He had promised to meet with the Kumogakure delegation in the afternoon, but Tobirama didn't show up.
Instead, he dispatched Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo to greet them, explaining that urgent matters required his immediate attention and they would reconvene later.
Tobirama Senju's purpose was simply to buy time.
Buying time was a straightforward task for him.
The next day, he arranged for the Hidden Cloud Village delegation to tour Konoha. They could dine on anything and purchase anything they desired, with Konoha covering the expenses.
This gesture delighted the less affluent delegates, who enthusiastically began shopping.
Yet this ploy only stalled for three days.
The quality of envoys sent to Konoha remained consistently high.
Three days later, with Konoha showing no signs of engaging in negotiations, the delegates grew anxious and ceased shopping.
The wealthy and vast Konoha, situated in the Land of Fire, could afford this delay, but the smaller Hidden Cloud Village in the Land of Lightning could not.
As their leader, Tetsu Hayashi felt this was untenable and resolved to confront the Second Hokage along his route for a definitive explanation.
Luckily, Tobirama Senju had anticipated their move. Employing the Flying Thunder God Technique, he effortlessly appeared and disappeared.
I blinked and found myself in the Hokage's office.
I closed my eyes, feeling like I was finally home!
Senju Tobirama: "If you have the guts, just keep waiting for me on the road, idiot!"
This standoff continued for another two days.
Tetsu Hayashi was so anxious that he paced like an ant on a hot pan.
Every day Konoha delayed meant another day of suffering for the Hidden Cloud Village.
"Captain, what if we cause a commotion and force the Second Hokage to meet us?"
There were still capable individuals in the delegation.
Seeing that Senju Tobirama had been avoiding them, they resolved to force his hand.
"Oh? What's your plan?"
"We'll do this first, and then this."
"Alright, I leave this matter to you."
"No problem."
It was now the sixth day since the delegation from Kumogakure had arrived in Konoha.
It was unclear where the rumor started in Konoha, but it spread quickly that Konoha didn't care about frontline ninjas. The Hidden Cloud Village came seeking peace, yet Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage, remained elusive.
In his pursuit of the Hokage title, he seemed to ignore the deaths of frontline ninjas in favor of peace.
Were the lives of Konoha ninjas really so expendable?
Indeed, the method chosen by the Kumogakure delegation was to spread rumors.
Rumors, as always, proved effective.
During this period in Konoha, there weren't as many civilian ninjas as in later times.
The more astute individuals recognized the rumor for what it was, propagated by the Kumogakure delegation.
But many believed there must be some truth to it.
They speculated that only by weakening the ninja clans could Tobirama Senju secure his position as Hokage.
If anyone was to blame, it was Senju Tobirama for not matching the strength of his older brother.
If he possessed such power, would he still concern himself with the opinions of these ninja clans?
Any dissent?
Thousands of hands would be reaching out for them.
Besides rumors, the Cloud Village delegation also played on emotions, distributing leaflets everywhere. They urged that signing a peace agreement soon would allow ninjas to return home to Konoha in time for the cherry blossoms.
"These guys have gone to great lengths just to meet me."
In the Hokage's office, Senju Tobirama glanced at the flyer in his hand and smirked.
"So, sensei, when will you go to meet them?"
"It doesn't matter. Let's postpone it for another two days. We want them to think they've pressured me into meeting, rather than me initiating it. That way, we can demand a higher price at the negotiation table and continue stalling."
"Understood."
Two days later, the prominent clans in the village began sending envoys to inquire about the latest developments.
With these restless inquiries in mind, Senju Tobirama reluctantly agreed to meet with the delegation from Kumogakure.
"Let me clarify our terms. We choose the time, and the meeting must take place in Konoha. If you agree to these conditions, we can proceed."
As they sat down in the conference room, the delegation from Konoha immediately presented their bold terms.
Naturally, the representatives from Kumogakure couldn't accept that.
"You decide the time? We can discuss that. But holding negotiations in Konoha is out of the question."
Put it in their shoes, Konoha would never allow the Second Hokage to go to the Hidden Cloud Village.
Thus, the discussion quickly turned into a dispute over the location of the negotiations.
Initially firm, Konoha gradually became more flexible and eventually compromised.
The debate over the location lasted for ten days.
"At this rate, we should settle on a location for the negotiations tomorrow."
"Haha, thanks to the captain's persuasive skills."
"Haha, credit doesn't just belong to me. When we return to the village, I'll ensure everyone gets recognition."
Laughter and cheer filled the inn where the Kumogakure delegation stayed.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the Hokage's office was relaxed.
"They must be feeling quite satisfied. They managed to get us to compromise on the negotiation location in just ten days."
Danzo Shimura's expression was one of disdain.
"They achieved their goal, and we successfully delayed the game. What do you call this? A win-win situation."
Sarutobi Hiruzen remained composed, even finding the mind to crack a joke.
"Hiruzen, since when did you become so contradictory? Can we really call this a win-win situation?"
"You're quite traditional, Danzo. How is this not a win-win?"
Senju Tobirama also saw this as a win-win scenario.
But his perspective differed from Sarutobi Hiruzen's.
He believed that besides successfully buying time, he had also uncovered some instabilities within Konoha's ninja clans.
All the clans that had approached him for information a few days earlier were noted down in his little notebook. Once things settled, he would settle scores with them.
"See, Senju Tobirama wins on both counts. How can this not be a win-win situation?"
He didn't elaborate further to the other two. Seeing Hiruzen and Danzo on the verge of an argument, he raised his hand to intervene. "Enough talk for now."
"Barring any surprises, the light screen should be here soon."
No sooner had Senju Tobirama finished speaking than a light screen materialized directly before the three of them.
"Haha, looks like my guess was spot on."
"The official inventory video on the light screen happens once a month."
"If there's a bonus video, the moonlight screen will reappear half a month after the official review."
Having correctly predicted the pattern of the light screen's appearance, Senju Tobirama felt a twinge of satisfaction.
Quickly readjusting his mindset, he smiled faintly and turned his attention back to the screen's image.
[Hi hi hi~]
****
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