Naruto: The Tavern Speech Begins to Make the Land of Rain Great

Konoha Meeting Room

"Sakushige Hatake!"

Chiyo, who was standing behind the Third Kazekage, suddenly rushed out, staring intently at the white-haired ninja in front of her.

Hatred drove her to act instinctively.

But in that instant, the Third Kazekage reached out and patted Chiyo on the shoulder.

"Chiyo, this is the venue."

Chiyo seemed to realize her own impulsiveness. She stiffly took a step back, but the anger in her eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

Chiyo's anger was uncontrollable when she thought about how her son had been killed by Sakumo Hatake.

If this weren't a peace negotiation site, she probably would have fought a major battle with Sakumo Hatake right there and then.

Chiyo turned her gaze to a young stranger who had just entered the venue.

The other party entered the venue and, after a brief identification process, sat in the seat designated for the representative of the Land of Rain.

Chiyo's face showed a mixture of curiosity and a hint of disdain.

"Oh? Hanzo sent a young man like you to be in charge of the peace talks?"

Perhaps because she was in a fit of anger, Chiyo's words sounded sharp.

This made Watanabe Tetsu slowly raise his head.

"Excuse me, who are you?"

Upon hearing this somewhat derogatory retort, Chiyo narrowed her eyes.

"Chiyo, the Third Kazekage's bodyguard."

However, this explanation did not evoke any emotion from Watanabe Tetsuya, who said calmly.

"Oh, I thought it was the Third Kazekage."

Watanabe Tetsu's tone was not sarcastic at all, but Chiyo heard his words as incredibly ironic.

She was about to speak when she was interrupted by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Alright, now that everyone is here, let's begin this meeting."

Hiruzen Sarutobi wore the Hokage hat, with Sakumo Hatake standing behind him.

Clearly, Sakumo Hatake is Hiruzen Sarutobi's bodyguard this time.

Hiruzen Sarutobi swept his gaze across the assembled crowd, finally fixing it on the delegation from Kumogakure.

He remembered the suggestion that Mito Uzumaki had given him earlier.

Are these shadow clones?

He looked away, then interlaced his fingers and placed his hands on the table.

"First of all, on behalf of Konoha Village, I welcome you all. The purpose of this invitation is to discuss peace talks."

Everyone present nodded.

Clearly, everyone understood Hiruzen Sarutobi's purpose in inviting them to Konoha—

Peace talks.

"So, I'd like to ask everyone's thoughts on ending the Second Shinobi World War?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's words were like a pebble dropped into water, immediately causing a huge uproar.

The first to express his opinion was Ohnoki.

"I agree to a ceasefire, but Iwagakure paid a heavy price for pursuing fairness and stability in the ninja world during this war. I believe that all villages should compensate Iwagakure."

Compensation? What a ridiculous joke.

You, Onoki, are still as shameless as ever.

There were no winners in the Second Shinobi World War.

Everyone wanted to expand their territory, and everyone suffered heavy losses.

Why should we compensate Iwagakure?

The first to object was Fengying.

The Third Kazekage responded expressionlessly.

"Lord Tsuchikage, Sunagakure will not accept this request, nor is it possible for them to accept it."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Sunagakure has agreed to a ceasefire and is willing to cooperate with Konoha in some ways to stabilize relations and promote the continued development of both sides."

The Third Kazekage's goal was very clear.

During the Second Shinobi World War, Sunagakure witnessed the gap between its own village and Konoha.

They couldn't seize territory, and they couldn't win in a fight.

Then there's only one path left.

Cooperation.

Let Konoha develop together with Sunagakure.

Strive to form an alliance.

While Sunagakure may not be able to defeat Konoha, it can defeat Iwagakure with Konoha's help.

During this war, Iwagakure (Hidden Stone Village) harassed Sunagakure (Hidden Sand Village) quite a bit.

Being able to annex Iwagakure is a great gain.

This is the thinking behind the Third Kazekage.

Upon hearing the Third Kazekage's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi gave a kind smile.

He nodded.

"Of course, restoring relations with Sunagakure is also Konoha's expectation."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Mifune.

Mifune is the leader of the Land of Iron. He narrowly lost to Hanzo in a battle, but Hanzo recognized his samurai spirit of never retreating and being willing to sacrifice himself.

In the end, Hanzo gave the antidote to Mifune, which saved his life.

And now, the three ships represent the Land of Iron and sit here.

He maintained a proper posture and spoke calmly.

"The Land of Iron agrees to a ceasefire."

He added just seconds after he finished speaking.

"Furthermore, the Land of Iron will permanently become a neutral country and will not participate in the conflicts between the various ninja villages."

In Mifune's view, peace is of great significance to the Land of Iron.

Neutrality is a good approach to achieving long-term peace.

The Land of Iron, being a nation composed of samurai, differs in many ways from the ninja.

Since the differences are so great, it's better not to participate in the ninja's battles and choose neutrality.

No one bothers me, no one cares, I'll be invisible.

It's not the end of the world, as long as the Land of Iron doesn't get involved.

Chiyo looked at Mifune in front of her, feeling somewhat disdainful of this idea of ​​neutrality.

Neutrality represents stability, but it also means no change and no opportunities.

However, prolonged comfort will inevitably lead to a greater crisis.

The attitudes of all parties present were clear: the casualties and losses caused by the Second Shinobi World War were considerable, and everyone agreed to a ceasefire.

This result was not unexpected for Chiyo.

She looked toward the last faction.

The man who had been talking to him without losing face was sitting in the seat belonging to the Land of Rain.

To be honest, I don't know what Hanzo's attitude is.

Not only did they not visit in person, but they also sent someone who looked so young.

They simply don't take peace talks seriously.

Just as Chiyo was feeling dissatisfied, a voice rang in her ear.

"Lord Watanabe, as the leader of the Land of Rain, what are your thoughts?"

Despite the Third Hokage's extremely fast speech, Chiyo still managed to catch a few words.

The leader of the Rain Country.

Chiyo glanced at Watanabe Toru once more.

He already had a slight smile on his face, and seemed quite at ease in this situation.

It's like attending many meetings.

He? Is he the leader of the Land of Rain?

What about Hanzo?

Why did Hanzo entrust him with such a heavy responsibility?

Why was the leadership given to this man before the war ended?

Chiyo knew Hanzo well, and she had even fought against him.

She knew very well that someone like Hanzo would not hand over his leadership to someone else in a short period of time.

A variety of possibilities surfaced in Chiyo's mind.

Until a near-impossible conjecture surfaced.

Hanzo is dead?

Was she killed by the man in front of her?

Think back to what the other person said when they were talking to you.

"Oh, I thought it was the Third Kazekage."

So you're saying you don't have the appropriate status to communicate with him?

Aside from Chiyo, the Third Hokage's words drew everyone's attention to Watanabe Toru.

In a short period of time, everyone gained a completely new understanding of Watanabe Tetsu's identity.

Previously, they thought Watanabe Tetsu was just a subordinate trusted by Hanzo.

Now, their gazes toward Watanabe Toru held a newfound seriousness.

Watanabe Tetsu felt everyone's gazes and knew perfectly well that this was Hiruzen Sarutobi's doing.

Revealing his true identity is a way of messing with him.

Under everyone's gaze, Watanabe Toru's powerful voice rang out.

"The Land of Rain has agreed to a ceasefire and is willing to engage in in-depth cooperation with all parties to achieve common development and widespread prosperity."

Watanabe Tetsu's answer made Sarutobi Hiruzen nod in satisfaction.

This kid wasn't lying to me after all; he does support a ceasefire.

Since everyone supports a ceasefire, all that's left is to discuss the issues of conflicting interests.

How should reparations and territories be ceded in the Second Shinobi World War, which is about to end?

After the war ends, how should countries cooperate and develop?

It can be said that the ceasefire was only the prelude to this peace talks.

Watanabe Toru, sitting in his chair, glanced at the clock at the top of the conference room.

It's almost time.