Chapter 660: Negotiations
Land of Rain, Six Paths City.
After Orochimaru led his team into the city, they were quickly received by Ninshū.
After all, Ninshū was the official ninja force of the Land of Rain. Before Orochimaru and his team arrived, Hiruzen had already contacted Ninshū and expressed his desire to resolve the issue through negotiations.
However, the Konoha ninja in the negotiation team did not relax because of that.
They knew that their demands were somewhat excessive for Ninshū, and their objective meant these negotiations would not be easy.
Considering that Orochimaru and his team had traveled a long and tiring journey, Ninshū first led them to the reception area to rest, then informed them of the specific time for the negotiation meeting.
After resting for a while, Orochimaru gathered the members of the negotiation team for a meeting and emphasized several crucial points again.
"Our attitude must be firm. We must display the prestige of the strongest Ninja Village," Orochimaru said.
To make Sōsuke agree to the conditions, they had to apply enough pressure.
So even if Konoha could not easily deploy troops, they still had to create the impression that if Ninshū dared to refuse, Konoha would directly send a large force to deal with them.
"I wonder if the original Ninshū in history was destroyed for this reason," Shisui thought to himself.
From the history they had learned from the future Yamato, aside from Mugetsu's death, there were three other major events. The Nine Tails disaster that caused Konoha heavy losses, the brutal Uchiha clan massacre, and the evil Akatsuki Organization that ran rampant and wreaked havoc across the Ninja World.
According to their calculations, Mugetsu's death should have already been changed.
As for the remaining three events, their idea was to do their best to change them if they could, in order to reduce future regrets.
Shisui and the others had ideas and were already taking action regarding the Night of the Nine Tails and the Uchiha clan massacre. However, when it came to the evil Akatsuki Organization, they could not think of how to change it, nor did they currently have the ability to do so.
There were many reasons. One very practical reason was that they were not in the same country, which made many things inconvenient.
Another reason was that the matter itself was extremely complicated.
Before Ninshū was established, Yahiko and the others had formed the Akatsuki Organization and worked for peace in the Land of Rain. During that period, Akatsuki was undoubtedly a benevolent ninja organization.
After Ninshū was established, Yahiko and Nagato became Sōsuke's disciples, and the entire Akatsuki Organization joined Ninshū. In the current reality, the Land of Rain temporarily no longer had Akatsuki as a separate ninja organization.
However, in the future where Naruto and the others came from, Akatsuki was a thoroughly evil ninja organization. Not only did it seize Tailed Beasts, it also wantonly killed people.
Based on the known intelligence, Shisui and the others speculated that the birth of the later evil Akatsuki Organization was very likely caused by Ninshū being destroyed during its development.
But Shisui and the others were currently only a few Konoha jonin with some strength. They lacked the ability to influence the survival or destruction of a ninja force like Ninshū.
What was even more critical was that Konoha was the one in conflict with Ninshū.
As Konoha ninja, should they not support Konoha instead of siding with Ninshū?
The mission had come too suddenly. Shisui had not even had time to discuss it with Kakashi and the others before he was sent to the Land of Rain.
At three in the afternoon, the Ninshū ninja arrived at the reception area on time and led the Konoha negotiation team to Ninshū's conference room.
When they reached the building, the assembled Ninshū negotiation team met the Konoha negotiation team.
The Ninshū ninja leading the way stopped and briefly introduced the members of Ninshū's negotiation team.
Orochimaru took this opportunity to size up the ninja on Ninshū's side.
The leader was Kakuzu, the second in command of Ninshū.
Generally, a leader would not personally participate in negotiations like this, so Kakuzu's presence already showed that Ninshū treated this matter seriously.
Besides Kakuzu, Orochimaru also noticed that Nagato, known as the greatest genius in the Ninja World, was present.
"Hearing about someone is not as good as seeing them in person. You truly live up to the title of Sannin bestowed by Hanzō. Your presence is extraordinary," Kakuzu said with a chuckle.
"Not at all. I cannot compare to Senior Kakuzu. When you made your name in the Ninja World, I had not even finished my studies at the Ninja Academy. Being able to converse with you today is an unexpected stroke of luck," Orochimaru replied with subtle mockery.
If it had been the former Hanzō, Kakuzu's words would have counted as praise.
But later, Hanzō broke his promises and was defeated by Sōsuke. Now they were also in the Land of Rain, so those words were clearly mocking them for failing to defeat Hanzō back then.
Naturally, Orochimaru was not truly praising Kakuzu for becoming famous early either. He was calling him an old man.
Kakuzu did not get angry and calmly walked into the conference room.
Orochimaru said nothing more and led his team into the conference room.
Shisui had originally intended to sit in the middle of the long side of the conference table. He was too young and lacked seniority.
Before he could reach the seat, Orochimaru called out to him and arranged for him to sit on his left.
Although Shisui was not entirely clear about Orochimaru's intentions, he still sat down as ordered, since Orochimaru was the captain.
"According to our investigation, Konoha's former Hokage Assistant was killed by your leader, Sōsuke, during a friendly visit to Amegakure. May I ask, does Ninshū intend to go to war with Konoha?" Orochimaru took the initiative and questioned them with a cold expression.
Although Danzo's trip to Amegakure had been a private action, during negotiations, one always had to present the matter in the most favorable way for one's own side.
From the moment Hiruzen decided to resolve the issue through negotiations, Danzo was no longer acting privately. He had gone on a friendly visit with Konoha's official endorsement.
Kakuzu almost laughed from anger when he heard Orochimaru's words.
A friendly assassination, was it?
"So carrying out assassination missions in Konoha counts as a friendly visit? This is truly the first time I have heard such a thing," Kakuzu said with a smile, his expression gradually becoming serious.
"Does Konoha not know why Danzo was killed? He attempted to assassinate our leader. Fortunately, our leader was more skilled and killed Danzo in return. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable."
"Whether Ninshū goes to war with Konoha depends on Konoha!"
If Kakuzu had been present at the time, he would have stopped Sōsuke from killing Danzo. But since things had already come to this point, and Sōsuke had also stated that he possessed the power to protect Ninshū, there was no need to give Konoha face.
If they wanted to do it, then they would do it.
Orochimaru frowned slightly, feeling somewhat surprised.
Ninshū's attitude was too firm. It was firm to an unbelievable degree.
A ninja organization with only a few hundred ninja, even if Amegakure was included, would not exceed two thousand ninja. How could they have the courage to challenge a behemoth like Konoha?
Konoha could crush Ninshū not only in terms of ninja numbers, but also in terms of ninja quality. Against a small force like Ninshū, it was a complete all around suppression.
Orochimaru's mind raced. Kakuzu's unexpectedly firm attitude had disrupted his negotiation plan.
He had originally intended to use power to pressure Ninshū and Sōsuke into submission, but Kakuzu's attitude suggested that he was not afraid of going to war with Konoha.
This made matters very difficult, because Orochimaru could not truly declare war on Ninshū on behalf of Konoha. He did not have that authority, and his mission did not allow him to do so either.
"Oh, it seems Ninshū came well prepared," Orochimaru said while thinking, not allowing the room to fall silent.
Silence at this moment would show cowardice. Even if the negotiations broke down, they absolutely could not back down.
"Isn't Konoha the one that came prepared? From beginning to end, our Ninshū has been the victim in this matter," Kakuzu sneered.
Orochimaru's frown deepened.
"Is that so? Our current Hokage Assistant, Hayate Mugetsu, personally witnessed Sōsuke trying his utmost to kill Danzo, as if he feared leaving any survivors."
Nagato was silent.
In a certain sense, this meeting was a bit of torment for him.
"If you continue to distort the facts and avoid the issue, then today's negotiations do not need to continue," Kakuzu said, vaguely sensing Orochimaru's bottom line.
Although Orochimaru spoke harshly, under Kakuzu's firm attitude, he still had not turned hostile. This meant that Orochimaru's side might not want to go to war either.
"If Ninshū continues to show no sincerity, then there is indeed no need for these negotiations to proceed. I will truthfully report Ninshū's attitude to the Hokage," Orochimaru said indifferently.
"Konoha is willing to give opportunities to neutral organizations like Ninshū, but Konoha will not keep giving opportunities forever."
Ninshū's attitude was truly strange. Orochimaru estimated that this mission would most likely fail.
"Since things have reached this point, let us stop talking in circles and speak frankly," Kakuzu said. Seeing that Orochimaru was about to throw caution aside, he decided to get a clear answer.
"Since Konoha sent people to negotiate first, you probably do not want war to happen either. What exactly do you want? State it clearly."
"A life for a life. If Sōsuke commits suicide, Konoha will consider this matter as never having happened," Orochimaru thought for a moment, then stated the demand directly.
With Kakuzu's attitude, normal negotiations were impossible. If he did not say it now, he would not get another chance.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
A terrifying aura erupted from Nagato. Powerful chakra stirred up a gust of wind, blowing the documents on the negotiation table away.
Even though Nagato knew that even if Sōsuke committed suicide, Mugetsu should be fine, an inexplicable surge of anger still ignited inside him.
It reminded him of the early days of Ninshū, when Hanzō had lured them into an ambush.
At that time, Hanzō had stood above them and tried to use Ninshū as a threat to force Mugetsu to commit suicide.
Back then, Nagato could not control the power of the Rinnegan and was not very strong. He still could not forget the feeling of powerlessness he felt when Mugetsu was injured while trying to save him.
Now, Orochimaru was once again trying to force Mugetsu to commit suicide from a lofty position. How could Nagato not be angry?
"He has become much stronger than before."
Shisui considered Nagato as a hypothetical enemy and realized that even with his Mangekyo Sharingan, defeating Nagato would be extremely difficult.
Because his Tsukuyomi might not have a good effect on Nagato. Nagato's eyes were the legendary Sage's Eyes.
"Such powerful chakra," Orochimaru thought in surprise.
He actually felt a significant threat from the young man named Nagato.
Who was Orochimaru? He was one of Konoha's top combat forces. And how old was Nagato? Fifteen? Sixteen?
Terrifying. Orochimaru could only use that word to describe Nagato's ninja talent.
The title of the greatest genius in the Ninja World, which sounded like an excessive compliment, suddenly felt quite fitting for Nagato.
"It seems Ninshū was indeed well prepared," Orochimaru said, giving Nagato a deep look.
"Nagato has a high threshold for humor. He cannot stand low level jokes. Please forgive him," Kakuzu said leisurely.
Negotiations? What was there to negotiate?
Ninshū could not do without Sōsuke for anyone. Let alone Sōsuke himself, Kakuzu would never agree to such a foolish condition.
"Then can I understand this as Ninshū refusing to resolve the issue through negotiation?" Orochimaru asked.
"As long as Konoha's demands remain unchanged, there is nothing to discuss," Kakuzu said, no longer bothering to argue with Orochimaru.
"Aren't you going to report to Sōsuke first?"
Logically speaking, for such a major diplomatic incident, Kakuzu should not have the final say.
"Konoha really does meddle in everything," Kakuzu replied without answering Orochimaru's question.
At this point, the negotiations could no longer continue. Kakuzu and Orochimaru stood up one after another, and their subordinates followed suit, leaving the conference room.
Orochimaru did not return to Ninshū's reception area. Instead, he led his team directly back to Konoha.
It was not because he was worried that Ninshū would ambush them. In wartime, envoys were generally not harmed, and the lives of negotiation personnel were usually not endangered.
Orochimaru simply felt that Ninshū's attitude was too strange, and he needed to report to Hiruzen and investigate the matter as soon as possible.
On the way, Orochimaru did not forget to comfort Shisui to gain favor, saying that failure in such a mission was nothing to worry about and that the fault did not lie with those who carried it out.
Unfortunately, Shisui was not in the mood to listen to Orochimaru's comfort. He was thinking about Ninshū.
"If this continues, Ninshū will be destroyed, and the surviving ninja might form the evil Akatsuki Organization. What should I do…?" Shisui fell into deep thought.
He did not know why Ninshū could be so firm, but no matter what, Ninshū could not be Konoha's opponent. The power gap between them was far too vast.
Later history also proved that Ninshū's ending was not good. Neither Naruto nor Yamato had ever mentioned Ninshū as a force.
If Nagato and the others were inherently evil, then the matter would be easy to handle. They could act first and nip the threat in the bud.
But Ninshū was not evil. On the contrary, Ninshū was a highly praised ninja organization in both the Land of Rain and the Ninja World. That made things extremely complicated.
Should he just watch a group of peace loving good people endure suffering and eventually become terrorists?
"Perhaps I should confess to Teacher Mugetsu about changing the future," Shisui thought.
Mugetsu's attitude toward the future was subtle. He had refused Minato's offer to seal his memories, yet he had never asked Naruto and the others about future events.
Kakashi and the others could not fathom Mugetsu's thoughts. Coupled with the fact that their future information had been secretly obtained without Mugetsu's knowledge, the disciples had always been silently working hard while keeping it from Mugetsu.
Now that they had already changed much of the future, even if Mugetsu had objections, he could not go back in time and change history.
Moreover, Shisui felt that with Mugetsu's personality, he probably would not want to see a benevolent ninja organization suffer hardship and turn dark.
As Hokage Assistant, Mugetsu could do far more than Shisui and the others.
Just being able to voice opinions in high level meetings was something Shisui and the others could never achieve.
Of course, if Mugetsu also failed to prevent all of this from happening, Shisui would still find a way to nip the evil Akatsuki Organization in the bud.
He was not close to the Ninshū ninja, but Asuma, who would be killed by the Akatsuki Organization in the future, was his friend.
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