"This is merely a token of our goodwill. Furthermore, Lord Raikage hopes to establish a cooperative relationship with your esteemed village on multiple fronts moving forward. For example, joint development rights in certain territories, or sharing mission quotas in specific regions. Lord Raikage has authorized me to negotiate these matters with you in depth."
Dodai spoke with a pleasant smile.
He wasn't just spinning empty promises.
Regardless of what they truly thought in their hearts, on the surface at least, both the Fourth Raikage and Dodai were genuinely willing to trade and cooperate with the Hidden Waterfall. Even if it was just to temporarily placate them and buy back the captive Cloud ninja and the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, they had brought real, tangible offers to the table.
It was a matter of showing the right attitude.
Menma's expression visibly softened.
It might sound ridiculous, but 'sincerity' and 'attitude' were genuinely the most crucial prerequisites in diplomacy.
Without them, negotiations couldn't even begin. Someone always had to be willing to lower their head first.
"Mm. We appreciate your village's cooperation, then," Menma replied with a cheerful chuckle.
Below him, Shibuki's face lit up with pleasant surprise.
Supplies were consumable; once they were gone, they were gone.
But territorial access and mission quotas? Those were long-term, sustainable assets. For a ninja village to grow strong...
It required a foundation built on countless different pillars.
The most direct and brutal of those was economics. Without money, how do you train shinobi?
Ninja tools cost money. Facilities cost money. Food, shelter, and basic living expenses cost money. Specialized equipment and raw materials cost money.
No money, but you still want to get stronger? Keep dreaming.
The terms the Hidden Cloud was offering were exactly what the Hidden Waterfall desperately needed right now. Shibuki had been quietly agonizing over how their village would survive economically after making enemies of so many Great Nations. Now it seemed... maybe it wouldn't be so hard after all?
"If Your Excellency Menma is satisfied with this, then regarding our comrades who have been delayed in your village due to these... misunderstandings... would it be possible for them to return in due time? The families of these youngsters back home are missing them dearly."
Watching the expressions of Menma and Shibuki, Dodai leaned forward slightly and tentatively voiced the primary goal of their visit.
Hearing Dodai's words...
Menma smiled faintly and nodded. "Mm, naturally, that shouldn't be a problem. However, it will take a little time to process. I'm sure Dodai-san understands, right?"
The terms offered were clear and generous enough.
Menma saw no need to keep talking in circles. After all, there were barely a hundred captive Cloud ninja. The price offered was more than enough to cover them.
Besides, keeping them around was useless anyway, wasn't it?
"Eh?"
Hearing Menma agree so readily...
Even Dodai was momentarily stunned.
That wasn't right. Why was he being so straightforward? If Menma had blindly agreed right from the start, Dodai wouldn't have been surprised. But after their initial exchange, Dodai was sharply aware that this teenager was neither a pushover nor easy to fool.
The terms the Cloud offered looked incredible on paper, but aside from the initial supply list—which would genuinely be delivered within the next few days—the rest of the promises hinged entirely on the future progress of their "cooperation."
And taking a massive step back...
Even if they fulfilled every single term, Menma had agreed far too easily.
Among those captives was their most critical asset: the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, Yugito Nii.
Based on Dodai's observations and the intelligence they had gathered, shouldn't Menma Uzumaki be squeezing them for a lot more?
Unless...
Suddenly...
A thought flashed through Dodai's mind. His expression shifted slightly. Taking a deep breath, he tested the waters. "If Your Excellency Menma says so, that is wonderful news. Waiting a little while longer is, of course, absolutely fine—as long as all those who were delayed can return."
He deliberately placed heavy emphasis on the words 'little while' and 'all.'
Dodai was certain the teenager sitting in the center seat would catch his meaning.
"Heh, of course. Everyone will return. In fact, most of them will only need a day or two to prepare, and they can leave with you, Dodai-san. It's just... one particularly special case that might require a slightly longer wait. But please, Dodai-san, and assure His Excellency the Raikage as well—it will genuinely only be for a while."
Menma spoke with a beaming smile.
The hidden meaning practically bled through the words.
Dodai's expression darkened, and behind him, C and Samui both looked visibly grim.
The two-day wait obviously referred to the time it would take for the Cloud's supplies to arrive. That was fine; Dodai hadn't planned on playing tricks with the initial payment anyway. Even the future cooperative projects were acceptable given the current state of the ninja world.
Dodai was a highly rational and pragmatic man.
But Menma's mention of a "special case" needing to wait "a slightly longer while"? Anyone with half a brain could tell he was talking about Yugito.
As for the reason why?
Dodai could guess most of it with his eyes closed.
And that was exactly what made this so incredibly difficult, even though it was a hurdle he had anticipated from the start.
"Mm. A slight delay is perfectly fine. It's just that the people in our village are quite anxious. On this matter, I sincerely hope Your Excellency Menma and Your Excellency Shibuki can be a little more accommodating."
Still, Menma hadn't issued a hard, absolute refusal.
Given the current circumstances...
Dodai couldn't afford to burn bridges.
Engaging in a bit of diplomatic tug-of-war was necessary. Whether it succeeded or not was another story, but he had to at least try, right?
Even if hope was slim, he had to fight for it.
Besides, taking another step back, even if they had to turn hostile, it couldn't be here. What if Menma got annoyed and just killed them all on the spot?
No matter how scheming and calculating the boy seemed, he was still a teenager. Young people were prone to hot-blooded impulses, and Dodai had no desire to die a pointless death.
"Naturally."
"Mm. Since Menma-kun has given his word, please rest assured, Dodai-san."
Menma and Shibuki answered one after the other, playing off each other perfectly.
Dodai felt a heavy knot of frustration in his chest, but he couldn't push the issue any further. He forced a smile, nodded, and said, "Naturally."
"Well, it's getting late, and you've traveled a long way, Dodai-san. Please, rest for now. Our village might not have the grand vistas of yours, but it has its own unique charm. If you have the time, you should take a walk and see for yourself."
Menma raised a hand slightly and spoke in a soft tone.
The broad strokes of the agreement had been settled.
The specifics weren't something people of their rank should be haggling over. Or, more accurately, Menma and Shibuki had to maintain their 'status.' Getting into a petty argument over details was beneath them.
That was a job for their subordinates.
It left far more room to maneuver.
If Menma absolutely had to negotiate the fine print personally, the Fourth Raikage would have to be the one sitting across from him. That was the political reality of their ranks.
It had real meaning; it wasn't just arbitrary posturing.
The old Hidden Waterfall never had the right to demand that. But the current Hidden Waterfall did.
Equal status meant equal negotiations.
It was an invisible, yet highly valuable, form of political leverage.
"Understood. We will intrude on your hospitality for a few days, then. Please excuse us for now."
Dodai sensibly stood up. Along with C and Samui behind him, he offered a slight bow to Menma and Shibuki before turning and leaving the hall.
Watching Dodai's group depart...
Menma's eyes glinted, a trace of deep calculation surfacing in his gaze.
"Shibuki-san, I'm going to need you to..."
He turned to Shibuki and quietly issued several specific, crucial instructions.
Shibuki listened with absolute focus, nodding heavily. "Mm. Don't worry, Menma-kun. I'll handle it exactly as you asked."
"Good. I'm leaving it to you, Shibuki-san."
"Mm, you can count on me!"
The arrival of the Hidden Cloud was somewhat outside Menma's initial predictions. His previous plans would have to be adjusted to accommodate this shift in the board. However, when it came to the Cloud, Menma's stance was entirely predictable.
Before coming here, both the Fourth Raikage and Dodai had held onto a sliver of hope—partly because Menma was young, and partly because the geopolitical reality surrounding the Waterfall was objectively terrible right now.
Sure, Menma seemed to be winning every battle.
The Great Villages had all been repelled or defeated.
But was that a sustainable model? Putting aside the fact that none of the Great Villages had actually fought with their full might—and their so-called "alliance" had been a complete joke—even if Menma could replicate those victories, could the Waterfall truly stand alone against the entire world? Even the legendary Hidden Leaf at its absolute peak couldn't pull that off.
Because of that, they had arrived with a fair amount of confidence.
But looking at it now...
The situation wasn't the worst-case scenario, but it was far from what the Cloud had comfortably hoped for.
---
Guided by Doran, Dodai's group arrived at a spacious guesthouse designated for foreign dignitaries, located on the western side of the village's central street.
The moment they were inside, C, as the sensory specialist, instantly formed a hand seal. A massive sensory net immediately expanded outward.
It blanketed the entire area.
After thoroughly scanning the vicinity multiple times and confirming no one was eavesdropping, C finally gave Dodai a small nod.
"Dodai-san, when Menma Uzumaki spoke earlier... was he implying he would only release the ordinary captive shinobi? That he absolutely refuses to release Yugito-san?"
Sitting down, Samui looked at Dodai with a dead-serious expression.
"He didn't explicitly refuse, but that's essentially what he meant. She is the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, after all. Lord Raikage and I anticipated this."
Dodai shook his head slowly.
No one understood the sheer value and strategic importance of a Tailed Beast better than Dodai. In a battle that didn't involve pinnacle-tier fighters, a single Tailed Beast could effortlessly slaughter thousands of ordinary shinobi.
The greatest, most unfair advantage a Tailed Beast held over humans was its absurd chakra reserves. Take the Third Raikage, for example. Facing ten thousand Stone shinobi, he ultimately died of chakra and physical exhaustion. But if you put the Eight-Tails in that same scenario—assuming Onoki, Roshi, and Han didn't intervene—while the Eight-Tails might not wipe out all ten thousand, it could easily smash through the encirclement and escape.
That was the fundamental difference between humanity and the Tailed Beasts.
With the ninja world in its current chaotic state, the fact that Menma's Waterfall refused to easily surrender the Two-Tails they had captured was entirely logical. But for the Hidden Cloud, it was an absolutely unacceptable outcome.
"So what do we do next? Do we keep negotiating terms like before? Will they even accept? Or do we need to resort to other methods?"
A sharp, dangerous glint flared in Samui's blue-green eyes.
The Hidden Cloud was a proud and incredibly stubborn village.
They absolutely refused to accept being humiliated. Even over a decade ago, when their village was defeated and the Third Raikage died on the battlefield, the Cloud still maintained an aggressive, uncompromising stance against all enemies.
The current situation was undeniably worse than back then, but the Cloud shinobi—represented by Samui and C—still refused to bow their proud heads.
The strategic loss was one thing, but their pride and dignity were equally paramount.
"No. We cannot use 'other methods' right now. The village simply cannot endure any more shocks. While that old man in the Hidden Stone seems to be pulling back his forces in the north, we can't be certain of his true intentions. The Stone only withdrew half their frontline troops; a massive portion of their elite forces are still stationed there. Furthermore, we must stay constantly vigilant against the Hidden Leaf in the south. Even if the probability is low, they are still our enemies. We absolutely cannot afford to provoke the Hidden Waterfall any further right now."
Dodai shook his head firmly.
They had to keep their goals clear and hold their bottom line, but more importantly, they had to realistically assess their current standing.
In the modern geopolitical landscape...
The Hidden Cloud had already fallen from the absolute apex. Forget about aggressively expanding—just holding onto the territory they had left was going to be a monumental struggle. As the Raikage's right hand and the strategic mind of the village, Dodai had to know exactly what needed to be prioritized.
Placating the Hidden Waterfall was one of their top priorities right now.
Regardless of how long the peace lasted, securing it first was all that mattered.
In this era, the "honor" of a treaty in the ninja world was little more than a bad joke.