"Bastards!!"
The delegation from Kirigakure cursed silently in their hearts, but that was the only place they dared to do so.
When one is under someone else's roof, one has no choice but to bow. This was Konoha, not Kirigakure. If they wanted to act wild, they would have to wait until they were back on their own turf.
As for making concessions? There wasn't a chance in hell. Ronglin had simply dangled a carrot in front of them to see if they would bite.
"Mizukage-sama, we..."
"We'll talk when we get back."
Yagura raised his hand to signal him to stop. Whatever needed to be said could wait until they returned. They had to be careful; walls had ears, and the meeting room in the Hokage Building was hardly a secure location for them.
Humans were truly strange creatures. Sometimes, they were unwilling to engage in a proper negotiation, yet the moment a few benefits were tossed their way, they became incredibly eager.
Watching Yagura and his entourage leave the meeting room, Ronglin finally made his way to the Hokage's office to report on the progress.
The Third Hokage had delegated authority to him, but the proper reports still needed to be filed.
"You're saying the Mist Village will agree to our conditions?"
The Third Hokage hadn't expected Ronglin to throw out such a lure. It was a move Hiruzen hadn't considered.
"I'm eighty percent certain," Ronglin replied with a nod of analysis. "Now that the war is over, Kirigakure needs to pay a massive amount of money in compensation and ransoms. That will only slow their recovery. Since they know this money must be paid, and now they have a better option, they will agree. If an agreement can be reached between both sides, it will be beneficial for both them and us."
"You're right."
The Third Hokage couldn't help but sigh with emotion. He really was getting old; he hadn't even seen such a simple truth.
"Sit down. Stay and talk with me for a bit."
Motioning for Ronglin to take a seat, the Third Hokage set down the documents in his hand. As he looked at the young man who had grown up under his watch, his heart was filled with an indescribable feeling.
"What do you think about the upcoming war between the village, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure?"
Ronglin looked at the aging Third Hokage, thought for a moment, and answered, "As long as no mistakes are made and the logistics keep up, Konoha will ultimately emerge victorious!!"
"Logistics."
The Third Hokage gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "To be honest, Konoha's logistics are under great pressure. The consumption of various materials is very serious. To make matters worse, our old friends have started raising their prices. The Daimyo specifically allocated quite a bit of funding to support us, but he has one condition: Konoha must achieve victory!!!"
Providing money and benefits wasn't so they could go out and lose. If they were defeated, the consequences would be severe.
If things went south, the Daimyo might drastically reduce the village's development budget. Without his financial support, the village's hope for development would be almost non-existent.
"They saw the war break out and planned to rake in as much as they could. But raising prices now... that's truly cold-hearted."
Ronglin frowned slightly, feeling nothing but disdain for the Land of Artisans' act of taking advantage of the crisis.
Small countries like that, which were wealthy but lacked military power, should have been wiped out long ago to bring their craftsmen under Konoha's direct control.
Ninjas were a massive drain on resources. Most of the money was sunk into various ninja tools and Paper Bombs, and these items were essentially purchased from the Land of Artisans. If they could take over the Land of Artisans, one could only imagine how Konoha's development would skyrocket.
Unfortunately, doing so would be like slapping the faces of all the other Great Nations. Furthermore, the Third Hokage wasn't the type of leader to take the initiative to invade others.
"The village is currently in a passive state. Even knowing the other party is taking advantage of us, we have to endure it."
Ronglin shook his head. Saying these things was useless. Aside from enduring, what else could the village do? Attack the Land of Artisans? That was little more than a pipe dream.
"This is the first time we've sat together and chatted like this, isn't it?"
Looking at Ronglin's disdainful expression regarding the Land of Artisans, the Third Hokage let out a mysterious laugh.
"In fact, I am also very angry. But there is nothing the other side can do. Once we touch a country like the Land of Artisans that doesn't develop military power, we would face a siege from other nations. You're right; we can only endure."
What was wrong with this old man today? Why so many reflections?
Ronglin couldn't figure out the Third Hokage's purpose. "One can choose to endure, or one can choose not to. However, action can only be taken after the war is over."
"Action targeted at the Land of Artisans?"
The smile vanished from the Third Hokage's face. He hadn't expected Ronglin to drop such a bombshell.
"It's targeted, but it's not an invasion."
Seeing that the Third Hokage was misunderstanding, Ronglin explained, "No matter how you look at it, the Land of Artisans is just a small country. Their forging skills are advanced, but they don't have their own mineral deposits.
They can only buy from the outside. We only need to intercept those trade routes, and we can make life very difficult for them!! Without mines, no amount of advanced forging technology will do them any good."
Clearly, Konoha was stuck in a middle ground. They couldn't achieve self-sufficiency, yet purchasing required enormous amounts of money, which restricted the village's growth. This had always been a major problem for Konoha.
"I plan to have the Uchiha and Hyuga support the front lines."
Suddenly, the Third Hokage made a cryptic statement, completely pivoting away from the topic of the Land of Artisans. Regarding that nation, the Third Hokage felt powerless. Even if he wanted to act against them, he couldn't take any action now, nor did he have that kind of boldness.
One wrong move could lead to Konoha being besieged by several Great Nations again.
"Oh."
While startled, Ronglin simply nodded without expressing any particular stance.
On the contrary, he actually hoped the Uchiha and Hyuga would go to war as soon as possible. Only then could his plans be accelerated. Forcing Fugaku Uchiha to step down and taking control of the Uchiha Clan was only the first step.
"Go and get some rest. You'll need to put a lot of effort into the Mist Village's affairs."
Seeing that Ronglin had no intention of continuing the conversation, the Third Hokage had no choice but to let him leave. His probe had received no response, and he could only let out a soft sigh in his heart.
Right now, the person carrying the heaviest burden in Konoha was him. Besides the war, there was the decision regarding the Yondaime. What used to be a choice with one candidate had now become two. He wavered between them, unable to discuss it with anyone else, lest it cause a massive uproar.
The Uchiha had to be kept under control, which meant Ronglin had to push Fugaku Uchiha out.
However, this would still take time. The head of a clan couldn't just be removed at will. Too many factors were involved, and it required a slow, step-by-step process.
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