Ryun snorted coldly. Even though the Third Raikage was now acting humble and submissive, he had no pleasant expression to offer him. How many of the common people under his rule had died because of his invasion? How many women had been violated?
From now on, there was no possibility of reconciliation between Kumogakure and Konoha! Even if you admit your mistake, what use is your good attitude? If apologies were useful, what would we need police for?
Ryun did not dawdle. He raised his hand, and Minato quickly handed him the scroll with the terms written on it. Ryun passed the scroll to the Raikage, then watched his expression, laughing inwardly.
The Third Raikage took the scroll, his movements somewhat cautious. There was no helping it; he had been beaten into fear before. Ryun's strange abilities and the Susano'o, his methods were endless. It was a good thing Black Zetsu didn't see those eyes.
Otherwise, Black Zetsu might have knelt down to claim kinship, begging Ryun to release his mother, perhaps!
The Third Raikage opened the scroll, looked at the terms listed, and couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth. Damn it.
Kumogakure must pay Konoha 4 billion in reparations. Otherwise, Konoha will once again launch a punitive expedition against Kumogakure.
From this day forward, Kumogakure must limit its shinobi numbers to within 4,000. Any excess will be regarded as a war inclination, an intent to start a war. This restriction lasts for twenty years.
Kumogakure must issue a public apology to Konoha, facing the Five Great Nations and the entire shinobi world.
Konoha will station 2,000 shinobi at a location 50 kilometers outside Kumogakure. Kumogakure must not interfere or attack them, otherwise it will be treated as a declaration of war.
Kumogakure must hand over 50% of its village missions and 30% of its total village tax revenue to Konoha, for a period of twenty years.
...
The Third Raikage trembled all over. It wasn't from fear, but from anger. Truly, a dragon stranded in shallow water is teased by shrimps; a tiger fallen on the plains is bullied by dogs! Faced with Konoha's excessive demands, he couldn't make a decision immediately. This was an extremely humiliating and village rights forfeiting treaty to the extreme!
If this got out, how could he, the Third Raikage, ever show his face again?
Seeing his father remain silent and dazed, standing still, the young lord A was puzzled. He snatched the scroll from his father's hand, unrolled it, looked it over, and his eyes widened sharply.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! You... you Konoha people are inhuman! We have never even heard of such terms! From the era of the Shinobi Sect until now, there has never been anything like this! You are trying to shake the very foundation of our Kumogakure!"
The young lord A was indignant, pointing his finger at Ryun Uchiha, Madara Uchiha, and Minato Namikaze.
"You haven't heard of it? There are plenty of things you haven't heard of! It didn't exist before, but it does now, understand?!"
Madara had no patience for him. He shunshined in front of him, kicked him flying, then used another shunshin to appear in front of him, stepping on the small of his back. The young lord A was stunned. Were they really resorting to violence over a disagreement?
Madara's foot was undeniably heavy. He had long been dissatisfied with Kumogakure. If it weren't for Ryun saying they were civilized people, that Konoha was a civilized village, a benchmark for the shinobi world, he would have directly used a complete body Susano'o to wipe out Kumogakure. How dare a mere shrimp shout arrogantly! Insolence!
"Heh, so you're the one called A? You're quite arrogant, aren't you!" Madara grinned, looking down at A, who couldn't move under his foot, and at A's furious frustration. He immediately increased the pressure with his toe.
A spat out a mouthful of blood, struggling to crawl towards his father. "Father! You can't sign it! You mustn't sign it! Once you sign, we become the sinners of Kumogakure, nailed to the pillar of shame for life, mocked by other nations! Your son would rather die than sign! You mustn't sign either!"
Minato threw a Flying Thunder God kunai, embedding it in the ground an inch in front of the young lord A. Then, using the Flying Thunder God Technique, he teleported next to the kunai, swung his arm, and slapped A across the face.
The sound of the slap made both the young lord A and the Third Raikage A freeze. Were you Konoha people bandits? Resorting to violence directly?
"Shut up! If not for the fact that you are the Third Raikage's son, I would have smashed your head with a Rasengan earlier! How could I allow you to shout arrogantly here!" Minato snorted coldly, then kicked the young lord A in the waist again.
The young lord A spat out another mouthful of blood, his aura weakening further. He still shook his head, looking at his father, the Third Raikage, signaling that this thing could not be signed. A man lives for his pride! He would rather die than become a disgrace!
The Third Raikage was furious. "You two have gone too far!" He circulated his chakra. He didn't care who the two people beating his son were, Madara Uchiha or Minato Namikaze, he was going to teach them a lesson!
Madara's eyes lit up. Oh oh oh oh oh! Finally losing patience, huh? Tch, the strongest Raikage, I wonder how his strength compares to Hashirama's? How exciting!
Madara clenched his right fist, his bones cracking, a smile on his face as he watched the Third Raikage, waiting for him to attack at any moment.
Just then, Ryun laughed. He activated his Sage Chakra Mode, his body turning white, golden dragon scales covering his chest, and punched towards the Third Raikage's stomach.
Boom!
A dull sound rang out. The Third Raikage staggered back three or four steps, intense pain coming from his abdomen. This punch also dissipated the fighting spirit that had just risen within him.
Yes, there were three people here. He couldn't defeat Ryun Uchiha. A couldn't defeat Madara Uchiha. Even if Killer B came, it would just be a matter of a single glance from Ryun Uchiha.
Why indulge in reckless bravery? He took a deep breath. "Stop! I will sign this agreement. I ask you not to trouble my son. He is innocent. All of this is the result of my own ambition. I am willing to sign and accept the punishment!"
(The Third Raikage spoke with great righteousness. Those who didn't know, or readers who skimmed, might think this Third Raikage was some kind of good person.)
Ryun sneered. "Just admit you can't win, stop all this talk about signing and accepting punishment. I'm telling you, your suffering is nothing compared to that of our innocent Konoha civilians! At least you and your son and Kumogakure are still alive! They are dead, they can never come back!"
"Konoha's pain is greater than Kumogakure's pain! Remember that, damn it!" Ryun used Almighty Push to blast the Third Raikage away, a trace of hatred flashing in his eyes.
"That... that is!" Black Zetsu's heart raced wildly. That power, there's no mistaking it! The Rinnegan! But this power didn't seem to originate from Mother, nor was it the power of the Six Paths. Yet, fundamentally, different paths lead to the same end!
As long as he had those eyes, Mother... At this moment, Black Zetsu's mind was in turmoil. He looked at Ryun, the hostility in his eyes diminishing considerably, as his mind constantly pondered how to get Ryun to work for him!
The Third Raikage slowly got up. He coughed lightly, spitting out blood. The power of a single repulsion force was actually to this extent! What kind of power was this?
Only Madara was momentarily dazed. Had he seen correctly just now? Ryun's eyes seemed to be the Rinnegan? No! The Rinnegan is purple, but his were golden.
It seemed his great grandson had quite a few secrets on him. But it didn't matter. So what if his great grandson had some secrets?
Never mind his great grandson, didn't he himself have secrets too? He touched his chest and sighed.
"Cough, cough, Hokage-sama, please show mercy. I am willing to sign, to surrender unconditionally!" The Third Raikage knelt on the ground, his eyes dim, his voice hoarse. This kneel drained all his arrogance, all his strength from him. His words held only endless compromise.
"Hmph, if you had signed earlier, why would you have had to suffer so much? Looking for trouble for no reason!" Ryun said sarcastically. Towards enemies, towards enemy villages, he would not give any favorable attitude!
Madara threw the scroll to Ryun. Ryun threw it to the Third Raikage, along with a pen. The Third Raikage knelt, picked up the pen, and signed his name on the designated space on the scroll: Third Raikage A. Finally, he stamped it with his Raikage seal.
His hands trembling, he raised the scroll above his head, while he himself lowered his head, gritting his teeth, his eyes filled with tears, his heart full of endless guilt.
Seniors of Kumogakure, A has failed your nurturing. Today, I kneel to our enemy, sign an unequal treaty, to ensure the safety of Kumogakure. I hope you seniors can forgive A for living on without courage like this.
Ryun didn't care how rich his internal monologue was. After checking the signature and the contract contents, he nodded in satisfaction. "Now, take us to your Kumogakure treasury, immediately, right now!"
The Third Raikage was dazed for a moment. He looked up at Ryun Uchiha, and upon seeing the other's devouring gaze, felt a chill in his heart. He nodded numbly. "I will take you there! Just..."
He glanced at the young lord A not far away, hesitating to speak.
Ryun nodded. Receiving the signal, Madara and Minato both stopped. They looked at Ryun Uchiha. In the blink of an eye, the two arrived behind Ryun Uchiha, following him closely like guards.
As for the severely injured young lord A, no one paid him any attention. The Third Raikage took a deep breath. "I will take you to the treasury." After saying this, he took a deep look at Ryun Uchiha, then led the way to the treasury.
Ryun followed behind with an expressionless face. After the group left, Killer B's figure appeared. He carried his injured brother A on his back, then left the scene. After finding a medical ninja from Kumogakure and settling him down, he stayed by his side, silent.
"B, how many times do I have to tell you? If you keep devoting yourself to this father and son, you won't even know how you die one day. There's no way Ryun Uchiha would have this attitude towards Kumogakure just because of an ordinary battle. The Third Raikage must have done something!" Before Gyūki could finish speaking.
Killer B shouted angrily, "Enough! Gyūki! I don't want to hear it!"
Gyūki was stunned. He hadn't expected this B to yell at him. After all these years of mutual dependence, he had never disliked B, yet now B was already disliking him for being long-winded?
"No good advice can reach the ears doomed to hear none! If one day you really get into trouble, remember, don't beg me. I won't help you!" Gyūki said, as if in a fit of pique, and fell silent.
He was very sad. He and B were like family. Why did B seek that illusory sworn brotherhood and false father son relationship?
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