But now, it was clear the Hidden Waterfall had evolved into something different.
Even though it was just the beginning.
Dodai could smell it. This booming, thriving momentum meant one of two things: either this young man possessed an unnatural genius for managing a hidden village, or he had someone incredibly capable backing him from the shadows.
'Haa... Regardless of which it is, I need to stay on high alert...' Staring at the grand administrative hall looming ahead, Dodai exhaled a quiet breath and thought to himself.
By the time Dodai and his subordinates entered the hall...
Three figures were already seated at the head table and the right flank.
It was Menma, Shibuki, and Karin.
Seeing the trio—and especially seeing Menma brazenly occupying the center seat of absolute authority while Shibuki sat in the secondary position below him—Dodai's eyes immediately narrowed.
Slightly accelerating his pace, Dodai stepped forward and offered a polite, shallow bow.
"Dodai of the Hidden Cloud greets Your Excellency Menma and Your Excellency Shibuki."
At the end of the day, they were the victors. Calling them "Lord" was out of the question for a proud Cloud shinobi, but using the respectful "Your Excellency" was an absolute political necessity.
Throughout the history of the Five Great Nations, even during the bloodiest stages of total war...
In formal settings, basic respect was always maintained toward highly renowned enemy shinobi—especially Kage-level figures.
It was just how the Great Nations protected their own dignity and political maneuvering room.
Never mistake it for meaningless fluff.
"Heh. You're too polite, Dodai-san. Please, have a seat," Menma said with a faint smile, casually waving his right hand.
"Thank you."
Dodai smiled and took the primary guest seat on the far left. The two Cloud ninja accompanying him sat down right behind him.
The moment Menma laid eyes on those two subordinates...
His eyes half-closed.
Not because of anything they did.
But because Menma vaguely recognized them—not from this life, but from the memories of his past life.
The one on the left was a mature woman with short blonde hair, her chest so generously endowed it practically threatened to burst from her uniform. If he wasn't mistaken, this was Samui, one of the Fourth Raikage's most trusted aides and personal secretaries.
The other was a male Cloud ninja, also sporting short blonde hair.
It was C—the sensory type specialist who had escorted the Fourth Raikage to the Five Kage Summit in the original timeline.
It was safe to say the three envoys the Cloud had sent were absolute elites.
If Menma truly wanted to be ruthless and ignore all unwritten rules, he could slaughter them right here and now.
It would definitely make the Fourth Raikage bleed inside for a good long while. But that absurd thought only circled Menma's brain for a second before he actively tossed it out.
These weren't exceptionally dangerous or uniquely valuable targets.
Menma had zero desire to make a move on them. Now, if Killer B had walked through that door, Menma might have actually considered it.
He was the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, after all.
Once Dodai took his seat, Menma engaged in standard, smiling pleasantries. While he lacked real-world social experience from his past life, as a beneficiary of the internet age, he had "seen" enough of these political dances to fake it flawlessly.
Especially when he was already absolutely certain of the Cloud's intentions.
Menma could afford to face Dodai's group with total relaxation. He didn't need to bring up any actual business.
He held all the cards.
Dodai wasn't naive enough to think Menma didn't know why they were here. Showing up at this exact time was basically playing with an open hand. Before leaving the village, Dodai had already agreed with the Raikage: even if they had to pay a steep price, it didn't matter. As long as they could buy back Yugito Nii and the rest of the captive Cloud ninja, it was worth it.
Initially, Dodai had expected difficulties, but he didn't think it would be impossible.
After all, Dodai didn't know Menma's true endgame.
He also assumed that with Yugito present, the Two-Tails would inherently lean toward the Cloud's side. Combined with the current global political climate and the fact that Menma and Shibuki were visibly young...
Dodai felt their chances of success were quite high.
But just from this initial exchange, Dodai could clearly sense that this red-haired teenager was nowhere near as easy to manipulate as he had hoped. More critically, his initial misjudgment of the dynamic between Menma and Shibuki had thrown his entire strategy into chaos. Menma having high status in the village was one thing; Menma being the absolute ruler of the village was an entirely different beast.
The endless back-and-forth of polite, purely formal diplomatic fluff continued.
A bitter smile involuntarily surfaced in Dodai's heart.
He truly hadn't expected this kid to be so remarkably patient. He didn't show the slightest intention of asking why they were here.
While it was true that initiating the meeting meant surrendering the initiative, a good diplomat always tried to claw back whatever minor advantages they could in the details. But looking at Menma's posture, if Dodai didn't bring it up...
Menma would happily talk about the weather until the sun went down.
'We are the ones begging for a favor, after all.'
Dodai sighed quietly in his heart.
Adjusting his mindset and carefully organizing his words, he waited for a natural lull in the conversation.
"Ahem. Truthfully, we came today on the Raikage's orders to negotiate a few minor issues with your esteemed village. The recent friction between us stemmed from some unfortunate misunderstandings. We come bearing sincerity, hoping to clear the air and restore our previous friendship."
Dodai coughed lightly, looking at Menma in the center seat with a solemn expression.
Diplomatic talks were all about telling people what they wanted to hear and lying through your teeth with a straight face.
Especially when it involved massive military conflicts between Great Nations. Spouting absolute nonsense was a required skill.
Did you hear Dodai's phrasing?
He completely omitted any mention of casualties, death, or hatred. He spent the entire sentence aggressively downplaying the conflict.
Negotiate minor issues? Recent friction? Misunderstandings?
Even though everyone in the room knew it was utter bullshit, this was the necessary posture for negotiations.
"Misunderstandings, you say?"
Listening to Dodai, a half-smile formed in Menma's eyes.
Dodai had maxed out his 'lying with a straight face' skill tree. No, actually, for someone who had survived the ninja world for decades and served as the chief strategist for a Great Village, this was just basic operational procedure.
Even if everyone knew the truth...
It could never be spoken aloud at the negotiating table.
As long as both sides agreed on the terms, a bloody war could be officially recorded as a "misunderstanding." That was just the raw, practical reality of politics between ninja villages.
"Since it was a misunderstanding, and you've brought sincerity, why don't you tell us what exactly your sincerity looks like, Dodai-san? I imagine you and His Excellency the Raikage have considered this thoroughly before making the trip? "
Menma interlaced his fingers and rested them on the table, speaking with a bright smile.
His core objective wouldn't change.
But the details needed to be carefully weighed.
Yugito Nii was never going back, but the ordinary captive Cloud ninja were up for discussion. There were nearly a hundred of them, including several jonin. For any ninja village, that was a massive pool of human resources.
Keeping them locked up in the Waterfall just drained their own food and supplies.
However, if the Cloud didn't offer a price that thoroughly satisfied Menma, those hundred ninja could rot in their cells.
Menma would gladly burn the resources to keep them imprisoned.
As for executing the prisoners...
Cough.
That was a line he couldn't cross. Slaughtering hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of enemies on the battlefield was one thing. Executing prisoners of war after the fighting had stopped carried an entirely different political weight.
Menma had no desire to brand himself as the ultimate villain of the ninja world. He wasn't arrogant enough to pull a Madara or Obito.
They actually had the strength to back up that kind of insanity!
Of course, even if Menma possessed power rivaling Madara or Kaguya Otsutsuki, he still wouldn't do it.
He wanted to build a world with a brand-new order, not Madara's hollow 'dream world of peace,' and certainly not Kaguya's terror-driven dictatorship.
Therefore, maintaining a relatively clean public image was somewhat important.
"Ahem. Naturally. As long as your esteemed village is willing to turn swords into plowshares and show leniency to our comrades who made a few minor mistakes... I can promise on behalf of the Raikage that the Hidden Cloud will forever remain your staunchest friend, and we are more than willing to cooperate with you on various fronts."
Dodai smiled, speaking with a look of utmost sincerity.
'Friend? Cooperate?'
Listening to Dodai spew what was essentially verbal flatulence, Menma kept his face perfectly neutral, but inwardly he scoffed in disgust.
Even Shibuki, sitting to the side, couldn't help but shoot him a bizarre look.
They had just fought a brutal, bloody war, and now he was talking about being 'staunch friends'? 'Cooperating'? What kind of sick joke was that?
After this war, the Hidden Cloud had been fundamentally crippled. Even if the subsequent, devastating losses were the Hidden Stone's fault, the root cause was the Waterfall beating the Cloud half to death in the first place, giving the Stone that perfect opening.
And yet, coming out of Dodai-san's mouth...
The war between their two villages was just a 'minor misunderstanding'?
Were the Cloud ninja they slaughtered and captured just illusions?
But precisely because of this, Shibuki's wariness toward Dodai deepened significantly.
To speak so lightly and easily in a room thick with fresh blood and hatred... that wasn't something an ordinary person could do.
Didn't he see the freezing, violently suppressed fury on the faces of the two Cloud ninja standing behind him? That was clearly the result of extreme, agonizing restraint.
"Restoring our friendship is only natural. We are peace-loving people, after all. Please rest assured on that front, Dodai-san. And please pass along my message to His Excellency the Raikage: the Hidden Waterfall is very willing to maintain an appropriate cooperative relationship with the Hidden Cloud."
Menma smiled brightly as he looked at Dodai.
Lying through his teeth? Who couldn't do that? He could string together a flawless combo of bullshit with his eyes closed. The current Menma was no longer the boy he used to be; he could spit this kind of political garbage on command. It was just playing to the audience. While Menma knew he couldn't match these old foxes in a real scheme, he definitely had the basic acting skills down.
Hearing Menma's reply, Dodai's expression stiffened for a fraction of a second.
He truly hadn't expected Menma to be this shameless.
Exactly!
In Dodai's eyes, this was pure, unadulterated shamelessness. Peace-loving? You actually have the nerve to say that out loud?
In these recent wars, your Hidden Waterfall has killed more enemy shinobi than anyone else!
And now you sit there claiming to be peace-loving? Have you no shame?
For a split second, Dodai genuinely wanted to curse him out, but he forcefully choked the words back down.
Because when you really looked at it, the Waterfall hadn't actually started any of these wars—they had just passively responded to being attacked. Besides, the pot calling the kettle black was a bad look. More importantly, they were the ones begging for a favor.
Whatever Menma said, went.
"Ah. Please rest assured, Your Excellency Menma. I will relay your exact words to the Raikage."
Dodai quickly adjusted his mindset, replying with the same cheerful smile.
As if they truly shared a deep, unbreakable bond of friendship.
"That's wonderful to hear. I firmly believe our two villages can reach a consensus on many issues," Menma continued.
Still not dropping a single hint about actual business, just continuing to spin circles of empty talk.
Seeing Menma refuse to take the bait...
Dodai felt a wave of helpless frustration.
Was this teenager really only thirteen? He didn't act like it at all. He was an absolute little fox.
Dodai wanted to try finding an opening through Shibuki.
But Shibuki sat there in a posture that clearly screamed, 'Menma is in charge; I'm just here to listen,' which only made Dodai more desperate.
This kid absolutely refused to release the eagle until he saw the rabbit.
"Ahem. To demonstrate our sincerity, we have prepared a meager, insignificant gift from the Hidden Cloud. We hope Your Excellency Menma and Your Excellency Shibuki will not find it too lacking."
Forced to make the first move again, Dodai spoke as he pulled a scroll from his robes.
Seeing this, the corners of Menma's mouth curled up slightly.
A quick shift of his gaze.
Catching the hint, Karin stepped down and smoothly took the scroll from Dodai's hands.
"Heh. Your village is far too generous ," Menma said with fake politeness as he took the scroll from Karin. He unrolled it, and his eyes immediately narrowed.
It was a moderately substantial list of supplies and resources.
As a simple "let's be friends again" gift, it was definitely weighty enough. But if they thought this list alone was enough to buy back nearly a hundred captive Cloud ninja, they were dreaming. Not to mention, the Cloud's primary objective was undoubtedly Yugito Nii.
Whether Menma was willing to give her up was one thing.
How the Cloud approached the demand was entirely another.