Entering the reception hall, seated at the head of the long table was Hanzō himself, with a dozen or so Amegakure ninjas standing behind him on either side.
As it should be, having no unnecessary contact with Hanzō, and adhering to the principle of merely being present while letting Chiyo handle everything, Hii Kōri casually pulled out a chair at the far end of the long table and properly took his seat, like an ordinary new generation brought by an elder to see the world.
Which wasn't wrong?
His recent spar with Hanzō in Amegakure aside—that was demonstrating ability and sincerity. But when engaging Konoha, he'd mostly used familiar aliases.
Even after the surprise attack on Konoha's base, when his disguised identity was exposed, he'd only gained the fearsome name 'Crimson of Agony.' Konoha ninjas he encountered later didn't recognize him, apparently only because someone had witnessed his red hair.
As for attacking Katō Dan, he'd worn the perception-obstructing mask, and witnesses had been killed by his controlled Katō Dan.
Until Tsunade was released, he was a clean Suna newcomer!
As for erasing Tsunade's memory... of course unnecessary. Not only did he want her hatred maintained as a carrier for his Cursed Genjutsu, but what intelligence did he need to worry about leaking now?
Wind Release, Water Release, Magnet Release? Taijutsu and puppetry? Barrier techniques and sealing techniques?
All already known to Konoha—the latter, after Shukaku Zero's stable battlefield appearances, they should have questions about anyway.
What Tsunade witnessed were merely Rashōmon and pharmacological knowledge. Neither were his trump cards.
People always deeply believe conclusions they draw themselves; fabricated intelligence might be questioned, but after glimpsing partial truth, letting them 'themselves' draw conclusions is most credible—Hii Kōri had always believed this theory.
The only issue was that Orochimaru seemed to have recognized him without prior contact.
But on reflection, it made sense.
As we all know, snakes without external ear openings aren't sensitive to airborne sound. Conversely, they're particularly sensitive to vibrations transmitted through objects via bone conduction.
Combining cheek pit temperature perception with bone conduction could even achieve near mind-reading physiological state control. Simply closing their mouths and isolating pheromone intrusion allowed them to effortlessly achieve selective acceptance and isolation of specific information.
Snakes are natural information processing experts; without outstanding performance, they couldn't survive brutal natural competition.
Orochimaru, having reached Ryūchi Cave and returned unscathed from the White Snake Sage, likely possessed acuity no less than snakes. And as a researcher, trusting fleeting inspiration and intuition was necessary literacy.
But that was fine—Hii Kōri, from a researcher's standpoint, did want to contact him...
—just not now.
Slouched in his seat, fingers interlaced on the table, he listened to the exchanges while mentally comparing physical differences between his two lives to adjust cursed energy operation logic.
Though after landing Black Flash, a sorcerer could touch cursed energy's core, he now used more than just cursed energy—needing some 'modernization,' no, adaptation.
As for Chiyo and Orochimaru's exchange, it was straightforward enough.
Though the war was fought by two villages, its driving force was their respective nations. Thus, as negotiating parties, Chiyo and Orochimaru represented not just their villages but were plenipotentiary delegates for their daimyōs.
Suna, having initiated hostilities, naturally compensated the 'victim' Konoha. But correspondingly, holding the Tsunade card, Suna would also demand ransom from Konoha.
Though ostensibly very poor, Suna actually had the Wind daimyō's authorization and support. Even compensation to Konoha could later be reimbursed by the Wind daimyō.
After all, the Wind daimyō wasn't so arrogant as to think Suna plus fence-sitting Iwa could defeat Konoha—he'd prepared to pay from the start.
The Wind daimyō's initial goal of consuming the domestic surplus population had been partially achieved over two years of war through supply missions—essentially suicide missions. Following Suna's suggestion, he'd also dispatched labor to aid the Land of Rain, further relieving pressure while coordinating with the Land of Rain to shake down the Land of Fire.
Domestic land reclamation was in full swing. Trade with Fire might not regain original discounts, but recovery was certain. Before such a vibrant and flourishing state, the Wind daimyō paid quite readily.
Even if the agreement looked unfavorable on paper, Wind's overall gains were a huge win—enough not just to repay Suna.
But Konoha's situation was dire.
For the Land of Fire, this was purely Konoha's defensive failure, allowing Wind to successfully exert pressure. Moreover, losing their overseas ally Uzushio during this period compounded the disaster.
Well aware that securing funds from the daimyō would be difficult, Konoha naturally made exorbitant demands to compensate for inevitable subsequent losses.
Meanwhile, Suna, despite considerable leeway, had no reason to let Konoha off easy. Even if compensation were supplemented by their daimyō, the people of Suna were used to poverty—hated seeing money splash into water.
Plus they held the powerful 'Tsunade' card. Konoha dared inflate demands, so could they—all about procrastination and dangling.
Moreover, the humanitarian compensation assistance for Wind and Rain hadn't even been tabled yet—that would make the Land of Fire bleed heavily.
Chiyo performed quite easily, occasionally steering the rhythm—an outsider might think Suna had frontally crushed Konoha. Orochimaru maintained a 'no commitment, no acceptance, no responsibility' attitude, clearly playing Tai Chi, probing boundaries with Chiyo.
After much verbal sparring, Suna and Konoha's first meeting ended in an atmosphere everyone knew could not possibly lead to anything.
***
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