressing them relentlessly.

Despite their best efforts, Minazuki Yuki and Ao were ultimately forced to retreat and make huge concessions due to their overwhelming disadvantage.

After several rounds of fierce negotiations, the "Polish-Water Friendship, Commerce and Navigation Treaty," which was a humiliating treaty that ceded China's sovereignty, was finally reached.

After the representatives of both sides signed and sealed the treaty, Minazuki Yuki seemed to have all her strength drained away, slumped into a chair, and looked ashen-faced.

While this treaty preserved the bottom line of preventing the Land of Water from ceding its territory, all the other clauses were humiliating and detrimental to the country, enough to make it difficult for the Land of Water to recover for the next ten years.

Kakuzu and Fumitetsu exchanged a glance, both seeing the satisfaction in each other's eyes.

After seeing off the dejected delegation from Kirigakure, Fuuma Tetsu looked at the copy of the treaty in his hand. Although excited, he still said to Kakuzu with a hint of regret, "The Land of Water really got off easy! If they weren't backed by the reputation of the Five Great Nations, we would have made them bleed a lot this time!"

Kakuzu's stiff face showed a hint of agreement: "It is indeed a pity. If our Land of Waves had developed a few years earlier, and if we had more ninjas, we might not have been unable to attempt a landing and conquer the Land of Water, given the momentum of this great victory."

Fengmo Tie sighed and analyzed rationally, "Yes, it's a pity that our foundation is still too weak. The number of ninjas is limited, and the domestic population is mostly immigrants who haven't been fully assimilated. Even if we can defeat the Land of Water's army and even capture its daimyo's residence, it's simply impossible to occupy and control the entire Land of Water. The Land of Water has tens of millions of people. Although the Kirigakure ninjas have lost their elite forces, their numbers are still huge. Just the resistance and harassment from various places will keep us busy. Facing the sneak attacks of rogue ninjas, with the Sound Ninja strength we've cultivated, we will definitely suffer heavy losses, and in the end, we will probably still be forced to withdraw from the Land of Water."

Kakuzu nodded. As a seasoned powerhouse who had lived for many years, he naturally understood this principle: "Conquering a great power is not enough with just military victory. Moreover, once we demonstrate the ability and intention to destroy the Land of Water, the other four great powers will not stand idly by. At that time, we will not only be facing the Land of Water, but also the apprehension and suppression of the other four great powers. Even the Land of Fire may not be reliable..."

(End of this chapter)