- You think I don't know what's going on in my village?
The gray-haired short man with the big potato nose on the other side of the table might have looked quite amusing in his anger to the average person, but the Kumogakure ambassador was an experienced fighter, and he could feel the Iwagakure leader's Killing Intent, which would have honored Ai himself, not allowing him to relax for a second.
Cold sweat trickled down the swarthy shinobi's back, soaking the clothes under his vest, but the ambassador kept a serene expression on his face, staring straight into Kage's eyes, though at the moment he wished he were as far away from the irritated boss as possible.
- Though we did not seek to conceal the purpose of the embassy from the usual Iwagakure forces, we have unwittingly disturbed Onoki-sama," Ishigari bowed to Yusuke, "I apologize for my subordinate's intemperate language.
- As if that wasn't your intent!" the elderly Tsuchikage snorted, frowning menacingly, "And I think I made it clear last time that Iwagakure was not going to get involved in another war with Konoha - the last one had cost us too much.
- I remember your answer, Tsuchikage-sama," the ambassador bowed again and held out a scroll from his pouch, "but things change, and perhaps you'll decide differently this time, especially with the more generous offer from Raikage-sama.
One of the village head's guards jumped up, took the scroll and after carefully checking it, handed it to Onoki. Tsuchikage cracked the wax seal, unfolding the paper to its full length, read the text carefully and frowned, looking up at the ambassador:
- The Raikage is willing to shell out a lot of money to get us into a war.
- Most of the Iwagakure ninja want revenge for their defeat in the last war, Tsuchikage-sama," Yusuke remarked, earning an angry look.
- Which you played upon perfectly by spreading the news of Kumo's proposed alliance and appealing to my fighters' sense of revenge," If looks could kill, there would be a cold corpse on the floor of Kage's office, "you should have been killed for such an attempt at manipulation, despite your status as ambassadors!
Ishigari could barely contain the urge to step back, the pressure from the shinobi of the S-class and the sense of impending death so intense that it was literally a reality, but his sense of duty to Kumogakure made him grit his teeth and hold on, especially since he was sure that Onoki was bluffing - despite his anger, killing an ambassador would be too serious a violation of Iwagakure's prestige for him to dare to violate international agreements like that.
Sure, the price on his head in the Book of Prospecting would be several million more in the coming years, but it was a small price to pay for the opportunity to open a second front for Konoha and draw back Suna's forces in a new direction, especially since the Sandpeople would have something to remind Stone of.
The tense silence was interrupted by Kage's hum and immediately the pressure of the Killing Intent diminished, allowing the ambassador to catch his breath.
- Tell that muscle-bound bastard that payment must be delivered within a couple of weeks," Tsuchikage said grudgingly, "and I have a couple of conditions on which Iwagakure will agree to start fighting against the Leaf.
- I am listening attentively, Tsuchikage-sama," the swarthy jonin bowed his head politely.
- Iwagakure's forces will only come forward after Kumo has fully captured the attention of Konoha, say within a couple months, but not before," the elderly ruler of the shinobi village began to enumerate, "as well as one of the treasures of the Sage of the Six Paths, your choice, I'm not picky.
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