I, who just wanted to be lazy, was forced to become the Hokage.

Chapter 394 Hiruzen Sarutobi: Why does it feel like I have to ask Nara Rankei for his opinion on everything?

Hiruzen Sarutobi's overt scheme was very successful.

To be precise, Nara's scheme to seize the cassia tree was very successful.

Despite feeling utterly ashamed of Konoha's act of selling Killer Bee and the Eight-Tails separately.

However, during the meeting the following day, Kumogakure still eagerly followed Konoha's plan and showed a firm stance of "being determined to redeem Killer Bee".

There was really no other way.

The Hidden Cloud Village is currently severely lacking in pillar-level Kage-rank ninjas.

The situation in Konoha, where one generation of genius ninjas emerges in endless succession and one Kage-level powerhouse after another springs up like mushrooms after rain, is an anomaly among anomalies.

Even among the five great ninja villages, the number of ninjas at the "Kage" level is at most limited to the head "Kage" and the "Jinchūriki" who have mastered the power of the tailed beasts.

As for other small ninja villages, like Kusagakure, if their ninja leaders have the strength of elite Jonin, it's considered a blessing from the Sage of Six Paths.

Before the advent of the Gundam era and the complete collapse of combat power.

"Kage" level ninjas are truly a rare breed.

This is why various villages are so persistent in pursuing the power of the "Tailed Beasts".

If you successfully train a Jinchūriki, then the opponent's strength level is guaranteed to be at least an elite Jonin, and even a regular Kage-level is not the ceiling.

Who wouldn't be confused by this?

Ahem, I've gone off on a tangent.

In short, the fact that even the Fourth Hokage and the pillars of Kumogakure are now ninjas of Troy's caliber shows just how insecure Kumogakure is.

Without a Kage-level ninja to oversee the situation, they also lost all the Tailed Beasts.

If Kumogakure doesn't fight for more benefits at the Five Kage Summit, the village might even fall out of the "Five Great Ninja Villages" category and become one of those small ninja villages with no say in anything.

So even if they know that Konoha doesn't have good intentions, Kumogakure will never give up on Killer Bee.

Outsiders may not know Killer Bee's true strength, but the Hidden Cloud Village is their own people, how could they not know?

Even without Killer Bee's Eight-Tails form, his inherent ninja skills, combined with the Lightning Release Chakra Mode inherited from the Raikage lineage, make him at least a genuine Kage-level shinobi.

How could the Hidden Cloud Village possibly let this opportunity slip by?

"The Third Hokage... sir."

Circumstances dictate that Troy could only manage to squeeze out a respectful address.

"If we also reach a deal with your village to buy and sell the Eight-Tails while redeeming Killer Bee, then wouldn't it be possible to release Killer Bee back to Kumogakure without separating him from the Eight-Tails?"

Even without the Eight-Tails, Killer Bee can barely maintain his Kage-level strength.

However, if it were truly possible, Kumogakure would still hope to obtain a complete Killer Bee.

Furthermore, although Konoha provided a guarantee that "the tailed beasts can be extracted without harming the Jinchuriki's life," such a thing was unprecedented in the history of ninja villages.

At least in the history of Kumogakure, once a Tailed Beast is extracted from a Jinchuriki, the Jinchuriki is bound to die!

Does anyone know if what Konoha said is true?

Moreover, Kumogakure was also worried that Konoha might do something to Killer Bee.

We're all ninjas, and we've seen far too many underhanded tactics.

Especially Konoha, with its infamous and notorious ninja darkness, so infamous that even a dog passing by would bark at it.

Although the Cloud Village ninjas are physically strong but simple-minded, they are not complete idiots.

"The deal between the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails is still not finalized."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes flickered a few times before he smiled and brushed the topic off.

"We can discuss this issue once the deal is fully finalized."

That being said...

But in Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart, the death sentence had already been pronounced on the Hidden Cloud Village's daydream!

Should Killer Bee and the Eight-Tails be returned to Kumogakure together?

What's the difference between this and releasing a tiger back into the mountains?!

If it weren't for Nara Rinka's interference, Hiruzen Sarutobi would have even planned to kill Killer Bee outright to prevent future trouble.

Kumogakure wants to retrieve a fully-formed Eight-Tails Jinchuriki?

Don't even think about it!

Having received a response from Hiruzen Sarutobi, which was at least not a direct rejection, Troy breathed a sigh of relief and stopped asking any further questions.

Seeing the Fourth Raikage fall silent, Roshi, who was sitting to the side, had an idea and chose to join the conversation.

The Third Hokage.

Lao Zi's goal is very clear.

"Since your Konoha has the means to perfectly separate the Tailed Beasts from their Jinchuriki."

"Then Han must be in your Konoha prison too, right?"

The person Old Purple was referring to was Han, the original Five-Tails Jinchuriki.

The ninja situation in Iwagakure is much better than in the neighboring Kumogakure, so the need for top-tier combat power is not as strong.

However, if there is an opportunity to redeem a "steam ninja" trained by his own people from Konoha, Roshi will not give up easily.

"Chinese?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned slightly, not expecting that Rōshi would suddenly start talking about this former Five-Tails Jinchūriki.

The key issue is that he still doesn't know Han's exact current situation, so he can't give Lao Zi an accurate answer right now.

After being brought back to Konoha, Killer Bee was imprisoned in Konoha's (Root) secret prison.

As for Han, the ninja personally escorted back by Nara Rinka, even Hiruzen Sarutobi was unaware of his condition.

The only thing we know is that the Five-Tailed King Mu was extracted from Han's body by Nara Rinka...

Considering Nara Rinka's previous suggestion, is Han probably still alive?

Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind was racing, but on the surface, he skillfully evaded the question with his words.

As the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi had mastered countless similar lines and phrases.

In comparison.

The "pink" fourth generation leaders like Old Purple and Troy are far inferior.

Knowing that there was little to be desired on this issue—mainly because the shadowy figure on Konoha's side was too intimidating—Old Purple casually chimed in with a few words, temporarily putting aside the topic of redeeming Han.

However, Rasa took the opportunity to bring up another ninja in front of everyone.

Ebizo.

In the battle of Kikyo Castle, the puppet army of Sunagakure suffered heavy losses.

Of the three leaders of the team, only one, Chiyo, managed to run.

Both Ebizo and Yokura perished at Kikyo Castle.

The idea of ​​"redeeming Yekura" didn't even cross Rasa's mind.

Let's not talk about the fact that the two of them are not a good match.

The main reason was that Rasa didn't think Yekura could survive in the hands of the Dark Shadow.

In contrast, Ebizo.

Judging from the various strategic plans Konoha made in the war against Sunagakure after the Battle of Kikyo Castle, Konoha must have extracted a considerable amount of important intelligence from Ebizo's mind.

A ninja who leaked important village information should have no chance of survival.

But what can you do when Ebizo has such a wonderful older sister? (Chiyo)

Chiyo did not come to the Land of Iron to attend the Five Kage Summit.

However, before Rasa set off from Sunagakure, Chiyo had specifically instructed him to see if he could redeem Ebizo from Konoha.

Putting aside the issue of information leakage, Ebizo was originally a high-ranking and powerful figure in Sunagakure, and his own abilities and qualities were sufficient.

Now that the war is completely over, Konoha should no longer need to pry any more information out of Ebizo.

For Konoha, Ebizo's value had been completely lost with the end of the war.

If Sunagakure wanted to bring Ebizo back, it wouldn't be too difficult.

It's at least simpler than getting their B back from Yunyin.

Upon hearing Rasa's request, information about Ebizo immediately flashed through Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind.

This former elder of Sunagakure is still alive, but he is on the verge of death.

An old man, who had spent several years in Konoha's prison, still needed to undergo memory probes from time to time...

Ebizo's ability to survive to this day is a testament to his remarkable resilience.

Hiruzen Sarutobi originally intended to agree to Rasa's request outright.

But as he was about to speak, he suddenly realized something.

It seems that Ebizo was also captured by Nara Rangsuke...

Hiruzen Sarutobi stroked his goatee and changed the subject again.

Anyway, we'll have to confirm the Han issue with Nara Rinka later.

Let's just ask Ebizo's question at the same time!

I don't think I'll encounter any problems that require me to ask for help from others after this, right?

The thought had just arisen in Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind.

Then Yagura, the tachibana plant, cast a glance at me.

"Um, Third Hokage, our Seven Ninja Swords of Kirigakure..."

The seven ninja swords commissioned by Kirigakure to be crafted by professionals are all of exceptional quality.

This led to the creation of the famous "Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist".

Regarding the seven ninja swords, Kirigakure had already transformed them into summoning tools for their own village through a blood pact.

However, as soon as they learned that the seven ninja swords had been lost on the battlefield, Kirigakure had specifically tried to summon the seven ninja swords, but unfortunately, they failed to summon any of them.

It seems Konoha must have used some kind of method...

Yagura Karatachi had long wanted to take back the seven ninja swords from Konoha.

When he went to Konoha with the peace agreement and the Mizukage's secret letter, he had already set his sights on those ninja swords.

Unfortunately, Konoha agreed to sign a peace treaty with Kirigakure, but the other side consistently avoided discussing the issue of the Seven Ninja Swords.

As time went on, it dragged on until the Five Shadows Summit...

Upon hearing Yagura's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi quietly clenched his fist.

"Why does it feel like I have to consult Nara Ranke on everything? Am I still the Hokage whose word is law? I might as well just give this position to that Nara kid..."

Similar to the previous questions, Hiruzen Sarutobi also temporarily skipped the discussion regarding the handling of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

Several key topics were glossed over by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The other four figures present had no choice but to proceed with other topics in an orderly fashion.

As the conversation went on, the topic eventually turned to "war prisoners".

As the discussion continued, the five Kage gradually reached a consensus—

In regions outside the Five Great Nations, a special prison was built to detain criminal ninjas with special identities!

This is the second update from yesterday.

I'm late...very late.

I feel like my sleep schedule is going to get messed up again.

My sleep schedule gets messed up from staying up two hours a day... I'm getting weaker and weaker.

(End of this chapter)