Teizawa set down his teacup and looked at her.
The expression on his face was so innocent he looked like a child who had only just learned to walk.
"What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?"
Chiyo was so furious her cane was trembling.
"You captured the Four-Tails Jinchuriki! That's Iwagakure's Tailed Beast! It's that old bastard Onoki's lifeline!"
She drew in a deep breath, trying hard to steady her voice.
"The younger shinobi don't understand. Don't tell me you don't either."
"What is a Tailed Beast? It's a strategic weapon. A force of deterrence. The final trump card of every major shinobi village!"
"Onoki can tolerate losing a thousand elites because he's an idiot!"
"But he will never tolerate having his Tailed Beast taken!"
"For that alone, he'll fight to the death! He'll gather the entire strength of Iwagakure and come at us no matter the cost!"
"And when that happens..."
She paused, and her voice sank low.
"Can Sunagakure withstand it?"
A brief silence fell over the office.
Teizawa looked at her, then suddenly smiled.
It was only a faint smile, but it made Chiyo's heart tighten for no clear reason.
"Elder Chiyo."
He spoke in a tone as calm as if they were discussing what to eat for dinner.
"You're right about all of it."
Chiyo froze.
"Onoki really would fight to the death."
Teizawa rose to his feet and walked to the window, turning his back to her.
"But the problem is..."
He turned back around, his gaze locking onto Chiyo.
"What reason does he have to attack us?"
Chiyo frowned.
"What do you mean?"
The smile at the corner of Teizawa's mouth deepened.
"Roshi ran out on his own. He's an Iwagakure missing-nin now... at least for the moment."
"He attacked Sunagakure's border outposts, killed our people, and destroyed our positions. We have all the witnesses and physical evidence."
"We merely defended ourselves and captured an invader alive."
"We're the victims here."
He paused.
"What justification does Onoki have for attacking us?"
Chiyo opened her mouth, wanting to say something.
But for a moment, she found she had no rebuttal.
"As for the Tailed Beast..."
Teizawa's smile deepened further.
"It's inside Roshi right now, and Roshi is in our hands."
"If Onoki wants his Tailed Beast back, fine."
"But he'll have to trade something for it."
Chiyo went still.
She stared into Teizawa's dark eyes and suddenly understood something.
This brat...
Had he planned all of this from the very beginning?
"You..."
Her voice had gone a little dry.
"You did this on purpose?"
Teizawa did not answer.
He simply picked up his teacup and took a light sip.
That smile on his face said everything.
"You..."
Chiyo was so angry her cane started trembling again.
"Onoki is not going to play by your logic! You're excellent in every other way, but you're too young. You don't have enough experience!"
She drew in a deep breath and forced herself calm, her tone turning earnest and heavy.
"I know that old bastard too well. For the sake of a Tailed Beast, he'd dare go to war with Sunagakure even if it killed him."
"That man pinches pennies and quibbles over everything in ordinary times, but when it comes to core interests..."
She paused.
"He'll risk his life."
Teizawa said nothing. He only looked at her quietly.
Chiyo thought she was getting through to him, so her tone softened further.
"Listen to me. Return the Four-Tails."
"Sunagakure has only just started recovering. What we need is time, not war."
"Iwagakure's overall strength is greater than ours. You have to admit that."
Teizawa was silent for a few seconds.
Then...
He smiled.
It was a light, faint smile.
But it made Chiyo's heart tense up again for no reason.
"I see..."
He softly repeated her words, a trace of amusement in his tone.
"Iwagakure's overall strength is greater than ours... I have to admit that."
He stood and walked to the window, his back to Chiyo again.
"Then rather than returning the Tailed Beast to Iwagakure..."
He turned around and looked straight at her.
"I might as well sell it for a good price."
Chiyo froze.
"Sell... sell it for a good price?"
For a moment, her mind failed to catch up.
Teizawa nodded, the smile on his lips deepening.
"Exactly. Iwagakure's overall strength is greater than ours, and we can't beat them... that part is true."
"But the shinobi world doesn't only have Iwagakure in it."
He raised one hand and held up three fingers.
"Konoha, Kumogakure, Kirigakure... which of them isn't one of the Five Great Nations?"
"I could choose to sell it to Konoha. Tsunade would probably be very interested."
"Or sell it to Kumogakure... that brute of a Raikage has a blood feud with that old geezer Onoki. He'd absolutely pay a sky-high price."
"Or maybe sell it to Kirigakure? It's farther away, but I doubt the Mizukage would mind picking up a bargain."
Chiyo's mouth fell open.
She had lived most of her life, seen endless storms, and endured countless battles...
But it had never once crossed her mind that a Tailed Beast could be handled like this.
Sell a Tailed Beast?
Treat it like merchandise?
Her mind started racing.
And very quickly, she realized...
This was actually possible.
That Kumogakure and Iwagakure were sworn enemies was something the entire shinobi world knew.
Back then, the Third Raikage had died under Iwagakure's human-wave tactics, buried beneath ten thousand shinobi.
That blood debt was something the Fourth Raikage, A, had always kept in his heart.
If Sunagakure let word get out, the Raikage would absolutely come in person to negotiate.
That brute would absolutely dare to buy it.
He might even pay any price.
As for Konoha...
Chiyo's eyes narrowed slightly.
Konoha and Suna were allies now.
But alliance was one thing. Interests were another.
No matter how clever Tsunade was, she would never reject a Tailed Beast delivered straight to her doorstep.
And more importantly...
If that Tailed Beast ended up in Konoha's hands, would Onoki dare attack?
Would he really dare go to war against both Sunagakure and Konoha at the same time?
Chiyo's mind was a mess.
Suddenly, she had a powerful premonition...
The shinobi world was going to be thrown into utter chaos because of this brat.
Teizawa watched the storm of expressions crossing Chiyo's face.
The smile at the corner of his mouth never disappeared.
What he did not tell her was this:
What had truly made him decide was not some "Plan of a Thousand Men" or any kind of diplomatic game.
It was the system.
Just moments ago, that long-absent notification sound had finally rung again:
[Ding! The Four-Tails is a hot potato. The system recommends the following handling plans:]
[1. Keep the Four-Tails for yourself. Reward: one-third of the Four-Tails' chakra.]
[2. Sell the Four-Tails. Reward: Bijū Chakra Division Secret Technique.]
Teizawa had barely hesitated.
One-third of the Four-Tails' chakra?
That sounded good.
But if he chose that, he would have to face Iwagakure's furious retaliation, while also dealing with the covetous eyes of Konoha and Kumogakure.
He was not ready to clash head-on with Pain yet.
As for option two...
Bijū Chakra Division Secret Technique.
Teizawa's eyes narrowed slightly.
In the history of the shinobi world, there had only ever been one person who successfully divided a Tailed Beast.
The Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato.
He had split the Nine-Tails into yin and yang halves.
One half was sealed inside himself, and the other half inside Naruto.
From that moment on, the Nine-Tails was no longer a complete Nine-Tails.
It became two halves.
The technical complexity of that feat went without saying.
And now, the system was about to hand him the same secret technique.
A meaningful smile rose slowly on Teizawa's lips.
With that secret technique, he could split a Tailed Beast into two halves just like Minato had.
One half could be returned to Iwagakure... or sold to another village... as part of a deal.
The other half...
He could keep for himself.
At that point, the Four-Tails would no longer exist as one complete beast.
Instead, it would be "one half with Roshi, one half with me."
And if he set his sights on other Tailed Beasts in the future...
The Eight-Tails?
Keep half for himself and throw the other half out as a target.
The Nine-Tails? Same principle.
The temptation of Tailed Beast chakra was simply too great.
That was a true strategic resource.
With this secret technique, he could siphon off the power of the Tailed Beasts little by little, without triggering a full-scale war.
What could be better than that?
"Elder Chiyo."
Teizawa pulled himself out of his thoughts and looked at the old woman, who was still standing there in a daze.
"I'll need you to make arrangements and release the news... Say that Sunagakure captured the Four-Tails Jinchuriki alive and intends to auction him off publicly."
He paused, then said slowly,
"Highest bidder wins."
Chiyo opened her mouth, wanting to say something.
In the end, though, she said nothing at all.
She only let out a long sigh.
This damned brat...
He really was going to turn the entire shinobi world upside down.
(End of Chapter)
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