NOVEL NEXT Chapter 30: Chapter 30: The Sunagakure Delegation
Time flew by, and half a month passed in the blink of an eye. The scheduled date for peace talks with Sunagakure had finally arrived.
During this time, Tobirama had taken a brief moment to visit the Konoha prison, where Gaara and his siblings were being held. While Temari and Kankurō appeared visibly anxious, Gaara remained indifferent, seemingly unfazed by the Second Hokage's presence.
Having recently bonded with Naruto during the Chūnin Exams, Gaara was still in a state of confusion and self-reflection. Tobirama, noticing this, called Naruto over to help guide Gaara in understanding his emotions and his newfound outlook on life.
Meanwhile, Tobirama had also consulted the system regarding the process of collecting the tailed beasts. Did he need to capture the jinchūriki along with the beasts, or could he separate the two?
The answer was reassuring. To gather the tailed beasts, it was enough to bring the creatures themselves together—it wasn't necessary to involve their hosts. This spared Tobirama a major challenge, as he lacked the Rinnegan needed to seal the beasts within the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
With this understanding, Tobirama knew that the peace talks with Sunagakure were destined to fail. After all, it was unlikely that Sunagakure would willingly relinquish their jinchūriki. For any village, a tailed beast was akin to a nuclear deterrent—something they might not use but could never afford to lose.
"Hokage-sama," an ANBU ninja interrupted Tobirama's train of thought as he sat at his desk. "The Sunagakure envoy, led by Ebizō, has arrived in the village. They wish to discuss the Konoha Crush plan with you."
"Ebizō?" Tobirama repeated the name, nodding slightly as he recalled this minor yet notable character from the original timeline—Chiyo's brother.
"Very well. Have them escorted to the reception hall. I'll be there shortly."
Before the ANBU could respond, Tobirama's figure had already disappeared, leaving the ninja awestruck.
"Hokage-sama... so powerful!" the ANBU murmured, deeply impressed.
It had been exactly thirty days since Tobirama's resurrection following the events of the Konoha Crush. Under the guidance of various Earth Release techniques, Konoha's reconstruction efforts had been completed, and the village once again thrived with its pre-disaster prosperity. Towering buildings lined the streets, creating an almost overwhelming sense of vitality.
"Konoha really is flourishing…" one of the younger members of the Sunagakure delegation couldn't help but voice his admiration as they walked through the bustling streets.
Unlike Konoha, Sunagakure was a village surrounded by endless desert, its economy reliant on ninja missions and the gold dust mined by the Fourth Kazekage using his Magnet Release. But with the Fourth Kazekage now dead, Sunagakure had lost one of its most critical sources of income.
Hearing this comment, Ebizō's shoulders trembled slightly.
Indeed, Konoha was the strongest ninja village in the world, blessed with the most fertile land and abundant resources. Sunagakure's ill-fated alliance with Orochimaru to attack Konoha had backfired spectacularly. With Tobirama Senju resurrected, they now faced not only the shame of defeat but also the burden of compensating Konoha to secure the release of their jinchūriki—all while living under the looming threat of the Second Hokage's wrath.
Yet, deep in his heart, Ebizō almost wished Tobirama would provoke a conflict, even if it meant war.
After all, what could be more terrifying than poverty?
Sunagakure was so impoverished that even sandals were a luxury. If it came down to it, they'd rather risk everything in a war with Konoha than continue scraping by. The barefoot didn't fear those who wore shoes; if they lost, they would only have to pay more reparations. Besides, Iwagakure's Ōnoki had already expressed willingness to ally with them should they choose to go to war against Konoha.
"This way, please," a Konoha ANBU member said, leading the Sunagakure delegation.
Ebizō glanced at the guide and immediately stiffened.
"The Copy Ninja, Kakashi Hatake!"
Internally, he recognized this as a subtle show of Konoha's strength. The fact that even a renowned elite jōnin had been sent to escort them was no coincidence.
Ebizō turned to look at the younger members of his delegation, who were still wide-eyed, marveling at Konoha's splendor. Suppressing a sigh, he growled,
"Why does Konoha have so many geniuses?"
His frustration bubbled over as he barked at the younger ninjas to focus, then followed Kakashi and the ANBU into the village's reception hall.
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