Escape From Konoha

"Mizukage-dono, please stay for a moment."

After exchanging opinions in the Tsuchikage's lounge, the other three Kages walked out of the lounge.

Tsunade took the initiative to find Mei Terumi, who had become the Fifth Mizukage, and stopped him in his tracks.

"Oh, do you have anything to ask me about, Hokage-dono?"

After Terumi Mei heard Tsunade's cry, she smiled, as if she was surprised that Tsunade suddenly stopped her at this time.

"There are some things that I would like to discuss with Mr. Mizukage alone. Do you have time now?"

Tsunade didn't hide her purpose.

Terumi Mei thought for a moment, nodded, and agreed.

"Since Hokage-dono invites you kindly, it would be unkind to refuse. Please lead the way, Hokage-dono."

Under the leadership of Tsunade, Terumi Mei followed her along the corridor and towards the remote corner of the corridor.

For the actions of the two people, Luo Sha saw the whole situation.

Although he was a little curious about Tsunade's search for the new Mizukage Terumi Mei, he didn't go up to ask rudely.

He just glanced at their backs, then turned and left in the other direction of the corridor.

A remote corner, deserted, a secluded place for conversation.

"Okay, Mr. Hokage, no one is disturbing us here anymore. You can explain why you came to me. The attitude of the Ghost Country is aggressive right now, and we don't have much time to waste here."

Terumi Mei stood still and asked straight to the point.

"That's true. Then let me tell you directly. I heard that the Fourth Mizukage Mikura-dono who your village abdicated not long ago is a perfect Jinchuuriki who can control the power of tailed beasts in his body. I am very interested in this technology. No. Do you know if your village can sell the technology for controlling tailed beasts to us in Konoha?"

Tsunade nodded and explained her purpose.

Because time was limited, she did not argue with Terumi Mingxu, but quickly stated Konoha's demands.

After listening to Tsunade's appeal, Terumi Mei was slightly surprised, but she quickly calmed down, with a rather embarrassed look on her face:

"The fourth-generation master who has abdicated does have the power to perfectly control tailed beasts. However, I think Mr. Hokage should understand how precious the technology of controlling tailed beasts is. It can even be said that it is not expensive that can be measured in terms of money. Technology. I can only say sorry for your request, Hokage-dono."

Tsunade was not surprised, Terumi Mei's rejection was also expected.

If the technology to control tailed beasts was really that easy to obtain, then perfect jinchūriki wouldn't be so rare in the ninja world.

The ninja village who mastered the tailed beasts would not have a love-hate relationship with the tailed beasts. They had been painstakingly studying the tailed beasts' control techniques for decades, but to no avail.

Currently, apart from Kumogakure and Kirigakure, I have never heard of a third party force possessing the technology to perfectly control tailed beasts.

"Mizukage-dono, there is no need to refuse so quickly. Let's hear the price from our side first. We in Konoha plan to sell the high-level sealing techniques and secret techniques collected over the years, a total of twenty types, as a reward for purchasing this technology. . In addition, this time all compensations from the Kingdom of Water and Kirigakure to the Kingdom of Oni will be borne by us, the Kingdom of Fire and Konoha. I wonder if these two conditions satisfy Mr. Mizukage?"

Mei Terumi was secretly speechless, she didn't expect that Konoha would pay such a huge stake in order to obtain the technology to control the tailed beasts.

Twenty kinds of high-level sealing techniques and secret techniques, let alone their value, as long as we find corresponding talents in Kirigakure and conduct elite training, it is enough to cultivate many elite ninjas who are proficient in sealing techniques and secret techniques, and bring Kirigakure to the forefront. The strength of the village has further improved.

The accumulated value is no less than the value of tailed beast control technology.

As for the second condition, it is completely the icing on the cake.

Since the Kingdom of Water is located overseas and has no direct territorial disputes with the Kingdom of Ghosts, the compensation that the Kingdom of Ghosts requires from the Kingdom of Water this time is just a monetary inspection. Although these compensations will make the Daimyo of the Kingdom of Water feel pain, they are within the acceptable range.

Seeing Terumi Mei sinking into deep thought, Tsunade did not interrupt, but asked the other party to calculate the gains and losses.

After a long time, Terumi Mei let out a breath and looked directly at Tsunade with her green eyes.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hokage, I can't make the decision on this matter alone. Let's do this. After this negotiation, I will return to the village and relay this matter to the Fourth Generation. After all, this technology was created by the Fourth Generation. If you want to cooperate with For your village to make this deal, you must get his approval."

"Is this so? I understand. Then, I will wait for good news in Konoha."

Tsunade didn't force it, and the initiative to control the tailed beast's technology was in Kirigakure's hands.

If Kirigakure does not have this will, even if more chips are placed on the other end of the scale, it will not be able to impress Kirigakure, or even the retired Fourth Mizukage.

In fact, Tsunade wasn't even sure about this matter.

Putting herself in the situation, she would not sell this technology easily.

"Thank you, Mr. Hokage, for your understanding. No matter whether this transaction is successfully completed or not, Kirigakure and Konoha are good friends. Well, it's getting late. Let's rest quickly. Staying up late is a big deal for us women. Where is the enemy?"

Terumi Mei smiled at Tsunade, turned and left, heading back to the lounge where Kirigakure was.

Tsunade watched the newly appointed Mizukage leave with emotion.

This woman is not a simple character.

Having just ascended the throne, not only did she show no sign of timidity during such intense and depressing negotiations, but she was also able to chat and laugh with others, calm and composed under the strong pressure of the Kingdom of Ghosts, making it difficult for people to guess her thoughts.

Among the four Kage, she might be the most calm one.

People who didn't know better thought she was traveling.

◎

There were no major twists and turns during the armistice negotiations.

Although the negotiation lasted for a week, with a total of five negotiations, as long as the premise that the Kingdom of Ghosts was the victor was acquiesced and this point of view was confirmed, then there would be some differences in the advance of benefits. Differences of opinion.

In the first four days, all parties were still aggressive, as if the conditions given by the other party were humiliating themselves and wanted to start war again. However, on the fifth day, when the fourth round of negotiations was held, the attitudes of all parties were much more 'relaxed' and their tone was There is also some restraint in attitude and attitude.

This is entirely because in the first three rounds of confrontation, various compensation conditions were replaced with each other, and a more detailed and acceptable prototype was formed. Even the victor, the Kingdom of Ghost, began to turn a blind eye to some minor details. With one eye closed, there is no excessive force.

In the same way, the four Kage, led by the four ninja villages, although they also acquiesced in the view that the Demon Country was the victor, they also followed the belief that their side had not completely lost their combat effectiveness, and felt that they had retained considerable strength, without You must act in full compliance with the rules of the Kingdom of Ghosts.

The so-called "defeat" is only a compromise made as a last resort in order to maintain international stability and peace, not a complete loss of initiative.

Both parties to the negotiation understood the pros and cons of their respective situations. In the first three rounds of confrontation, they secretly reached a tacit understanding. The fourth and fifth rounds of negotiation only increased or deleted the chips on the basis of compensation. Get the next stable international environment.

In fact, if the defense power of the Earth Country was not too fragile, causing the Oni Country's troops to push all the way to the west, causing Iwagakure to lose its troops, otherwise the alliance army composed of four ninja villages would not be able to negotiate at all. Being so passive, you can definitely take the initiative.

And all this is due to the previous Mizukage Goju Yagura, the 'wise and powerful' Kirigakure leader. Although the other party protected Kirigakure's interests to a certain extent, Kirigakure's losses in the war were minimized. , but he completely betrayed Iwagakure, his ally, and used wrong information to make Iwagakure make wrong decisions, which resulted in Iwagakure being defeated again and again when fighting on his own land.

So much so that in public meetings or in private Four Kage meetings, the Tsuchikage Onoki felt extremely unhappy with Mimei, the Mizukage. They had a dark face the whole time and did not look good to the other party.

If Tsunade and Rasa hadn't calmed down the atmosphere, a civil war might have started within the alliance.

"Now that everyone from the Kingdom of Ghosts and the Alliance Army have completed their negotiations and have contributed to international stability, it can be said that it is a happy ending for everyone. I have also specially prepared a banquet, and I would like to ask you to move over. "

At the end of the final negotiation, General Mifune of the Iron Kingdom, who had witnessed the entire negotiation process, took the initiative to take a step forward, calm down the originally stiff atmosphere, and invited Liuli and the four Kage to attend the next banquet.

It is as if by doing so, all parties will sit down and friendship will gradually develop.

However, Mifune also knew that this was nothing more than his own remarks.

During the negotiation process, if he had not taken advantage of every opportunity and stopped in time to ease the atmosphere when the armed conflict was about to break out between the parties, it is very likely that this strong warrior castle would have been directly demolished by these people.

Progressive friendship is just a casual talk, but the continuous negotiations these days have also made everyone exhausted, especially Tsuchikage Ohnoki, who has the most serious dark circles on his face and has not eaten or slept well for a whole week.

If this continues, Mifune is very worried about the opponent's health and whether he can persist smoothly, but it is best not to have any accidents in the Kingdom of Iron.

Ohnoki wanted to refuse, but considering that he was indeed hungry now, he nodded stiffly.

Tsunade, Mei Terumi and Rasa had no objections and agreed.

The talks with the Oni Country are indeed over, but whether it is necessary to maintain the alliance of their four ninja villages is still a question.

From Luo Sha's perspective, this alliance still needs to be maintained. Even if there is a crisis of trust, it must be maintained.

As long as it is maintained, it will at least have some power to intimidate.

Once disbanded, Sunagakure will fall into a state of fighting alone. In that case, the end may not be any better than Iwagakure.

"Then don't bother me. Just call me when the time comes."

Liuli did not embarrass Mifune, and Iron Country did not offend her, so her attitude was quite polite, not as cold and merciless as she was towards Si Kage.

After speaking, she began to sort out the finalized armistice agreement, which also included various compensations made by all parties to the Kingdom of Ghosts after the end of the war.

Except for the Kingdom of Earth, which has the biggest disputes and problems, the other three parties are still within the acceptable range for the conditions of the Kingdom of Ghosts.

After all, the dispute with the Earth Country not only involves the country's territory, but also disputes over sovereignty, so the Tsuchikage will naturally fight for it.

After sorting out the agreement, Liuli took the lead in leaving the conference room used for negotiations.

It was still some time before dark, and when she returned to the lounge, she needed to convey the results of the meeting to the Kingdom of Ghosts.

Ohnoki also took the initiative to leave the table after Liuli left and returned to the lounge to rest.

The old and frail Tsuchikage, who had been negotiating for a week, had exhausted almost all his energy. Before the banquet started, he might have been resting in the lounge to replenish his energy and recharge his batteries. .

"I'm really worried about how long the old man's body can sustain it. This time, the Kingdom of Demons continued to maliciously target Earth Kingdom and Iwagakure during the negotiations. I'm afraid that the border issue of Earth Kingdom will still be used to make a fuss by the Kingdom of Demons. .”

Luo Sha sighed quietly after Onomu left.

It has the sad feeling of a rabbit dying and a fox sad.

There was a time when Sunagakure was so isolated in negotiations.

Today, the Kingdom of Earth has followed the same path as the Kingdom of Wind.

As the two countries with the largest territories among the five major countries, they have lost their land to the Kingdom of Ghosts one after another. It can be said that they are brothers in distress.

"As long as the alliance continues to maintain, the Kingdom of Ghosts will not push too far. At least on the surface, it will still restrain itself."

Tsunade tapped her fingers on the table and expressed her opinion.

"What Mr. Hokage said is reasonable. After this war, a new pattern will emerge in the ninja world. As a traditional power, we may also have to change our past governance strategies."

Terumi Mei nodded in agreement.

"The ruling strategy of the Demon Country is completely unsuitable for us. If we imitate it rashly, it will cause fundamental turmoil in the country, leading to the collapse of people's livelihood, economy, politics, and even the military. The One Country, One Village established by the First Hokage In terms of the structure, the Kingdom of Ghosts is undoubtedly a terrifying anomaly. If this continues, countries may be annexed one after another."

Luo Sha's eyes were cold, with vigilance and fear shining in his eyes.

"Do you have any good suggestions, Mr. Kazekage? In a short period of time, we will not be able to launch a second war against the Kingdom of Demons."

This war allowed Tsunade to see Konoha's shortcomings.

The bloated ninja troops and the excessive number of people are the main reasons for Konoha's lack of combat effectiveness.

Although the armament of the Kingdom of Demons is powerful, it does not form an absolute crushing force. The quality of the ninjas themselves is still a factor that cannot be ignored.

Coupled with the decentralization of power and the independence of the roots of the Ninja clan, Konoha's power cannot be concentrated at all.

Unless faced with the crisis of wiping out villages, it would be difficult to concentrate all efforts.

This was also an important reason for failure in the battle with the Kingdom of Ghosts.

There were more or less mistakes in the other villages, which prevented the alliance from seamlessly uniting with each other, but there was a fundamental problem in Konoha.

This made Tsunade more and more determined. The next strategy implemented by Konoha should be to improve the graduation standards of ninja schools, and at the same time adopt an elite training method, spread it as much as possible, and strengthen the quality of ninjas themselves.

Even if such a strategy may be blocked by the ninja clan, she must implement it.

"How about testing Kumo Gakure's tone? Although I don't like Kumo Gakure, who has the same strong style as Oni Country, but if there is any village today that has the power to control Oni Country, it is undoubtedly Kumo Gakure."

Luo Sha put forward his own opinion.

If Kumogakure is also brought into the alliance, then at least the deterrent effect will be improved to a higher level.

And although Kumogakure has not shown much prominence in recent years, it can be seen from the vague intelligence that this village, like the Demon Country, has a morbid desire for military power.

Ninjas are dispatched all year round to plunder the secrets and forbidden arts of other small ninja villages, and even imitate and improve a large number of imported weapons from the Kingdom of Demons, vigorously strengthening the military power of their own villages.

It can be said that, with regard to the gradually modernizing military armaments, Kumogakure is the Ninja Village who is best at operating these war tools, apart from the Demon Country military.

Compared to Konoha at this time, Kumogakure gave Rasa a more secure sense of security.

How disgusting it was in the past, it is so reassuring now.

"It's not easy to get Kumogakure to join the gang. As far as I know, Kumogakure is secretly looking for the missing two-tailed Jinchuuriki at this time, and he has no time to pay attention to this matter."

Tsunade frowned.

There is indeed a way to win over Kumogakure, but Tsunade is not optimistic about the success rate.

"That's right. And Kumogakure, like the Kingdom of Oni, likes to intervene in the internal struggles of other countries. In the past, when our Kirigakure had the Blood Mist Revolution, Kumogakure was secretly promoting it."

Terumi Mei's attitude is quite clear, rejecting Kumogakure from joining this alliance, and using the real blood mist coup to allude to Kumogakure's wolf ambition, which is no different from the country of ghosts.

Luo Sha sighed. Tsunade's hesitation and Terumi Mei's rejection made him understand that there seemed to be no hope of wooing Kumo Gakure in at the moment.

With their current power, can they really curb the development of the Kingdom of Ghosts alone?

Ultimately, the reason for this failure was due to the disunity of the villages.

Even this negotiation.

It is said that they are advancing and retreating together, but in terms of compensation conditions, Oni Country only maliciously made things difficult for Earth Country and Iwagakure, constantly forcing Onoki, and did not make too much trouble for the country and village where the three of them lived...

This resulted in the three of them being unable to be on the same front as Onoki wholeheartedly. Many times they could only provide verbal support, saying that they would confront the Kingdom of Ghosts to the end. But in fact, it is better to send the old man Ohnoki out and face the strong pressure of the Kingdom of Ghosts alone.

What is the future of Sunagakure? Luo Sha was thinking about this problem and was a little frustrated with the current alliance. In frustration, she left the meeting room.

◎

Follow the armored artillery vehicle on border patrol along the defense line.

However, the patrol area is already at the innermost edge of the border. Even if it encounters a large-scale enemy attack, there is still a buffer of retreat space.

Naturally, Cai was not very satisfied with this arrangement.

It's not that I am so passionate about war, but that with such an arrangement, the superiors regard them as dispensable soldiers.

The more purpose is to pull them over and experience the tense atmosphere of the confrontation between the two sides.

Apart from this, not to mention frontal battles, even side battles, Cai has not encountered one since she came to the west of the Earth Kingdom.

Basically, the day's work ends with boring and repetitive patrol tasks.

Many times, it is just used as a messenger and belongs to the reserve army.

Only when everyone in the main army is dead will it be the reserve army's turn to take the field.

Wearing a ninja suit that is warm but not bulky, with a sniper rifle and a black bag on his back, and ninja tool bags filled with various props on both sides of his thighs, he can be said to be armed to the teeth.

The weight of these equipment alone is eighty kilograms.

For ordinary people, it would be impossible to walk with such a heavy thing on their backs, but Cai was used to carrying it and walking easily on the snow. She patrolled for three hours in a row without feeling tired.

He was followed by Xiang Rin and Yamazaki Hisashi.

Instructor Jonin Uchiha Yan is not here.

Therefore, the temporary leader of the three-person team is Ai, who has been a chuunin for two years.

"I don't know if there will be a fight next. If the fight continues, maybe we will have the opportunity to go to the battlefield and be quickly promoted to jounin."

Yamazaki was carrying a backpack full of things and a folded flying ninja tool.

Like Cai, armed to the teeth.

The weight of the equipment all over his body is heavier than the equipment on Cai's body.

He followed Cai, aimlessly moving along the track made by the armored vehicle on the snow, while imagining that the war would continue and he would become a Jonin.

"Idiot, a guy like you, once he enters the frontal battlefield, he will definitely fall down in the first round of charge."

Xiang Rin, who was sitting on the steel plate behind the armored vehicle, laughed at Yamazaki Hisashi's speech.

She is a medical ninja. Not long ago, she was summoned to the medical clinic in the rear to treat injured ninjas returning from the battlefield.

Just by imagining it, you can see how far the frontal war with Iwagakure went.

Passing by the cleared battlefield, countless potholes dotted the land. The sense of desolation and destruction was enough to shock the soul of anyone who saw war for the first time.

Even a heavily armed jounin with the latest chakra armor cannot guarantee that he will survive.

"I'm just saying that in two years' time, when we reach adulthood, we can join the main army as a matter of course. We no longer have to be in the reserve force and can only serve as messengers in the rear."

Yamazaki Jiu didn't care about Xiang Rin's poisonous tongue, and still had a lot of expectations for the future.

"At that time, the group will be disbanded and reorganized, and new formations will be made."

Caitou said without replying.

The armored vehicle in front stopped. It was almost dusk, and the people inside began to come out and make rice on the spot to solve the problem of dinner.

Several surrounding armored vehicles also began to stop, and the accompanying team stopped advancing simultaneously.

The average age of the members of these teams is similar to or slightly older than Aya and the others. They are basically genin with weak combat capabilities.

They are all reserve ninjas and do not participate in side or frontal battlefields. They are usually only responsible for logistics and other aspects of work.

At this moment, the earplug-type radio device worn in the ear first transmitted the sound of salsa, and then a clear and serious voice.

"The war is over?"

This is the end of the war broadcast, formally informing combatants on the front lines to stop fighting.

Yamazaki Jiu was a little surprised when he heard the news.

Xianglin also stopped preparing dinner, frowned and said nothing.

Cai looked into the distance, and the continuous mountains seemed to extend to the sky full of rosy clouds. At sunset, the sky as vast as the sea had a faint golden color, casting faint light on the endless snow and mountains. .

The breeze came slowly, and the coldness and warmth blended together.

"Well, it's over."