Yes, the Hokage

"Oh." However, Minato only replied with one word, "Then how can I help?"

"Go home and take care of the kids."

"No, no, no, that's a bit too much." Minato put on a silly face. "I think as Hokage, I can still shine in many areas, like the Rinne Reincarnation Festival, or rather, the Rinne Reincarnation Festival, or even the Rinne Reincarnation Festival..."

Feng Lan rolled her eyes at him: "You just think planning the Reincarnation Festival is fun and want to cause trouble."

"You, how can you slander someone's innocence out of thin air?" Minato's gaze shifted. "I just saw that you were so busy that you didn't even have time to spend with your fiancée, so I wanted to help you share some of the workload."

“That’s easy.” Feng Lan shrugged. “Every Reincarnation Festival performance requires a lot of programs. If you can persuade Jiraiya-sama, Tsunade-sama, and those little guys to participate in the performance, I’ll give you credit.”

"Really?" Minato's eyes lit up.

"Of course it's true, I even prepared new clothes for them." Feng Lan laughed for some reason, though the clothes he prepared weren't anything fancy.

"Ugh... How should I ask him to come up with an invitation?" Minato was clearly deep in thought.

“That’s easy, I’ll show you how.” Feng Lan smiled and turned her head. “By the way, Obito, are you interested in participating?”

"Me?" Obito looked a little hesitant.

"Lin will be participating too."

"I have to go! I absolutely have to go!"

After demonstrating for Minato, Fenglan nodded and said, "That's about it."

"Understood, leave it to me!" Minato looked like he was on fire.

"Hmm, I'm really looking forward to it." Feng Lan replied listlessly, while opening the window to let Ninja Eagle in and picking up the day's newspaper. "Ah, the photos have already been published."

The two took the photo in the morning, and they've already had dinner. Given the efficiency of the newspaper, it's no surprise that the print run was already complete and the paper was ready for distribution.

“I’m serious.” Minato sighed as he looked at the photo in the newspaper. “They really don’t look like a couple.”

"It wasn't filmed as a married couple to begin with." Feng Lan calmly flipped through the newspaper. "Only you, you big blondie, care about whether the two love each other. Everyone else just sees a huge alliance of interests."

"But just for the sake of profit, should one spend their life with someone they don't love?" Minato still couldn't understand.

"Love is a luxury for politicians... no, for most people." Feng Lan began to take notes on news items from the newspaper that might be useful.

"What have you been through to become so pessimistic?" Minato sighed. "Fenglan, there are still many beautiful things in the world..."

"I didn't deny that, but that doesn't mean you have to pursue love," Feng Lan replied casually. "There are so many wonderful things, why do you have to be in a relationship?"

“Uh…” Minato was speechless for a moment.

Fenglan quickly finished recording all the information and casually placed the newspaper on the table. Unwilling to give up, Shuimen leaned over again: "So what happened after you carried Pakula back last night?"

"How did you know I brought Pakula back?" Fenglan glanced at him.

“Uh…” Minato was speechless again.

"Alright, she probably caught up with me because the Flying Thunder God Kunai noticed that I started to speed up." Feng Lan shook the kunai that Minato had given him last night. "As for what happened next, I took her to the medical room, Qing assigned us a tent, and she slept in it after her wounds were treated."

"Where does she sleep?" Minato's eyes lit up immediately.

"Nonsense, of course, in bed."

"And what about you?!" Minato exclaimed, even more excited.

"bedside."

"You actually became a shadow guard?!"

"I'm a ninja, after all. Is it really that unexpected that I'm a bodyguard?"

"You've never protected me!"

"With your skill level, do you really need my protection?!"

"Hawawa~~"

Obito ate snacks and drank tea, and even yawned. He had seen this scene too many times on his way to the Land of Iron, like Minato and Maple Lord chatting and then suddenly going off-topic and arguing.

"Huh? Stand still!"

"Flower Q!"

Incidentally, when the mutual trash-talking gets to a certain point, they start wrestling.

About five minutes later, the two sat back down, panting. Minato continued to ask, "So, did anything happen between you two?"

"She fell asleep holding my arm." Feng Lan paused for a rare moment, not mentioning what had happened that morning.

"What?!" Minato immediately perked up again. "Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?!"

"What's the point of telling you? All you do is gossip!"

"..."

"Ugh!"

Seeing the two start arguing again, Obito couldn't help but roll his eyes and silently took out Rin's photo to admire it.

Meanwhile, while the two goofballs were bickering, the newspaper with the photo had already spread throughout the entire ninja world at an astonishing speed.

In the Raikage's office in Kumogakure.

Ai stared at the newspaper with wide, bulging eyes for a long time, then slammed it on the table with a "bang": "That Feng Lan actually got married!"

Killer Bee, standing nearby, peeked over and started rapping: "This woman has a pretty good figure, it's just that her breasts are a bit small~"

"Is that the problem?!" Ai slammed his fist on the table in anger. "Konoha was already allied with Sunagakure, and now they've formed a marriage alliance with Kirigakure. If we don't find a way to deal with them, we really won't be able to defeat them, and we'll just have to watch this guy become the only one who can dominate!"

The secretary next to him couldn't help but sigh. Ever since Killer Bee returned, the overprotective Raikage had to keep his younger brother under his watchful eye at all times. But Bee's rambling was often annoying, which resulted in the Raikage's office desk being smashed almost every day, causing the budget to increase significantly.

“We were never going to win anyway,” Killer Bee said, shrinking back.

"Shut up!"

……

Inside the Tsuchikage's office in Iwagakure Village.

Onoki hovered in mid-air, his hands behind his back, silently reading the newspaper.

Old Zi sat casually across the desk, glancing at the newspaper: "This Konoha advisor is quite ordinary-looking, how did he manage to marry such a beautiful wife?"

“What do you know?” Onoki sneered. “This is not an ordinary marriage; it’s a diplomatic declaration. Just by looking at this photo, you can tell that this is a highly rational union between the two, not the kind of relationship where emotions can cloud judgment.”

"What impact will it have on us?" Old Zi didn't take Onoki seriously at all and started munching on the fruit on his desk.

"The impact is huge, so huge that I'm willing to invite you, this old stubborn man, back."

Onoki sighed: "Based on our big argument before, I wouldn't care even if you died out there. But the situation is different now. Konoha already has the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and the Yellow Flash. It was also tied to Sunagakure and Amegakure before. Now Kirigakure has also gotten close through marriage. If we continue to let this Maple Storm develop, nothing can stop his ambition."

"How do you know he's ambitious?" Old Zi casually tossed the fruit pit into the trash can.

"Nonsense! How could someone who can even profit from his own marriage not have ambitions!" Onoki slammed his fist on the table in anger.

"That's not necessarily true." Old Purple was a reincarnation of a nitpicker. "The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and Mito Uzumaki were even married, and I didn't see him having any ambitions. Otherwise, there wouldn't be any Five Great Nations now."

Onoki was so angry he almost laughed. The sentence he kept inside him was—"Are you deliberately trying to pick a fight?"

However, he managed to hold back, because he would still need to rely on this human spirit in the future: "In short, don't run around anymore recently, just stay in the village."

"Fine, fine, as long as you don't mess with me." Old Zi shrugged, got up and left.

"Ugh!"

Onoki sighed deeply, pondering to himself: "Should I really cooperate with Black Zetsu? If I could obtain Madara Uchiha's power, perhaps..."

He summoned Old Purple back not only to guard against Konoha, but also to negotiate with Black Zetsu. Naturally, he had to be well prepared, otherwise he would be feeding the tiger for nothing.

Just then, an ANBU member knocked on the door and entered: "Lord Tsuchikage! Buraku's secret message!"

"Give it to me."

Onoki took the letter, glanced at it, and his expression immediately changed: "Damn Fenglan... he even guessed that I was planning to cooperate with Black Zetsu!"

Chapter 183 Sand Village Meeting

In Sunagakure, Rasa had been in a good mood recently because he had dealt a heavy blow to Kumogakure, which had significantly boosted Sunagakure's economy. The village was in a stable and promising situation, ready to develop further. However, Maki returned with devastating news, and they are currently holding an emergency meeting to discuss how to deal with the situation.

Inside the meeting room, Rasa naturally sat in the Kazekage's seat, flanked by Granny Chiyo and Ebizo. However, they weren't the only ones in the room; around the small oval table, there were a total of eight elders.

Bloated, tedious, and incompetent—that's Fenglan's assessment of the Sand Village Elders' Council. These eight guys from Shippuden who thought Gaara was better off with Deidara taking him away are probably not as useful as either Mitokado Homura or Utatane Koharu.

Maki has not yet returned, but the secret letter announcing his mission failure has been sent back to Sunagakure via Ninja Hawk, and the newspapers have also arrived.

Luo Sha slowly began to speak: "Let's talk about Kumogakure first. Part of the reparations have already been received, and supplies are being transported in one after another. Kumogakure will have a better winter this year than last year."

He pretended to be narrating, but his sharp gaze swept across the old faces, seeing only greed. These old men didn't care about what would happen to Sunagakure; they were only thinking about how much of the compensation they could get.

"Lord Kazekage." Soon, an old man with a withered face like an orange peel spoke up, "Now that the funds are much more plentiful, this year's Reincarnation Festival should be held in a more lively manner."

He was the elder in charge of the living quarters department, and his question had no other meaning than asking for money.

"What are you saying? Now that the village has plenty of funds, shouldn't we expand our military first?!" The elder in charge of ninja tools immediately objected. "Don't you understand the concept of planning ahead? Do you think we can rely on Konoha's protection forever?"

“You two are mistaken,” the elder in charge of commerce chimed in. “Now that the trade routes have been opened, our primary goal should naturally be to establish caravans to earn more foreign exchange. Lord Fengying, you’ll have to invest more money here.”

The other elders were not to be outdone, and they all spoke up, their rhetoric essentially saying how important and difficult their responsibilities were, and that it would be unreasonable not to give them some money.

"Enough! This is not the time to talk about this!" Granny Chiyo looked at them coldly, then slammed her hand on the table.

She still held considerable prestige in Sunagakure, and the elders quieted down for the time being, but a greedy light still gleamed in their cloudy old eyes.

"Next, it's about Pakula," Rosa continued calmly.

“Pakula?” The old folks even had to take a moment to recall who Rasa was talking about, and they all showed impatient expressions. “That hero of Sunagakure? Wasn’t he pushed out by Lady Chiyo to be a shield? So what if he’s gone?”

"That's right. Three-legged toads are probably only found on Mount Myōboku, but two-legged ninjas aren't everywhere."

"Her bloodline limit isn't that powerful; the village can easily produce equally outstanding talents."

"..."

Luo Sha's face remained expressionless, but his hands clenched tightly under the table as he forcibly controlled his emotions: "Unfortunately, now is not the time for us to abandon her."

He took out Maki's secret letter and recounted the entire process of the failed operation. In particular, Fenglan's two sentences, "My subordinates, when did it become Sunagakure's place to make decisions?" and "You might even see the scenes in your illusion come true," greatly angered and terrified the elders.

"This is outrageous! This is outrageous! A mere Konoha advisor dares to directly threaten Sunagakure!"

“He is not an ordinary Konoha advisor; he can be regarded as the executive vice Hokage of Konoha. All cooperation between Sunagakure and Konoha is based on this Feng Lan. We absolutely cannot provoke him.”

"That Pakura really has a seamless transition. As a ninja from Sunagakure, he actually turns around and wags his tail and begs for mercy from Konoha. He's a disgrace to ninjas!"

"..."

“This is not the time to talk about these things,” Chiyo said coldly. “According to the secret letter that Kazekage-sama obtained, that Fenglan actually used a ninjutsu similar to the Iron Sand World Technique.”

The elders were immediately taken aback. They had grown up during the time of the Second Kazekage and had witnessed the power of the Third Kazekage firsthand. Now that his signature ninjutsu had been used, how could they not be intimidated?

"Damn it, Orochimaru from Konoha killed the Third Kazekage (Feng Lan took the blame for during the Five Kage Summit), and then resurrected him using Edo Tensei. Did they obtain the secret technique of manipulating iron sand through the Third Kazekage?"

"There's no secret technique to manipulating iron sand; it relies on the Magnet Release bloodline limit." Rasa is clearly the most qualified to speak on this matter. "But according to Maki's report, it seems that Fenglan did it through a ninja tool."

The group exchanged bewildered glances again. After a long pause, an elder chuckled dryly, "Lord Fengying, when you were negotiating the terms of cooperation, you offered iron sand instead of money. Now look what's happened..."

"That's not Lord Kazekage's fault." Ebizo immediately interrupted him. "Since we can't control the iron sand, then it's just a waste resource. Everyone agreed that we can exchange waste resources for district supplies. Now is not the time for you to shift the blame!"

“That’s right,” Chiyo agreed. “Our primary problem now is how to deal with Konoha, which has become stronger as a result.”

The meeting room fell silent again. If Konoha could really provide every ninja with a ninja umbrella, wouldn't everyone be a Kage-level ninja? Then why bother with the eight-man ninja fight? They might as well surrender sooner.

Of course, these elders, having lived for so long, knew to some extent what the best course of action was, but no one dared to say it, for fear of taking the blame.

After a long pause, Rasa finally spoke up: "The Sand Village still can't do without Konoha, so we definitely can't turn against Konoha. It's impossible to impose restrictions on resource exchanges."

He spoke up first, and the other elders nodded in agreement.

“Well…” Rasa glanced around and found that the group of old guys didn’t react at all except nodding, including Chiyo and Ebizo. He sighed inwardly.

He certainly envied the combination of Minato and Fuyuki, but unfortunately, in a traditional and corrupt village like Sunagakure, such a model was almost impossible to find.

However, what Rasa couldn't understand the most was that Konoha's situation was similar to Sunagakure's, so how did they produce such a genius as Fenglan?

Everyone's afraid of taking the blame, everyone's afraid of taking responsibility, so let me, the Kazekage, do it: "I propose to increase the volume of iron sand trade with Konoha, and at the same time, I request that we also receive a quota of those special ninja tools."

“Yes, this is indeed a good way to improve the village’s combat strength.” Chiyo had obviously already thought it through. As soon as Rasa finished speaking, she immediately chimed in, “If this ninja umbrella is really that domineering, it may bring a new path to Sunagakure.”

“Such powerful ninja tools must consume a significant amount of iron sand,” Ebizo added. “So Konoha will most likely agree, but we don’t know how much they will share with us. It would be great if it were a 50/50 split.”

Luo Sha gave a wry smile: "A 50/50 split is impossible, it'll be 30/70."