I, Uchiha: Split Konoha

Chapter 158 The True Face of Politicians

The Land of Wind, Sunagakure Village.

The wind and sand howl year after year, and everyone in the Land of Wind has become accustomed to this harsh sandstorm environment.

The earthen-yellow, round building also served as the meeting room for the Kazekage of Sunagakure, where two elders and advisors of Sunagakure personally received the envoy from Konoha.

Chiyo and Ebizo, siblings who are currently the two highest-ranking advisors in Sunagakure, greeted their old acquaintances from Konoha, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, with smiles on their faces.

In the quiet meeting room, only the sound of Chiyo calmly sipping her tea could be heard. Upon seeing this, Koharu Utatane frowned, a hint of displeasure on her face. After all, the Third Shinobi World War had not been over for long, and Sunagakure was a defeated nation.

"Recently, a ninja corps of ours was attacked on the border of the Land of Fire, and ninjas from your Sand Village were discovered among them, and it was a large-scale operation."

Koharu, the girl from the next dormitory, took the initiative, revealing a strong expression of dissatisfaction and speaking in an arrogant tone, clearly there to question her.

However, everyone present was a seasoned fox, and they were not intimidated by your methods. Chiyo smiled and squinted her eyes, casually saying without even putting down her teacup, "This is probably someone trying to provoke friction between Sunagakure and Konoha. After all, the ninja world has not been very peaceful lately, and some small ninja villages with no sense of propriety often have such ambitions."

"How do you explain the obvious discovery of traces of your Sunagakure ninjas on the border of the Land of Fire?" Koharu Utatane pressed on, her face showing anger.

Chiyo also chuckled and shook her head, saying, "I also want to see which ignorant little village dares to impersonate our Sand Village. I ask the Konoha ninjas not to show any mercy. Just kill them if you find them. Just remember to send us a copy of the information you find."

Seeing Chiyo's unyielding attitude, Koharu Utatane cursed her inwardly despite her angry expression. How could a politician of many years easily reveal her emotions? It was just to gain the upper hand, but Chiyo simply wouldn't buy it.

"Hehe, Sunagakure is a reliable ally of our Konoha, and we naturally trust Sunagakure. However, some people are secretly sowing discord, so we have come here to exchange ideas on the friendship between our two countries."

Mitomon Homura then spoke up as a peacemaker. Although the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi had stated his bottom line before they came, the relationship between these two countries and two villages was not so simple. Otherwise, why would they have been sent to make the visit?

As the saying goes, you can ask for the sky and then haggle on the ground. How much you can reduce your losses and how much you can ask for depends entirely on your personal skills.

After Mitokado Homura spoke, Utatane Koharu's expression softened somewhat, but she still maintained a stiff, unpleasant look as she said, "Since we are allies, and there are frequent harassments along our border, we hope that Sunagakure can provide assistance."

Good heavens, when questioning them failed, they immediately changed their tune to demanding troops.

Upon hearing such a shameless remark, Granny Chiyo immediately revealed a mocking smile, but her cloudy eyes drifted towards the glass as she said with melancholy, "Now that the Daimyo of the Land of Wind has cut funding to the Sand Village, our Sand Village is preparing to formulate a corresponding elite ninja training plan. If things go wrong, the Sand Village might have to learn from the Kirigakure's Blood Mist policy."

"Perhaps this could alleviate the financial burden on Sunagakure. As for aiding your village's border," Granny Chiyo said, feigning shame as she shook her head. "Konoha, as the number one ninja village in the ninja world, ranks first in both the quantity and quality of its ninjas. We are also preparing to request Konoha to send an elite ninja corps to help deal with the recent turbulent border issues."

Chiyo's words filled Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado with resentment. It was clearly a joke at their expense. Everyone knew that the Third Shinobi World War had also resulted in serious injuries.

To say that Konoha overpowered all the other ninja villages would be a stretch before World War II. At that time, Kirigakure had the Land of Whirlpools as a shield to resist, so Konoha fought against the three great ninja villages alone. Although they were outnumbered, their quality was truly unmatched.

Back then, the Senju and Uchiha clans had plenty of skilled fighters, not to mention the Konoha White Fang and the Sannin who later became famous during the war. They were able to overwhelm all the heroes with the strength of their own village.

However, starting from the Third Shinobi World War, Konoha began to decline. The Senju clan was almost wiped out, the Uchiha clan fared slightly better, and most of the village's once-famous elite ninjas died of illness due to the war as they aged, died on the battlefield due to declining health, or simply began to wither away for other reasons.

In addition to the brutality of World War III and the poor command of the Third Hokage Sarutobi, there would have been no talk of him resigning after the war.

All three wars turned into defensive battles within the Land of Fire, with a large number of elite ninjas dying on the battlefield. In the end, Konoha even sent their children to the battlefield, which shows how devastating it was.

Especially during the Third Shinobi World War, the Sand Village fought with frenzied ferocity. Although the Sand Village is now weak and has even become the weakest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, just by looking at the result of the Five Great Shinobi Villages dividing the Tailed Beasts to balance the power, it is clear which Shinobi Village was the strongest besides Konoha.

The Sand Village, which was assigned the weakest tailed beast, Shukaku, was undoubtedly the strongest ninja village after Konoha at the time. However, it suffered repeated defeats and losses in the later stages, especially during the Third Shinobi World War, when it fought Konoha to the death, which caused it to fall from its pedestal.

It was precisely because of the past glory of Sunagakure that Konoha took a series of measures against Sunagakure after the Third Shinobi World War.

"You Sand Ninja..."

"Your Konoha..."

Inside the meeting room, the elders and advisors from Sunagakure and Konoha began a heated argument. It was clear that women seemed to be naturally adept at haggling over exorbitant prices.

Mitokado Homura and Ebizo acted as peacemakers, or spoke up to ease the tense atmosphere when necessary; the two were essentially acting as lubricants.

……

As night fell, the meeting room was filled with a strong smell of gunpowder. Chiyo stared wide-eyed, her mouth dry and her throat almost hoarse. Ebizo, standing next to her, wore a wry smile, indicating that five pots of water had already been used up. Water resources in Sunagakure were extremely scarce.

Meanwhile, Xiaochun, who was in the opposite dormitory, was also red-faced and glaring at the other two. Neither of them was willing to back down. At first, they were both able to restrain themselves and maintain their composure, but then they couldn't hold back anymore. Slamming the table and glaring were just basic tactics for them.

Just as tensions were building, a knock came at the door. Under Ebizo's puzzled gaze, the wooden door slowly opened, revealing Maki, who had rushed back from his journey.

Upon entering the meeting room, Maki first gave a respectful nod to the two elders of Konoha as a sign of courtesy, and then solemnly walked to the two elders of his own village.

Maki said something in a low, solemn voice. Chiyo, whose face had been tense and angry, instantly lost her anger and was replaced by a big smile. She nodded repeatedly.

"I see. Go back and tell Lord Kazekage that I will go and receive the distinguished guests from the Land of Earth immediately." As she said this, Chiyo, who stood up with a big smile, seemed to realize that she had been a bit impolite. She smiled and bowed to Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, saying, "You two have come from afar. It is getting late today, so please let Maki take the two advisors from Konoha to rest. We can enjoy the customs and culture of our Land of Wind tomorrow."

After exchanging pleasantries, Chiyo's wrinkled face broke into a wide smile as she walked towards the door, looking overjoyed.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, who appeared calm, seemed unaffected. Instead, they displayed the demeanor of the top ninja village, nodding slightly and maintaining their superior attitude. However, when they looked at each other, they saw the anxiety in each other's eyes.

The Land of Earth? What are they doing here at this time? It can't be anything good, damn it! Looks like we're really going to have to pay a hefty price this time.

Mitokado Homura glanced worriedly at his old friend beside him, while Utatane Koharu subtly shook her head. At this point, it was no longer up to them to decide. They should quickly send information to Sarutobi through their summoning beasts after returning, and then discuss it further.

Since we've come to the negotiating table, it means there's still room for discussion. If we can't reach an agreement, it's simply because the interests involved aren't enough.

……

Meanwhile, in the Kazekage's office, Rasa and two elder advisors received an envoy from the Land of Earth late at night.

"Kazekage, advisors, our Tsuchikage is full of sincerity. Back in the day, Sunagakure was known as the second-best ninja village after Konoha. But now? Who in the ninja world doesn't know that Konoha is just sucking blood from Sunagakure, using such despicable means to restore its own strength?"

"Konoha is afraid that Sunagakure will rise again..." This envoy sent by the Tsuchikage was quite the smooth talker. He started by boasting as soon as they met. Although everyone knew it was just polite talk, everyone likes to hear nice things.

Chiyo, looking like an honest man, nodded with a sigh and said, "Alas, only Onoki still remembers the friendship between Sunagakure and Iwakage. Konoha is too despicable. We Sunagakure were fought to such an extent in the Third Shinobi World War, and they still made us sign such a despicable treaty."

You act, and I, this old woman, act too. You praise me, and I cry my eyes out. Anyway, everyone knows what's really going on, so just sigh and that's it. Whoever takes it seriously loses.

……

The envoy from Iwagakure looked earnestly at the Kazekage and the two elder advisors, and said with deep emotion, "Our Tsuchikage has long been speaking out for Sunagakure, and this time he is even more sincere."

"Our Tsuchikage knows that Konoha is trying to extort your village because of the unrest on the border, so we have come. This is a private alliance treaty, which the three of you may take a look at first."

After receiving the scroll of the alliance treaty, Kazekage Rasa, Chiyo, and Ebizo looked at each other, secretly cursing Ōnoki for being so cunning.

The envoy from Iwagakure (Hidden Stone Village) said with a smile, "Konoha (Hidden Stone Village) is known as the overlord of the ninja world, and it bullies our small ninja village without any restraint. Only by uniting and forming an alliance can we resist Konoha's bullying behavior. Therefore, the Raikage of the Land of Lightning and our Tsuchikage are preparing to join forces to invite the ninja villages that have suffered from Konoha's bullying to join forces and fight against this behavior."

Although it sounds nice, Luo Sha is no fool. He may be young, but someone who can reach this position cannot be a brainless brute.

What does it mean to resist this kind of bullying? You Raikage and Tsuchikage have a good plan. You don't need to do anything. You just need to talk, and then the Sand Village will stand up and shout that they will fight back, and then terminate the treaty of defeat signed with Konoha.

And then what? The Raikage and Tsuchikage might just grumble a bit, but Konoha will definitely be enraged. Even if they don't want to fight, they'll have to fight for their dignity. In that case, the only ones who will suffer are the Sand Village.

If they still can't understand this simple principle, then they've lived in vain, and Luo Sha is even less worthy of sitting in this position.

"We, the Sand Village, abhor this kind of bullying the most, but the strength of Konoha leaves us with no choice but to endure it. After all, you know the current situation of the Sand Village."

Old Lady Chiyo stood up and spoke against her conscience with righteous indignation, finally revealing her true intentions: turn against Konoha? We don't have the resources for that now, so we are willing but powerless.

The envoy from Iwagakure, however, was not in a hurry. Instead, he nodded with a look of sympathy and said, "Our Tsuchikage has taken this into consideration. All the ninja villages have witnessed the Third Hokage of Konoha, Sarutobi's, bullying of the dominant ninja world. Therefore, in order not to put your village in a difficult position, our Tsuchikage is willing to help your village put some pressure on Konoha."

"It's not that Iwagakure wants to provoke a conflict, it's just that Konoha's behavior is too disgusting. They shamelessly and arrogantly seized 20% of Sunagakure's high-level mission quota. That's outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"

"Our Tsuchikage and Raikage will simultaneously announce their alliance against Konoha's hegemony. At that time, we will formally invite your village. Of course, we also sincerely hope to help your village return to the negotiating table with Konoha on the treaty. This 20% is too much."

The true intentions were revealed when the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, used his words to try and take a big bite out of Konoha by using the Sand Village, even though the Sand Village believed that the piece of flesh originally belonged to them.

Upon hearing this, Kazekage Rasa immediately showed a tempted expression, while the cunning Chiyo, though tempted, did not reveal it at all. Instead, she feigned a sorrowful look and sighed.

"Thank you for your kindness, Tsuchikage Onoki, but Konoha is just too strong. If we push them too far, our Sand Village cannot withstand the damage caused by war."

Although it poses no threat to Sunagakure, Chiyo has lived for so many years and has more experience than the young Kazekage Rasa. Her weak appearance is clearly an attempt to silence the Iwagakure envoy.

After all, there's no such thing as a free lunch. You're so kind as to help our Sand Village reclaim some benefits without asking for anything in return? That's bullshit.

Sure enough, the envoy from Yanying Village immediately froze upon hearing this, inwardly cursing the old woman for being shameless, wanting benefits without giving anything in return, and wishing she would have it.

"Well, our Iwakage Village also bears a huge risk. After all, the strength of Konoha is evident to all the ninja villages in the three Shinobi World Wars. But for the sake of justice in the ninja world, and to no longer be bullied by Konoha's hegemony, our Tsuchikage resolutely chose to stand up."

Politicians are always shameless. Finally, the envoy from Iwagakure sighed and said, "If the Kazekage is willing, we can join forces to fight against Konoha. Of course, our Tsuchikage understands the current situation of Sunagakure. After all, this is not a matter of fighting fiercely. We are willing to help Sunagakure renegotiate the treaty with Konoha. We hope that Sunagakure can allocate some of our share to Iwagakure in the future, since we are also risking the wrath of Konoha."

Bah! They've finally shown their true colors. The Tsuchikage, Onoki, is just jealous of this mission share. To put it bluntly, he's saying, "I'll step forward and help you renegotiate with Konoha, but I can't work for nothing, can I? I don't expect you to give me whatever you get back from Konoha, but at least I should get some compensation for my hard work."

To put it simply, it's a commission.

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(End of this chapter)