"I thought the Hidden Grass came here to resolve this seriously," Shikaku Nara said, his tone turning cold. "Clearly, that's not the case."
The Grass negotiator let out a quiet sigh.
When you're the weaker side, you don't get to bluff your way through.
"…Eight hundred million ryo," he said through clenched teeth. "That's our absolute limit."
Shikaku was just about ready to accept.
Truth be told, no one had given him a fixed number to aim for. This was all his own call.
From the higher-ups' perspective, compensation hadn't even been the priority, it was more about diplomacy.
He'd been chosen to lead partly because of his potential. This was a chance to prove himself.
Then Aaron spoke.
"Our prodigy jonin, Kakashi Hatake, nearly died during this mission," he said evenly. "Eight hundred million doesn't begin to cover that kind of loss. Kakashi isn't just another shinobi; he's one of Konoha's brightest rising stars."
The Grass negotiator's expression twitched.
Eight hundred million isn't even worth one jonin now?
For that kind of money, you could hire entire assassination teams to target elite ninja.
But this wasn't about individuals anymore.
This was village versus village. Nation versus nation.
"…One billion," the negotiator said, forcing the words out like they physically hurt. "At this rate, even our leader might have to take missions personally to make up the deficit."
Shikaku shot Aaron a curious look.
He'd thought he was pushing hard.
Turns out, Aaron was even more ruthless.
But Aaron wasn't finished.
He pressed forward, tightening the pressure step by step
Until the final number landed at a staggering:
1.2 billion ryo.
When it came time to sign the agreement, the Grass negotiator stared at Aaron like he wanted to burn a hole through him.
This had started as an eight-hundred-million deal.
Now it was twelve hundred million.
An extra four hundred million
That was countless missions' worth of cost.
And yet…
He had no choice but to accept.
Because deep down
That number was already within their real limit.
What he didn't know…
Was that the man sitting across from him had, not long ago, personally discussed compensation figures with the Grass Village leadership.
Aaron didn't just guess their limit.
He had helped define it.
A number high enough to satisfy Konoha
But still barely survivable for the Grass.
After the negotiations, Shikaku finally gave in to his curiosity.
"Aaron," he asked, "how did you know exactly where their limit was?"
Aaron smiled faintly.
"I've… had some experience gathering intelligence from the Grass Village. I understand them better than most."
Shikaku nodded.
"Figures."
Aaron kept the real story to himself.
Sometimes the truth sounded too unbelievable to be taken seriously.
The next day, Aaron was summoned to the Hokage's office.
Minato Namikaze greeted him with a smile.
"I heard how the negotiations went. Impressive work, Shikaku doesn't praise people lightly, you know."
Aaron chuckled.
"Funny… sometimes I think you have more confidence in me than I do. You're not secretly imagining me as some kind of perfect ninja, are you?"
"Am I?" Minato replied casually, like it wasn't even a question.
Aaron: …
"Anyway," Minato continued, standing up, "take a look at this."
He handed over a document.
Aaron glanced through it and smirked.
Just as he expected.
An official promotion notice.
From this point on
He was a jonin.
No more calling himself an "average chunin."
Not that he could really get away with calling himself "average" anything anymore.
Jonin weren't ordinary.
They were elite forces, the backbone of a village's military strength.
In Konoha, being a jonin also meant status.
Major decisions were discussed and voted on in jonin assemblies.
Leadership roles across departments were almost always filled by jonin.
Which was exactly why Minato had pushed so hard for this promotion.
As a chunin, Aaron's advancement would've been… complicated.
"Aaron the Jonin, huh?" he said, handing the document back. "Not bad."
"I think it suits you," Minato said with a gentle smile.
"And before long, you might even be 'Captain Aaron.'"
Aaron grimaced.
"That somehow sounds worse."
Minato laughed.
"If the Anbu who spent years climbing the ranks heard you say that, they'd lose their minds."
"And you," Aaron shot back, "became Hokage at twenty-three. I don't think you get to talk."
"That just means you're exceptional," Minato replied easily.
"No, that just means you impressed the Third Hokage enough to hand you the hat," Aaron countered.
The two went back and forth
Until they both broke into laughter.
"Oh...one more thing," Aaron added. "For now, unless it's absolutely necessary, don't assign my team any missions outside the village. Stick to patrol duty."
"I'm putting them through intensive training. Once they're ready, they can handle real fieldwork."
Minato nodded.
"That works. Things have been quiet lately anyway; I've even had less paperwork."
"With the Land of Fire, Wind, and Earth all under treaty, the usual troublemakers aren't eager to stir things up."
He paused, then added softly:
"I just hope this peace lasts."
Aaron shook his head.
"That's wishful thinking. Wars don't announce themselves, they just happen. Not everyone wants peace."
Minato didn't argue.
Instead, he looked out through the wide window overlooking the village.
"Then all I can do… is make sure Konoha stays safe from it as long as possible."
From the top floor of the Hokage Tower, the entire village stretched out below peaceful, vibrant, alive.
Seeing it like this
Filled him with resolve.
As Hokage, he wouldn't let them down.