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[U.G] Ch 210: The Unrestricted Trade Agreement
🕑 Added 2025-02-06 18:17:54 +0000 UTC— — — — — — —
"Good!"
Onoki nodded in satisfaction after hearing the decision. He stood up, gestured towards Raikage and the others, and then walked out.
Seeing this, the other Kage also got up and temporarily left the meeting room.
Once they entered the adjacent lounge, Onoki first set up a soundproof barrier before turning to the others and saying:
"You've all heard the Hokage's stance and conditions."
"Personally, I think we can agree. This trade agreement doesn't seem to be a big deal."
"But I have a nagging feeling that things aren't that simple."
"There's probably something in the Hokage's conditions that I haven't fully grasped. What do you all think?"
Since he couldn't see through the entire picture, Onoki decided to gather opinions and see if any of the other Kage had figured something out.
That was the reason he called for this discussion.
Rasa shook his head directly. "I also feel like there's more to it, but I can't pinpoint exactly what."
"Besides, we don't seem to have any other choice right now. We can only agree."
"If we refuse, and Konoha really goes ahead with resurrecting our fallen predecessors, the consequences will be something we can't afford."
His first thought was of the Third Kazekage, who had died on the battlefield, along with countless Sand shinobi.
If all those people were revived, it would be a disaster.
It might even lead to Sunagakure being completely crushed by Konoha.
That was absolutely unacceptable.
"Yeah, I feel the same way."
Onoki nodded in agreement.
There was no way they could afford to go to war with Konoha right now.
Especially since he had sensed that Kaito had undergone yet another drastic transformation in power since their last encounter.
He had become even more terrifying!
It gave Onoki the same feeling as when he had once faced Uchiha Madara—completely unbeatable.
"I don't see any problem with the trade agreement itself. We can agree to it."
Yagura nodded decisively.
Until they fully understood Konoha's true situation, he had no intention of waging war against them.
What concerned him most was how wary Onoki and Rasa were of Uchiha Kaito.
This made him wonder, Could the reports from the Rain Country battlefield have been true after all?
Otherwise, he couldn't understand why these two veteran Kage were so fearful of Kaito.
Raikage, being the impulsive type, didn't hesitate to ask directly, "I can tell you two are scared of Uchiha Kaito. Can you tell me why?"
"Is it true what they said about the Rain Country battlefield? That he single-handedly killed the Third Kazekage and wiped out thousands of your elite forces from both villages?"
Onoki and Rasa's expressions darkened at his words.
After a brief moment of silence, they exchanged glances and eventually nodded.
"It's true."
Onoki spoke, "Back then, Uchiha Kaito already had the power to defeat me and could annihilate over a thousand elite shinobi with a single Lightning Release attack."
"That kind of Lightning Release—if it hits, even a Jonin would be dead on the spot."
"That's why we ultimately chose to surrender to him."
"And now, Uchiha Kaito has grown even stronger than he was a month ago!"
"And not just a little stronger—his power has increased at least twice. It's completely incomprehensible!"
"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it myself!"
"Right now, he gives me the same feeling as Madara Uchiha in his prime. Completely invincible!"
"So, we have no choice but to agree to the terms."
"Of course, Raikage, if you don't believe it and want to test Konoha and Uchiha Kaito's strength, we won't stop you."
In fact, letting Kumo test Konoha's strength wasn't a bad idea at all.
After all, it wasn't their people who would be dying, right?
If there was an opportunity to weaken Konoha or even defeat them, Onoki wouldn't mind joining in later.
Otherwise, he preferred to lay low for a few years, rebuild their strength, and recover from the damage that had been inflicted on them before making any moves.
Rasa had similar thoughts.
After their previous defeat, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind had once again cut funding for Sunagakure.
Even though Rasa, as the Kazekage, could use his Magnet Release to extract gold from the sand to support the village, they still had to reduce their number of shinobi and shift toward an elite-focused system.
Otherwise, the village simply couldn't afford to sustain a large force.
"You..."
Raikage's expression darkened as he listened to Onoki.
His suspicions were confirmed—Uchiha Kaito was a true monster, so terrifying that both Onoki and Rasa feared him and wouldn't even consider resisting.
But Onoki's latter words annoyed him.
Did they think he was an idiot?
He wasn't foolish enough to challenge Uchiha Kaito head-on without first gathering enough intelligence.
Sure, he had almost acted recklessly before, but that was only because he hadn't realized how powerful Kaito was.
Now that he knew, there was no way he'd be so reckless.
With a cold smirk, he said, "Onoki, your suggestion is great. Just don't suggest it again."
"Since you all agree to the Hokage's conditions, I'll go along with it too."
"However, given Konoha's overwhelming strength, I think we need to maintain closer communication moving forward. We should consider sharing intelligence about Konoha to some extent. What do you all think?"
Relying solely on his village's intelligence network, Raikage wasn't sure he could gather enough useful information about Konoha anytime soon.
But if the four major villages worked together, things would be much easier.
After all, this was a matter that concerned all their interests.
A temporary alliance wouldn't hurt.
"Oh?"
Onoki raised an eyebrow at Raikage before nodding. "I have no objections. Sounds good!"
"Same here," Rasa agreed without hesitation.
"No complaints from me either," Yagura added.
"Good!"
Raikage nodded in satisfaction. "I'll send someone to follow up and finalize the details with you later."
"For now, let's head back!"
With that, he turned and left the room, making his way back to the conference hall. Onoki and the others followed closely behind.
Not long after, they returned to the meeting room.
After exchanging glances, Raikage spoke first. "Hokage, we've agreed to your proposal."
"As long as you don't use Edo Tensei to resurrect people outside of Konoha, we will approve the trade agreement."
"From now on, any Konoha merchants or trade caravans will not be charged taxes or protection fees in Kumogakure."
Onoki added, "Iwagakure will do the same."
Rasa followed, "So will Sunagakure!"
Yagura nodded. "No objections from Kirigakure either."
"Good!"
Kaito nodded in satisfaction, then waved his hand. Five copies of the contract appeared before them, two for each Kage and one for himself.
Gesturing at the documents, he said, "I've already drafted the agreement. Read through it, and if there are no issues, sign it."
"That'll save us from unnecessary trouble."
The technique he had just demonstrated made the Kage's pupils shrink in shock.
Aside from Mifune, the General of the Land of Iron, the other Kage exchanged subtle glances with their guards, signaling them to investigate.
They suspected that Kaito might have secretly placed a Flying Thunder God seal on their tables while they were away.
However, their guards quickly confirmed that Kaito had never moved from his spot or tampered with anything.
This realization made their hearts sink.
If there had been no prior setup, it could only mean one thing—Uchiha Kaito had modified the Flying Thunder God technique to no longer require pre-set coordinates for teleportation.
This was not good news.
If there were no coordinate restrictions, did that mean he could teleport anywhere he wished at will?
Even if there were limits to his range, his power—especially his assassination capabilities—would be on another level entirely.
Fighting him would be even more dangerous.
Understanding this, the Kage's expressions darkened. Their wariness toward Kaito deepened.
But now was not the time to dwell on it. Until they found a way to eliminate him, they had no choice but to play along.
Thus, they picked up the contracts, carefully reviewed them, and, upon finding no issues, signed their names.
Once they confirmed everything was in order, Kaito casually waved his hand, teleporting one copy of each contract into his storage space.
He then stood up and said, "Keep the remaining copies for yourselves."
"This Five Kage Summit is over unless you have any other matters to discuss?"
The four Kage exchanged glances but had no choice but to nod in agreement.
There was nothing left to negotiate.
They hadn't expected the summit to end so abruptly, but at least they had managed to put restrictions on Konoha's use of Edo Tensei.
Even if they had paid an unknown price for it.
"Great! Then I'll take my leave!"
Kaito didn't care what they thought. Seeing no objections, he signaled for Tobirama and Minato.
The three of them vanished instantly using the Flying Thunder God technique, teleporting straight back to Konoha.
"Hiss…"
Seeing this, Onoki and the others couldn't help but gasp. "Three people who can use the Flying Thunder God technique?!"
"The Second Hokage and Uchiha Kaito were already known, but that blond brat can use it too? How is that possible?!"
Minato looked barely over ten years old. They had assumed he was just tagging along to observe.
Who would have thought he was also a prodigy?
"This won't do! We have to eliminate him!"
"If he also masters Kaito's ability to teleport without coordinates, taking him down will become nearly impossible!"
"He'll become an enormous threat to us!"
Onoki and the others all reached the same grim conclusion.
In their hearts, they had marked Minato as a target that must be eliminated at all costs.
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