They're promoting the "Konoha threat" theory, and spouting nonsense about the Hidden

Chapter 151 Shooting the Halberd at the Gate? Shooting the Cannon at the Gate!

While Danzo Shimura and Tsunade were gathering information, representatives from the Hidden Cloud Village, Hidden Stone Village, and Hidden Sun Village were secretly discussing details for the meeting.

This includes how to join forces to put pressure on Konoha, their respective interests, and how to secretly steal the limelight from Kirigakure, etc.

Of all these, the one suffering the most is undoubtedly the Hidden Cloud Village.

Originally, he thought that by taking advantage of his status as the leader of the Three Kingdoms Alliance, he could unite the forces of the three kingdoms, not only to take the fattest piece of meat from Konoha, but also to steal the limelight from Kirigakure. Wouldn't it be wonderful to kill two birds with one stone?

However, the problem lies in Onoki's personal presence. With the village's Kage right in front of him, Modibi from Kumogakure's side is not of equal status. His act of using the title of leader in front of the Tsuchikage inevitably gives off a sense of pretense.

This also made Modibi very resentful. After all, the war was not over yet. Even if Onoki's flying skills were superb and his Dust Release attack power was extremely high, it was still a bit risky for the Kage of one village to personally come to the main camp of another village.

Fortunately, Onoki had the idea of ​​watching from behind the scenes, so Modibi was able to exercise the power of the leader of the alliance as expected by Kumogakure.

After initial discussions were completed and the interests of each village were established, Wuyin Village fell into a brief silence.

At this moment, the eyes of the entire ninja world were focused on Kirigakure and on the peace talks that would take place a few days later.

And that day soon arrived.

-

The sky was clear and the breeze was gentle; it was truly a rare and beautiful day.

To prevent the ninjas from starting a fight while arguing, Hozuki Shingetsu specifically ordered a camp to be set up outside Kirigakure to serve as the venue for this ceasefire and peace talks.

Inside the tent, the host and guests were seated according to their status. As the host village and the initiator of this peace and truce talks, Kirigakure naturally took the main seat facing the camp gate.

Because the Hidden Cloud Village, Hidden Stone Village, and Hidden Sand Village decided to unite to put pressure on Konoha, the representatives of these three villages sat together to show their intention to unite.

Seeing this, Hozuki Shingetsu could only have the Konoha members sit on his left, in order to slightly balance the unbalanced situation in the ninja world, respecting the left.

Logically speaking, Hanzo of the Salamander should also have been invited to this peace and truce talks, since he was the one who actually started the Shinobi World War.

However, neither Hozuki Shingetsu nor the other four great ninja villages ignored the existence of Amegakure without hesitation.

The reason is simple: the voice of Amegakure is far too weak in the face of the common will of the five great ninja villages, so weak that they simply don't bother to listen to their opinions.

"This Shinobi World War has lasted for three years since it began. There is no doubt that both the people of various countries and the shinobi villages are exhausted."

"Our Hidden Mist Village cannot bear to see the people suffer, and also for the sake of all villages, so at the urging of the people, we propose to hold this peace and truce talks to relieve the people's urgent suffering."

Hozuki Shingetsu sat in the main seat and set the tone for the meeting.

"Since representatives from various villages have traveled a long way to participate in this meeting, it proves that everyone is willing to negotiate. In that case, I will leave this stage to you. I hope that you can, for my sake, cease hostilities and shake hands to make peace."

After saying this, Hozuki Shingetsu fell silent and gave the stage to the rest of the audience.

"Our three-nation alliance has more than 100,000 ninjas combined. Our frontline army is amassed and we are on the verge of victory. If we have another two or three months, we will crush Konoha and capture Hiruzen Sarutobi alive. How can you expect us to decide on peace here? It's laughable!"

Tsuchikage took the lead, directly treating Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure as a single entity, and immediately deployed an army of 100,000, giving Konoha no chance to attack them separately.

However, since they came to negotiate peace rather than declare war, Tu Tai immediately changed the subject after making his move and started talking about the conditions for a truce.

"However, considering the hardships faced by the people of the Land of Fire, and out of respect for the host village, Kirigakure, it's not impossible to negotiate."

"If Konoha first admits defeat, then cedes a thousand miles of territory to our three kingdoms, and offers 50 billion yen in reparations as compensation for our losses in this war, we will agree to peace talks!"

Upon hearing this, not only Konoha was shocked, but even Hozuki Shingetsu was stunned by the three countries' outrageous demands.

Leaving aside how Konoha would explain to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire if it agreed to cede thousands of miles of territory, Konoha would not agree to the 50 billion yen war reparations alone.

That's 50 billion!

That's equivalent to two years of Konoha's military budget. If we give it to them, what will Konoha do for those two years?

The entire village stagnated, while other villages rapidly developed using Konoha's money.

Moreover, Konoha did not suffer a defeat in this war; on the contrary, it fought back and forth with the three powers.

But if such conditions are agreed to, wouldn't that be equivalent to something that wasn't obtained on the battlefield being obtained by the other side in just a few words?

Danzo Shimura didn't even need to think twice. If he dared to agree to such a condition, forget about becoming Hokage. If he wasn't killed by the horde of ninjas the moment he returned, it would be a testament to the simple and honest nature of Konoha's people.

"What a joke! Your Three Kingdoms Alliance has an army of 100,000? Fine! In three years, your 100,000 men from the three kingdoms have not even set foot on the land of my Land of Fire, despite the defense of my 20,000 Konoha troops. I really don't know where you get the courage to bark and howl in front of us!"

"One hundred thousand against twenty thousand, ha, it seems that it's perfectly acceptable for the Konoha ninjas to call themselves 'one Konoha against five Hu'!"

Nara Shikahan stepped forward and launched a fierce counterattack, seizing upon the other party's weakness.

After all, everyone knows where the front line is now, so even if Tu Tai wanted to call a deer a horse, it would be impossible for him.

Nara Shikakan, however, took the initiative and presented his own viewpoint, taking the stand on the other party's position.

Your army of 100,000 has fought for three years and still hasn't reached my Land of Fire's homeland. You can imagine how weak your fighting power is. And yet you still have the nerve to call yourself the victor?

How dare they ask for war reparations?

That's a joke!

Upon hearing this, everyone on the other side couldn't sit still any longer.

After all, the insults in those words were far too strong. Putting aside the multiple of "five" in "one piece of wood is worth five Hu," the insulting word "Hu" alone was unacceptable to them.

Especially in the Hidden Cloud Village, they were already disgusted by people calling them barbarians from the Land of Lightning, let alone Nara Shikahan who had just used his ultimate skill at point-blank range.

However, before anyone from Kumogakure could even appear, Chiyo, who already harbored a deep hatred for Konoha, stepped forward and launched an attack on Nara Shikakan's words.

"'One piece of wood can defeat five barbarians'? What arrogance! My 100,000-strong army is locked in a stalemate with you only out of humanitarian concern, to spare the people of the Fire Kingdom from suffering undeserved calamity. I deliberately gave you a chance to surrender! I never expected you to be so smug about it. You are truly ignorant!"

"And if Konoha is truly that powerful, why not launch a counterattack instead of coming to this meeting?"

"Moreover, my army of 100,000 stretches for thousands of miles, and can afford to make countless mistakes. But if you make just one mistake, then the Land of Fire... Hmph!"

Chiyo looked at Shimura Danzo across from her and let out a cold laugh.

"A mistake? What a joke! It seems you have no idea what an elite force is!"

Upon seeing this, Nara Shikahan immediately turned his gun on Chiyo and retorted with clear thinking.

"However, it's not your fault. After all, your three kingdoms' 100,000-strong army is nothing but a bunch of good-for-nothings. In your eyes, making mistakes is perfectly normal. But do you think a firefly's light can rival the moon's brilliance? I hope you won't use your narrow-minded thinking to judge the elite of Konoha, otherwise you'll only make yourselves a laughingstock."

After confronting Chiyo, Nara Shikahan didn't stop there, switching from defense to offense and launching an offensive against the other side.

"Our Land of Fire has a harmonious relationship between its ruler and his ministers, abundant resources, and countless war supplies! Furthermore, the Hokage carries the hopes of the people, and the entire village is united. Even if Konoha fights for another three years, we will not be afraid!"

"But can you really do it? I'm afraid you'll collapse without a fight in less than three months. To dare to spout such nonsense under these circumstances is utterly ignorant of your own limitations. Now, retreat immediately!"

After speaking, Nara Shikahan stood proudly, staring at the person opposite him with disdain, as if everyone present was trash.

Chiyo's blood boiled at these words, and even her teammate Danzo Shimura turned around, marveling at Nara Shikakan's eloquence.

The representatives from the three countries opposite him naturally couldn't stand by and watch Nara Shikahan be so smug, and they all stood up to criticize his words from various angles.

Nara Shikahan, of course, accepted all challengers without hesitation, holding his own against multiple opponents, much like Hozuki Shingetsu's verbal duel with the group of ninjas in Uzushio Village back in the day.

For a time, the camp was filled with shouts, curses, and even the sound of things being smashed, fully demonstrating the diplomatic style of a great ninja nation.

"Ahem... Since you all have differing opinions, I do have a way to resolve your dispute. Would you please hear what I have to say?"

Seeing that the atmosphere was gradually heating up and was turning into a full-blown fight, Hozuki Shingetsu thought the time was right, coughed, and stepped forward.

Seeing Hozuki Shingetsu stand up, the representatives present also stopped talking out of courtesy and turned to look at him, wanting to see how Hozuki Shingetsu intended to mediate this war.

But Hozuki Shingetsu remained calm and pointed to the small hill outside the camp, asking everyone present:

"Does anyone here have good eyesight and can tell me how far that mountain is from the camp gate?"

Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a small hill standing at the edge of their field of vision.

"Roughly estimated, it's about twenty kilometers."

Although no one knew what Hozuki Shingetsu was up to, Nara Shikakan still generously provided the data.

Upon hearing this, Hozuki Shingetsu clapped his hands and laughed:

"Twenty kilometers. If my Hidden Mist Village possesses a weapon capable of destroying that mountain from this distance, you will unconditionally cease hostilities; if not, you may return and lead your troops to fight to determine the outcome. What do you say?"

(End of this chapter)