Naruto: People are in Konoha, the system arrived 20 years earlier Chapter 096

After some time, Hiruzen received an invitation from Onoki for a discussion, agreeing to meet in the Land of Grass.

Regarding the location, neither side wanted to hold it in their own territory; the incident with Tobirama in the Land of Lightning was still fresh in everyone’s minds.

The Land of Grass was perfectly situated between the two countries, which is why it was chosen as the meeting place. As for whether the Land of Grass agreed or not?

It wasn’t up to them to agree or disagree. “We’re just holding a meeting in your territory. Even if a fight breaks out on your land, you have no right to refuse.”

Hiruzen was already mentally prepared for this discussion.

After some deliberation, he decided to bring Orochimaru and Sakumo along as Hokage guards.

After Sakumo left the village, Hayato stopped taking missions and dedicated himself to training.

He also helped out at home by looking after Shisui. During this time, he thought about looking for Minato, but later learned from Kushina that Minato had already left on a mission and hadn’t returned.

He had left even before they departed for that S-rank mission.

Hayato wasn’t very clear about what mission Minato had gone on.

One day, Hayato arrived at the Kazama brothers’ research facility.

Both were engrossed in their projects. Hayato walked up behind them.

“How’s the research progressing?”

Hearing the voice behind them, both brothers flinched, then turned around in unison. Seeing it was Hayato, they let out a long sigh of relief.

“It’s Hayato, you’re asking about which research?” Takuya asked.

He momentarily couldn’t figure out if Hayato wanted to know about remote communication or the Grimoire Stone.

Hayato crossed his arms, “I want to know about both.”

Actually, in his heart, both matters held similar importance.

Yuki, standing nearby, spoke up, “We now have a rough framework for remote communication; only one final topic remains, and that’s the construction of the terminal.”

“As for the Grimoire Stone, our current progress isn’t yet at a stage where it can be used on living organisms,” Takuya added.

Upon hearing this, Hayato nodded slightly. This result was neither good nor bad.

In such a short time, the two had already made such breakthroughs, which was enough to show their excellence.

“So you said remote communication still needs a terminal. Do you need any support from my side?”

Takuya and Yuki exchanged glances, then spoke together, “We’re partly short on funds, and official endorsement is also part of it.”

Hayato nodded slightly, “For funding, I’ll contribute a portion, and I’ll also communicate with the clan. As for official endorsement, I’ll discuss it with my grandfather.”

“Then there’s no problem,” the Kazama brothers said with a smile.

After the two brothers left, Hayato went to see the Great Elder and explained the situation to him.

After finishing these matters, Hayato returned home and saw the two ninja dogs frolicking in the courtyard, a sense of emotion welling up in his heart.

He could only think, “You’ll just have to enjoy the pleasure of evolution a little later.”

Days flowed by slowly, and the day of Hiruzen and Onoki’s meeting finally arrived.

Land of Grass.

Meeting location.

A long table, divided into two ends, with the two men sitting face to face.

Behind Hiruzen stood Sakumo and Orochimaru, one on his left and one on his right.

As soon as the two sides met, they fell into a brief silence.

Neither spoke first. After a long while, Onoki couldn’t hold back.

“Hokage, I hope you can give me an explanation.”

Hiruzen puffed on his pipe, exhaling smoke.

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“Stop playing games with me. Is Kitsuchi in your hands?” Onoki’s gaze was sharp, and his voice was slightly cold.

“Kitsuchi? Who is Kitsuchi?” Hiruzen began to act.

“Hokage, is this amusing?” Onoki’s voice rose considerably.

“Let’s talk frankly. What are your conditions?” Onoki added.

It wasn’t time for them to completely fall out, he knew that much.

Hiruzen spread his hands, feigning a helpless expression, “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Then, he turned to look at the two behind him, “Do you two know anyone like that?”

At this moment, Sakumo stepped forward in a timely manner, “Lord Hokage, I think the Tsuchikage might be referring to the Iwa ninja who infiltrated our village earlier, attempting to steal important information, but was apprehended by us.”

“Oh, you mean that. Now that you mention it, I do have some recollection. Tsuchikage, shouldn’t you first give us an explanation?” Hiruzen looked at Onoki with a profound gaze.

At these words, Onoki choked.

What was “turning the tables”? This was turning the tables.

You came to our village, abducted our people, and now you’re saying our people tried to steal from your village, failed, and were arrested.

His two guards behind him immediately couldn’t hold back, and one of them shouted.

“Nonsense, it was clearly you…”

Before he could finish, Onoki raised a hand to stop him.

This was not a glorious matter to begin with, and most importantly, they had no evidence, only his testimony.

In this era, what good was a human witness?

Didn’t you see the guy opposite just making things up?

The key was that the other side had captured their person, which was equivalent to being caught red-handed. They could say whatever they wanted.

Onoki had to admit, he was caught.

“The inherently evil Senju Tobirama, why did he create the Flying Thunder God Jutsu for no reason?”

Onoki gritted his teeth and spoke, “You and I both know the real situation. State your conditions.”

Hiruzen said calmly, “That depends on your sincerity.”

The problem was thrown back to Onoki.

Onoki was momentarily speechless. After a long while, he finally asked, “How much ransom do you need to release Kitsuchi?”

He wasn’t worried about Kitsuchi’s life, because he knew that a living Kitsuchi was more valuable than a dead one.

Hiruzen just smiled, then held up two fingers.

“Two million ryo?” Onoki frowned slightly, speaking calmly.

“Twenty… million.” Hiruzen finally spoke, stating his price.

Onoki’s eyes widened instantly.

What?! It jumped ten times?!

“Hokage, what kind of joke are you playing?” Onoki’s voice immediately rose by an octave.

“This Iwa ninja wasn’t worth this much originally, but because he caused immense damage to our village, most of the twenty million is for repair costs.”

This move truly disgusted Onoki.

“Oh, by the way, that Iwa ninja seems to have sustained quite a few injuries, right? We’ll need to add another two million for his medical treatment. I’m sure the Tsuchikage wouldn’t want to see him missing limbs, would he?” Hiruzen said calmly once more.

This was a blatant threat: “We can save his life, but if you’re uncooperative, sending back a disabled version is not a problem.”

“You!” Onoki glared at Hiruzen.

If looks could kill, Hiruzen would have been killed a hundred times over by him.