---Third POV---
Hiruzen had to try everything to finally convince Kushina to go back.
"With all due respect," she had argued, hands planted firmly on his desk, "my sealing abilities could turn the tide at the Hot Water front."
But just as he saw Kushina off, Ryouma showed up again.
He was also demanding to go to the battlefield in the Land of Hot Water. These two kids really didn't understand how to show a bit of consideration for an old man.
Let's just get this war over with quickly, and pass the Hokage title to Minato.
Pinching his nose, he continued reading the scroll in his hand. It had just been sent back from the Iwa battlefield by Orochimaru.
The gist was that things on the Iwa front weren't going well, after Ōnoki sched and caused the death of the Third Raikage, he was acting up again, even using their jinchūriki.
Not only did Hiruzen's side have fewer ninjas than Iwa, but Jiraiya was also dragging things down. Orochimaru hoped he could send so truly capable fighters to help.
At the end of the scroll, Orochimaru specifically ntioned Ryouma by na: "I heard Ryouma has perford heroically on the battlefield. If he could co to the Land of Grass, I believe he could bring a positive shift to the Iwa front as well."
Hiruzen considered, stroking his beard thoughtfully. He didn't doubt Ryouma's strength, of course. But the problem was that Ryouma wanted to go support the battlefield in the Land of Hot Water against Kumo.
He could certainly use his authority as Hokage to force Ryouma to go to the Land of Grass, but he didn't want to damage the friendly relationship he had nurtured with Ryouma over sothing like this.
Even though he didn't know exactly how much fighting power the elderly Madara still had, the combo of Ryouma and the One-Tail, who could use Tailed Beast Balls like targeted bombs, was not sothing any leader could take lightly.
Moreover, Ryouma's reason for wanting to go to the Land of Hot Water was out of concern for his friends' safety.
Just listen to that.
The Will of Fire burns strongly in him. What a good kid, he's the perfect inheritor of the Will of Fire.
There was no helping it. Orochimaru would have to find another way. As his most outstanding student, he believed Orochimaru could manage.
As for regular fighting forces, he could still scrape together so to support Orochimaru.
This was all thanks to Ryouma, ever since he destroyed parts of Kiri and killed the Third Mizukage, there had been no more invaders from the Kiri front.
According to intelligence from their spies, Kiri had been holding an inauguration ceremony for their new Mizukage these past few days.
Interestingly, there were now two camps within Kiri.
One faction demanded that Konoha hand over the one who destroyed their village or else they would go to war. But these voices mostly ca from a small, lower-class segnt of the village. Most of them had a deep grudge against Konoha, or against Ryouma personally.
The other, much larger faction was more pragmatic. They knew they couldn't win and leaned toward surrender. Notably, the newly appointed Fourth Mizukage Yagura, was part of the surrender faction.
Maybe he had realized Konoha's strength was insurmountable, or maybe Kiri simply couldn't afford another war.
After taking office, he imdiately organized a diplomatic delegation to head to Konoha for peace talks.
Hiruzen held the formal diplomatic docunt sent by the Land of Water's governnt, that was the real reason he had been holding back Ryouma from heading to the Land of Hot Water.
After all, when facing a delegation from Kiri, what could be more intimidating than having the very person who destroyed their village personally greet them?
Ryouma didn't even need to do anything. As long as he sat sowhere during the negotiations, he'd serve as an intimidating "symbolic deterrent."
"Co here." Hiruzen called out softly, and an ANBU appeared instantly in front of the Hokage's desk.
"Yes."
Hiruzen handed him a scroll. "Deliver this to Ryouma."
"Yes." Accepting the order, the ANBU vanished smoothly and silently from the office.
---
"Hah? I was held back in the village for this little thing?" Ryouma looked over the scroll from the ANBU from left to right and issued a soul-deep complaint.
Given how dilapidated Kiri was now, wasn't Konoha in a position to push them around however it wanted? Why did he need to stand by?
If they dared to act out, couldn't they just send word and have Ryouma fly over and gift them a few Tailed Beast Balls?
The ANBU's job was done, and he had already slipped away quickly. Ryouma waited for a while, expecting Rin to co and calm him down, but when he looked around, there she was, sitting quietly in the courtyard, holding Shukaku in her arms while steadily charging her Strength of a Hundred Seal on her forehead.
With Tsunade's help, she had already completed the seal's structure a week ago.
However, the internal chakra space of the freshly ford seal was still empty. Only after filling this chakra reservoir would the powerful sealing technique be considered complete.
At that point, the Strength of a Hundred Seal would be fully activated. It could be used at will, and even if the chakra inside was depleted, recharging it would be much faster the next ti.
Rin was strong-willed and diligent in her training. Over this period, she had been working on her chakra whenever she had a spare mont, slowly storing it inside the seal.
Ryouma, though, hoped she wouldn't push herself so hard. After all, his mother had died young from overworking herself trying to keep up with his father's pace.
He tiptoed over and sat beside her.
Once the diplomatic matter with Kiri was settled, he would head to the battlefield in the Land of Hot Water. And after Kumo was dealt with, there was still Iwa.
Thinking about it now, back in the Ninja Academy, war hadn't seed so real. But now that he was on the battlefield, he finally understood, war was truly a drain on ti and energy.
---
Two days later, a diplomatic mission of a dozen people made their way slowly through the wooded paths of the Land of Fire.
Their figures were shrouded by tall trees.
Each mber of the mission wore a Kiri forehead protector and traditional Land of Water attire, their expressions serious.
This small team of emissaries bore a mission of great importance for Kiri: to pass through the forest and arrive at Konoha to negotiate peace with the Third Hokage.
Though Konoha had always been known in the shinobi world as a village that valued peace, especially under the leadership of the Third Hokage, this ti it was different.
Kiri was clearly at a disadvantage. To show sincerity, the Fourth Mizukage had personally sent the delegation to Konoha, hoping for smooth negotiations.
At the head of the group was a shark-faced man, it was none other than Kisa. During the battle to defend Kiri, Yagura had witnessed Kisa's fight with Ryouma firsthand, which led to his promotion as the new captain of the Mizukage's personal guard.
As they neared Konoha's gates, a girl in the group lifted her wrist to check the ti, murmuring to herself, "Ryouma…"
Kisa noticed her unusual behavior and kindly reminded her, "Don't forget the primary objective of our mission, i."
"I know." She lowered her gaze and replied softly, "I'll be careful."
"That's good."
---
On the main street of Konoha, so well-inford villagers had heard about the diplomatic mission sent by the Land of Water. They stood at a distance, quietly observing the ninjas from the Land of Water, occasionally whispering among themselves.
So even had hatred in their eyes, likely because people dear to them had died in the war against Kiri.
However, thanks to Hiruzen's earlier arrangents, these villagers remained restrained. After all, in Konoha, the voice of peace had always been the mainstream.
To avoid unnecessary conflict, Kisa had reminded the delegation mbers before entering the village not to make eye contact with Konoha's people. If any conflict arose, it could beco a disadvantage in the upcoming negotiations.
Under the escort of four ANBU from Konoha, the Kiri delegation arrived at a guest inn prepared by Konoha.
According to Shikaku's advice, it would be best to let the Kiri delegation sit and wait for a few days. This could create so psychological pressure.
As Konoha's chief strategist, his advice was naturally trusted by Hiruzen, who thus decided to start the actual negotiations three days later.
As for today, when the door opened and they saw the uninvited Ryouma, cold sweat appeared on Kisa's forehead.
"What brings you here?"
Looking at the tense faces of the Kiri delegation, Ryouma gave a friendly smile and spoke in a gentle voice.
"No need to be nervous. I'm here under orders from the Hokage to show you all so of the sights of Konoha."
Upon hearing the familiar voice, i rushed out of her room and imdiately saw Ryouma talking to Kisa.
"We et again!"
Her gritted words reached Ryouma's ears. He looked up at the girl who seed a bit familiar.
"Oh, it's you! Perfect. Didn't you give a tour around Kiri before? Now it's my turn to show you so hospitality."
i suppressed her inner anger and remained silent. Right now, Kisa was the one in charge. He knew that since Ryouma was acting on the Hokage's orders, refusing would be out of the question. He looked back at the mbers of the delegation.
Sure enough, they all looked at Ryouma like mice seeing a cat, as if afraid he might suddenly lose control and slaughter them all.
Sigh…
Sighing inwardly, Kisa had no choice but to step up himself.
"This is our first ti in your village, and my companions are rather tired. Let them rest inside. But I am quite curious to see the sights of Konoha. I'll trouble you to be my guide."
It had to be said, he really was a straightforward guy. He probably practiced this line ahead of ti, and it ca off quite polished.
Unfortunately, he was dealing with Ryouma.
"Haha, no."
Kisa's smile froze.
Ryouma's lips curved into a slight smirk as he continued, "I won't say it a second ti. You can leave two or three people behind to pack things up. The rest of you, please co with now."
i furrowed her brows tightly and stepped forward to argue, but Kisa held her back firmly.
Power dictated the situation, and the person in front of them was strong. To Kiri, the na Ryouma was probably even more influential than the Third Hokage.
"Understood," Kisa said.
"Thanks for your cooperation."
Kisa then left three people at the inn and led the others to follow Ryouma out.
As they walked along the sightseeing route, he racked his brain trying to figure out the Third Hokage's intentions behind this move.
"Ryouma!"
"Ryouma-sama!"
Walking through the streets of Konoha, i noticed that villagers enthusiastically greeted Ryouma as they passed.
And Ryouma, for his part, wasn't the aloof type, he greeted everyone warmly and sincerely.
"This village's atmosphere… is really different from Kiri," i couldn't help but sigh.
Though she was born during the Bloody Mist era, she wasn't soone who enjoyed killing and fighting. Before she knew it, she began chatting occasionally with so of the more friendly-looking Konoha villagers, even buying a few local snacks.
Her attitude seed to affect the rest of the Kiri delegation as well. They were visibly less tense now. So even began discussing Konoha's landmark buildings among themselves.
Ryouma glanced at i. Did this woman see through Shikaku's strategy? Or was it just a coincidence?
Sensing his gaze, her eyes flickered, and she spoke up, "Tobi, do you have so sort of interest in ? You've been sneaking glances at this whole ti. For a gentleman, peeking at a lady like is rather impolite, you know?"
He was at a bit of a loss for words at her sarcastic tone.
"I assu you know my real na. Besides, as your temporary tour guide, it's reasonable for to observe the foreign guests, right?"
"Hehe~" i pulled out a fan she had just bought and coyly covered her mouth with it.
"Didn't you tell yourself that your na is Tobi? And going by what you just said, are you admitting that you were watching ?"
So annoying. I'm definitely not doing this again tomorrow, Ryouma grumbled to himself.
Maybe he could have Shiori take over, this kind of psychological pressure mission should be right up her alley.
Not wanting to keep bantering with i, he casually brushed her off. "Yeah, yeah. You're right about everything."
"…"
That shut her up. Clearly, faced with his total surrender-style responses, even she didn't know how to continue.
Even though she was ntally cursing him, she still kept up a composed smile on her face.
---
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen was watching the Kiri delegation through his crystal ball using the Telescope Technique.
Looks like the plan to use psychological tactics to pressure the delegation had failed.
He hadn't expected that even the young girl would have such a composed mind, and that the leading ninja would be so patient and restrained.
No wonder the Fourth Mizukage chose to send them.
At this point, there was no more benefit to keeping them waiting.
He decided to begin formal negotiations early. After all, Konoha still held absolute advantage.
30 advance chapters!
/Malphegor
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