Chapter 262: 262
Chapter 262: 262
Chapter 262: 262
Hokage Building, outside the office.
"Hokage-sama, Kumogakure's messenger has arrived." Kakashi knocked on the door of the office and reported.
"Come in." A young man's voice came from the door.
Kakashi hearing that, pushed open the door, and stepped aside.
Kisame strode in too.
As soon as he entered the office, he saw Minato, wearing a Hokage robe and a Hokage hat, sitting across from the desk, with a solemn expression on his face.
Behind Namikaze Minato, there are two masked Anbu ninjas, one tall and strong, the other short and thin, Kisame can tell at a glance that they are Jiraiya and Sarutobi Hiruzen.
In addition, three members of the Konoha elders group, Uchiha Fugaku, Hyuga Hiashi and Nara Shikaku were also present.
Kisame's eyes swept across on everyone, and finally fell on Fugaku, and greeted the other party with a smile, as if they are familiar.
Seeing this, the others in the room were a little surprised, and Hiashi, who was beside Fugaku asked, "Do you know this Kumo messenger?"
"I met him once before." Fugaku said with a sullen expression, his face a little unnatural.
Minato Namikaze became suspicious, but he withdrew his gaze from Fugaku and looked at Kisame again, and said solemnly: "The messenger of Kumogakure has come from afar, and I welcome you on behalf of all the villagers in Konoha."
"I have long heard of the famous Yellow Flash, and today I finally get to see the real person. You are younger and more handsome than I imagined. I heard that Hokage-sama has been invincible all his life. Hearing the name of the yellow flash, the enemy surrenders and run away. Such a heroic ninja, no wonder you became Hokage at a young age."
Kisame followed the basic etiquette and praised him.
"I've won the prize. Actually, I'm not that good. I'm not invincible, and I've encountered some failures occasionally."
In the face of compliments, Minato Namikaze behaved very modestly.
However, what he didn't expect was for Kisame to immediately reply:
"Oh, I know this. Hokage-sama suffered a humiliating defeat. It was during the third ninja war. He was beaten by Hoshigaki Kisame in Kirigakure, and he had to leave 5,000 ninjas behind. The yellow flash that once had an invincible reputation has fallen from the altar since then, am I right?"
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of everyone in the office became strange.
'This Kumo messenger isn't good at talking, right?'
When Namikaze Minato heard this, his expression froze even more. The compliments at first are for the purpose of suppressing him, and belittling him was the real purpose of the other party.
Unfortunately, although the other party's words are ugly, they are true.
Namikaze Minato was not provoked.
He looked at Kisame calmly, and responded in a calm tone: "You have a good memory, reminding me to remember the failures in the past, I am very grateful. For me, Hoshigaki Kisame is a formidable opponent, but unfortunately, as you just said, no one will never fail. Even if a person is as strong as Hoshigaki Kisame, he suffered the biggest defeat in his life at the Five Kage Summit, and even lost his life. I still feel very sad about the death."
He first admitted his failure, then remembered his opponent, and implied in his words that a momentary failure is nothing, and the winner is the one who survives to the end.
Hearing Minato's words, Jiraiya and Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at each other and felt very relieved.
As Hokage, Minato showed open-mindedness and tolerance, and did not lose his temper in the face of the trap set by the other party.
"Hahaha."
When Kisame heard that, he couldn't help laughing. Minato Namikaze regards him as a formidable opponent, but in his eyes, Minato was never qualified to be his opponent. His words were just to feel good about himself and put money on his face.
"Envoy of Kumogakure, what are you laughing at?"
Jiraiya couldn't stand it anymore, and asked with a frown.
"It's nothing, I just remembered something worthy of laughter when I heard Hokage-sama's words."
Kisame shrugged, then took out a scroll, and threw it directly at Minato and said, "Okay, the chat is over, it's time to get down to business. Inside is the peace treaty proposed by Raikage-sama, please take a look."
'Snap.'
Minato reached out and grabbed the scroll, his eyes narrowed, he put it on the desk, and slowly unfolded it.
Before opening the scroll, Minato thought that the Raikage would definitely be aggressive and write a lot of rude and excessive demands in the treaty.
After all, Kumogakure has always been belligerent and very greedy to the outside world.
And just three days ago, Kumogakure was suspected of forming an alliance with Kirigakure. If Raikage and Tsunade jointly launched an attack, let alone Konoha, even the entire ninja world would be captured by them.
Under such circumstances, if Konoha wants to maintain peace, it must pay a great price.
Namikaze Minato and a group of senior Konoha executives also made psychological preparations in advance, as long as the other party's request did not touch Konoha's bottom line, they could talk about it.
However, to Minato's surprise, when he saw the contents of the scroll, he realized that he had misunderstood Kumogakure and Raikage.
The terms in the scroll are very simple, there are only a few, the basic meaning is that Kumogakure and Konoha promise not to invade each other, and then freely conduct trade and trade on this basis, and regularly send ninjas for military exchanges, such as jointly holding the Chunin exam etc.
For Konoha, who is on the weak side, this is simply great news.
Namikaze Minato came back to his senses and handed the scroll to Fugaku and the others to read in turn. After they read it, except for Fugaku, who was very worried, all of them showed expressions of surprise.
"Raikage-sama has kindness in his heart and has no intention of starting any form of war, let alone seeing a large number of innocent casualties of ninjas and civilians. For Kumogakure and Konoha, peace is always the most important thing, what do you think, Hokage-sama?"
Kisame stared at Namikaze Minato and asked.
Although he claims to be the villain, Kisame has never launched a war on his own initiative, and every time he fights back in self-defense. On the contrary, it was Konoha in the third and fourth ninja wars hit Kirigakure's door and were an out-and-out invader.
Perhaps, Kisame is a peace-loving person in his bones.
Minato Namikaze looked solemn, stood up from his seat, and said to Kisame:
"Please thank Raikage-sama on my behalf, Konoha cherishes the opportunity for peace very much. I, Minato Namikaze, promise that as long as I am still in Hokage's seat, I would definitely not start a war against Kumogakure."
"Okay, with the words of Hokage-sama, I will be able to do business when I go back." Kisame replied as he laughed.
The signing of the peace treaty was unexpectedly smooth.
It took less than an hour for Minato Namikaze and Kisame to reach a consensus on the specific details of the treaty, and there were no longer any doubts or objections.
Next, Namikaze Minato wrote his name on the treaty, and Kisame also took out Raikage's seal and affixed it to the treaty.
It's done.
However, there is one last thing left.
Namikaze Minato glanced at Uchiha Fugaku next to him and saw that the latter did not say a word and looked nervous, so after a little consideration, he asked the Kisame:
"Excuse me, did your village detain a ninja named Uchiha Itachi a few days ago? To be honest, Uchiha Itachi and his companions obeyed my order and went to Kumogakure to carry out reconnaissance. I made this decision for myself, and for the reckless behavior of Uchiha Itachi and others, I apologize to Raikage and Kumogakure. I hope your village can release Uchiha Itachi, and Konoha is willing to pay ransom if necessary."
Minato did not forget that Fugaku's son Uchiha Itachi is still in Kumogakure hands.
Now that the overall situation has been settled, he tried to redeem Uchiha Itachi.
"Oh? Didn't the Patriarch Fugaku tell you, Hokage-sama."
Kisame put a surprised expression on his face and he pointed at Uchiha Fugaku as he said, "Last night, Patriarch Fugaku visited me at the hotel and welcomed me in the unique way of the Uchiha clan. I followed Raikage-sama's order to return the son of the Patriarch to him, right?"
"That happened?"
Minato was startled, then he frowned and asked Uchiha Fugaku.
If what the Kumogakure messenger said is true, then Fugaku had private contacted with the other party in advance without telling him, the Hokage and other high-level Konoha leaders.
Moreover, Minato also heard the dissatisfaction in Kisame's words. 'The unique welcome method of the Uchiha clan', even if he think about it with my toes, he knows that it is not a pleasant welcome method.
Fugaku undoubtedly made a huge mistake.
Under Minato's gaze, Fugaku's eyes turned gloomy and his face became more and more ugly. He didn't answer immediately, but glanced at Kisame subconsciously. The latter's expression was half-smile but hidden in the depths of his eyes was a threat that only Fugaku could understand.
At this moment, Fugaku realized that if he told the truth, Itachi might never come back to him again.
Therefore, after some intense inner struggle, Fugaku plopped, knelt down on one knee in front of Minato, and lowered his head to plead guilty to the latter:
"Hokage-sama, I did contact this Kumo messenger without your permission. I am willing to accept any punishment."
"Fugaku, you should be very clear about your own identity. You have disappointed me too much."
Namikaze Minato shook his head, his eyes turned cold.
However, he did not punish Fugaku, instead he looked at Kisame with an apologetic face and asked the latter's opinion, "Envoy of Kumogakure, may I ask whether Uchiha Fugaku has threatened you verbally or physically? Please don't be afraid, speak out boldly, I will definitely convict him and give you a satisfactory answer."
"Forget it."
However, Kisame waved his hand and responded, "Patriarch Fugaku is too eager to save his son. He made a gaffe on impulse, which is completely understandable. I hope Hokage-sama will not punish the patriarch Fuyue, otherwise I will feel bad."
When Namikaze Minato heard that he was in awe of Kisame.
His first impression of the Kumogakure messenger was not good. He felt that he was a fierce and violent person with a arrogant and mean personality, but when he actually got in touch, he found that the other party was actually very good at talking, not only peace loving, but also being generous.
It's really unbelievable.
Thinking of this, Minato said to Fugaku, who was kneeling on the ground: "For the sake of the Kumogakure messenger speaking for you, I will let you go this time and will not hold you accountable. Get up and go back to take care of your son and reflect on it."
"Yes."
Fugaku stood up, bowed to Minato, and then walked past Kisame with his head down and exited the office.
"You let him go? I propose to cancel Uchiha Fugaku's elder status, otherwise he will do more lawless things sooner or later."
Hyuga Hiashi, who was watching the whole play, frowned and said, expressing his dissatisfaction.
"Elder Hyuga, we'll talk about this later."
Minato glanced at Hiashi, and motioned the latter to shut up with his eyes.
'The Kumogakure messenger is still here, don't you know not to fight in front of others?'
Afterwards, Minato glanced at the clock on the wall, and with a smile he invited Kisame:
"It's not too early. If the envoy of Kumogakure is willing, you might as well have lunch with me. It can be regarded as a celebration of the signing of the peace treaty."
"Of course. I have long heard that Konoha has a lot of delicious food. Now that I am finally came here, I have to eat a lot."
Kisame readily agreed, after all, who doesn't like eating free food.
So, Minato Namikaze, accompanied by two elders, Hyuga Hiashi and Nara Shikaku, went to the banquet hall with Kisame for lunch.
A meal is the place where the guest and host enjoy.
At the dining table, Kisame burped, patted his swollen belly, and said to Minato:
"I plan to leave early tomorrow morning and return to Kumogakure to return to Raikage-sama. Therefore, this afternoon and evening, I want to stroll around the bustling Konohagakure, I hope Hokage-sama can send me a tour guide. I will be very grateful."
As he spoke, he looked at Hyuga Hiashi, who was on the side, intentionally or unintentionally.
"It's only natural."
When Namikaze Minato heard this, he first thought of Jiraiya.
Jiraiya is not only powerful enough to protect the Kumo messenger, but also proficient in eating, drinking and playing, and used to linger in sensual places. For him to be the tour guide, the other party will definitely be very satisfied.
However, Hyuga Hiashi's eyes flashed, and before Minato opened his mouth, he volunteered:
"Hokage-sama, let me do it. I will make him feel at home."
After a series of previous observations and the conversation at the dining table just now, Hyuga Hiashi has been acutely aware that the Kumo messenger in front of him is definitely closely related to Raikage, and his status in Kumogakure is probably quite high.
He is a real big shot.
If he can take this opportunity to have a good relationship with the other party, it will definitely be a great thing for the Hyuga clan.
"This.."
Minato looked at Kisame with some hesitation, and asked the latter's opinion with his eyes.
"Oh, I'm really flattered. Then I'll trouble the Hyuga Clan patriarch." Kisame smiled meaningfully.