Two days later, inside Konoha's meeting room—
Monga from Iwagakure and Cee from Kumogakure had both arrived.
But what was surprising was that Sunagakure had neither sent anyone to attend nor even given a single reply.
Since this meeting was hosted by Konoha, the one representing Konoha was naturally Namikaze Minato.
"It seems Sunagakure has no intention of giving Konoha any form of compensation for this war."
Looking at the empty doorway of the meeting room, Namikaze Minato spoke softly.
Since Sunagakure's representatives had not shown up, Minato obviously could not just keep waiting. In matters like this, the initiative had to be firmly in his own hands.
In fact, Minato had already prepared several response plans. Even if Sunagakure never appeared, he could still handle the current situation calmly.
And just moments ago, as soon as Minato opened his mouth, he had already set the tone for this meeting.
Sitting to the side, Monga and Cee exchanged a glance. Both of them saw a trace of heaviness in the other's eyes.
The situation in front of them was clearly more troublesome than they had expected.
At this time, Cee from Kumogakure deliberately put on a confused look and asked, "May I ask what reason Lord Hokage has for summoning our two villages here?"
Although he understood perfectly well in his heart, on the surface he still acted as if he knew nothing.
Minato looked at Cee with an expressionless face and said coldly, "This time, your three great ninja villages launched an invasion war against Konoha without reason, causing us extremely heavy losses."
"Now we demand that all three parties provide corresponding war compensation to Konoha."
As he said this, Minato took out two prepared bills and gently placed them on the conference table in front of him.
The moment they saw the two bills, Monga and Cee felt their hearts sink. Sure enough, what was supposed to come had come.
Their eyes met again, as if countless complicated thoughts were passing between them.
After that, they fell into brief silence, their minds racing for ways to deal with this tricky situation.
Whether it was Monga from Iwagakure or Cee representing Kumogakure, both had more or less made some mental preparations for what might happen.
So although they felt uneasy at this moment, they were not completely flustered.
Almost at the same time, the two of them reached out in tacit understanding and picked up the lists placed on the old wooden table in front of them.
The items listed on the two sheets were dazzling and completely different.
On Iwagakure's list were large quantities of rare mineral resources that were normally prohibited from export. These minerals were highly valued for their rarity and unique properties.
On Kumogakure's list, meanwhile, were numerous high-tech equipment and supplies that were never sold to outsiders. Each item represented Kumogakure's advanced technical strength.
However, these two seemingly different lists shared one shocking common point.
At the very end, clearly marked, was an enormous compensation amount: A full 20 billion.
When Monga and Cee's eyes landed on that startling number, both of them could not help but suck in a breath of cold air.
Twenty billion. This was undoubtedly an astronomical sum.
Compared to that, in the last fierce war, Iwagakure had indeed suffered heavier losses than Kumogakure.
Thinking of this, Monga could not help but speak, "In that last war, our Iwagakure suffered heavy losses—"
But before he could finish, Minato raised a hand and cut him off without hesitation.
His face was as cold as still water as he replied, "That is your own affair. Since you dared to take the initiative to attack Konoha, then falling to this situation now means you must bear the corresponding heavy price."
Hearing Konoha's tough attitude, Monga's face instantly darkened. He was secretly shocked that Konoha would act so forcefully.
Gritting his teeth, he refused to back down, "Hmph! Even though you Konoha won this time, Uchiha Rengoku is already gone. Without the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, how can Konoha possibly deal with our Iwagakure?"
What Monga said was not without basis. In the previous fierce war, the entire battlefield had almost been controlled by Uchiha Rengoku alone.
Whether it was the sea of flames that burned across Iwagakure's battlefield, or him single-handedly chasing down the Sunagakure forces with Susanoo, those scenes had left an unforgettable impression on everyone.
It was no exaggeration to say that the MVP of the last war was none other than Uchiha Rengoku.
But times were different now. With Uchiha Rengoku missing, Konoha's deterrent power toward the other villages had clearly been greatly reduced.
Even if the once-famous Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, had stepped back onto the political stage, it would be hard to recreate that same overwhelming pressure.
Unless Konoha was willing to reveal its deeply hidden trump card, the Nine-Tails jinchuriki.
Faced with Monga's provocation, Namikaze Minato only smiled faintly, confidence and calm filling that smile.
He replied lightly, "Doesn't matter. The two of you may return to your villages first and think it over carefully. At the same time, pay attention to the developments on Sunagakure's side. As for the matter of compensation, we can discuss it again later."
Hearing this, Monga could not help but exchange another look with Cee beside him. Both of them showed confusion in their eyes.
They truly could not figure out what Konoha was planning.
'Could it be that Konoha really intends to launch a large-scale attack on Sunagakure to make an example of them and intimidate the others?'
But if that were the case, was Konoha not worried about leaving its rear exposed and giving Iwagakure and Kumogakure an opportunity to launch a sudden attack?
For a moment, all kinds of questions flooded their minds, leaving Monga and Cee deep in thought.
The representatives of the two villages were thinking along similar lines, yet Minato seemed to have no intention of explaining anything to them.
He simply raised his hand without hesitation and made a gesture to see them out.
This move truly caught Monga and Cee off guard. They had not expected things to move so quickly.
In fact, this so-called meeting was extremely brief, only a few short exchanges in total, and it had already fallen apart.
Moreover, Konoha had clearly stated its stance.
Sunagakure would be the one to be targeted first.
At this moment, Monga and Cee knew the situation was urgent. They had to quickly pass this news back to their respective villages so that people could be sent to investigate the relevant intelligence.
Thus, the two of them left in a hurry.
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