Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

In this light, the gift Hattori Masanari mentioned for Yagura might also be a ninja sword. If so, it's no wonder that Yagura said Hattori Masanari was a wealthy man.

It's likely that Hattori Masanari obtained the two ninja swords after they were sold to the black market by the White Fang Squad. He must have spent a lot of money, since each of the seven ninja swords from Kirigakure is extremely valuable, using a lot of chakra metal, not to mention that they all have different outstanding functions.

"Tell me, what do you want from me by having Yagura invite me out?"

Upon hearing Kirito's words, the Third Mizukage's hostility lessened considerably. He resealed the longsword and needle onto the scroll, then tucked the scroll into his robes and said slowly.

"Then I'll get straight to the point. I hope that Lord Mizukage will accept our Amegakure's request and send ninjas to help Amegakure defeat Kumogakure."

Upon hearing this, Kirito immediately revealed the purpose of his meeting with the Third Mizukage.

Kirito's true purpose was to distance himself from the Hidden Mist Village overseas and share the hatred of the Hidden Cloud Village.

The current situation in Amegakure is difficult. As expected, Kumogakure has begun to retaliate against Amegakure and the Land of Rain. A large number of Kumogakure ninjas are burning, killing, and looting in the Land of Rain, causing a slight impact on the people's livelihood and economy of the Land of Rain.

Amegakure, though determined to kill the traitors, was powerless to reverse the situation and could not stop the Cloud Village's atrocities.

Therefore, he and Hanzo of the Salamander discussed seeking help from external forces. Sunagakure was the first to be excluded, leaving only Iwagakure, Konoha, and Kirigakure in the ninja world as opponents of Kumogakure.

Both he and Hanzo have already sent requests for assistance to these three ninja villages.

However, in his opinion, it would be difficult to count on Iwagakure and Konoha, because neither of these two ninja villages would want a powerful neighbor. Only Kirigakure, which is far overseas, is most likely to take action.

He was aware of the current situation in Wuyin.

Because Kirigakure rarely interferes in mainland affairs and has a much smaller reputation than the other four great ninja villages, it receives the fewest requests among the five great ninja villages. In addition, it is currently being deliberately suppressed by the daimyo, so Kirigakure's finances are not looking good.

In this way, the high reward should be quite attractive to Wuyin.

"A war request? Sorry, Kirigakure has no intention of intervening in the war between Amegakure and Kumogakure."

Upon hearing Kirito's words, the Third Mizukage instantly understood Kirito's plan and refused without hesitation.

What a joke! The Hidden Mist Village may be poor now, but they're not so poor that they can be bought off and used as pawns.

They had dealt with Yunyin for many years and knew all too well how troublesome and temperamental these black barbarians were. Offending them would definitely not end well.

To be honest, the Hidden Mist Village is in a lot of chaos right now. As the Third Mizukage, he probably has no way of consolidating forces to support the Hidden Rain Village, because the Blood Mist faction ninjas always oppose what he wants to do.

"100 billion, how about that?"

The next moment, Kirito uttered a number that made both the Third Mizukage and Yagura Karatachi's heart flutter slightly.

10 billion is no small sum. A ninja's S-rank mission only costs a little over 10 to 20 million. This amount of money is enough to hire a large group of high-quality desperados to work for Amegakure.

"Stop talking. Kirigakure will never intervene in your war."

The Third Mizukage took a deep breath and refused again, but his hands behind his back clenched slightly.

"120 billion is the highest offer our village can make."

When Kirito saw that the Third Mizukage refused again, he decisively offered more money.

Located in the heart of the ninja world and bordering many other countries, the Land of Rain is indeed a very suitable place for economic development. If the rulers were to loosen their restrictions on merchants and provide a more stable environment, the economic potential they could unleash would be astonishing.

In just over a year, more than ten well-known large companies in the ninja world were born in the Land of Rain. Small and medium-sized companies sprang up like bamboo shoots after spring, and the economy developed very rapidly. This also brought immense wealth to Amegakure, which ruled the Land of Rain.

120 billion is a lot, but for Yu Yin now, it's actually not too much, not particularly much.

If they could use 120 billion to hire Kirigakure to stop Kumogakure from continuing its destruction within the Land of Rain, it would be a huge win for Kumogakure.

"No, Kirigakure cannot intervene."

The Third Mizukage hesitated for a moment, suppressed his greed, and refused once again.

"150 billion, that's the most we can go."

Kirito noticed the Third Mizukage's hesitation and knew that the other party was already tempted. He gritted his teeth, pretended to be in pain, and raised the price again.

"Damn, is Amegakure really that rich?"

The Third Mizukage was shocked to see Kirito suddenly add another 30 billion.

150 billion is quite close to the annual income that Kirigakure has received from commissions in recent years. With this deal, Kirigakure can have a good year.

The Third Mizukage was struggling financially, and Kirito's sudden offer of so much money was overwhelming.

However, reason ultimately prevailed.

As the Mizukage, he cannot be greedy for money; he must consider all aspects, from the perspective of the village's fundamental interests.

After all, Kumogakure is not a pushover, and Kirigakure's intervention in the war in the Land of Rain does not necessarily mean they can defeat Kumogakure.

"Lord Mizukage, things should not be done more than three times. Please reconsider. Our Amegakure's demands are not high. We only hope that your village can restrain Kumogakure. We don't even need to participate in the war directly. Just put enough pressure on Kumogakure."

Before the Third Mizukage could speak, Kirito continued to tempt him.

Upon hearing this, the Third Mizukage's eyes lit up, and he immediately retracted the decision he had just made.

He understood what Kirito meant. Not participating in the war would put enough pressure on Kumogakure, which wouldn't be difficult for Kirigakure. If they could earn 150 billion without sacrificing blood, the Blood Mist Faction would probably be tempted.

"I need to think about what you're talking about carefully. After all, this matter is of great importance, and even I can't make the decision entirely on it."

The Third Mizukage thought about it more and more and felt that this deal was worth doing, but he still didn't agree immediately and gave an ambiguous answer.

"Of course, I understand your difficulties, but please give me a definite answer as soon as possible. You can afford to wait, but we in Amegakure cannot. Perhaps after a while, we in Amegakure will not be able to offer this price. Those Cloud Villagers are all bandits."

Kirito hadn't expected the Third Mizukage to give him an immediate answer, so he pretended to be anxious.

“Indeed, those black barbarians are all bandits. Give me two days, and I will definitely give you a definite answer within two days.”

The Third Mizukage strongly agreed with Kirito's assessment of Kumogakure and replied with a solemn expression.

"Then I'll leave it to you. I'll wait here for your good news."

Kirito said gratefully.

As soon as he finished speaking, he took off, quickly soaring into the sky and disappearing from the sight of the Third Mizukage and Yagura Karatachi.

"Yagura, do you think it's worth it for us to get involved in the battle between Amegakure and Kumogakure?"

The Third Mizukage spoke up as Hattori Masanari left.

Yagura dared not speak rashly. After thinking for a moment, he replied:

"There are advantages and disadvantages. We, the Hidden Mist Village, have been closed off for too long. Humans are forgetful creatures. If we, the Hidden Mist Village, don't do something new, the people of the mainland will lack respect for us."

The Amegakure has issued a war commission to us, which is a good opportunity for me to intervene in the war on the continent in a legitimate way. If we can help the Amegakure defeat the Kumogakure, then the Kirigakure will definitely become famous. In the future, we may be able to receive war commissions similar to those from the Land of Rain, which will greatly reduce our dependence on the daimyo's funds.

"But the downside is that it will severely escalate our conflict with Cloud Village. You know how vengeful those black barbarians are. Once they recover, they will definitely attack our Mist Village. At that time, our Mist Village may suffer heavy losses, ultimately losing more than we gain."

Yagura's answer was quite apt, and even the Third Mizukage showed an expression of appreciation upon hearing it.

At the same time, he already had his answer in his heart: to accept Amegakure's request for war.

The reason is simple: what Yagura just said, that could greatly alleviate Kirigakure's dependence on funds from the daimyo, truly resonated with him.

The reason why Kirigakure is now splitting into the Blood Mist faction and the anti-Blood Mist faction is because of a lack of money. Kirigakure's development is currently too dependent on the daimyo's funds. To reverse this situation, Kirigakure must find new sources of funding.

Using war to build a reputation and attract more people to post missions in Fog Shadow is a great way to make money.

Moreover, once the Blood Mist Faction agrees, he can use his authority as the Mizukage to secretly eliminate those ninjas who have always dared to oppose him.

In Kirigakure, he couldn't easily deal with these Blood Mist Ninjas, but it was different outside; he could use his enemies to eliminate them.

"Perhaps we can learn something from Amegakure. This little Amegakure can actually come up with so much money at once. He must have some clever ways to make money."

The Third Mizukage suddenly recalled Hattori Masashige's earlier display of wealth and extravagance, and thought to himself.

Then, he turned his head and looked at Yagura Karatachi beside him, revealing a meaningful look, which immediately made Yagura Karatachi feel uneasy.

"Yagura, how long has it been since you went to the mainland?"

The Third Mizukage asked Yagura with a smile.

Chapter 212: Peace Talks?

Kirito naturally wouldn't let the White Zetsu clone stay in the Land of Water forever. He manipulated the White Zetsu clone to leave a shadow clone in Kirigakure with enough chakra to last for a week, and then quickly flew back to Amegakure.

He had learned about the current situation in Amegakure by using a shadow clone left in Amegakure to handle daily affairs.

This is bad, very bad.

As expected of a ninja village born from bandits, Kumogakure is full of natural-born bandits. They are very talented in burning, killing, and looting, and they are extremely ruthless. They completely lack the sense of honor that great ninja villages have when they don't care about their reputation and don't attack the weak. When they do attack, they beat the weak to death.

As a result, many villages and cities in the Land of Rain have been turned into wasteland, and even farmland used for cultivation has been seized, showing a clear trend of wanting to exterminate them all.

If Kumogakure continues like this, the Land of Rain will be finished in less than a month.

In Amegakure, at the underground headquarters of the Abyss Clan, Kirito had just controlled his White Zetsu clone back to the Abyss Clan leader's office when a purple-haired girl rushed in. It was none other than Shiri, Hattori Masanari's secretary, played by the White Zetsu clone.

As an excellent sensory ninja, Shiri sensed Kirito's return as soon as he came back.

"Lord Masashige, you're finally back. Lord Hanzo instructed me to go see him immediately."

"Izumi said to Kirito with a worried look on her face."

"Don't rush, relax. Rushing won't help. Instead, calm down and get to work. Also, don't overwork yourself. Take a break. If you collapse, my workload will increase."

Kirito, seeing the thick dark circles under Shiri's eyes, offered some words of advice.

After saying that, he patted Zili on the shoulder and continued, "Don't worry, even if the sky falls, I'll hold it up. With me here, the Land of Rain and Amegakure won't be destroyed."

The next moment, before Zili could say anything, he used the Water Instantaneous Body Technique to disappear from the spot.

Upon seeing this, Zili immediately shut her mouth. Instead of being comforted by Kirito, the anxiety on her face intensified, and her eyes revealed deep worry.

Kirito knew where Hanzo was, and soon he arrived at the highest point of the central tower in Amegakure.

Hanzo the Salamander stood quietly in the rain.

"Masashige, the Land of Rain is weeping again."

As Kirito approached, Hanzo spoke, his voice filled with deep sorrow and exhaustion.

Three days have passed since the Cloud Village launched its retaliation. During these three days, he has been like a firefighter, putting out fires all over the Land of Rain. However, despite his great strength, he is unable to stop the atrocities committed by the Cloud Village in the Land of Rain.

Watching the common people of the Land of Rain and the young Rain Ninja who had not yet grown up die in droves under the swords of the Hidden Cloud Village, Hanzo, even though he had long been accustomed to life and death, still felt his heart breaking and was extremely heartbroken.

"Located in a critical location amidst chaos, yet powerless to protect themselves, the fate of Amegakure and the Land of Rain is already sealed. And is there still no news from Iwagakure and Konoha?"

Upon hearing this, Kirito sighed.

Do you think your surprise attack on Kumogakure was the right thing to do?

Hanzo didn't mention sending reinforcements to Iwagakure and Konoha. He turned around and coldly questioned Kirito.