The Fourth Raikage's expression was somewhat grave at this moment. He looked at Ryun Uchiha, who was sitting in his own seat, and did not dare to act recklessly.
This heavyweight figure, who could annihilate Kumogakure with a snap of his fingers, was someone who, if handled poorly, would at the very least mean the end of his political career.
To put it more seriously, if Ryun Uchiha was displeased, not a single shinobi in Kumogakure would be happy!
"Lord Hokage, the inauguration ceremony is tomorrow. May I ask why you have come today?" The Fourth Raikage, A, did not understand Ryun Uchiha's motives, so he tested the waters first.
"Of course, it's about Lord Raikage borrowing influence from me," Ryun Uchiha said with a smile.
The Fourth Raikage, A, was first stunned, thinking Ryun Uchiha was here to blame him. But then he thought, if it was to blame him, this reason seemed somewhat insufficient.
"I don't understand what you are saying, Lord Hokage." The Fourth Raikage, A, shook his head, indicating he knew nothing about this matter.
Ryun Uchiha smiled. "Don't know? Interesting. I didn't expect the Fourth Raikage's mouth to be so tight. I just hope that when Ōnoki of Iwagakure arrives, you won't come looking for me."
After saying this, Ryun Uchiha was about to leave when the Fourth Raikage, A, stopped him. "Wait!"
Ryun Uchiha stopped his movement and looked up at A. The Fourth Raikage seemed to understand something. His eyes lit up. "Lord Hokage, please wait a moment."
He then clapped his hands, and immediately an Anbu appeared beside him. "Go and bring the box from my room."
The Anbu said, "Yes!" Then transformed into a flash of lightning and disappeared.
"Please wait a little while, Lord Hokage." The Fourth Raikage, A, extended his right hand, pointing to the Raikage's seat, while he himself pulled out a stool, placed it opposite Ryun Uchiha, and sat down.
Ryun Uchiha's lips curled up. Indeed, the Fourth Raikage, A, was also a smart person. In that case, he would wait.
In less than a moment, the Anbu returned, carrying a large box, and walked in.
The Fourth Raikage smiled. "Thank you for your hard work." Then he signaled the Anbu to place the box on his desk.
The Anbu followed his Raikage's instructions and placed the box on the desk. At the Raikage's signal, he left.
After the Anbu left, the Fourth Raikage, A, opened the box. Inside were a large number of gold, silver, and jade artifacts. Ryun Uchiha smiled. The Fourth Raikage, A, was quite sensible.
"Lord Raikage, this... this... this is not appropriate." Ryun Uchiha looked troubled, but his gaze burned as he stared at the box.
"Heh, Lord Hokage, you jest. It is I who needs to borrow your influence to force Iwagakure not to act rashly. Borrowing influence, borrowing influence. If I don't pay some price, how can it be called borrowing influence?" The Fourth Raikage had already thought of this point and thus prepared a backup plan.
"This box of treasures is worth ten billion. Consider it a token of my sincerity. Now I present them to you, Lord Hokage. I hope Lord Hokage can support my succession as Raikage." The Fourth Raikage, A, smiled.
"Support, of course I support. In that case, I will accept this on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of villagers of Konoha and thank Lord Raikage for his generous support." After saying this, Ryun Uchiha waved his hand and, without even looking, stored the box of treasures into a scroll.
Seeing Ryun Uchiha accept the treasures, the Fourth Raikage, A, secretly sighed in relief. He had originally thought of finding a time to send it to Ryun Uchiha. As it turned out, Ryun Uchiha came in person, which saved him a lot of trouble.
Afterwards, Ryun Uchiha and the Fourth Raikage, A, discussed some experiences in village governance. After all, having received so much money, he definitely had to offer some substantive advice.
At first, the Fourth Raikage, A, did not pay much attention. But the more he listened, the more something felt off. The more he listened, the more alarmed he became. Especially when he heard Ryun Uchiha's statement, "Governing a large country is like cooking a small fish. Governing a village requires even more finesse."
He took out a piece of white paper and a pen from his office drawer and began to write. Ryun Uchiha nodded. Not bad. Although not as clever as Luming, even a slow person has their own methods.
Ryun Uchiha slowed his speech, allowing the Fourth Raikage, A, of Kumogakure to fully record what he said. Until the next morning, Ryun Uchiha stepped down from the Raikage's seat and stretched. "Well, I need to go back and sleep. How much you can comprehend from this is up to you."
Saying this, Ryun Uchiha snapped his fingers and turned into a golden light, disappearing from the Raikage's office, as if he had never been there.
The Fourth Raikage was momentarily dazed, but quickly realized this was Konoha's forbidden technique, the Flying Thunder God! Ryun Uchiha was still the same as before, coming and going like the wind.
Although Ryun Uchiha left, the Fourth Raikage continued to look at the draft in his hand, occasionally sighing in admiration that Ryun Uchiha truly had great talent.
Ryun Uchiha returned to the hotel, covered himself with the blanket, and fell into a deep sleep. No one knew what he dreamed about, but the corners of his mouth were upturned, and he occasionally laughed.
On the other side, Ringo Ameyuri returned to the hotel.
After she returned, everyone asked her what she had been doing. Ringo Ameyuri answered truthfully, "I saw someone from Konoha yesterday. Feeling an itch to test my skills, I sparred for a while with the fellow Lightning Release swordsman, Sakumo Hatake."
Upon hearing this, not only did the Seven Ninja Swordsmen gasp, but even Yagura's eyes lit up.
Yagura spoke up, "Was it that Konoha's White Fang?" He needed to confirm, because Konoha's White Fang had risen to prominence in recent years.
An almost 100 percent mission completion rate earned the respect of shinobi from every village.
"That's right! It was him!" Ringo Ameyuri looked at Yagura seriously.
"Are you hurt?" Yagura began to look Ringo Ameyuri up and down. Seeing no obvious wounds on her body, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Finally, Kirigakure had produced such a hardworking shinobi. She must not come to harm! He still wanted to see Ringo Ameyuri inspire everyone to train diligently in the future!
"No, Lord Mizukage! I gained a lot from sparring with Sakumo Hatake. I feel my strength can advance further very soon!" As she spoke, Ringo Ameyuri's eyes shone brightly, as if a fierce fire was burning within them.
Seeing Ringo Ameyuri like this, Yagura was very pleased. Advancing further in strength was good, very good! Originally, Yagura thought Fuguki Suikazan would be the next to reach Kage-level combat power.
He didn't expect Ringo Ameyuri to be the one. It truly was the younger generation surpassing the older.
Hearing this, Fuguki Suikazan's expression changed. He didn't expect Ringo Ameyuri to have such an opportunity. Damn it! Why didn't Sakumo Hatake just slash her to death!
A sense of crisis rose in Fuguki Suikazan's mind. He gritted his teeth and looked at Ringo Ameyuri. Ringo Ameyuri seemed to sense the malice.
She immediately turned her head and looked at Fuguki Suikazan. Fuguki Suikazan suddenly smiled at that moment, his expression gentle, showing no trace.
She looked around again and found no one else emitting malice. How strange, what was going on?
Boss Suikazan had always been a very amiable person. He would absolutely not harbor malice towards me! Absolutely not!
Ringo Ameyuri thought for a moment, then finally shook her head. Yagura patted her shoulder. "Alright, you worked hard tonight. Go rest now."
Seeing that Ringo Ameyuri was safe and sound and had gained much, Yagura was also in a pleasant mood.
Hearing about sleep, Ringo Ameyuri immediately felt weariness wash over her. She yawned and said, "Lord Mizukage, then I'll go rest first!"
Yagura smiled and nodded. After instructing everyone not to cause trouble, he also headed towards the hotel.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen acknowledged. Finally, they walked into the hotel one after another. Only Fuguki Suikazan remained standing in front of the hotel, his expression shifting.
It seemed he could not slack off! Otherwise, if he was really surpassed by that little girl Ameyuri, where would his face be!
Thus, his figure vanished into the night. No one knew where he went. They only knew that when he returned the next day, Samehada's spines were soft, and Fuguki Suikazan's spirit was weary.
The next day
Kazekage Chiron of Sunagakure, along with his son and Sunagakure Anbu, arrived at the entrance. As usual, they were received by Darui, who took them to a hotel in Kumogakure.
These four countries had four different hotels, naturally with distinctions between high and low status. The ranking was Konoha > Kirigakure > Sunagakure > Iwagakure.
If you asked the Fourth Raikage, A, if he had any personal bias, I think he certainly did.
Sasori of Sunagakure followed behind his father at this moment, looking around at the local customs of Kumogakure. Kumogakure was different from Sunagakure. It was a high-altitude area, making breathing somewhat laborious, but for shinobi, this was nothing.
Suddenly, Sasori spotted chakra metal. His breathing became rapid. This was top-grade material for puppets!
"Father!" Sasori tugged on Chiron's arm and pointed to a stall. Chiron looked over at that moment. His eyes also lit up.
As a puppeteer, he naturally knew how significant chakra metal was for puppets.
A chunk of chakra metal the size of a fist was something you simply couldn't find in Sunagakure!
He patted Sasori's shoulder. "I understand, son. Father will buy it for you right now!"
Although Chiron was also moved by this metal, if his son wanted it, then his son's desire came first. Parents exist for their children to constantly give.
Sasori's face flushed. With this piece of chakra metal, he was confident he could advance the strength of the Third Kazekage puppet further! Then, he could wield Magnet Release as easily as moving his own arm!
Chiron walked towards that stall. The shopkeeper glanced at the newcomer, wearing a ceremonial robe, and knew this was a rich target!
Only the Kage of each village could wear ceremonial robes. Kage were generally not short of money.
"Esteemed guest, what would you like to buy?" The shopkeeper looked at Kazekage Chiron like a fly rubbing its hands, his heart pounding. Perhaps if he served this lord well, this year's profits could double.
Kazekage Chiron directly picked up the chakra metal, hefted its weight. It was a full ten pounds! The corner of his mouth lifted. "How much for this metal?"
The shopkeeper's eyes lit up. "Boss, you truly have an excellent eye. This is a specialty of this shop, a chunk of chakra metal, a full ten pounds. Seeing you are from another country, I'll give you a reasonable price. Three billion! How about it!"
Chiron frowned. Three billion for ten pounds of chakra metal was indeed very cheap. But precisely because it was so cheap from the shopkeeper, it made him somewhat worried. Was there a trick?
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