Gento withdrew his gaze.
"Miss Mabui, forgive my bluntness, but Darui's value is far greater than one hundred and fifty million."
"A future Raikage, a Storm Release user, a talented commander capable of leading vast armies…"
"Our asking price is already very low."
Mabui fell silent.
She looked toward the Raikage. His face was ashen, yet he did not refute him.
Gento's gaze shifted toward the last person.
"And this one, Yugito Nii."
Upon hearing this, Yugito's body suddenly trembled.
"For this woman, our asking price is five hundred million ryo."
Dead silence filled the area.
Yugito suddenly raised her head, her eyes filled with shock.
Five hundred million?
She had served as a Jinchuriki in Hidden Cloud for so many years, carried out countless S-rank missions, risked her life time and time again, and still had never earned that much money!
Was she really worth that much?
Ding!
This was obviously that hateful Gento making an outrageously inflated demand!
Across from them, the Raikage suddenly spoke.
"We don't want Yugito Nii anymore."
"We'll give this Jinchuriki to Hidden Gento Village. We'll only redeem Darui and the other ninja. Can the price be lowered?"
…Don't want me anymore?
Yugito froze in place, her mind going blank.
Those words were like a blade gouging into her chest.
There was no bargaining, no hesitation, not even an extra glance in her direction.
He simply said they did not want her anymore.
She had imagined the Raikage negotiating, bargaining the way he did for Darui, saying that five hundred million was too high and asking whether it could be reduced.
She had even imagined that perhaps the Raikage would show a troubled expression, remain silent for a moment, make some kind of gesture proving that she held value within Hidden Cloud.
But there was nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
She recalled all those years in Hidden Cloud Village.
She had been the strongest weapon, the perfect Jinchuriki, the Two-Tails Matatabi that made enemies tremble in fear.
She had carried out the most dangerous missions, faced the strongest enemies, suffered the gravest wounds.
She had thought it was because she was strong enough, because the Raikage trusted her.
Now she understood.
It was not trust. It was indifference.
They did not care whether she lived or died, whether she returned or not, or what she might suffer after being captured.
Her gaze met the Raikage's.
There was no guilt in those eyes, no reluctance, only cold indifference.
She had been discarded as an unimportant bargaining chip.
Yugito slowly lowered her head.
Her long hair fell down, covering her face.
No one could see her expression.
The Raikage, whom she once viewed as overwhelmingly powerful and invincible, also had to compromise and yield before Gento…
The man she had admired for so many years, the village for which she had risked her life, everything she had desperately protected…
In the end, it all meant nothing.
Gento looked at her appearance, but did not step forward to comfort her.
He knew that only by making her lose all faith in Hidden Cloud Village could he truly subdue her.
His gaze moved away from Yugito and returned to the Raikage.
"Not taking her is fine, but Darui and the other prisoners are still two hundred million."
"That price cannot go any lower."
The Raikage's brows twisted into a tight knot.
"You just said Darui was one hundred and fifty million, and the others were fifty million. Together that makes two hundred million."
"Now that Yugito is gone, it's still two hundred million?"
"Then wasn't dropping her pointless?"
Gento smiled.
"You were the ones who decided not to take Yugito, not us refusing to release her."
"So that account can't be pinned on me."
The Raikage's fists clenched even tighter, veins bulging from his forehead all the way down his arms.
The two thousand ninja behind him remained utterly silent. Everyone could feel the fury on the verge of erupting.
Gento's voice remained calm and unhurried.
"However… considering Lord Raikage came from afar, I can be more flexible regarding the payment schedule."
"How about this? You pay fifty million ryo first, and I'll release all the ordinary prisoners."
"The remaining one hundred fifty million ryo must be paid within one year, and then I'll release Darui."
"These are the final terms. There is no room for negotiation."
The Raikage remained silent for a very long time.
In the end, he gritted his teeth and forced out a single word.
"…Fine!"
He waved his hand.
Mabui stepped forward, pulled out three Sealing Scrolls from her robes, and carried them over to Gento with both hands.
Gento accepted the scrolls and handed them to Shisui beside him.
Shisui released the seals and inspected them carefully.
A moment later, he nodded toward Gento.
"Payment and goods both confirmed."
Gento waved his hand.
"Release them."
The Uchiha Anbu immediately moved.
The sealing formulas were undone one after another as more than three hundred Hidden Cloud prisoners staggered toward the opposite side.
Some glanced back at Yugito. Some lowered their heads and hurried past. Others cast complicated looks toward Darui.
Darui remained standing where he was without moving.
His hands were bound by sealing formulas, and two Anbu guarded him, keeping him separated from the released prisoners.
"Darui…"
The Raikage spoke.
Darui raised his head and smiled at him, his face carrying only calm acceptance.
"Lord Raikage, see you again in a year."
The Raikage's lips moved slightly, but in the end he said nothing.
He turned around and strode back toward the Hidden Cloud camp.
Yugito remained standing there, watching as her former comrades passed by her one after another.
When the last Hidden Cloud ninja passed her, he paused for a moment, looking at her as if wanting to say something, but in the end only sighed and quickly departed.
Gento walked to her side, his voice soft.
"Let's go."
Yugito did not answer. She merely turned around and followed him toward the Uchiha camp.
On the return trip to Hidden Gento Village, the Uchiha ninja were all in high spirits.
Fifty million ryo was an enormous sum of money!
They all knew Gento had always been generous with his spending.
This money would definitely be used to improve the Uchiha clan's benefits.
More importantly, Darui was still being held.
A year later, another one hundred fifty million would arrive!
...
On the other side, within the Hidden Cloud forces.
The Raikage's expression was gloomy.
Two thousand ninja followed silently behind him. No one dared speak.
Even Killer B had quieted down. Occasionally, he would sneak a glance at his brother's expression before quickly lowering his head again.
"We suffered such a huge loss this time. Even the ransom ended up costing one hundred million more than expected."
"We need to find a way to make up for it somewhere else."
He suddenly stopped walking.
The two thousand ninja behind him halted in unison.
A sharp gleam flashed through the Raikage's eyes.
He thought of a place.
Hidden Leaf Village!
The immensely powerful Uchiha before him had come from Hidden Leaf Village.
Since those fools had let such a powerful fighting force leave, didn't that mean Hidden Leaf Village was now incredibly hollow inside?
During the Third Great Shinobi War, Hidden Leaf had fought Hidden Cloud, Hidden Stone, and Hidden Mist on multiple fronts simultaneously, suffering catastrophic losses.
Then came the Nine-Tails incident, making Hidden Leaf's situation even worse.
Even the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had died because of it.
In less than ten years, how much could they possibly have recovered?
And the Land of Fire was the wealthiest nation among the Five Great Nations.
Food supplies, mineral resources, commercial tax revenue, Hidden Cloud desperately needed all of it.
Since Hidden Leaf Village was so hollow now, why not seize the opportunity to rob them and make up for their losses?
He made his decision at once.
"All ninja, change course to the Land of Fire!"
...
Meanwhile, in Hidden Leaf Village.
Inside the Hokage's office, smoke filled the air.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat behind his desk with a pipe in his mouth.
Across from him sat Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane.
Several intelligence reports were spread across the table before them, yet none of them were seriously reading them.
"So Hidden Cloud and the Uchiha have already clashed?"
Hiruzen exhaled a puff of smoke, his tone carrying traces of schadenfreude.
Homura adjusted his glasses and smiled.
"According to the latest intelligence, Hidden Cloud dispatched two thousand ninja. The Raikage personally led the force, and they even brought the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki."
"It seems the Uchiha truly won't escape disaster this time."
Koharu leaned back in her chair, a harsh smile hanging from her lips.
"They luckily managed to repel Hidden Cloud's advance force once, and now they think they can challenge one of the Five Great Nations like us?"
"How laughable!"
"The Eight-Tails Jinchuriki is nothing like that weakling Two-Tails."
"This time, Hidden Gento Village is truly facing a crisis of survival."
"I boldly predict this: Hidden Gento is finished!"
She lifted her teacup and took a sip before continuing.
"What a pity. Madara Uchiha once possessed such grand ambition, founding Hidden Leaf Village alongside the First Hokage."
"And now these useless descendants have brought the Uchiha to the brink of extinction. Let's see what they do now."
Hiruzen shook his head, his tone full of the superiority of someone lecturing from experience.
"The Uchiha leaving Hidden Leaf was itself the stupidest decision possible."
"Hidden Leaf gave them protection and room to develop, yet they failed to cherish it."
"Look at how well the Chinoike clan is living under us now."
"In the future, their prospects will certainly be far better than the Uchiha, who are on the verge of extermination."
Homura immediately chimed in.
"The Chinoike clan has settled down now."
"Their clan head, Chitose Chinoike, is extremely grateful and has expressed willingness to serve Hidden Leaf with absolute loyalty."
"I selected a group of talented young people who have already awakened the Ketsuryugan."
"After a few more years of training, these youths definitely won't be inferior to Shisui Uchiha or Itachi Uchiha!"
"In the future, they could form a force that cannot be ignored."
"Train them well."
Hiruzen nodded.
"Tell them that as long as they remain loyal to Hidden Leaf, Hidden Leaf will not mistreat them."
The three exchanged smiles, a relaxed atmosphere filling the office.
Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, took a drag from his pipe, and slowly exhaled.
A faint smile curled at his lips, his eyes filled with schadenfreude.
"Gento Uchiha, cleverness can become one's own undoing."
"You think you can establish a village and dominate the world, but you fail to understand that the rules of the shinobi world have never been something one person can change."
"Hidden Cloud making a move this time can be considered a lesson for that arrogant brat on our behalf."
Koharu laughed.
"Maybe after the Uchiha are scattered and broken, some people will come crawling back to Hidden Leaf begging to be taken in."
Homura adjusted his glasses.
"By then, they definitely won't receive the same treatment as before."
At that moment, a figure suddenly appeared beside Hiruzen.
It was an Anbu wearing an animal mask, kneeling on one knee, his voice urgent and low.
"Lord Hokage, urgent intelligence."
Hearing this, Hiruzen accepted the intelligence scroll handed over by the Anbu.
He unfolded it and glanced at it.
And his face instantly turned deathly pale.
"What?!"
He slammed the desk and shot to his feet.
"What do you mean Hidden Cloud's ninja are heading toward the Land of Fire?!"
---
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