Chapter 138: The Most Frustrating Part of This Negotiation

If Koharu didn't back down now, this issue would keep cropping up in the future, so the Third Hokage decided to cut to the chase.

Either she could go herself, and he'd stop Tsunade from "acting out," or she could stay out of it and let Tsunade do her thing for once.

"I don't have time," Koharu snapped. There was no way she was going to Rain Country to sit across the table from Hanzō. Besides, the medical corps was already stretched thin, and she barely had time to breathe.

Funny how she and Homura were always "too busy" when it came to negotiations, but when it came to picking fights, they suddenly had all the time in the world. They could argue with the Hokage in his office for hours without a single sign of urgency.

Seeing that the situation was reaching a boiling point, Homura Mitokado stepped in to diffuse the tension, thanks to a subtle nod from the Hokage.

"Koharu, it's clear Tsunade's upset. Given the circumstances, maybe we should just let her do her thing this time. After all, she's young, and it's understandable," Homura adjusted his glasses as he spoke.

"The most important thing right now is to close the chapter on the war with Rain Country and focus our efforts on Sand Village. Sand is a far more significant threat than Rain."

No matter how strong Hanzō was, even if his strength matched the Third Kazekage, and he had a body count to match, the pressure from the Kazekage was just on a different level.

To put it bluntly, Konoha had never taken Hanzō all that seriously. Sure, he was powerful, but Rain Village wasn't in the same league as the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

The only real threat was Sand Village, which Konoha had to take seriously.

As for the Hidden Rock Village… well, Ōnoki had his hands full dealing with the Third Raikage's invasion of the Land of Earth. He didn't have the time to worry about Konoha's clash with the Sand Village.

No one could have predicted that what started as a standoff between Rock and Cloud would turn into full-blown combat, with the Third Raikage leading an invasion into the Land of Earth.

If the Rock Village didn't pull out soon, the war in Rain Country would drag on indefinitely.

"What about terms? As the losing side, Rain Village can't be allowed to make any unreasonable demands."

With Homura playing peacemaker, Koharu cooled off and began thinking about the negotiation.

"Konoha won't push for unreasonable terms from Rain Village, but at the same time, we won't get much from them either."

Rain Village was on its last legs. Even if Konoha wanted to demand compensation or resources, they had nothing to give. The fact that Hanzō hadn't come begging for support already was a miracle in itself.

They had no money, no resources.

"I know," Koharu admitted, but her tone still rubbed the Hokage the wrong way.

Although she was merely offering advice, not issuing commands, it felt like she was stepping into territory that should be the Hokage's concern, not hers. It was clear Koharu was using this as an opportunity to push her own agenda.

"I trust Tsunade to handle it. Rain Village, as the defeated party, has no right to make excessive demands. But as for us getting anything out of it? That's unlikely."

Rain Village was dirt poor—so poor, in fact, that Konoha wouldn't even know what to demand from them.

No money, no manpower. Even trying to squeeze missions out of them would be pointless.

Rain Country just didn't have the kind of economy that could support many high-paying missions.

Koharu and Homura fell silent, realizing the grim truth.

When you fought other villages, at least you could walk away with some spoils. But fighting Rain Village for so long, with so many losses, had only earned Konoha a reputation boost—there were no material gains to be had.

In fact, Rain Village might even ask Konoha for aid when all was said and done.

A headache indeed.

Good thing I'm not part of the negotiations, both Koharu and Homura thought with relief.

There would be no reward, no glory—just the risk of getting tangled up in more problems. Sure, Rain had lost the war, but Hanzō wasn't the kind of man to go down quietly, especially when he was still at the peak of his power.

"Fine. Hiruzen, handle it as you see fit."

At the end of the day, as long as they didn't have to be the ones at the negotiating table, Koharu and Homura were content. Let Tsunade go through the motions. The real focus should be on dealing with Sand Village.

Rain Village couldn't even spare two cents, but Sand? Sand needed to bleed.

Of course, that would have to wait until they defeated Sand in battle first.

Meanwhile, after finishing their meal, Kushina waved goodbye to everyone with a smile. "I'm heading to the Hokage's office!"

"Hey, what did you and Kushina talk about?" Minato and Nawaki asked, crowding around Takuya as soon as the others had left. They were sticking to him like bodyguards, one on each side.

"Nothing much," Takuya shrugged, smiling as he answered. "Just gave her some advice about managing her clan. She can't keep supporting them all on her own forever. Even though Kushina has the resources, that kind of dependency will cause problems down the line."

"Oh, by the way, I'm thinking of hitting up the hot springs later. You guys in?"

"Definitely!" Minato and Nawaki's eyes lit up.

After everything they'd been through in Rain Country, a good soak in the hot springs was exactly what they needed.

"I'll head there first and get us a spot," Minato said, flashing his usual bright smile.

Nawaki blinked in surprise for a second, then lightly punched Minato on the arm. "Alright, you go ahead. Next time, it's on me."

"No problem."

With a thumbs-up and a grin, Minato set off for the hot springs.

Once he was out of earshot, Nawaki's smile faded, and his face grew serious. "You did the right thing, Takuya. Even though the Uzumaki clan isn't big, they can't just rely on Kushina to support them forever. They need to stand on their own two feet."

Still, Kushina could help them out where it made sense.

Kushina's situation wasn't unlike Tsunade's in Konoha, though the two couldn't be compared in terms of status. Even so, Konoha had seized the Uzumaki clan's assets after Whirlpool was destroyed, and thanks to Mito Uzumaki, Kushina had been well compensated.

With ownership of an entire luxurious street, she was in a position to help her clan. But helping didn't mean coddling them indefinitely. If that continued, it was only a matter of time before it backfired.

"Wow, didn't expect you to be so insightful today," Takuya said, giving Nawaki a surprised look.

"...."

Go to hell! Sure, Nawaki could be a bit slow, but that didn't mean he was dumb! What was with that look? Like Takuya was trying to console a clueless kid?

When Takuya and Nawaki arrived at the hot springs, Minato had already reserved a spot.

As Takuya eased into the steaming water, he felt the tension in his muscles begin to melt away. Yeah, there was nothing better than soaking in a hot spring after a long stretch of exhaustion. It felt like his whole body was relaxing.

"Mmm..." Nawaki was enjoying it the most, sinking into the water until only his head was visible, his face plastered with a blissful grin. He even started humming contentedly, which made Takuya and Minato want to kick him out of the bath.

Minato rolled his eyes at Nawaki, clearly tempted to give him a good shove.

"Takuya, how long do you think we'll be staying in the village? They won't send us back to the front lines right away, will they?" Minato asked, his tone hopeful.

"Hard to say." Takuya leaned back against the rock edge of the spring, his gaze thoughtful.

"If they hadn't put me through the jonin exam, I'd say we'd be here a while, probably picking up regular missions for a bit. But now? I'm not so sure."

Takuya had no idea Tsunade was planning to send him to Rain Village.

From his perspective, it seemed like the Hokage was in a rush to get him through the jonin exam, probably to send their team straight to the Land of Rivers, where the real action with Sand Village was happening.

The war with Rain Village might be over, but the battle with Sand was far from finished.

Jiraiya and Orochimaru hadn't even returned yet. And when they did, they'd probably be heading straight to the Land of Rivers.

Konoha was fighting on two fronts, and even a powerful village like theirs could only stretch so thin. Sending as much manpower to the battlefield as possible was inevitable.

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