This puppeteer is a bit... well...

Chapter 74 Solution

The two Uchiha instinctively wanted to object, but looking into Minato's sincere eyes, they inexplicably developed trust in him.

The two exchanged a glance, confirmed their agreement, and nodded, saying, "Okay, we believe you."

Seeing this, Minato also smiled.

What he feared most was that the Uchiha would be unreasonable and unwilling to let go.

If that's the case, he'll have no choice but to take down his two companions first.

Because, although he was confident that he would not be defeated in front of Ryuji, he could not stop him from attacking the two of them.

Just like that time in Loulan.

"I will definitely not let you down." After making this promise to the two, Minato turned to Ryuji and said, "Ayaki-kun."

"Um?"

Ryuji stood with his hands behind his back, watching Minato curiously, wanting to see how Minato would resolve this matter.

"I just met with Aya-kun, and you weren't usually this aggressive. Why are you provoking the Uchiha clan again and again?"

Faced with Minato's question, Ryuji couldn't help but laugh, "You mean if someone comes looking for trouble, I should just politely fawn over them?"

"this……"

Shuimen was speechless for a moment.

Although he didn't know the specific meaning of the phrase "lick him," he could roughly guess its meaning by considering the whole sentence and its context.

But he couldn't refute it.

In his mind, it was just a misunderstanding, nothing serious.

But not everyone is as magnanimous as he is... cough cough, saying that he is magnanimous makes Minato blush a little.

Compared to many people, he is indeed indifferent to many things, and it wouldn't be wrong to say he has a broad mind.

But Ryuji is not himself.

Although the other person didn't seem like someone who held grudges or was petty during the chat, in the end, they had only had a fight and a short conversation, so it was impossible to truly understand what kind of person the other was.

After a moment's thought, Minato made up his mind.

He looked up at Ryuji and continued, "Ayaki-kun, the Uchiha clan is Konoha's security force. They were just doing their duty, and you didn't suffer any loss. Can this matter just be left like this?"

Ryuji didn't answer. Instead, he looked at the vicious soldier who was still struggling and nailed to the signboard, and extended his right index finger to him.

Instantly, chakra threads popped out, binding and pulling out the kunai. The evil soldier jumped down, mechanically shouting commands to continue attacking Obito.

And the wound on its belly healed completely in the blink of an eye, which once again amazed Kakashi and the others.

"I really didn't suffer any losses," Ryuji said, recalling the vicious soldiers. He continued, "And I certainly don't care about their offense. But, on my very first day here, Orochimaru provoked me, and today he provoked me again for no reason... What about tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, the day after that, or even longer?"

"I can assure you, from now on..."

Ryuji raised his hand to interrupt Minato's assurance, saying, "Perhaps your words are sincere, but you are not a high-ranking member of Konoha, and your assurance is of no use whatsoever... Moreover, this might just be a show of force from Konoha's higher-ups to intimidate our Sunagakure!"

"I……"

"You don't need to explain anything." Ryuji interrupted Minato again and continued, "It's not that I can't understand the purpose of a show of force. If it were me, I would do the same."

However, understanding is one thing.

It's very unpleasant to be the one being intimidated, especially when it happens repeatedly.

Upon hearing this, Minato fell silent.

With his intelligence, he could naturally figure out what was going on.

Orochimaru's provocation was most likely a show of force by order of the Third Hokage, but today's incident was truly unexpected.

But none of that matters anymore.

The other party has already accepted the fact that the Sand Village delegation will continue to cause trouble in the future.

The most important thing now is to reassure the other party.

Let's hear his terms first!

After a moment's thought, Minato asked, "...Then what would it take for Ayaki-kun to give up?"

"Hmm, I need to think about that carefully."

With Long Er's intelligence, how could he not see that today's events were an accident?

but.

The Uchiha clan is a family that values ​​face more than life itself, and they are particularly fond of holding grudges.

Today, he humiliated the Uchiha clan so much and even displayed a method that seemed to counter the Sharingan. They will definitely not give up on retaliating against him, and even if the Third Hokage gives the order, it will be useless.

After all, it's easier to see the King of Hell than to deal with his underlings.

The Uchiha clan has never been under the control of the higher-ups in Konoha, and they have done plenty of things that are outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant, so they don't care about doing it one more time.

They might refrain from taking excessive actions due to the current situation, but they will certainly try to sabotage us behind the scenes.

Although I am not afraid, the other members of the Sand Village delegation will definitely be affected.

So, since we've already formed a grudge, let's kill him.

But since Ryuji can't do that now, he can only intimidate his opponent.

Therefore, this matter must not be left unresolved.

Even if you wanted to intimidate the other party, it would be difficult to do so under the current circumstances.

After all, no matter how much the Uchiha clan and the Konoha leadership don't get along, that's their own business. They can't just stand by and watch an outsider deal with them.

Therefore, there is only one last solution left.

"Let's have a friendly sparring match between Konoha and Sunagakure!" After a moment of contemplation, Ryuji made his request. "Sunagakure and Konoha will each send three people for three one-on-one duels. Whether they want to intimidate us or seek revenge, they can settle things in this match."

"Resolve the conflict through a duel..." Minato pondered for a moment, "Although the method is a bit old-fashioned, it's very suitable for the current situation, so..."

"Wait a moment."

Everyone looked over at the sound and saw that Uchiha Setsuna had woken up at some point and was standing up with the help of the other two.

"Are you alright, Setsuna?"

Although he was very concerned about what Setsuna wanted to do, Minato was more concerned about his physical condition, after all, they were companions from the same village.

Even if the Uchiha clan and the village have some disagreements, it's not an irreconcilable conflict.

"I'm fine." Setsuna nodded slightly to him and then said, "If you think you can settle the matter of humiliating the Uchiha clan with a single battle, then anyone will dare to insult the Uchiha clan in the future."

"Oh, so what do you want?" Ryuji smiled at him, waiting for him to continue.

"The rules of the duel are not about life or death. I want you Sunagakure to pay with three lives."

"Are you so sure you can win?"

"If we can't restore the family's honor, what face do we have to live in this world?"

"You have guts." Long Er clapped his hands, his smile widening. "That's what I've always thought. If we can't defend the village's honor, what face do we have to live in this world?"

"That would be for the best!" Setsuna glared at Ryuji one last time, then turned to Minato. "Minato, please tell the Third Hokage that the final battle will be fought by someone from the Uchiha clan."

After saying that, he limped away with the help of the other two, leaving Minato with a worried look on his face.

"This is a huge problem!"

(End of this chapter)