Naruto: Yes, Uchiha-sama.

Chapter 183 Negotiation Turns into Complaints -- Ninjas, unite! The ninja world belongs to us!

"Now that the ins and outs of this matter are clear."

"The Hidden Mist Village must be held responsible for this."

"I propose three compensation demands. First, Kirigakure must pay Iwagakure a total of 100 million ryo in compensation. This money will be spent entirely on the Iwagakure ninja who died or were injured in this conflict, as well as their families. Second, the culprits must be thoroughly held accountable, especially the Kirigakure ninja with the mustache. I have his portrait here. Finally, Kirigakure must admit its mistake and apologize in the mainstream media of the ninja world."

The First Mizukage had only just been reprimanded by Uchiha Makoto and had shown a slightly weaker and more accommodating attitude when the First Tsuchikage immediately seized the opportunity.

Without any hesitation, he succinctly stated the compensation terms at the meeting.

That's a really skillful move.

The compensation terms proposed by the First Tsuchikage did seem quite reasonable at first glance.

just
Makoto Uchiha felt that the First Mizukage would never agree to such a solution.

The compensation issue is easy to resolve.

While 100 million ryo is indeed not a small amount, and some smaller ninja forces in the ninja world might find it painful, Kirigakure is one of the six great ninja villages, and it's impossible that they can't afford this amount of compensation.

The real difficulty lies in the latter two conditions.

The ninja with a small mustache mentioned by the First Tsuchikage was none other than the Second Mizukage of Kirigakure, Hozuki Gengetsu. The phrase "thoroughly investigate the culprit" undoubtedly refers to demanding the culprit's head.

Hozuki Gengetsu was one of the pillars of Kirigakure, a junior ninja whom the First Mizukage placed great hopes on—such a ninja could not be easily abandoned by the First Mizukage!
Even if it's someone the First Tsuchikage specifically requested!

True.

The First Mizukage is indeed quite old, at an age where he could retire at any time.

but.
Not every ninja will look like Hiruzen Sarutobi in his old age.

In his youth, Hiruzen Sarutobi was indeed the most outstanding young man in the village; otherwise, Tobirama Senju would not have passed the title of Third Hokage to him when he was dying. However, as Hiruzen Sarutobi aged, he became weak, hesitant, soft-hearted, and content with mediocrity.

In the original story, Orochimaru, in his pursuit of immortality, became completely corrupted and plunged headlong into human experimentation.

If Orochimaru had only used outsiders for human experiments, that would have been one thing. But Orochimaru actually murdered the villagers, something the village could never forgive. Yet, Hiruzen Sarutobi, still clinging to his master-disciple relationship, let Orochimaru off the hook, ultimately allowing Orochimaru to escape Konoha unscathed.
His attitude towards his old partner, Danzo Shimura, was even more exaggerated, almost forming a complete set of habitual ways of thinking.

In the first phase, he claimed that Danzo Shimura had done nothing.

In the second phase, he said that perhaps Danzo Shimura did something, but it was for Konoha's sake, so we can wait and see. Danzo Shimura was acting out of good intentions.

In the third phase, he said that perhaps some action should be taken, but things had gotten out of control and now it seemed that whatever was done would cause problems.

In the fourth phase, he said that perhaps something should have been done back then, but now it was too late.

Time is a cruel mistress, turning a ninja once known as a hero into a bear.

But the old man in front of him was the first Mizukage.

He is a truly powerful ninja who has fought his way through the dark ages of the Warring States period to the present day.

And it followed the general trend of the times.
At an age when he should have retired and stayed home to take care of his grandchildren, he started a new business and built the vast Misty Village.

Time did not weaken the First Mizukage's will; instead, it forged it into steel.

The First Tsuchikage is now demanding Hozuki Gengetsu's head. How could anyone possibly agree to that?!
The third condition
Compared to the first two conditions, this is actually just a matter of saving face.

But this is probably the condition that the First Mizukage would least be willing to agree to.

For a great ninja village, face cannot be tainted in the slightest. Bloodshed can be contained, but if it gets out of control and affects face, it could lead to the destruction of the sect and the extermination of the entire clan.

"Huh, what a fool's dream."

"Let me tell you, if that's the case, you might as well give up on this idea!"

"What can your Hidden Stone Village's worthless evidence prove? It only proves that the Hidden Mist ninjas fought against your Hidden Stone Village ninjas, but what does that prove? Does it prove that it's the Hidden Mist Village's fault? I think you're clearly trying to shift the blame!"

"I only made a concession out of respect for Lord Guangying and for the sake of peace in the ninja world. I never expected you to dare to make such a demand!"

Just as Uchiha Makoto had predicted.

The First Mizukage quickly and firmly rejected the compensation demand made by Iwagakure.

The First Tsuchikage rolled up his sleeves and glared fiercely at Kirigakure.
"I think you have no intention of resolving this matter at all!"

"Is this the attitude of Iwagakure in wanting to solve the problem?"

"."

"You from Kirigakure, what do you want?"

"At most, we'll give you some medical expenses and that'll be the end of it.

"This is impossible!!"

"."

"Everyone has suffered casualties to begin with, but it's Iwagakure that's making a scene. How can you call it an attack when it comes to ninjas? If you're not skilled enough, go home and train properly. Don't come out here and embarrass yourself!"

"What?! How dare you do this?"

"."

Ninjas are all a bunch of roughnecks.

They prefer to solve problems with fists rather than reasoning with each other calmly.

At first, it was a normal exchange, with both sides trying to negotiate their terms, but there were bottom lines that neither side could compromise on.

Moreover, everyone was quite hot-tempered.

The two shadows were still restraining themselves and maintaining their composure, but their deputies behind them were the ones who naturally spoke the words that were inconvenient for the boss to say.

Gradually, it turned into pure verbal abuse and meaningless emotional outbursts.

"How delightful! How delightful! That's a truly brutal insult!"

Uchiha Makoto sighed inwardly but did not participate.

He never believed from the beginning that this matter could be resolved without any major upheavals.

If problems could be resolved smoothly through negotiation, how could the ninja world have ended up in such a chaotic state?

So Uchiha Makoto simply enjoyed the beautiful scenery before him.

Go ahead and curse.
This is the place for arguing.

As long as they don't fight, it's fine.

Anyway, you can't really do what you're saying—cross the ocean and storm into the enemy's lair to kill them.

Moreover, from an outsider's perspective.

Uchiha Makoto knew that when people are caught up in their emotions, the worst thing you can do is try to break them up and reason with them.

Meanwhile, Tobirama Senju couldn't help but start exchanging glances with Makoto Uchiha.

"Hey, are you just going to watch them argue like this?"

"if not?"

"I'm worried they'll start fighting, what if things go wrong?"

"."

The two of them kept exchanging glances and winks.
The two groups from Kirigakure and Iwagakure were arguing fiercely, much to the amusement of the surrounding ninja factions.

Until the First Tsuchikage spoke again.

"Light and shadow, you be the judge."

There are times when people do become so focused that they ignore other things around them.

It was only then that the First Tsuchikage remembered that he actually had allies on his side.

"I think since things have come to this, let's eat first."

Makoto Uchiha looked at the expectant gaze of the First Tsuchikage.

After thinking it over carefully, I still think I should have lunch first.

As for friendly forces?
It's time to make some deals with the Fog Privacy!
Senju Tobirama received a signal from Uchiha Makoto and immediately began to play the straight man.

"Yes, yes, let's eat first!"

"We've been negotiating all morning; it's time for lunch."

Uchiha Makoto announced that they should have lunch first, and then discuss solutions in the afternoon. The various ninja forces from the ninja world were naturally very happy, since they had nothing to do with it anyway. It would be great to get a free lunch at Akatsuki Village.

Getting something for free is always a pleasure!
And Iwagakure and Kirigakure
First Tsuchikage: "Shall we eat first?"

First Mizukage: "We need to solve this problem first!"

Gu Gu Gu Gu.
First Mizukage: "Hmm, let's eat first."

So, the kitchen in Akatsuki Village began serving the dishes.

In order to cater to everyone's tastes and the ninja's appetite.

So this is a buffet.

A variety of dishes were served one after another.

Ninjas, huh?
A person who is known for their patience.

Such a luxurious lunch is not something we can enjoy on a normal day.

Faced with an extremely abundant array of dishes, the ninjas, who had been watching the show all morning, instantly turned into gluttons.

The lunch took more than two hours to finish.

At Uchiha Makoto's instruction.

The leaders of Takigakure also took this opportunity to run around for Akatsuki, and their loud voices attracted a lot of people.

They talked about the benefits that Akatsuki had brought to Takigakure.

Canned fish is really profitable.

This caused those who had been lurking in the shadows, intending to take advantage of the severely weakened Takigakure village, to back down.

They began to curse the nobles of Taki no Kyu.

The nobles are a greedy bunch of insects who exploit the ninjas—this was something Uchiha Makoto specifically requested.

But once they start complaining, it can go on and on.

The higher-ups in Takigakure Village were clearly showing their true feelings.

They have clashed with the nobles of Taki no Kami (the Land of Waterfall) more than once recently.

After all, those big shots in the fisheries industry of Takinogun are not without backers.

Moreover, many of them served as front men for the nobility.

Now, Takigakure has forcefully intervened in the entire industry, and without even a word, they killed their subordinates.

This is taking them way too lightly.

Of course, losing a few white gloves is no big deal.

The most crucial issue is the matter of interests.

The nobles were actually just looking for an excuse to get involved in the canned fish business.

The theory that ninjas are tools was promoted so well that even the ninjas themselves believed it, and they believed it for so many years.

So much so that some nobles actually believed it.

These guys don't think they want much; a 50/50 split is fine, as a favor to your Takigakure Village!
They genuinely believed that the ninjas would eventually back down.

And when they heard that someone wanted to take half of the profits from the canned fish...

The leaders of Takigakure Village were immediately in an uproar.

When we were poor, we worked as tools for you nobles, barely making ends meet.

When our Takigakure village was getting beaten up by Konoha, you didn't even bother to come in and mediate. You acted like it was none of your business.

Asking for more funding from Daming is like taking your life.

Now we finally have some hope for the future!

When it comes to their own vital interests, how could the Takigaku people possibly give in obediently? The difference between not having a cow and having a cow is enormous.

However, things that involve the intertwining of tradition and interests are bound to be extremely complicated.

So, although the Takigakure members were very unhappy, they were still maintaining their restraint.

Half is too much!

We could set aside 30% to secure the nobles' support for Takigakure Village's canned fish.

If operated properly
With the removal of obstacles from the nobility, more markets in Takigakure will be opened up, and Takigakure's interests will not suffer any losses compared to before.

They might even turn misfortune into good fortune and earn more.

So far, at least, there has been no divine retribution against the wicked.

But I won’t be able to tell for sure in the future.

The Takigakure ninja were genuinely annoyed!

It was clearly our Takigakure village that got a beating from Konoha, and only managed to get a chance to turn things around by clinging to Akatsuki village's coattails.

Things aren't getting better yet!
They could have enjoyed this benefit all to themselves!
The higher-ups at Takigakure were complaining incessantly, some of their words even touching on taboos that were absolutely forbidden to be uttered in the past.

The surrounding ninja forces were terrified.

But what the higher-ups at Takigakure were saying was the truth!

Normally, no one would participate in the discussion of this kind of topic in public.

However, Makoto Uchiha had specially prepared a lot of drinks for lunch—the drinks were actually low-alcohol wheat juice.

The ninjas all had huge appetites.

Wheat juice can really be consumed by the case—chilled wheat juice tastes so good!

This occasion is also very suitable.

We're all ninjas, there are no outsiders here, we're just venting about our frustrations with life.

What could be so wrong with that!
Every single one of us here has something to say about this!
It's just that we don't usually have the chance to say it out loud.

In the ninja world.

Ninjas have always been the service providers, while nobles have always been the clients.

The ninjas' single source of income forced them to prioritize completing their missions.

If a ninja fails to complete a mission, messes it up, or completes the mission but receives a bad review, they will really face pressure from the village!
The strong ninja tool mentality ultimately completed the ideological loop for this behavior pattern.

The most classic example is the legendary ninja of Konoha from the original work – Konoha's White Fang.

He committed suicide to atone for failing to complete his mission, ultimately driven to despair by public opinion in the village.

Various factors have led to ninjas being in a weaker position compared to nobles in the ninja world.

If a ninja fails to complete a mission or receives a negative review from an employer who is dissatisfied with the completion of the mission, the ninja will be subjected to social pressure. They cannot retaliate against this pressure and can only silently endure it.

Under the influence of alcohol.

Now that someone has taken the lead, others will naturally follow.

(End of this chapter)