Starting with Kengan beating up the Pirate King

Chapter 286 Envoy
"Master Qianjuyi..."

"Is this real?!"

"How could this be... How could that lord do such a thing? Could he not be..."

"Shh, you can't say that! Lord Senju Ichiro is a good person. Last time my son had a strange illness, he personally treated him. There must be some reason or hardship behind it..."

"But that's not right either..."

Walking through the streets of Konoha Village, listening to the discussions all around about the Senju clan's refusal to participate in the war, Senju Eiichi kept a deadpan expression.

The 11-year-old had graduated from the Konoha Ninja Academy two years ago and had just been promoted to Chunin due to his exceptional talent. For the past few months, his pride had made him walk with his head held high wherever he went, but today he felt somewhat ashamed.

At this very moment, he encountered the person he least wanted to see—Uchiha Obito, who was helping an old lady cross the street.

Instinctively, he wanted to take a detour, but at that moment Obito Uchiha had already seen him and waved, saying, "Eiichi?"

Senju Eiichi paused, his face full of displeasure. Uchiha Obito ran over, also wearing a somewhat displeased expression, as if two 'unhappy' people had gotten together.

"Hmm, I haven't had a chance to congratulate you on your promotion to Chunin yet." Obito squeezed out a few words: "You beat me this time, but three months from now, in the next Chunin Exams, I will definitely participate and become a Chunin!"

"Who cares about you?" Senju Eiichi snorted. "If a ninja war breaks out, we don't even know if the Chunin Exams will be held as scheduled."

"Uh... really?" Obito was taken aback, his face suddenly falling. "It can't be that bad, can it? By the way, speaking of the outbreak of the Ninja War, Eiichi, I heard a lot of people saying today that your Senju clan won't get involved in the conflict with those guys from Sunagakure..."

As expected, they've arrived. Senju Eiichi rolled his eyes, annoyed, and said, "Laugh all you want, you rascal. Although my brother lost to Lord Uchiha Fugaku this time, this matter is not yet finalized. We, the Senju, will protect the village!"

“…Huh?” Obito paused, puzzled. “Laugh? What? Isn’t it a good thing not to participate in the war, Eiichi…”

"Oh!" The next second, he suddenly realized, "You're afraid that I'll show off my prowess on the battlefield and outshine you, aren't you?! Hahaha."

Good news? Senju Eiichi looked at Uchiha Obito with surprise, feeling that Obito was being sarcastic and mocking him, but also that Obito didn't have the brains for it.

"Only an idiot like you would think that's a good thing." At this moment, another voice broke in between them. Kakashi walked over expressionlessly and said indifferently, "As a Konoha ninja, if you don't put the safety of the village and the mission first, but instead lead your clan to retreat when you encounter danger, you're nothing but trash."

"What did you say?! Kakashi!" Senju Eiichi immediately became furious. Although he also didn't understand Kaneki's actions, he couldn't accept others slandering his beloved older brother, Senju Ike.

“I said: Senju clan leader, Senju Intent is not a qualified ninja!” Kakashi repeated.

"You bastard..."

"Kakashi, you idiot, that's going too far!" For the first time, Obito Uchiha stood on the same side as Eiichi Senju: "Lord Senju Yuki was clearly protecting his clansmen. What kind of ninja is someone who can't even protect his own family?!"

So the three of them started arguing in the street, until Rin wondered why Obito and Kakashi hadn't come to gather and find them yet, and finally stopped the fight.

This is just a microcosm of the reactions throughout Konoha Village to this incident.

……

"Things are fine within the clan; only some of the younger ones don't understand your decision. Those who actually experienced the Ninja War know that you're protecting everyone."

In the Senju clan's territory, several elders of the Senju clan gathered around Guan Yi. The Jonin leading them, Senju Masahiro, said with a solemn expression, "But most of the other people in the village have a lot of opinions about this, and the clan members also have to endure some strange looks."

Is this really a good thing? If a ninja war breaks out, and all the Konoha ninjas rush to their deaths, while only the Senju clan ninjas remain safely in the rear, I'm afraid…”

"The news spread so quickly, someone must have been stirring things up." An old man next to him said with a heavy expression, "I just don't know if it was Shimura Danzo or some other ninja clan involved."

“Don’t worry about these things.” Guan Yi shook his head and said, “Please, uncles and elders, keep the clansmen calm and keep everyone at peace these days. As for participating in the war, I have my own plans. I have already asked Minato to keep an eye on the communication between Konoha and Sunagakure. When someone is needed to go to Sunagakure to negotiate, I will go there.”

"An envoy to Sunagakure?"

The group exchanged glances, and Senju Masahiro hesitated before saying, "I think the Sand Village is clearly trying to take advantage of this situation. Even if we go to negotiate, we'll likely face their unreasonable demands and conditions that we can't agree to. It's probably not something we can change their minds with just a few words."

"I thought you had some good ideas."

Sitting to the side, Tsunade also said, "The Third Kazekage is missing, and the one who is now in charge of Sunagakure should be that old guy Chiyo. That guy is my old rival. He is a master of poison and a ruthless person. He is a guy who cannot be reasoned with."

"Tsunade, there's no need to explain the reasoning."

Guan Yi smiled, clenched his fist, and said, "In the ninja world, whoever has the bigger fist is right."

Tsunade was taken aback: "You brat..."

The expressions of the people around changed. What did "big fist" mean? It couldn't mean what we were thinking, could it? No way!
……

Several days later, at the Hokage Building.

"The negotiation is scheduled to take place at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, in Pagoda. The Anbu have already set up defenses there. The person in charge of the negotiations from Sunagakure is Elder Chiyo. I originally planned to have Kadokawa Homura take Minato and Shikaku there, but since Senju Ichigo has requested to go..."

The Third Hokage looked at Guan Yi, who was 'voluntarily' requesting the task, pondered for a moment, and said with a headache, "Then you can take Minato and Shikaku with you."

That's fine. This so-called 'peace talks' is probably just Sunagakure looking for an opportunity to make trouble. The probability of changing Sunagakure's mind is extremely small. He just wants to keep the conflict within a certain range as much as possible, so as not to make Kumogakure and Kirigakure take action.

Menyan was just a symbol; the real negotiator was Shikaku. If it were Senju Itsuki, the head of the Senju clan, his status would be comparable.

The Senju clan's status is too special. Their recent "non-participation in the war" has been both a headache and a source of frustration for him. He can neither agree to it nor control it. There is still room for maneuver in the conflict between Senju Intent and Danzo, but if they were to conflict with him, the Hokage...

In short, if the negotiations collapse under Senju's direction, it would at least be a stroke of luck amidst misfortune, because then the Senju clan would probably have no choice but to participate.

That afternoon, the delegation, led by Guan Yi and assisted by Minato and Shikaku, left Konoha Village and headed to Pugang.

Unlike the Third Hokage, Shikaku felt no joy at the change of team leader from Homura to Seki, but rather a sense of foreboding.

The Senju clan's "non-participation in the war" incident has been making headlines recently. At this time, instead of staying in the village to stabilize the Senju people's morale, Senju Yu is going to "negotiate" with Sunagakure? Is Senju Yu really a naive guy? Impossible.

This unease persisted for two days until the three of them traveled to the vicinity of Pugang, where it finally came crashing down like a heavy hammer.

"Minato, keep an eye on Shikaku. If a fight breaks out, you take Shikaku and the Anbu and retreat first. Don't get in my way."

"A fight? A fight broke out?" Minato asked in astonishment.

Shikaku's face was full of bitterness. He had been hoping that Kane could have a better way to stop the conflict. He should have thought of it long ago, ever since Kane directly threatened Danzo at the Jonin meeting that day!

"Senior Senju, Pugang is much closer to Sunagakure, so their preparations are probably quite elaborate..."

"Surround the enemy and attack their reinforcements." Guan Yi laughed, "We'll fight as many as they come, until Sunagakure dares not cause any more trouble."

This is Guan Yi's complete plan!

(End of this chapter)