"Danzo, what business do you have with me? I'm very busy," Danzo stood erect in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi, still in his kimono, without any hint of respect.
Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Danzo, finding him more and more pleasing to the eye, and said, "Earlier, the Cloud Ninjas said they wanted to send us a special local product, mocking our Leaf Village as country bumpkins who have never seen good things."
"You called me here just to tell me this? Hiruzen, you're getting more and more childish!" Danzo was somewhat angry, feeling that Hiruzen Sarutobi was toying with him.
"Ah, listen to me. Our Leaf Village is one of the Five Great Nations, after all. We must maintain our hospitality. They sent us a 'grand gift,' and no matter how poor our Leaf Village is, we should return them a Leaf Village special product, shouldn't we?" Hiruzen Sarutobi said meaningfully.
Danzo frowned, as if he hadn't understood Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, and asked, "A grand gift? Hiruzen, if you have something to say, just say it. What do you need me to do?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was somewhat speechless, did he have to make things so clear? Why did Danzo seem so stupid at this moment? Helplessly, he said, "I hope you, Danzo, can send them a 'Leaf Village Gift Package' in your own way."
"My way?" Danzo was stunned for a moment, then smiled sinisterly, as if he was meeting Hiruzen Sarutobi for the first time and said, "What? Hiruzen, have you finally accepted my methods?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi said calmly, "This is only for this one time, and I don't want anyone to know that this was done by a Leaf Ninja."
"When I handle things, you can rest assured. As long as we two join forces, this ninja world will sooner or later..."
Before Danzo could finish, he saw Hiruzen Sarutobi wave his hand at him, seemingly uninterested in listening to his empty promises.
"Hmph!" Danzo snorted coldly. He most detested this trait of Hiruzen Sarutobi, using him and then kicking him out, like a scumbag!
"Remember to leave one messenger. A verbal promise is still a promise. What if the Raikage has a relapse and agrees..."
Danzo flicked his sleeves, didn't reply to Hiruzen, that scumbag, and slammed the door shut.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took out his newly bought pipe from the drawer, finding it more and more pleasing to his eye...
Today, he would smoke an extra puff!
...
Night, a dark and windy night, suitable for murder.
Within the Land of Fire, the Cloud Shinobi envoy party was desperately shuttling through the forest, as if being hunted by some primordial beast from behind.
"Faster, faster! We're almost at the Land of Lightning. Once we reach the Land of Lightning, we'll be safe."
"Damn the Leaf Village! When I return to Cloud Village, I will definitely make the Raikage declare war on you!"
"Shush! Let's leave the Land of Fire first. We will definitely get our revenge for this humiliation sooner or later!"
The members of the Cloud Shinobi envoy were all filled with anxiety, but distance couldn't be shortened by talking. From the Leaf Village to the border of the Land of Lightning, it was at least three to four days of travel. For those whose strength was less than that of a Jonin, it would take at least a week.
Over a dozen Cloud Ninjas ran wildly, completely lacking the arrogance and order they had on their way.
Suddenly, several cold arrows shot out from the shadows. The unprepared Cloud Ninjas let out several screams and fell to the ground. Their bodies quickly turned black, the arrows coated with potent poison!
"Who!" The Cloud Shinobi envoy, hearing the screams, trembled even more. Could it be that the Leaf Village wanted to exterminate them? How dare they? Did Hiruzen Sarutobi truly have such courage?
"The envoy left in too much of a hurry and forgot to take our Leaf Village's special product." Danzo's voice came from the shadows. He directly ignored Hiruzen, that scumbag, wanting him to keep it a secret, because he, Danzo, had his own way of doing things.
"Leaf Village? It is you. Does your Leaf Village truly want to go to war with us Cloud Ninjas!?" The Cloud Shinobi envoy knew that he had no chance of escape the moment he heard the other party reveal their identity. But there was still a sliver of hope for survival in his heart; the Leaf Village would fear the pressure of the Cloud Ninjas.
"Go to war with the Cloud Ninjas? We are just here to deliver a Leaf Village special product, how can this be considered a war?"
"Special product? What special product? We don't want it! Leave immediately, and I can consider not reporting your killing to the Raikage!" the Cloud Shinobi envoy said tremblingly.
Danzo stared at the Cloud Ninja with icy eyes and mocked, "Our Leaf Village's special product is something you can have if you want it, and reject if you don't? Moreover, it's a 'Death Gift Package' personally delivered by me, Danzo! You Cloud Ninjas are truly naive, even more naive than that scumbag Hiruzen!"
"Hiruzen is what scumbag?" The Cloud Ninja envoy was a little confused, not knowing what this meant.
Damn it! I accidentally said what I was thinking. Danzo felt a moment of awkwardness in his heart. It didn't matter, since these people were all dead anyway, he didn't care.
"Leave the leader alive, and kill the rest!" Danzo decided to follow Hiruzen Sarutobi's advice and leave a living witness to disgust the Raikage. Danzo enjoyed doing such dark deeds the most.
"Yes!"
Screams followed one after another. The members belonging to Danzo's Root faction killed without the slightest mercy. Blood splattered, and bodies littered the ground.
Soon, only the trembling Cloud Shinobi envoy remained kneeling on the ground, his expression terrified, muttering, "Don't kill me, don't kill me."
"Inoichi, can you destroy his brain so he only remembers the outcome of the negotiation, and implant a memory of the Sand Ninjas ambushing them?" Danzo asked the Root Ninja with orange hair behind him.
The Yamanaka clan Root Ninja said expressionlessly, "Destroying his memory is easy, but I cannot fully implant a memory that doesn't belong to him. I can only slightly modify it, making him remember that the ninja who attacked them wore Sand Ninja headbands."
"That's enough. Hmph, it's not like I expect this alone to make the Cloud Ninjas and Sand Ninjas go to war. Clean up the battlefield, and then disperse." Danzo turned and returned to the shadows. He didn't have time to watch the rest of what happened; he had more important things to do.
Wood Style... truly captivating!
...
Leaf Village.
"Haha! I'm so full!" Kushina put down a large bowl of ramen, wiping her oily mouth with her small hand, her face filled with happiness.
Lin Yu was somewhat helpless. He took out a few tissues and gently wiped the oil from Kushina's hands, then switched to a few more tissues to wipe her mouth.
Kushina stared at Lin Yu as he wiped her with her beautiful eyes, "Wow, so warm!"
Lin Yu said nonchalantly, "You really can eat!" Next to Kushina were four empty bowls. He wondered how her little stomach could hold so much ramen.
"Hmph!" Kushina immediately got angry upon hearing this. Warm guys really didn't exist! Her fair and tender little hands reached for Lin Yu's waist, looking as if she would act if he said any more.
A gentleman uses his words, not his hands; a good woman uses her hands, not her words! This was a famous saying that Kushina had learned from books!
Lin Yu quickly shifted his body to put some distance between himself and Kushina, changing the subject, "Is this ramen really that delicious?"
Tonight, Lin Yu didn't want to cook. He wanted to take Kushina to "Grandma's House for Xiaolongbao" to eat. He didn't expect them to be so lucky today; the Xiaolongbao shop had just launched a ramen menu.
It was very strange and novel. Kushina loved strange things. She eagerly ordered a bowl, and then she couldn't stop, eating five large bowls in a row.
"Mmm! Super delicious! If it were a little saltier, it would be even better!" Kushina rubbed her round belly, her cute face full of contentment.
"Is it really that delicious? Little girl."
The proprietress was a middle-aged woman with a gentle appearance. Hearing Kushina praise the ramen so highly, she couldn't help but ask.
"According to my judgment, Kushina, this ramen is the most delicious ramen I've ever eaten in the Leaf Village!" Kushina stuck out her small tongue and licked her lips, as if savoring the taste of the ramen.
The middle-aged woman was very happy to hear this and beckoned to the young man who was making the ramen, saying, "Shuida, your ramen is very popular with customers!"