Kapitel 283: Chapter 283
In any case, Nara Shikaku had no intention of getting into a quarrel with Hyuga Hiashi on this matter; proposing his idea early and getting affirmation was the best choice.
As for what thoughts Hyuga Hiashi might have after he had spoken, that was no longer his concern.
After all, it would be the Hokage who would do the refusing, right? This had nothing to do with him, Nara Shikaku, didn't it?
"Isn't it a bit too early to send the message now?"
Jiraiya, unaware of Nara Shikaku's thoughts, asked with some curiosity.
"Why don't we wait until the negotiations with Iwagakure are over before passing this on? That way, we can avoid any unnecessary complications."
"The Hokage's idea is not wrong, but we want to put pressure on Kumogakure."
Nara Shikaku shook his head, speaking with utmost seriousness.
"Right now, both the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki are in our hands, and it will take time for this news to get back.
Moreover, Minister Kaito has his own ideas, so it is better not to pass this information secretly, at least we should let others know about the situation of the Fourth Raikage.
Thus, taking advantage of our recent victory, while we send the Reincarnation troops to the Land of Grass, we should also have the battle-experienced troops head to the Land of Hot Water after they have regrouped.
This show of force is to tell Kumogakure that we are not afraid of them, and with this stance,"
With this approach, Kumogakure will either negotiate, meeting certain demands of Konoha to conclude matters.
Or they will wait for Konoha to 'tear up' their Eight-Tails Jinchuriki and Fourth Raikage, and then go to war with Konoha, who has just achieved a great victory.
Jiraiya instantly understood Nara Shikaku's intentions. He was never foolish; he just didn't bother to think too much.
Once he was willing to think about a problem, he could quickly understand the ins and outs.
Although he felt that Kaito's idea was rather radical—after all, the man was planning to blatantly take down a Kage.
But now he wouldn't dwell on this matter. This wasn't because he was blindly obedient to the major clan members; Jiraiya was not there yet.
He had specifically and discreetly covered his identity, getting to know people from all levels within Konoha.
And the answer he got was that Konoha's disdain for Kumogakure was truly intense and formidable.
These people were not aware that the Fourth Raikage had been captured, and Konoha had not spread the news excessively about Kumogakure.
However, they could clearly feel the impact of the persecution Konoha suffered at the hands of Kumogakure many years ago.
Under such circumstances, almost all residents of Konoha detested Kumogakure, which Jiraiya came to understand and internally made some determinations.
"Is that so? Minister Shikaku, I want to ask you a question. How confident are you about peacefully resolving this matter?"
Jiraiya pondered seriously before continuing to ask.
"Also, if it really comes to war to solve the problem, can we replicate the glory we achieved in the Land of Grass?"
"For this question, we should ask Minister Kaito."
Nara Shikaku, faced with this question, also seemed somewhat helpless and spread his hands as he spoke.
"If it really comes to war, I think only Minister Kaito would have the most authority to speak on the matter.
Of course, in the absence of Minister Kaito, we could refer to the opinion of Elder Fugaku, and hasn't Elder Fugaku already made a statement?"
As Nara Shikaku said this, he realized that he had been set up by the Hokage.
It seems the Hokage wanted him to voice Uchiha Fugaku's words of 'we fully support.'
But after glancing at the equally helpless Uchiha Fugaku, Nara Shikaku silently shook his head internally and continued to speak.
"However, I don't think it will come to that step, after all, there is still the presence of Dodai in Kumogakure.
I believe in the Dodai's rationality, and given Kumogakure's intelligence network in the Land of Grass, I doubt they would choose an extreme way to resolve the issue."
Nara Shikaku's words were sensible because he genuinely believed Dodai was not foolish.
This Dodai was a rational and restrained individual, and also a very intelligent person.
He surely had a clear view of the current situation and thus knew how to make choices.
Therefore, in Shikaku's view, the likelihood of war was very small, and many issues could be resolved with proper negotiation work.
"Since you are confident, then I trust you can handle it well."
Jiraiya nodded and then issued his orders directly.
"Then, I'll leave the negotiations with Iwagakure to you, but you must act quickly.
I think you should understand, Kumogakure needs you too, your mission is very important, Minister Shikaku."
"I understand, Lord Hokage."
Nara Shikaku showed no intention of refusal; he nodded and replied directly.
"However, I think we should wait for Minister Kaito and the others to return before we proceed. I believe they would not allow the Third Tsuchikage to remain at the front lines."
Leaving Ōnoki at the front lines could alleviate some troubles, but the issue is that his presence there might give people from Iwagakure the wrong idea.
For instance, they might organize some sort of rescue plan, which is not something Konoha wishes to deal with right now.
Moreover, Tsunade's letter also mentioned sending Ōnoki back, so Nara Shikaku did not need to be overly anxious.
The subsequent meeting content was relatively simple, primarily revolving around what should be demanded to ensure Konoha's interests.
However, there was something that made Nara Shikaku feel helpless, which was that Hyuga Hiashi hoped he could accompany Shikaku to the negotiations in Kumogakure.
This request really troubled Nara Shikaku, but after some thought, he eventually agreed.
After all, considering the significant animosity between the Hyuga clan and Kumogakure, it wouldn't be good to leave him behind.
Moreover, Hyuga Hiashi had assured that he would uphold Konoha's interests, and while such a promise might not be entirely reliable, at least it was a commitment made in front of the Hokage.
Eventually, these matters were essentially settled, and besides the preliminary work that needed to be done, the most important thing was to wait for Kaito's return.
"Don't stop, who told you that you could stop while casting a jutsu? Does the enemy give you this opportunity?
Focus, hit the Raiton on your own fingertips, and move quickly."
Walking on the road from the Land of Fire towards Konoha, Kaito leisurely instructed Sasuke in ninjutsu.
His method gave Kakashi and Shisui quite a headache, even Kakuzu couldn't help but sigh.
Because what Kaito was teaching Sasuke was not just any jutsu, but the 'Hell Stab', a technique belonging to the Raikage!
This technique was not to be taught lightly even within Kumogakure, and it was considered a special technique closely associated with the Raikage.
He actually became the teaching material for Kaito, who went ahead and instructed him right in front of them.
They all knew that they weren't foolish, and even Shisui and Kakashi had the Sharingan; for them to learn, it really wouldn't be difficult.
But is this really okay?
However, Kaito didn't care about all that, and Sasuke was incredibly focused.
His attitude now was excellent; whatever Kaito said, he would follow completely, without a hint of temper.
Even when Kaito sometimes scolded him, he would bow his head and admit his mistake, which was a far cry from the proud character in the original story.
Of course, Kaito knew what the likely reason for this was, but he also wasn't too concerned with these things. He looked at the electric arc in Sasuke's hand and continued to speak.
"Remember, this technique is about continuously compressing and concentrating, and then relying on high-speed movement to finish the kill.
Now that you have the Sharingan, it can help you lock onto your targets faster; you need to make good use of it, understand?"
"Yes, Teacher!"
Sasuke immediately responded, with no intention of stopping in his steps.
He walked while controlling the electric arc in his hand, but the jumping arc caused scars to appear on his arm.
Sasuke indeed had the attribute for Raiton chakra, but both learning and using ninjutsu come with a cost.
When Kaito himself was learning Katon, he wasn't spared from burns because he hadn't controlled it well, ending up scorching his own mouth.
Of course, now his experience was rich, and his control over chakra was also extremely strong, so he no longer had such issues.
But it was different for Sasuke. It was his first contact with Raiton, and he couldn't do these things.
Moreover, Kaito didn't give him much time to adapt; all in all, he only had three to four days to try out the deformation and quality change of Raiton.
It could be said that Kaito's method was very irresponsible, but since Sasuke himself did not complain, Kaito was even less likely to overthink it.
Once they entered the Land of Fire, Kaito asked Sasuke to begin trying and memorizing.
What he was doing now was memorizing the key points of the technique and also constantly going through the process of transformation and qualitative change while practicing the technique.
//
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