I have a bunch of relatives who want to become Hokage.

What should have been a traditional scene of high-ranking officials lamenting the loss of a talented individual was forcibly altered by Might Guy's presence.

Might Guy followed in his father's footsteps and also mastered this ninjutsu.

So the plot was changed to the two Hokage opening their arms together to give the hero's orphan a loving hug.

Uchiha Shingen sat at the very end, separated from Might Guy by Hatake Kakashi. From the seating arrangement, one could tell Might Guy's status in the eyes of the Konoha leadership.

Little Greenie doesn't yet have the charisma he'll later possess, and probably doesn't realize the significance of his sitting here. He just sits there looking completely bewildered, only his gaze towards Suigetsu Hozuki is quite complicated.

He clearly knew that the person on the other side could be considered his father's killer.

Kakashi Hatake's expression was unreadable, since only one eye was visible.

In short, everyone was very serious.

Suigetsu Hozuki took out a scroll from his pocket, placed it on the table, and gently pushed it between Minato Namikaze and Hiruzen Sarutobi.

This position is quite clever.

Minato Namikaze also took out a scroll and pushed it towards Suigetsu Hozuki, while casually grabbing the scroll from Kirigakure's side.

Then he handed it to Hiruzen Sarutobi first.

"Third Hokage, I am not familiar with the handwriting of the Daimyo of the Land of Water. Please examine it."

“You are the Hokage, and such an important document should be examined by you personally. I cannot overstep my authority,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a smile. “Of course, this old man will also help you examine the handwriting.”

"Sigh, it's all my fault for being immature. I had to trouble the Third Hokage with such a small matter." Minato Namikaze sighed, then opened the scroll and spread it out between himself and Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Both the old and the young were watching intently.

On the other side, Suigetsu Hozuki also opened the scroll handed over by Minato Namikaze and examined it carefully.

This was clearly a high-level meeting, and the topics discussed included not only the interests of Konoha and Kirigakure, but also the national affairs of the Land of Fire and the Land of Water.

No wonder the Hokage Building's notification to the Uchiha clan didn't even include the meeting minutes.

After observing for a while, Uchiha Shingen realized that, excluding Hatake Kakashi and Might Guy, the other Konoha participants were clearly well aware of this.

After a while, both parties who were examining the power of attorney looked up.

"Lord Sugiyama, what do you think of the letter of appointment from our daimyo?"

"I've seen it, no problem. This is the letter of appointment from our daimyo. Hokage-sama, is it acceptable?"

"Your country's letter of appointment is well-written, but it lacks the daimyo's handwritten signature," Minato Namikaze said. "Daimyo of all countries have always signed their letters of appointment themselves, as has been the case with our country and the three countries of Wind, Earth, and Lightning."

"I'm sorry, our customs are different from those of other countries. We use personal seals, which have the same legal effect as signatures," Suigetsu Hozuki explained apologetically. "Please understand, Hokage."

"I won't make a fuss about it this time, but since your country is so sincere in making friends with foreign countries, why not follow the common practices of each country?"

"Our daimyo never signs his name in person. I will definitely explain this to the Mizukage when I return home and ask him to advise the daimyo."

"That's for the best." Minato Namikaze nodded.

Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly said, "The Land of Fire and the Land of Water have not had diplomatic relations in the past. Could both sides keep copies of this letter of appointment?"

“Okay.” Watermelon Pufferfish Demon agreed.

Minato Namikaze handed the letter of appointment to Hiruzen Sarutobi and continued, "This time we are discussing matters of great importance to both countries. Lord Suigetsu is very knowledgeable and experienced, and I hope that this meeting will benefit both sides."

“Of course.” Suigetsu Hozuki nodded, his tone somewhat impassioned. “Among all the countries, the Land of Water and the Land of Fire are the closest neighbors. Today’s dispute is only temporary. In the long run, mutual assistance and mutual benefit are the best policies. If we are enemies for generations, it will not only be of no benefit to the Land of Fire, but also to the Land of Water. We are both countries in the south of the continent. We should prioritize the overall situation and make peace forever. Only in this way will we not be bullied by the countries in the north.”

His words drew attention from everyone present.

Goodness, this guy, who's known in the ninja world for his ruthlessness, actually has a lot to say.

People from both the North and the South have come out.

"Lord Sugiyama," Minato Namikaze couldn't help but remind him, "the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning, Konoha and Kumogakure, are also friendly neighbors."

“That’s exactly what I meant.” Suigetsu Hozuki said approvingly. “If Konoha and Kumogakure can be on good terms, why would they be worried about Kirigakure?”

On his other side, an old man with a cross-shaped scar on his chin frowned.

"Whether the Land of Fire and the Land of Water are on good terms will not take into account the attitude of any third country."

Then he said to Minato Namikaze, "Fourth Hokage, let's get back to business."

Chapter 47 Danzo Shimura VS Suigetsu Fuguki

Sitting in his seat, Uchiha Shingen listened to the conversation between the two sides. After listening for a while, he roughly understood what they wanted to talk about.

Simply put, because the Fourth Shinobi World War expanded to the national level, Konoha was the victor, which naturally led to the Land of Fire also becoming a victorious nation.

Although Kirigakure and Konoha signed a ceasefire agreement and even included economic exchanges, it was limited to the two villages. For the two countries, the ceasefire was far from sufficient.

However, since it was triggered by the Ninja World War, the two sides in the negotiations became the two major ninja villages, with the two daimyo fully entrusted by them.

This explains why, after this defeat, the Sand Village led the Kaze Daimyo to specifically cut military spending and reduce mission orders.

For the Land of Wind, Sunagakure's declaration of war against Konoha under the pretext of the Third Kazekage's death, followed by its early surrender, was a real disservice to the Land of Wind, forcing it to pay a price to the Land of Fire.

The way things work in the central area is completely different; no wonder the Third Hokage could still hold the position of Hokage's assistant.

After careful consideration, Uchiha Shingen understood many things.

These are rules that the Uchiha clan had never considered before.

It's not that I don't want to understand, it's just that I've never been to the central government and have been isolated from the national affairs of Konoha and Daimyo, so I have no idea how this mechanism works.

In the Uchiha clan's understanding, a ceasefire between villages is equivalent to peace between nations.

Because of a lack of understanding, there will be significant discrepancies in people's perceptions of the Hokage's abdication and inauguration.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's abdication was not essentially due to the unpleasantness of the agreement with Iwagakure. On the surface, Konoha suffered a loss, but the Land of Earth still had to contribute benefits and would ultimately benefit Konoha in return.

Iwagakure's stinginess will become the Land of Fire's best bargaining chip, while the Land of Earth will have to pay even more.

Hiruzen Sarutobi still secured the benefits that Konoha deserved.

His abdication was merely a convenient way to push Minato Namikaze into the central command, further expanding their faction's power within the central command.

[Sigh, if I were still Senju, I'd think the rich guy hadn't made a mistake in choosing me...]

Uchiha Shingen felt a bit of a headache.

He was personally pleased that his former students were playing the game of power so skillfully, but now it might be a bit of a problem.

Each playthrough is a playthrough in itself, and he doesn't care about the changes in seniority. Apart from playthrough zero, everything is an experience pack for him.

I just find it troublesome.

He's always been like this when playing games; he won't start a new playthrough unless he's completely ruined the game.

Others won't give up until they see the Yellow River, but he insists on jumping in and swimming around a few times until he drowns.

The talks continued in the room.

Minato Namikaze was clearly inexperienced and hadn't yet developed the mindset of a ninja village leader. He could easily be led astray by Suigetsu Hozuki. However, the two old foxes around him were different; they would immediately intervene if such a situation arose.

The Watermelon Pufferfish Demon fought two opponents and was quickly defeated.

When the talks reached the most important part for both sides, the fugu demon from Suigetsu Mountain, whose head was buzzing from the sarcastic remarks of the two old men, immediately expressed his opinion.

"Let me state my position first. Our esteemed leader has said that a reparation of two billion taels is too large an amount for our country to afford."

Upon hearing this, Konoha's side perked up.

Minato Namikaze performed a tactical lean back.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took out his pipe and began puffing away.

Next up is Danzo Shimura's performance.

Danzo Shimura paused with his cane and said slowly, "Two billion taels is already the lowest we can go. If the war continues, your country will only lose more."

Watermelon Mountain Pufferfish Demon shook his head, insisting on his stance: "We cannot afford two billion taels. If you increase the amount further, we certainly cannot afford it. Please reduce the amount."

"We can't reduce it. This is the consequence after the war. There's nothing we can do."

However, considering that the other party was the one who paid, Shimura Danzo suppressed his damned stubbornness and softened his tone.

“If you can’t pay it all at once, you can pay in installments, for example, forty years. The more installments you pay, the less burden you will have. This is originally your business and has nothing to do with me. I’m just mentioning it in passing, so please don’t take offense.”

Suigetsu Hozuki: "Forty years? If it were you, would you be willing?"

Danzo Shimura: "It's not like I'm losing money. Anyway, you can pay in installments, the longer the better."

Suigetsu Hobutsuki: "Since the start of the war, our national treasury has been empty. Unless we borrow money from other countries, our country has suffered a defeat and our reputation has been greatly damaged."

Danzo Shimura: "The Land of Water is rich in resources, and wealth is everywhere. Those countries will surely lend it to us."

Watermelon Pufferfish Demon: "Although our country is not poor in resources, it cannot be developed."

Danzo Shimura: "It's alright. Your country is full of talented people. We can make good use of their wisdom to develop our financial resources."

These words were a bit too much for the Watermelon Pufferfish Demon to bear; the old man was being sarcastic to him again.

He said somewhat angrily, "Since you're so resourceful, why don't you become our Grand Minister of State?"

Shimura Danzo wasn't angry at all, and simply said, "This requires our daimyo's approval. Actually, I'd be quite willing to go."

This left the Watermelon Mountain Pufferfish Demon speechless for a long time. After a while, he sighed, his tone slightly pleading.

"Since the Fire Daimyo doesn't approve your appointment as a minister of our Water Country, you can't go. Does that mean we Kirigakure can force the Water Daimyo to pay? So please put yourself in my shoes and understand my situation. If we go by the figure of 2 billion ryo, other countries will know that we have to borrow money from them to repay our debts. They will then try to blackmail us and charge us exorbitant interest rates. If we can't borrow money and can't repay the indemnity, we'll have to start another war. Why are you putting our country under such pressure?"

Danzo Shimura's first reaction was actually quite happy.

However, since it was a meeting after all, and he was, after all, a former Hokage's assistant, he still had to maintain a certain image.

So he simply said, "Borrowing money to pay off debts is a matter for your Land of Water, and has nothing to do with me."

Watermelon Pufferfish Demon: "We don't have the money to repay the compensation, what should we do?"

Danzo Shimura: "That's why we reduced it to this number; there's no way to reduce it any further."

Suigetsu Hozuki: "Please reduce it a little more."

Danzo Shimura: "I can't reduce it, so I'll be frank. I already know that you received a secret letter from the Daimyo Prefecture yesterday. The bottom line is 2 billion. I wrote it down as is. This is our sincerity. The method I just mentioned is also true. You can go back and discuss it, but the number is exactly this. Not a single penny less."

Watermelon Mountain Pufferfish Demon: "..."

Looking at the fat man, Uchiha Shingen felt genuinely sorry for him.

Danzo Shimura's main job was foreign intelligence gathering, so if he dared to say that, it must be solid evidence.