CHAPTER 287: CHAPTER 287: YOU’RE NOT HOLDING BACK AT ALL

Elder Genji understood exactly what Kyoichi meant.

Someone like Uchiha Madara was absolutely not an enemy one or two villages could hope to withstand alone. All the more since Madara wasn’t moving by himself this time—he had those bizarre subordinates of his...

They could slip into the earth itself, and worse, they could seize control of others.

With such eerie abilities, if the great villages did not unite against him, then...

With just the combined power of Konoha and Kirigakure, they could first wipe out the other villages—or at least hold them hostage with threats.

And right now, it had been less than a year since the war ended.

Everyone was still recovering. Especially Kumogakure and Iwagakure—those two had bled themselves dry during the Third Great Ninja War. Their manpower and elite shinobi losses had been tremendous.

Though their villages had begun to recover somewhat in the past year, restoring numbers and strength was no simple task. And the strongest village, without question, was now...

Konoha.

Elder Genji knew he had no other choice. Nor did he need one.

The only path was to cling tightly to Konoha.

"By the way, Jōnin Kyoichi," Elder Genji began with his usual tact, "I wonder... is there anything you or Konoha require of us? Your assistance to Kirigakure isn’t something that can be repaid with mere coin. This old man finds himself unsure of what kind of recompense would be appropriate."

His words were well crafted.

What he really meant was that he didn’t know what to offer and wanted to probe for Kyoichi’s demands. But by phrasing it as ’beyond the value of money’, he managed to flatter Kyoichi at the same time. Smooth.

Kyoichi wasn’t interested in making things difficult.

Money... truth be told, he didn’t particularly lack it. Enough was enough, and in the shinobi world, money alone couldn’t solve real problems. Other resources mattered far more.

After a moment’s thought, he said,

"Konoha is rather short on chakra metal right now. I wonder if Kirigakure might be able to spare some?"

"This..."

Elder Genji’s expression stiffened.

As expected, Kanda Kyoichi wasn’t easy prey. He had gone straight for the jugular.

Chakra metal.

That stuff was rare beyond measure. Not only was Konoha short of it—Kirigakure was as well. Otherwise, they would have reforged replacements for their Seven Ninja Swords long ago, after three had been lost.

Still, since Kyoichi had asked, he couldn’t refuse outright.

They did have some. Not much, but enough to scrape together a little.

Of course... nowhere near enough to be generous.

After considering a moment, Elder Genji said,

"Chakra metal is in short supply for us as well. At most, we could gift enough for forging a single blade. Beyond that... I fear not."

"Is that so? A bit of a pity then," Kyoichi replied lightly. "In that case, perhaps some ordinary ninja tools as well?"

"That can certainly be arranged," Elder Genji answered without hesitation.

Ordinary ninja tools, though valuable in bulk, were something Kirigakure could part with far more easily. He was about to add some flattering words when—

"Oh, and as for ninjutsu, forget it—Konoha doesn’t lack techniques. But regarding your Hiding in Mist Technique and Silent Killing methods, perhaps there’s room for mutual exchange between our villages?"

"And besides, since our two villages are now allies, shouldn’t we also deepen commercial cooperation? I hear Konoha’s trade caravans have been blocked outside recently?"

Kyoichi kept piling on requests.

Elder Genji’s face froze.

He had thought the earlier demands were the full price. But no, those were only appetizers. The real feast was just beginning.

He had badly underestimated this boy.

So much for thinking Kyoichi was reasonable—he was ruthless.

"...Well, that’s all that comes to mind for now," Kyoichi finally said with a smile.

"This... Jōnin Kyoichi..."

"What is it? Is something difficult? From where I stand, these are all quite reasonable requests. Many of them are simply the normal exchanges expected between allied villages, aren’t they?"

"That may be true," Elder Genji sighed, "but this old body is frail with age. I simply can’t keep track of so many things at once."

He pulled the old man card.

He had to—Kyoichi’s demands were piling up too fast.

Kyoichi chuckled. "It’s not so many, really. Think of it as comprehensive cooperation. It benefits both sides. After all, aren’t Sunagakure and Amegakure already working hand-in-hand with Konoha? As allies, surely we can’t fall behind them."

"That’s not entirely unfair to say... As for the business arrangements, well, we were being manipulated by Uchiha Madara. Otherwise, why would we ever refuse trade?"

Elder Genji coughed lightly, signaling his agreement on at least one point.

Commerce was acceptable.

Even if he knew the trade was stacked in Konoha’s favor. After all, Sunagakure and Amegakure were already flooded with Konoha’s military rations pills. Word had it that even the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth were full of Konoha caravans.

Konoha was selling its pills everywhere, raking in a fortune.

Not just pills—grain, too.

How they had so much food was anyone’s guess.

But still... commercial exchange was the lightest concession. And it would ease the Land of Water’s internal food shortages.

"And the ninjutsu exchange?" Kyoichi pressed.

"That matter..." Elder Genji smiled carefully. "I’ll need to discuss it thoroughly once I return to the village. Let’s set it aside for now, and treat it as a separate topic under our alliance framework. Would that do?"

He had managed to deflect.

Though he had ceded plenty of ground, it wasn’t a complete loss. At least he had kept something back. For instance, the so-called ’ninjutsu exchange’...

Utter nonsense.

Never mind that sharing ninjutsu insights between villages was impossible in principle. Konoha’s Hiding in Mist and Silent Killing techniques had already been "borrowed" from Kirigakure long ago.

And now Kyoichi wanted to turn around and exchange their own techniques with them?

Agreeing to that would make Kirigakure into its own worst traitor.

Of course, Kyoichi hadn’t expected to succeed there. He only needed to float the idea—later, when it was scaled down to something modest, like exchanging basic Water Release knowledge, that would be achievable. That had been his true aim all along.

After much back-and-forth, both sides settled on a general understanding. Elder Genji, though wrung dry, felt at least he had bought some breathing room.

They spoke further of other matters as well.

For instance—who to drag into this next.

The answer was obvious.

The Land of Lightning.

Though the Fourth Raikage, A, had his frictions with both Kyoichi and Kirigakure, that didn’t matter. It was time to pressure him.

The war was over. Now it was about forging new cooperation.

Secure Kumogakure first, then worry about Iwagakure later. A would gladly play the heavy if it meant strengthening his position. And Kirigakure would make the initial approach, saving Konoha the trouble of dirtying its hands.

After the first wave of negotiations, Konoha could step in officially. Much simpler that way.

Finally...

Kyoichi also arranged for a ship.

A dozen blind Uchiha wanted to return home. Naturally, the only option was by sea. With Elder Genji’s influence, Kyoichi didn’t have to deal with shady shipmasters. The Kirigakure fleet itself would see them safely across.

A big, stable vessel.

On the voyage home...

Kyoichi began mulling over how to persuade Nagato.

On this, he had consulted with Minato as well. Minato knew the three Amegakure orphans but wasn’t close enough to offer useful advice. They had talked for quite some time, but found no easy answers.

Still—on one point, everyone agreed.

Nagato and the others could not be left wandering on their own.

If his eyes truly had come from Madara, then with Kyoichi stirring up the world as he was... Nagato was walking straight into mortal danger.

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