Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha lacks motivation.

it is a pity,

Kakuzu's business ultimately did not extend to Iwagakure.

"boom!"

The only response he received was a pillar of dust-escape light, imbued with its master's rage. Everyone immediately retreated to avoid it, followed by a violent explosion.

"I will be back!"

Looking at the furrows carved between them, Onoki viciously uttered a classic villainous line.

Then, in front of everyone, he activated the full-power Light and Heavy Rock Technique, and in a flash, he ascended into the sky, taking his two disciples with him and leaving long trails of flame. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared into the night sky in the direction of the Land of Earth.

"Chase!"

Hanzo wasn't about to suffer this in silence. He immediately took to the air, his thrusters roaring.

You, Onoki, dare to run wild on my turf? You'd better leave something behind.

Hydrangea glanced awkwardly at the Rain Village cyborg army behind her, and forced herself to explain.

"Um, Lord Hanzo, the legion's propulsion system has not yet been fully upgraded. Apart from you, no one in the entire legion can fly."

"Wasn't the renovation funding allocated a long time ago?"

Hanzo, who landed slowly, stared intently at the hydrangea, his words full of accusation.

"There was a slight problem with the procurement process, but we have communicated with the manufacturer in a timely manner and the upgrade for the legion will be completed soon."

"snort!"

Since the legion could not cooperate with him, Hanzo had no choice but to abandon the idea of ​​pursuit, burying his resentment. He turned to look at the people who had helped Amegakure resist Onoki, especially Shu and Danzo, who had fought alongside him. His tone was full of sincerity.

"Thank you all for your help. You will always be friends of Amegakure."

"Of course, we are unbreakable allies!"

With the battle over, Xiu could finally relax. He smiled and nodded to Hanzo, a hint of annoyance lingering on his otherwise handsome face.

"What a pity. If the Juhar Legion were here, they would have given Onoki a taste of what the ultimate humiliation is like."

"I still have some trump cards up my sleeve. I'll teach that little potato a lesson next time!"

Danzo also perked up at this moment, and started to boast in a very convincing way.

Hanzo shifted his gaze from Xiu's face to Danzo standing to the side, and slowly stepped forward.

"Lord Danzo, I truly did not expect that Konoha would come to our aid."

"These were all decisions made by Tobirama-sensei."

With Hisana Senju by his side, Danzo dared not keep this favor to himself, and solemnly revealed the person behind him.

"Tobirama Senju?"

Upon hearing this name, Hanzo was momentarily speechless. He had never met Tobirama Senju before, so why would the other party go to such lengths to support him?

"It is indeed my father."

At that moment, Senju Hisa stepped forward. Hanzo looked at the white-haired girl before him, his red electronic eyes flashing with an ambiguous light.

"I don't know."

"May I speak to you in private?"

really.

There's no such thing as a free lunch. Tobirama Senju must have had his reasons for sending troops to support Amegakure.

Hanzo nodded, but instead of responding directly, he invited everyone present to join him.

"You have all done Amegakure a great favor, so we should naturally host a banquet in your honor. Please come to our camp for a chat."

"I don't need to. The Sand Village's support forces should be arriving soon. I have important matters to report to my father."

Xiu immediately stepped forward to refuse, not because he didn't want to give Hanzo face, but because the Shukaku battle puppet was destroyed, and he had to give the villagers an explanation.

"Then let's get together another day."

Hanzo did not object; Sunagakure's attitude couldn't be clearer: he had absolutely no concerns about Xiu.

"etc!"

Seeing Xiu turn to leave, Kakuzu, who was clutching the contract in his hand, quickly spoke up.

"You haven't paid yet!"

"Lord Kakuzu, we will pay for Lord Shu and Lord Danzo's expenses later, so you don't need to worry. But would you two like to join us for the banquet?"

Hanzo didn't care about such a small amount of money; he not only promised to pay it for him, but also set his sights on Kakuzu and his grandson.

Kakuzu is no ordinary bounty hunter; he has the now-thriving Takigakure village behind him. If we can win them over, they will be an invaluable asset.

"No, we have rules in this industry. Apart from the final payment and tips, we will never take a single thing from our customers."

Unfortunately, Kakuzu wasn't stupid. Dogs that live to his age would be quite intelligent, let alone humans. Faced with Hanzo's invitation, he politely declined.

For him, food was just something to eat, a quick bite or two was fine; getting the money was the only important thing.

"Hydrangea, pay the money to Lord Kakuzu."

Since that's the case, Hanzo didn't insist and turned to tell Hydrangea to give Kakuzu the money.

"yes!"

Hehehe~

Before long, Kakuzu, who was carrying several suitcases, was grinning from ear to ear.

"Lord Kakuzu, it's a pleasure doing business with you. Remember to provide an invoice."

After finishing the falsified accounts, Hydrangea put away the ledger and gave a meaningful reminder.

"It's a pleasure to work with you! It's a pleasure to work with you!"

As their hands clasped together, a knowing smile appeared on their faces.

"Let's go, Xiaoyi, your mom will start nagging again if we don't go home soon."

With the multinational business concluded, Kakuzu ushered in a moment of utter drooling as Chihiro made his exit.

"Grandpa Laodu, if you're not going to eat it, how about we pack some to take home as a late-night snack?"

Looking at his grandson who was drooling like a pig, Kakuzu grabbed his ear in exasperation.

"Eat, eat, eat! You didn't learn much from your two mothers, all you learned was how to eat!"

After seeing Kakuzu and his grandson off, Xiu made a special trip over to say goodbye to Uchiha Gin before leaving.

"Grandpa Yin, I'm leaving now. Come visit us sometime, Auntie's been talking about you a lot lately~"

"Definitely~ Definitely~"

Senju Hisama, standing to the side, coldly stared at the smiling Uchiha Gin, a nameless anger suddenly flaring up within her.

"Curly-haired guy, what's your relationship with the Third Kazekage?"

"ha?"

"If you dare to do anything to betray my little sister, I'll take you down with me even if it means I die."

Uchiha Gin rolled his eyes. "You're quite the dutiful uncle... no, aunt," he thought. "But unfortunately, he's absolutely innocent when it comes to this relationship."

"Chiyo and I are completely innocent, heaven and earth can bear witness."

You'd better tell the truth.

After staring at Uchiha Gin's deadpan eyes for a long time, Senju Hisami slowly withdrew the chilling killing intent emanating from his eyes and whispered,

"Otherwise, you can forget about getting your underwear back."

"what?"

Damn it! No wonder he's a born scoundrel, the Thousand-Handed White Hair, who actually used his favorite strawberry underwear as a hostage.

"Lady Hisama, are we really going to Amegakure's headquarters?"

On the way to the Amegakure headquarters, Danzo found Hisana Senju, who had accepted the invitation in place of Root, her face full of conflict.

"Konoha hasn't officially allied with Amegakure yet. Won't such a hasty entry into their territory have some negative consequences?"

Of course, his main fear was that his espionage activities in Yuyin years ago would be exposed, and he would be killed by a group of executioners halfway through his meal.

Senju Hisama glanced at the disciple beside her, keenly catching the panic in his eyes, and a confident smirk appeared on her lips.

"My purpose in coming here is to cooperate with Amegakure."

"Weren't you here to supervise the work at the root?"

Danzo was taken aback. He had always thought that Hisana Senju had sent the Root members to the battlefield merely to observe the Konoha team formed by Minato and others.

"If it's such a trivial matter, do I really need to be there in person?"

Senju Hisa gently shook her head. Her purpose in coming here was simply to contact Hanzo and discuss an alliance. As for inspecting Root's work, it was merely an optional extra.

Just as the two were talking, a furtive figure approached Uchiha Gin, who was trailing at the back of the group.

"Silver Three."

"Lao Ba, have you forgotten what I said?"

Looking at the short figure draped in a cloak, revealing two enormous lightning bolts, Uchiha Gin, who could identify people by their lightning strikes, raised his hand to interrupt.

"Mr. Yin, I really didn't expect you to come."

Lifting the cloak, Hydrangea's delicate, youthful face was filled with excitement.

"How's my work? Not bad, right?"

At this moment, she no longer resembled the chief scientist of Amegakure at all; she was nothing more than a primary school student craving praise.

"It's alright, but it's too restrictive. I've said it so many times in class: when modifying human bodies, you have to have your own ideas."

If anyone else had created such a sophisticated cyborg army, Uchiha Gin would definitely give them a thumbs up. But since it was his own student, Gin would have to hold back a bit.

"Jiewei?"

"That's right, you're not a Rain Village cyborg, you're clearly a Land of Waves-style cyborg. Apart from your headband being from Rain Village, which other part is self-developed?"

"Ah, well. The main problem is that our Rain Village's light and heavy industries are still in their infancy, and we still need to rely on imports for some precision parts."

Hydrangea's face tightened as Uchiha Gin's words exposed her true feelings, and her pink lips pouted high.

"But at least the blueprints were developed independently by me."

Are you sure?

Looking at the somewhat flushed outer disciple, Uchiha Gin narrowed his eyes, his tone full of mockery.

"Uh, I only borrowed a little bit."

Feeling uncomfortable under her gaze, Hydrangea clutched the hem of her clothes and whispered in protest.

"Never mind, since you have my excellent teachings as a precedent, it is understandable that you cannot surpass them in a short time."

Seeing Hydrangea's head drooping lower and lower, almost burying itself in the lightning, Uchiha Gin reached out and patted her head, shoving a copy of his "Encyclopedia of Human Body Modification (Idiot's Edition)"—a book he'd compiled in his spare time—into her hands.

"Take this and study it some more. People can only improve through continuous learning."

Thank you very much.

Holding the thick textbooks, Hydrangea was filled with emotion. This is truly a good San San of the people!

"Remember to pay for the books later."

"."

Soon, the long procession entered the Amegakure wartime headquarters. Thanks to the arrangements made by the Amegakure ninja who had returned earlier to report the news, tables laden with tempting food had been waiting for some time.

"please!"

Hanzo waved his hand and forced a stiff smile at Senju Hishin and the others.

The banquet then began.

Minato and the others, seated around a table, stared in astonishment at the array of colorful dishes, especially the fragrant sweet and sour fish, which made their mouths water.

"I didn't expect Amegakure to have so many delicious foods."

They initially thought the Land of Rain was just a poor, remote place with nothing of note, but reality quickly proved them wrong.

"But why do these dishes look so familiar?"

Kushina, resting her chin on her hand, had her brows furrowed into a deep frown.

"Really? Hmm... this sweet and sour fish is about three-tenths as good as mine!"

Uchiha Gin, who was sitting at the same table with them, blinked and eagerly picked up a piece of his signature dish with his chopsticks. His eyes lit up after tasting it; the syrup recipe actually had a hint of his own flavor.

"How was it? Not bad, right?"

Just as the group was enjoying their meal, Hydrangea, wearing a little apron, came over, her rosy face full of pride.

"Did you do this?"

Uchiha Gin, who was slurping up sweet and sour pork ribs, raised an eyebrow. No wonder this table was full of his favorite dishes; it turned out they were made by his little apprentice.

"Under the guidance of senior Banzi, I learned a little bit of the basics."

Hydrangea wiped the sweat from her forehead and nodded with a smile. During her studies in Konoha, she often stayed overnight at the Uchiha Gin family's residence and ate plenty of meals at Senju Itama's house.

"Not bad, Lao Ba, you'll definitely be a good wife in the future."

After a brief moment of surprise, Uchiha Gin's attention was drawn to the exquisite desserts that had just been served. He casually offered a compliment, then began showing them off without even looking up.

"A good wife, isn't she?"

Upon hearing this, Hydrangea blushed, her large, watery eyes filled with a puzzled look, and her restless little hands tightly gripped the corner of her apron, revealing the shyness unique to young girls.

"Grandpa Yin is having affairs everywhere again. I must tell Grandma when I get back!"

Seeing this, Kushina clenched her little fists in anger, stuffed the braised pork knuckle made with rock sugar into her mouth, and ate it with her mouth full of oil. Minato, who was watching from the side, couldn't help but twitch his eyelids, wondering if he had found a cute Akimichi girl.

"Kushina, your surname is Uzumaki, right?"

Seeing Minato's conflicted expression beside her, Kushina generously handed him her half-eaten pork knuckle, her greasy lips stretching almost to her ears in a wide grin.

"What, you've come to terms with marrying into the family? Minato Uzumaki~"

At the very center of the camp, Hanzo, Danzo, Senju Hisa, and Nonou, who was in charge of taking meeting minutes, sat at a table.

"Gentlemen, I'll drink first as a sign of respect."

Hanzo raised a glass of thick, black engine oil, nodded in acknowledgment, and downed it in one gulp.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Lord Hanzo."

Seeing the normal drinks in front of her, Senju Hisa breathed a slight sigh of relief. When Amegakure brought out a bottle of engine oil, she thought it was some kind of unusual custom and almost pointed and ran away.

"I was merely doing my duty as a host. I am deeply grateful that Konoha extended a helping hand to us at this time."

As he spoke, Hanzo picked up the entire bottle of engine oil on the table and started chugging it.

"Well"

Are you getting your skincare routine done here?

Seeing this, Danzo and Senju Hisana raised their wine glasses with a black line on their foreheads and politely returned the toast. For a while, the three of them clinked glasses and drank happily.

Nonou, on the other hand, remained silent, picking at the food on the table, but the delicious food failed to arouse her interest in anything.

I really want to sit at the same table as Uncle Yin.

Nono glanced at the lively children's table in the distance, her eyes filled with envy.

"Lord Hanzo."

Holding a wine glass, Senju Hisako's lips parted slightly, her face flushed with a captivating blush.

"Having suffered such a crushing defeat, Onoki will surely seek revenge in the subsequent battles. Even with the assistance of Sunagakure, Amegakure will likely struggle to withstand Iwagakure's all-out attack, won't they?"

Upon hearing this, Hanzo, whose lips had turned black, put down the empty oil bottle. The intelligent man understood the meaning behind Senju Hishima's words and asked in a deep voice, "..."

"Lady Hisana, can you represent Konoha's stance?"

"Me? Come here, Danzo, tell him what the current Konoha's surname is?" (End of Chapter)