Morning.
Haru dressed neatly, draped the Hokage robe over his shoulders, and walked out of his room.
After several months of preparation, the Five Kage Summit was finally going to officially begin today.
A splendid and luxurious conference hall, the elite representatives of each participating ninja village dressed impeccably, behaving like gentlemen, and arguing their positions with reason and evidence...
Naturally, none of that existed.
The world was a ramshackle stage, and the ninja of the Five Great Ninja Villages were executioners who killed without blinking. After one or two years of school, they directly took knives and started carrying out missions to cut people down. At most, they could barely be called semi-literate. After all, they could read, so directly calling them illiterate would not be appropriate.
They also had blood feuds with one another. It was already good enough that they did not start fighting the moment they met.
"Hokage."
Kazekage Mosa greeted Haru and took the initiative to walk beside him.
Haru was the Sand Village's future financial backer, so Mosa could not afford to neglect him. He had to serve him carefully.
After Mosa went back that day and repeated the contents of the alliance agreement he had made with Haru, the entire Sand Village delegation was so excited their legs trembled.
A rich sponsor had fallen from the sky. They had to cling tightly to his thigh. Perhaps Haru's performance had been too perfect.
In front of the Sand Village's higher-ups, Mosa praised Haru to the heavens, calling him a noble person, a pure person, a moral person, a person free from vulgar interests, and a person beneficial to the people of the ninja world.
Even if Haru had designs on the Sand Village, faced with the price Haru had offered, they had no way to refuse. The Sand Village was simply too barren.
Haru nodded in acknowledgment and continued walking forward. Not far away stood a large hotel, the most luxurious place in the entire Hot Water Village.
Today, the leader of the Hot Water Village had booked the whole hotel. The largest private room inside would be used for the meeting of the Five Great Gentlemen, while their underlings would wait downstairs and eat along the way.
Before long, all parties had arrived. A dense crowd stood in front of the hotel, giving off the distinct impression that a gang war was about to break out. The leader of the Hot Water Village personally stepped forward to maintain order, arranging the underlings into different private rooms downstairs, while Haru and the others went up to the private room on the upper floor.
The Five Great Gentlemen sat down.
Mosa wore a slight smile. Today, he was just here to coast along. He had already obtained the aid he needed. All that was left was to sign a decent-looking peace agreement.
The Third Raikage, A, and the Third Stone Kage, Onoki, looked at each other. They had formed an offensive and defensive alliance to jointly resist the increasingly powerful Leaf.
Mizuto kept staring at Haru with a gloomy gaze. Yesterday, Haru had played him hard. His dignity had been thrown onto the ground and trampled by the bloodline clans inside his own village, and the little bit of prestige he had just established had vanished completely.
At every critical moment, Yama had been there causing trouble. If someone said it was a coincidence and that Haru had not been manipulating everything from behind the scenes, Mizuto would not believe it even if he died.
The war had already ended. There were no winners in the First Ninja World War. Everyone had lost. Every ninja village had suffered heavy losses, and without several years, none of them could recover. Naturally, this included the Leaf.
The Leaf was rich now. Extremely rich. Its only weakness was that its personnel losses had been too severe. Each ninja clan needed time to have children and cultivate new blood, and the ninja academy likewise needed time to train new ninja.
Because of that, this meeting was extremely simple. They took out the peace agreement prepared by the First Hokage back then, left the important contents unchanged, modified the dates, and could directly sign it.
Something like a peace agreement was not something the rough people of the ninja world really took seriously. If they were going to fight, they would fight anyway.
However, Haru did value this matter. As a transmigrator from his original country, the mindset of having a proper justification was ingrained in his bones. Once this new agreement was signed, it would definitely be useful in the future.
For five years, the Five Great Ninja Villages were not allowed to attack one another and had the duty to maintain peace in the ninja world. Violators would be jointly attacked by the ninja world!
Thus, the Five Kage Summit after the First Ninja World War officially came to an end, later known as the Hot Water Village Agreement.
After the meeting ended, the Five Great Gentlemen left the room in clearly separated groups. Haru and Mosa privately signed a series of agreements, formed an alliance, and walked side by side.
The Third Raikage and Onoki walked together. They were both extremely dissatisfied with the outcome of this Ninja World War.
One of them had advanced triumphantly all the way, achieving repeated victories. Unfortunately, in the end, he fell just short of success after being struck from behind by the Mist Village, leading to a regretful conclusion.
The other had spent the entire war fighting the Leaf to the bitter end. The war of attrition had left his village buried in debt, and in the end, he had no choice but to negotiate peace with the Leaf.
Both ninja villages were ambitious and wanted to make a comeback. Five years later, they planned to join forces and once again decide victory or defeat against the Leaf.
As for Mizuto, he walked out of the room alone. The Mist Village had suffered the fewest losses in this Ninja World War. Isolated overseas, it had planned to act last and shock the world in one move.
Unfortunately, after the sudden death of the Second Mizukage, the village was filled with internal contradictions. Mizuto had no mind to care about the mess on the mainland. He only wanted to reorganize internal affairs, completely suppress the bloodline clans inside the village, and secure his position as Mizukage.
After the meeting ended, lunch was a round of eating and drinking. The ninja of the Five Great Ninja Villages feasted in their respective private rooms. During the meal, Mosa brought his trusted Sand Village subordinates over to offer a toast.
Haru recognized only one person: Granny Chiyo...
No, calling her Aunt Chiyo was more appropriate. She was more than ten years older than Haru, had already married, and her husband was dead. She was a widow, still graceful and charming, and she had a child with her.
No stepfather in sight.
The two sides met, and the atmosphere was rather harmonious. At the drinking table, Haru displayed his social skills, loudly praising the future of the Leaf and the Sand Village. He was very skilled at painting grand promises.
During the banquet, Mosa seriously asked Haru for advice on the Sand Village's future development direction. Blindly seeking external strength was ultimately not the proper path. Relying on heaven and earth was not as good as relying on oneself.
"Plant trees and build forests to resist wind and sand. Aside from that, there is no other way."
"You understand the Sand Village's situation better than anyone. The national conditions of the Land of Wind are what they are. It is located in a desert, water is scarce, and grass and trees do not grow."
"To put it bluntly, that place is not suitable for human habitation."
Haru sighed and gave his opinion.
"I know... But that is our home."
For a moment, the atmosphere at the drinking table became a little heavy. The expressions of the Sand Village ninja darkened. Haru's words sounded harsh, but they were the truth.
"If the Sand Village needs it, the Leaf has a professional research team that can study ultra-drought-resistant plants for the Sand Village. The Sand Village only needs to cover the research costs."
For the sake of his golden mission, Haru did not even intend to make extra research funding from the Sand Village. This was basically using Tobirama's valuable labor for free!
"The Sand Village has actually thought about that too. Not only would it cost a massive amount of money, but I'm afraid we wouldn't see results in one or two years."
"One or two years? If you get results in twenty years, that would already be pretty good."
Haru gave them another blow. Saying twenty years was already flattering the Sand Village. They were so poor that they could barely feed themselves. Where would they find the extra strength to transform the environment? This required the power of the entire Land of Wind, a vast project that would have to be carried out with the strength of the whole country.
However, even if the Sand Village was willing to put in the effort, the feudal lord of the Land of Wind would probably have to consider it for a very long time. Once a project of this scale began, it would burn money endlessly and could not be stopped. If it stopped, all previous efforts would be wasted. For the whole country to tighten its belt and endure twenty years of hardship would truly require a feudal lord whose will could not be shaken.
"Twenty years..."
Mosa fell silent. What a long time. In that time, the Sand Village could already give birth to two or even three generations.
As heaven moves ever onward, the noble man must constantly strive to strengthen himself.
How many peoples could truly live up to the words "constantly strive to strengthen themselves"?
The Sand Village needed two generations, even three generations, to carry the burden forward.
"Kazekage, do you know when the best time to plant a tree is?"
Seeing Mosa hesitate, Haru spoke. Mosa shook his head. He had never planted trees before. All his skills had been invested either in killing people or panning for gold dust in the desert.
"One was ten years ago. The other is now."
"Wind and sand will continuously erode the remaining oases of the Land of Wind until the Land of Wind completely turns into a desert and is no longer suitable for human survival."
"Twenty years... It really is long. But perhaps my son's child will be able to see it."
A sharp light appeared in Chiyo's eyes. She had lived half her life in that damned desert, and even her son lived in that damned environment. Was her grandson going to live in that terrible place too?
"Hokage, Chiyo will lead the delegation to the Leaf with you to see the prosperous Leaf under your rule. At the same time, she can finalize the details of the cooperation between the Leaf and the Sand Village."
Mosa did not want to continue the heavy topic from earlier. He would consider Haru's suggestion. The matter was of great importance. After returning to the village, he would have to speak with the feudal lord of the Land of Wind about it. Relying solely on the power of the Sand Village as one ninja village made it absolutely impossible to accomplish. They had to borrow the feudal lord's strength.
Mosa did not have time to go to the Leaf. There were still piles of matters waiting for him to handle in the Sand Village, and he still had to go pan for gold dust in the desert.
After the banquet ended, Haru returned to his lodging. After comfortably taking a bath, he lay on the floor mat. The Five Kage Summit was finally settled, and it was time to go collect a bloodline clan: the Chinoike clan.
On the table lay the latest intelligence about the Chinoike clan.
Back then, the Chinoike had been completely defeated by the Uchiha clan and exiled as an entire clan. Their combat forces had been wiped out completely, leaving only the old, weak, sick, and disabled. The Uchiha clan warned the survivors that from then on, the Chinoike clan could only live in Hell Valley to atone for their crimes. If they dared take even half a step out, the Uchiha clan would completely exterminate them.
The Chinoike clan was driven by the Uchiha clan into Hell Valley. As its name suggested, it was a scene straight from hell. The ground was filled with magma, and the air was filled year-round with pungent gases like sulfur. Living in such a place was simply worse than death.
This grudge was too deep.
Haru felt a headache coming on. However, for the sake of the mission, Haru still had to make a trip to Hell Valley.
After waking up from sleep, Haru ordered Yama to wait where he was, then took some food and headed to Hell Valley.
Hell Valley.
"Cough, cough, cough."
The smell here really was choking.
As soon as Haru arrived at Hell Valley, a thick, pungent stench rushed straight into his head, making him cough repeatedly.
There were few signs of human presence. Sparse weeds grew on the ground, and faintly, white bones could be seen scattered here and there. Whether they were animal bones or human bones was unknown.
"Yay! This is great!"
After walking for more than half an hour, Haru finally heard human voices.
They belonged to two girls, one older and one younger. Both were small and thin, looking weak, frail, and malnourished.
The two of them happily picked up a dead bird from the ground. The older girl bit into the wound on the bird's corpse and greedily sucked the fresh blood. Compared with the scalding, toxic boiling water in this place, blood was already the best source of hydration.
"Sister..."
"I want some too."
The younger sister beside her anxiously tugged at her older sister, her eyes filled with longing.
The older sister reluctantly opened her mouth and left the remaining blood for her younger sister.
Haru watched this scene, somewhat shocked. These two little girls were too fierce.
"Hello."
Haru stepped forward to greet them. The sisters instantly became alert. The older sister shielded the younger one behind her and looked at Haru warily. In this hell-like place, aside from members of the Chinoike clan, she had never seen a single stranger.
"Don't be nervous. I'm a very good person."
As Haru approached, he took out water and rice balls.
A moment later, Haru had successfully captured the two sisters.
"So good... So good!"
"The water is so sweet."
The sisters devoured the food, frantically swallowing what Haru had brought. They did not waste even the tiniest crumb that fell to the ground.
Haru patiently waited for the two of them to finish eating, then asked about their surname. As expected, they were indeed members of the Chinoike clan.
"Take me to see your clan leader."
Haru easily bought off the two little girls. Having never eaten proper food in their lives, they simply could not resist the charm of rice balls.
Before long, Haru arrived at the Chinoike clan's territory. Calling it a clan territory was generous. In reality, it was just a patch of overgrown land. There was not even a decent house. Everything had been built from piled stones.
At a glance, the entire Chinoike clan only had a few dozen people left. Back in the day, they had also been a powerful ninja clan in the ninja world.
Haru directly found the current Chinoike clan leader, Hoen, revealed his identity, and expressed his purpose.
The Chinoike clan had already suffered enough. Haru, representing both the Uchiha clan and the Leaf, could accept the Chinoike clan, bring their entire clan to the Leaf, and let them live happy lives again.
Haru had originally thought he would need to spend some effort persuading them, but unexpectedly, Hoen agreed with unusual decisiveness, as if afraid Haru would change his mind. Even becoming dogs for the Uchiha clan would not be a problem.
The Chinoike clan had already weakened to the point that only a few dozen people remained. Every one of them was malnourished. They had never eaten proper food and survived with difficulty by drinking boiling water, catching passing birds, and eating the few wild grasses on the ground.
The clan's strength was not worth mentioning either. What kind of outstanding ninja could possibly be cultivated in an environment like this? Chakra was the product of combining spiritual energy and physical energy.
Moreover, what the Uchiha clan had done back then had been extremely ruthless. The Chinoike clan's ninjutsu inheritance had been nearly severed, with only one or two techniques passed down orally.
A hell-like environment truly educated people. Even if the other party was the clan's mortal enemy, they no longer cared. As long as they could escape this hell, that was enough.
The process went so smoothly that it was almost unbelievable. Haru very easily took over the Chinoike clan, and after regrouping with the Leaf delegation, he set out on the road back to the village.
Not long after, the great Third Hokage returned to his loyal Leaf.
(End of Chapter)
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