Taking the draft agreent from Fugaku, Masashi felt a bit dissatisfied.
What did they an by saying he was the best at this?
"Fugaku-sama, as the Advisor, you shouldn't be belittling people like this," Masashi said.
"How am I belittling you?" Fugaku was puzzled.
He thought about it—he wasn't wrong.
Wasn't it widely recognized now that Masashi was the best at this kind of thing in all of Konoha?
Had this kid gone mad?
"What kind of nonsense are you on about now?" Fugaku's face darkened. "ssing around all day... Just take a look already. This version has already been discussed with the Raikage. The amount has been set, and they have no choice. See if there are any other areas that need adjustnt."
"Exactly, Masashi, are you misunderstanding sothing?" Hiruzen said with a chuckle. "Your skills—everyone has seen them. We trust you."
Back when he and Danzō worked hard to squeeze 2 billion ryō out of the Land of Water, it was exhausting.
That might sound like a lot, but for a major shinobi village, it was just an ergency fund at best.
Later, Masashi took a trip to Kiri, said a few words, and now Konoha makes more than 2 billion ryō directly from the Land of Water every year.
However, the more recognition he received from the people in this office, the more frustrated Masashi felt.
This was not the reputation he wanted!
He felt the need to salvage his image.
"I only have a bit of knowledge about risk control clauses. How can I be called the best at this?" Masashi said.
The people in the Hokage's office were stunned for a mont, and then...
Laughter erupted!
Even Koharu laughed.
Just a mont ago, she looked like she had stayed up all night gaming and getting completely wrecked, but now she was genuinely amused.
Hiruzen, in his laughter, broke yet another pipe. He felt heartbroken, but he couldn't stop laughing. His expression was truly twisted.
Minato was pounding the table, laughing while speaking.
"Masashi, you are hilarious! Oh my..."
Why are they laughing? What did I miss??
Looking at the agreent in his hands, Masashi was puzzled. Since they weren't going to explain, he focused on reviewing the docunt, doing his best to tune out their endless laughter.
Oh, wow—compensation of 10 billion ryō? You people have really gone overboard!
"Hokage-sama, isn't this compensation amount a bit too high?"
"Huh?" Minato was taken aback. "Is it too high? I thought Kumo was pretty rich. I originally asked for 15 billion ryō, but the Sandai already lowered it."
"As expected of the Sandai—so generous! No wonder even enemies respect you," Masashi praised imdiately.
Hiruzen's old face turned red. He felt like Masashi was mocking him, but he had no proof.
This kid is so petty—just because everyone laughed at him a little?
And it wasn't just him laughing! Why single him out?
"Hokage-sama, why don't you learn from the Sandai and be a little more generous? Enemies are people too—they also need to eat. If you demand too much and they can't pay, won't we end up at war again? And war leads to sacrifices." Masashi sighed. "Of course, if Konoha is threatened, I will step up without hesitation. But war always brings losses. We want peace, not conflict."
"Oh." Minato's face was blank. "Then what do you suggest?"
"How about this—since you're the Hokage, and your word is as good as law, the Raikage has already accepted this amount, so it wouldn't be appropriate to change it. Instead, let's go with an installnt plan."
At this, the people in the office looked disappointed.
As if to say: That's it? Have you run out of tricks?
Masashi pretended not to notice—he had no common language with these bad people.
"Of course, with such a large sum, even in installnts, it's still a lot. Fortunately, the association recently introduced a new financial product that's perfect for situations like this, where large-scale compensation paynts strain the financial chain."
Everyone perked up—they knew he was about to drop so real knowledge.
It didn't matter whether such a product actually existed—if Masashi said it did, then it existed.
By now, Masashi had fully imrsed himself in his role, wearing an expression of deep sympathy, as if he were genuinely looking out for Kumo.
"10 billion—let's do a three-billion down paynt, three billion as a loan with a three-year term, distributed in equal monthly paynts. The remaining four billion will be covered by a designated bank under the association, and Kumo will pay the full amount to the association after three years."
Everyone in the room hesitated.
It sounded pretty reasonable—he was truly considering Kumo's financial situation.
That was suspicious.
That was definitely suspicious.
Among them, Fugaku knew the most about the association. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
"Masashi, what's the interest rate? Never mind, just tell —how much extra will they be paying?"
"Fugaku-sama, why are you asking ? The Association has to approve that." Masashi was displeased. "You're making look like a bad guy again."
"Cut the nonsense—give an estimate."
"Hm..." Masashi wanted to dodge the question to avoid influencing their judgnt, but seeing Fugaku looking like he was about to say 'It's my ti to shine', he reluctantly gave a rough estimate.
"About twenty percent more..."
After thinking for a mont, he added, "But you can't look at it just in terms of money—this is a political move. If they had to pay a lump sum of 10 billion, Kumo might end up with an internal coup."
"Hm..."
"Masashi~" Hiruzen drawled. "Forget the interest rate for a mont—this designated bank... That money—it's not all from the Land of Fire, is it?"
These people are getting too familiar with this ga!
"The Land of Earth and the Land of Water have joined in too. How the bank allocates the funds—I really wouldn't know..." Masashi shrugged.
This was the truth—he didn't control how the funds were distributed.
He only handled risk control.
Minato understood imdiately. Excitedly, he slapped the table.
"See! And you say you're not good at this? You're the best at it!"
The Hokage bead, lost in happy thoughts.
Masashi's expression froze.
Why?! Why are they like this?!
"I've changed my mind."
Minato was particularly fond of slamming the table today.
He first gave it a loud "bang" and then said, "Masashi, you're coming to the negotiation too!"
"Why?" Masashi's face imdiately fell. "The war is already over. I want to apply for a break. Besides, you said it yourself—if I join, it'll be bad for negotiations."
"If you don't join, I'm afraid we won't get the money." Minato argued confidently. "Let Kumo have their opinions if they want. They already have opinions about us anyway, so it doesn't really matter."
"I object! As Hokage, you're blatantly favoring your own people!"
"Objection overruled. No, wait... Favoring my own people? That..." Minato instinctively refuted, then realized sothing was off and asked in confusion, "Isn't that exactly what appointnts are supposed to be?"
Masashi froze.
Right, the ninja village system was built on favoritism.
If you didn't favor your own people, that was when things went wrong.
Damn it! Wrong choice of words!
"I'm not done objecting." Masashi quickly tried to salvage the situation. "How can the Hokage go back on his word?"
Like hell I'm going! Knowing you, attending ans working overti with you.
He didn't want to work overti.
"Oh, co on, there's no outsider here. It's fine." Minato grinned. "You're already here, leaving now would be awkward. Co on, let's get to it."
A dignified Hokage blatantly playing dirty—Masashi felt helpless and pitiful.
He turned to Fugaku, looking at him expectantly.
"Do sothing more proper. You have a wife now, stop going to those shady places." Fugaku said. "Since you have the ability, take on more responsibilities."
"Young people should take care of their health." Hiruzen chid in. "By the way, the cafeteria has changed vendors, and the food is much better now."
Like you're one to talk!
"Fine..." Masashi had no choice but to accept his fate.
Outnumbered. No way out.
"That's the spirit!" Minato stood up and clapped him on the shoulder. "We're comrades who have been through thick and thin. And you'll be working in this building in the future, so consider this an early adaptation."
Thanks, but no thanks.
He didn't struggle so hard in this life just to experience late-night office work all over again.
His dream was to travel the world.
But clearly, the people in the Hokage's office had different ideas. They were all thrilled that Masashi had walked right into their trap.
As soon as the ssenger toad inford them that he was coming back, they decided not to let him go.
Minato had regretted approving his leave as soon as he signed the paperwork yesterday.
How could they let go of such a useful agreent-reviewing and negotiation expert?
Honestly, his return was perfectly tid.
"Alright, since Masashi is back, let's all put in so extra effort tonight. We'll finalize the draft and sign the agreent with the Association."
Minato set the tone for tonight's overti session.
"Once we're done, supper's on ."
With that settled, Masashi didn't bother overthinking. Looking on the bright side—at least he could mooch a al.
He didn't believe for a second that the cafeteria served the sa food to the Hokage's office as they did to regular administrative workers.
The previous cafeteria vendor was so bad that even the overworked bureaucrats complained it was inedible. But Masashi had eaten in the Hokage's office before, and it wasn't any worse than the restaurants in the comrcial district.
New vendor, new nu—definitely worth looking forward to.
He focused on reviewing the agreent. The work was already divided—he was responsible for all financial matters.
Everyone else had their own tasks.
For instance, Fugaku handled military affairs.
Hiruzen was in charge of diplomacy.
Koharu and Homura oversaw the distribution of rights and obligations—without touching financial matters.
Even though Shikaku had one arm in a sling, he still had to review so additional clauses.
The Hokage's office quickly beca filled with the spirit of hard work and diligence.
---
At the sa ti, in the Raikage's office in Kumo, the lights were also burning bright.
Dodai sat at his desk, looking at the clauses in front of him, feeling like his brain was about to explode.
The draft agreent Konoha sent this ti was completely different from previous ones—extrely convoluted and full of technical jargon, completely devoid of any natural flow.
Dodai read through it and felt like it was just a pile of dry, rigid words strung together. Yet, on closer inspection, there weren't any loopholes.
He wasn't the only one reviewing it. As the Interim Raikage, he had to rely on his team of secretaries, who were now working overti with him.
Even the head of the ANBU had been dragged into this.
Both of them were getting dizzy from reading.
"Raikage-sama," the ANBU commander finally broke free from this tornt and gave his opinion, "this writing style is very similar to that of the Association, though not as refined and complete. There are still signs of patchwork. I doubt it was drafted by the White Ghost himself."
"I'm just an acting Raikage. Call by my na." Dodai sighed. "I'll likely have to go to Konoha to sign the agreent in person. Do you think Masashi will be there?"
"I heard he isn't participating this ti. That was the Hokage's decision."
"Oh? Then is the rumor true? That Konoha's financial policies are all set by him? The Association is also his, not the Uchiha clan's?"
"There are indeed such rumors, but he is a free ninja in Konoha with no official position."
"Saru, I need ANBU to work harder on confirming this." Dodai said, "Masashi is an exceptional negotiator, especially when using the Association's influence. He played a big role in making Kiri and Iwa Konoha's allies."
"I understand. Our spies in Konoha have already been inford and will get to the bottom of this."
The two exchanged glances, both feeling the sa thing—
A headache.
It had been a long ti since Kumo had worried about financial issues.
In the past, their economy was actually stronger than Konoha's.
But at so point, the tide shifted. Konoha's finances ballooned dramatically, while Kumo's losses from repeated defeats had begun to take a toll.
This ti, Konoha was making outrageous demands.
Initially, they asked for 15 billion ryō in compensation. Converted to the Land of Lightning's currency, it was even more. They also wanted non-monetary reparations, including the Amber Purification Jar.
Eventually, after back-and-forth negotiations, the compensation was lowered to 10 billion ryō—but still had to be settled in the Land of Fire's currency. Konoha also no longer demanded the Amber Purification Jar, nor did they cut into Kumo's mission market share. However, they did insist on getting Kumo's perfect jinchūriki technology.
For Kumo, this was already the best possible outco—there was no room for further concessions.
Now, their only chance was to adjust the contract's fine details.
The problem was... This contract was a nightmare to read!
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Currently 80 advance Chapters!
/Malphegor
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