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Gojo Kaigetsu was wary of Baki, but he had to admit, he appreciated the man's "Way of the World" attitude. Ba the days of the previous administration, he would have addressed Rasa as an elder brother, now, Baki ractically on his knees, ready to call him "sugar daddy".
But beh that obsequious smile lurked a militaristic ambition, a pn to shift the vilge's focus eowards military development.
The storehouses were filled with newly crafted puppets, and an abundance of explosive tags, shuriken—Suna was clearly brewing a war that would overturn the existing Shinobi World order.
"Greetings, Fifth Kazekage."
"Greetings, greetings, Advisojo. Please, e in~"
Baki's eyes flickered with ing. The Konoha delegation wasn't apanied by a high-level Shinobi like Tsunade for prote, as they had been during the trade route ceremony.
It seemed that his leadership of Sunagakure had successfully caused Konoha to lower its guard.
'Just wait…' he thought. 'You'll pay for every slight, every humiliation. And we'll make sure you pay a hefty price.'
In the Kazekage Tower's war room, Baki had already marked several strategic targets belonging to Konoha.
As long as they had enough time to develop and accumute suffit strength, Baki would not hesitate to unch a surprise attack! He would transform the vilge's long-accumuted internal flicts into a war of external aggression!
He would tell the people of Suna that their taxes were not paid in vain! They had been turned into explosive tags that would be used against Konoha!
--
Soon, the Konoha delegation was led to the meeting room in the Kazekage Tower.
Normally, su importa would also involve the presence of the Suna ambassador to Konoha, Mitokado Homura.
But clearly, Suna was iionally limiting the number of partits in this meeting. And Konoha, in turn, was iionally excluding the "elder" Mitokado Homura from their core deaking circle.
There were disparities even among elders.
Gojo Kaigetsu held immense power and influence, while Mitokado Homura could only py pretend in Suna, uo eveurn to the vilge to pay his respects after Danzo's death.
The two sides sat down.
"Advisojo, acc to the intelligehered by our Suna, we have firmed that the rogue Suna Shinobi, Hiruzen, is hiding within Rōran. We have invited you here to guide our Suna Shinobi in an anti-terrorism operation…"
To be ho, Baki had no i in eliminating Suna's Missing-nin who were on the run. As long as it didn't interfere with his grand pns, it was fine.
But he was very ied in using the elimination of Missing-nin as an excuse to rake in the cash!
Over the past few days, uhe pretext of eliminating Missing-nin, the Kazekage Tower had amassed a siderable fortune from within the vilge.
"Regarding this 'crackdown on Shinobi active in the underground Ninja World,' let me just say a few words." Gojo Kaigetsu stood up. "How do we target the Missing-nin of each vilge?"
Whoosh...
As if ohe Suna cil members attending the meeting took out their small notebooks, ready to listen, giving Gojo Kaigetsu plenty of face.
"To put it simply, crag down on the underground Shinobi World means identifying the key issue. And what is the key issue? We o find the crux of the problem! So, if we 't find the crux of that key issue, the key a, and the key link, if we 't grasp it, if we don't focus on the crux, then we won't be able to solve the key issue, or any issue at all…"
The cil members stopped writing, exging bewildered gnces, reizing the fusion in each other's eyes.
So, what exactly was this "crux" he was talking about?
"Capturing the Missing-nin, Hiruzen, is Suna's first shot in our war! We must sign a letter of responsibility, unch a decisive strike, establish a strong foundation, identify the key points, eliminate any risks, and ensure we don't overstep our boundaries. Finally…"
Baki's mouth twitched. He finally couldn't take it anymore and asked the key question:
"Advisojo, acc to our intelligence, Hiruzen is able to infiltrate Rōran aablish roots likely due to the support of the Rōran royal family—To put it another way, all of Rōran might be harb these terrorist Shinobi. In this situation, what should we do?"
A direct question! Straight to the heart of the matter!
Gojo Kaigetsu reined in his smile and coughed lightly. "I don't agree with that assessment—The people of Rōran wouldn't have the guts to harbor a known Missing-nin."
"But they did just that, didn't they, Advisojo? In my opinion, at a time like this, we shouldn't be soft-hearted~ I believe we should pletely annihite Rōran."
"Kazekage, that's a bit much," Gojo Kaigetsu said, his expression stern. "You should know that we in Konoha are the most peace-loving vilge. That's why we're vigorously promoting this initiative to crack down on the underground Shinobi World—Killing all the people of Rōran goes against our initial goal."
"You're right, of course. I uand pletely. But the Daimyo of the Land of Wind also ordered me to eliminate Rōran—This is a difficult situation. Unless Advisojo agree to a few minor ditions on my behalf, it will be hard to justify this to the Daimyo…"
"ditions? What ditions?"
"Firstly, as one of the few remaining kin of the Fourth Kazekage, his daughter, Temari, has beeant to return to the vilge. This has ively impacted both Suna and the entire Land of Wind. We believe in leading through filial piety, and I hope Advisojo persuade Priemari to return to Suna."
"Sedly, Rōran is, after all, within our Land of Wind's borders. Yet, during the First Shinobi World War, they vioted regutions by sealing the 'Ryūmyaku,' a shared resource between our Land of Wind and Rōran, causing massive eic losses to the Land of Wind and tinuing to affect us to this day."
"Thirdly, the Daimyo heard about the pletion of the Konoha-Suna Trade Route a his gratutions. But the Daimyo believes that sihis route was built through our joint efforts, Suna should have a share of the profits."
"If Advisojo represent Konoha and agree to these three ditions, I— represent the Daimyo—and promise to only elimihe ringleader, Hiruzen!"
Setting the price high, knowing they'd haggle.
Gojo Kaigetsu tered, "If that's the case—the's just kill everyone in Rōran!"
"I won't waste any more words with you, Kazekage. Of the ditions you listed, I only agree to one on behalf of Konoha. You choose."
Thump-Thump-
Baki's heart raced.
He hadn't expected Konoha to agree to any of his demands. He'd assumed they'd—bargain. This—suggested Gojo Kaigetsu believed his—deception.
Konoha wanted reition for its anti-terrorism efforts. And Suna, by cooperating, rofiting.
Baki made his choice. "Then, we'll uhe Ryūmyaku."
"The Uzumaki sealed it. And now that they've returo Konoha. it's a fitting end."
"We'll use the Ryūmyaku's power for peaceful purposes, to develop Sunagakure and tribute to the stability of the Shinobi World."
Baki delivered his carefully crafted speech.
"Very well," Gojo Kaigetsu said, nodding. "Using the Ryūmyaku for—peaceful development is something Konoha supports. But the Daimyo. he might not tolerate Rōran's tinued existence."
Baki's eyes lit up. "What do you mean, Advisojo?"
In Baki's pn, ohe Ryūmyaku was unsealed, he would transform Rōran into a military zone, expanding Sunagakure's strategic depth.
There would be no pce for the people of Rōran.
They would bee refugees. Allowing them to—wahe Shinobi World, harb reseowards Sunagakure, was—unwise.
Killing them was—out of the question. But if someone else were to—take them…
"We're willing to take on that burden," Gojo Kaigetsu said. "But... they might be relut to relocate. You'll o persuade them. And of course, there's a fee."
Baki's gaze sharpened. "A fee? What do you want, Advisojo?"
"People. Do you know about our Uzumaki leader in Konoha? He has a peculiar hobby. He likes—younger ****. and he enjoys being called Shōta-kun. And another of our elders, Koharu Utatane she lost her family in the war. The Hokage Tower feels sorry for her. So we thought perhaps a panion. What do you say, Kazekage?"
"...."
Ctter.
Someone's pen dropped to the floor, breaking the silence.
Baki's mind raced.
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