The Avengers of the Uzumaki Family

The general content of the discussions has been finalized.

Details are not suitable for these people to discuss, or to be more precise, Menma and Shemu must 'maintain their status' and not engage in any 'argument-like' discussions about details.

This is something that needs to be done by the subordinates.

That would leave more room for maneuver.

If Menma must personally handle the talks, then it should be the Fourth Raikage who makes the contact; that's a requirement based on his status.

This has practical significance; it's not something done haphazardly.

The Takigakure Village didn't have this qualification before, but it does now.

Equal status, equal negotiation.

It is also a kind of invisible, hidden benefit.

"Yes, we'll be bothering you for a few more days. Please excuse us for being so rude today."

Tsuchida, being quite tactful, stood up and, along with Hi and Samui behind him, bowed slightly to Menma and Shibuki before turning and leaving.

Watching the group of people leaving the earthen platform.

His face was pockmarked, and a hint of contemplation flickered in his eyes.

"Wasuki-san, I'll still need your help later..."

Then he turned to Shibuki and gave him a few instructions.

Shibuki listened intently, then nodded emphatically and replied, "Yes, Menma-kun, don't worry, I will definitely do as you ask."

"Ah, then I'll leave it to Shibuki-san."

"Yes, no problem!"

The arrival of the Hidden Cloud Village was somewhat beyond Menma's expectations, and all previous arrangements needed to be adjusted according to the changing situation. However, Menma's attitude towards the Hidden Cloud Village was actually predictable.

Before they arrived, both the Fourth Raikage and Tsuchidae held some hope, not only because Menma was young, but also because the current ninja environment in Takigakure and Menma's village was not very good.

Don't be fooled by the fact that Mianma seems to be winning all the time.

The major ninja villages were all repelled and defeated.

But can this kind of thing be replicated continuously? Putting aside the fact that the major ninja villages didn't go all out at all, and that their previous joint operation was almost a joke, even if they could really do it, as strong as Konoha Village was back then, it still couldn't really fight against the entire ninja world on its own.

Therefore, I had a lot of confidence before I came.

But looking at it now...

While the situation wasn't the worst, it wasn't one that the Hidden Cloud Village could comfortably accept either.

Under the arrangement of Tōran, Utōtai and his party arrived at another slightly more spacious hotel on the west side of the village's central street, which was specifically used to accommodate foreign guests.

As someone who specializes in perception techniques, hope immediately formed a hand seal, unleashing a vast amount of perception power.

Covers the current area.

After carefully examining the area several times and confirming that there was no one else around, hope Fang nodded slightly at the earthen platform.

"Tsuchida-san, did Uzumaki Menma just say that he only agrees to release the ordinary Cloud Ninja who have been captured, and that Yugito-san absolutely does not intend to release them?"

Sam, who had just sat down, looked at the earthen platform with a serious expression and spoke.

"Although it wasn't a 100% rejection, that's pretty much the gist of it. After all, Yugito is the Jinchuriki of the Two-Tails, and both the Raikage and I anticipated that."

Tu Tai gently shook his head and said.

Tsuchikage knew all too well how valuable and important a tailed beast was. If it weren't for a battle between peak combatants, a tailed beast could easily crush thousands, or even more, of ordinary ninjas.

Compared to humans, the biggest advantage of tailed beasts lies in their exaggerated amount of chakra. To give a clear example, if the Third Raikage were to face 10,000 Iwa ninja, he would die from exhaustion of chakra, stamina, and energy. However, if the Eight-Tails, whose strength is almost equal, were to face them, and if Onoki, Rōshi, Han, and others did not intervene, the Eight-Tails would at least be able to break through the encirclement, if not completely defeat the 10,000 Iwa ninja.

This is the biggest difference between tailed beasts and humans.

The current ninja world is in such a chaotic state that it's perfectly reasonable for Takigakure, represented by Menma, to be unwilling to easily give up the Two-Tails they've already acquired. However, Kumogakure absolutely cannot accept this.

"So what should we do next? Should we continue negotiating as before? Will they accept it? Or should we use other methods?"

A faint, sharp glint also appeared in Sam's blue-green eyes.

The Hidden Cloud Village is proud, but also stubborn.

They absolutely cannot accept the situation of their own village being bullied by others. Even when their own village was defeated more than ten years ago and the Third Raikage died on the battlefield, Kumogakure still stood firm against all enemies.

The current situation is indeed more dire than before, but the Cloud Ninjas, led by Samui and hope, still refuse to lower their proud heads.

While interests are one aspect, dignity is another crucial factor.

"No, we can't use other methods now. Our village can't afford any more turmoil. Although the old man in Iwagakure in the north seems to be planning to back down, it's hard to say exactly how. The number of Iwagakure ninja on the front line has only been reduced by half, and a large number of elites are still stationed there. Moreover, we also have to be wary of Konohagakure in the south. Even if the probability is low, they are still our enemy. It's not advisable to provoke Takigakure any further."

Tu Tai gently shook his head and said.

The goals must be clear, the bottom line must be upheld, but more importantly, it is necessary to understand the situation one's own side is in.

In the current ninja world landscape.

Their Hidden Cloud Village has already fallen from its top position. Let alone the ambition to advance, it is already a great achievement to be able to hold onto the remaining small territory. As the Raikage's assistant, Tsuchida is the strategist of the entire Hidden Cloud Village, and he needs to be clear about what he should be doing.

One of the most important goals at present is to appease Takigakure Village.

Regardless of the expiration date, calming them down is the most important thing.

These days, the credibility of contracts in the ninja world is like a joke.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 350 Before Departure

No one will actually abide by the so-called agreement.

That's just like a piece of waste paper, basically an excuse for each side to cease hostilities and recuperate. Once the major ninja villages have recovered to a certain extent, this agreement will become worthless.

Tsuchitai no longer hopes to form a real alliance with Takigakure. He simply wants to retrieve the captured Yugito and other Kumogakure ninja and gain a temporary respite.

Therefore, we absolutely cannot afford to have a falling out here; we must have a proper discussion.

"So you mean we need to relax the other conditions a bit more? Would Lord Raikage allow that?"

hope, sitting to one side, frowned and asked.

"Yes, this time, Lord Raikage has entrusted me with all the authority to make decisions. There are no issues with the conditions. Compared to Yugito, everything we're paying for now can be recouped later. The most important thing is whether we can win her over."

Tsuchida nodded and said, a look of deep emotion appearing in his eyes as he gazed at the bustling scene of Takigakure outside the window.

Both hope and Samui, who were in the lower seats, had solemn expressions on their faces.

The group from Tutai were unwilling to give up easily.

And Menma had already made her decision.

Over the next few days, more intense negotiations ensued. With Menma and Shibuki absent, it was Tsuchida who negotiated with Taran and Karin. Since the other party was different, Tsuchida's words could be slightly more 'aggressive'.

This is a normal phenomenon in negotiations.

Negotiations between nations and ninja villages, even the slightest deviation, involves enormous interests. How could they possibly sit down and negotiate amicably in a truly peaceful manner?

Verbal sparring is the norm.

This is why it's not appropriate for the highest leader of any major ninja village to personally engage in the most detailed negotiations. As long as they haven't spoken yet, it doesn't matter how fiercely the subordinates argue; there's still room for maneuver.

Any diplomatic negotiations.

The leaders only need to grasp the general direction.

Tarashi and Karin also received Menma's exact instructions.

Therefore, regarding the matter of Yukito, there was absolutely no intention to back down. Of course, they wouldn't say outright that they definitely wouldn't let him go back; they would just need to wait for a while. As for how long that period of time would be, that was hard to say.

Tsuchikage was aware of this, and with no other choice, he contacted the Fourth Raikage, who had returned to the village to recuperate, through a special channel once again, and with his final permission, he reached a final agreement with Takigakure.

The negotiations could not be delayed indefinitely.

Moreover, the biggest threat to Kumogakure right now is Iwagakure. Even if Tsuchikage's comprehensive analysis shows that there's a 99% chance the Third Tsuchikage won't continue to attack Kumogakure, but instead needs to be wary of Takigakure led by Menma, it's still just theoretical. If that 1% probability happens, who can they complain to?

All of their Cloud Village's defensive positions on the western front of the Land of Lightning were occupied. Although the affected area was only a little over one percent of the Land of Lightning's territory, that one percent was already fatal, as it could affect nearly half of the Land of Lightning's interior.

Not only did their Hidden Cloud Village completely lose influence over the Land of Rice, the Land of Frost, and the Land of Iron in the west, but their control over the Land of Hot Springs was also greatly shaken. More importantly, the pressure on their own country's defenses increased dramatically.

During this period, efforts were made to rearrange the defenses.

The Fourth Raikage and Tsuchikage were already worried sick. From now on, Kumogakure could only go into full defensive mode against Iwagakure. Iwagakure could attack whenever they wanted, and it would be extremely difficult for Kumogakure to launch a counterattack.

Therefore, Takigakure cannot continue to entangle itself here. After all, it is still some distance away from Kumogakure, and there is no direct border between the two countries. If they want to invade, they would have to go through two or three small countries first, or start from the Land of Fire.

This debt can be kept in mind for now, and we can deal with it later when the Hidden Cloud Village has regained its strength.

Based on this, after Tsuchikage stayed in Takigakure for a full week, the two sides officially signed a peace treaty, which repeatedly reaffirmed the friendly relations between the two ninja villages and emphasized future cooperation.

But all of this is actually nonsense.

The truly meaningful part was the development of certain areas in the middle of the agreement, the transfer of some mission shares, and the conditions for the donation of supplies. This was what the Hidden Cloud Village had to pay, and the corresponding condition for the Hidden Takigakure Village was to release the nearly one hundred Cloud Ninja prisoners first. Almost on the day that all the supplies on the list were delivered to the Hidden Takigakure Village, Menma issued the release order.

As these Cloud Ninjas removed their chakra suppression equipment and walked out of the prison, they were all somewhat dazed.

Keep in mind that most of them were prepared to die.

But I never imagined that I would regain my freedom.

On the same day that all the Cloud Ninja were released, Tsuchikage led them on their return journey.

As for the remaining wooden figures...

That was not mentioned in the so-called peace agreement.

Later on, even the earthen platform itself stopped adhering to this principle.

Since it is impossible to provide specific corresponding benefits, the issue of Yukito can only be temporarily shelved.

Just like how Kumogakure was extremely hostile to Iwagakure back then, but could only put aside their hatred, they would wait until Kumogakure regained its strength before taking Yugito, or more accurately, taking back the Two-Tails.

The world of ninjas is a dog-eat-dog world, and in this respect, the Hidden Cloud Village is the one that understands it the most, because they have always adhered to this philosophy in their actions.

Using the diplomatic actions of Kumogakure and Takigakure as a point of intersection, during this period, various ninja villages also launched diplomatic probes for their own interests, with the core focus naturally being Konohagakure and Iwagakure.

The Hidden Mist Village and the Hidden Sun Village are now simply willing but unable to do anything about it.

Silently waiting for the right opportunity is their only option; until then, they can only silently lick their wounds.