"Want Chōrabi? Then bring supplies in exchange~"
With that, Sarutobi Hakuto ignored the fleeing Fourth Raikage,
letting him retreat at his own pace.
At such speed, few could possibly keep up.
Fugaku and the others glanced at each other, and reluctantly let it go.
Originally, they had hoped to capture the Raikage—a feat of immense glory.
But seeing Sarutobi Hakuto's lack of interest,
they knew it was impossible.
After all, with the Raikage's displayed speed,
even they might not have caught him.
As the Fourth Raikage withdrew,
word of the retreat quickly spread through the Cloud Village army.
The Cloud ninja who had been fighting the Konoha forces immediately began covering the withdrawal.
Seeing this,
the Konoha shinobi, already caught off guard by the sudden attack, were furious.
The Cloud ninja attacked first,
and now they were retreating?
Why should they get all the advantages?
No matter what, these reckless Cloud ninjas could not be allowed to escape.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Multiplication Technique!"
"Shadow Stitching Technique!"
"Ninja Art: Heart Confusion Technique!"
"Eight Trigrams: Empty Palm!!"
The Konoha forces began ruthlessly attacking the fleeing Cloud ninjas.
The Cloud ninja, focused on retreat, had no energy to fight back.
Konoha's jutsu rained down mercilessly,
and the retreating Cloud forces suffered devastating losses.
The surprise withdrawal caused one-third of their army to be lost in the chaos.
Such casualties were hard for even the Cloud Village to bear.
Soon, a group of Jonin representatives gathered angrily in the command tent.
"What's the Raikage thinking?!"
"Why did he order a sudden retreat?!"
"We were in combat! Many can't even withdraw safely!"
"What the hell is going on?!"
Voices of complaint filled the tent,
all frustrated at the retreat decision.
The Fourth Raikage calmly explained what had happened.
"So, the reports from the frontline ninja are true~"
"Konoha really sent a monster!"
"Chōrabi and Yugito were both captured by him…"
"To rescue them, he demands supplies in exchange!"
Hearing this,
everyone in the tent recalled the descriptions from the returning ninja.
The scenes they described…
a Tailed Beast wielded as a weapon, smashing indiscriminately…
"W-what… is this real?!"
"Is this even human?!"
The entire tent gasped in disbelief.
With such a monster, how could they even fight?
You couldn't even strike him with your head.
Even the Fourth Raikage might not stand a chance.
Their eyes naturally fell on the Raikage,
connecting his sudden retreat to the terrifying reports.
It became clear:
even the Raikage couldn't defeat him.
"So… Raikage, what should we do next?"
"Do we still fight?"
This question immediately drew everyone's attention.
What nonsense, fight?
With that kind of monster in Konoha and both Tailed Beast hosts captured,
there was no way they could continue.
It was better to discuss what compensation the opponent demanded.
For a moment, silence fell across the tent.
Such matters, naturally, were for the Raikage to decide.
Standing nearby, Samui spoke up:
"Why don't we send a ninja to test Konoha's bottom line~?"
"That way, we'll know what to expect~"
"And we can check whether the hostages are safe."
Her suggestion quickly gained unanimous approval.
However, they hesitated over who should go.
What if Konoha's monster refused to release the hostages?
The messenger might not even return… disastrous.
As the debate continued,
a young figure suddenly stepped forward.
"Raikage, I'll go!"
"I'm also worried about Teacher Chōrabi's safety~"
Seeing a trusted junior voluntee
the Fourth Raikage nodded with satisfaction.
Truly, someone he valued.
"Very well, Samui, this task is yours!"
"Ensure your own safety while probing their intentions~"
With the Raikage's approval,
Samui wasted no time,
leaving the Cloud Village camp and heading straight for Konoha.
After Samui's departure,
the Raikage and the others fell silent.
They could only wait for her to return with news,
to learn what conditions Konoha would demand.
The Raikage silently prayed,
hoping Konoha wouldn't be unreasonable.
If they only wanted money and supplies, that would be ideal.
Soon, Samui arrived at Konoha's camp and was quickly noticed.
Sarutobi Hakuto had anticipated this,
knowing the Cloud ninja would send someone to negotiate,
and guided Samui to the command tent where he and other Konoha leaders were present.
Seeing Samui enter,
everyone was momentarily taken aback.
Among the Cloud ninja, there were still a few beautiful women—
aside from Yugito, now Samui had appeared.
Sarutobi Hakuto, only ten years old, wasn't worried about such matters yet.
After some brief conversation,
Samui asked,
"What conditions would Konoha accept to release our two Tailed Beast hosts?"
Sarutobi Hakuto hadn't thought much about it.
The original story never explained how much the defeated nation had to pay in compensation.
And no standard units of measurement were provided.
Thinking about units of measurement reminded Sarutobi Hakuto of his cheap uncle,
Sarutobi Asuma!
"In that case… let's trade Chōrabi for one hundred Asuma Sarutobis!"
"This condition should be acceptable, right?"
The moment Sarutobi Hakuto spoke,
Samui was stunned.
Even Fugaku and the other Uchiha were frozen in disbelief.
"Sa…Sarutobi Asuma?"
"One hundred of them?"
"What does that even mean?"
Amid their confusion,
as the strategist of the group, Nara Shikaku suddenly realized something,
his expression turning extremely strange.
As for Samui,
she didn't understand the meaning but still took the condition back to the Cloud Village.
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