Chapter 160: Victory
Nara Shikaku appreciated a good show.
The Daimyo of the Land of Wind seemed extremely dissatisfied with the Hidden Sand Village, dissatisfied enough that he was unwilling to negotiate privately and directly opened fire in front of outsiders.
The Land of Wind was already barren, and with Suna Harbor having sunk more than twenty ships, the unconditional support for the war yielded no gains, leaving the Daimyo of the Land of Wind thoroughly disappointed.
Nara Shikaku continued stating the ceasefire conditions:
“Third, the Hidden Sand Village compensates Konoha Village with 200 million Ryo, and the Land of Rivers compensates with 180 million Ryo.
In this war, our Konoha Village suffered numerous sacrifices. As the defeated party, your Hidden Sand Village must pay war compensation for the death benefits of our Konoha ninjas.
The western region of the Land of Rivers, nearly abandoned due to the war, must also make compensation.”
Ebizo naturally refused to accept this exorbitant figure, and the two sides argued fiercely over the compensation.
Nara Shikaku remained very calm, not yielding an inch.
After a stalemate of more than twenty minutes, Nara Shikaku made a small concession: 190 million Ryo from the Hidden Sand Village, 170 million Ryo from the Land of Rivers, and the two sides reached an agreement.
Ebizo said:
“Your conditions are finished. Next, we have demands as well.
The corpses of Tora and other Sand ninjas must be returned as soon as possible and sent back to the Hidden Sand Village for burial.”
Nara Shikaku said: “That’s natural. The corpse of Jonin Tora and the puppet fragments can all be returned to you.”
Ebizo was so choked he couldn’t catch his breath, angered again by Nara Shikaku.
Nara Shikaku actually said the puppet fragments should also be returned, clearly implying that the Hidden Sand Village’s Puppet Technique was trash, and Konoha had no need to keep them.
He had originally wanted to argue properly with Konoha over the puppets and Tora’s puppet—even the fragments were valuable.
Unexpectedly, Nara Shikaku had anticipated it and directly said to take that pile of garbage back as soon as possible.
Afterward, the two sides discussed procedures for cross-country missions, taxes, and other matters, and the meeting ended.
The Strategist formed the peace accord, and the Land of Wind, Konoha Village, and Hidden Sand Village signed it, formally reaching the agreement.
Ebizo stared at Konoha’s five people, looking at each for several seconds, and finally said:
“Konoha truly has an abundance of talent. In this battle, war heroes like White Fang, Akimichi Yamashiro, and Copper Fox were born.
Nara Shikaku, your command remains as sharp as ever.
Our Hidden Sand Village admits defeat. The Mist Village has declared war on your Konoha, so now we can only expect the Mist Village to strike your Konoha hard.”
Ebizo looked at the Copper Fox; this man was the killer of his nephew’s wife.
What was frustrating was that even if he acted now, he couldn’t kill the Copper Fox.
The Copper Fox’s defense capabilities had been verified on the battlefield, and the gathered intelligence showed that ordinary means could not breach his defense at all.
“The Mist Village striking us hard?” Nara Shikaku said:
“In the War of the Land of Whirlpools, with Danzo Advisor and Uchiha Kane Clan Head as commanders, your expectation may fall through.”
“Oh?” Ebizo smiled instead; this was his first smile:
“If it’s Danzo and Uchiha Kane commanding, then the Mist Village will surely strike your Konoha hard. The entire ninja world knows Danzo despises the Uchiha.”
Nara Shikaku was stunned, then also felt that having Danzo Advisor as Commander-in-Chief and Uchiha Kane as Deputy Commander was somewhat inappropriate.
What Danzo Advisor was most dissatisfied with was that the Uchiha Clan controlled the Konoha Military Police Force, leading to many grassroots affairs and cases in the village being decided by the Uchiha Clan.
Nara Shikaku led his people away from the oasis.
The Land of Rivers war, which had lasted more than half a year, was officially declared over.
Yoru selected a mission, left the main force, and headed to Kyoto, Land of Rivers, with a copy of the peace accord.
Beside the Jishui River outside Kyoto, Yoru listened to the roaring river water, feeling somewhat melancholic.
After returning to the village this time, he might rarely come to Kyoto, Land of Rivers, and thus rarely see Koizumi Chisa.
Entering Tenshu Castle in Kyoto, Yoru met the Land of Rivers Daimyo.
In the main hall, the Land of Rivers Daimyo sat in the main seat, formally receiving the Konoha Anbu and seriously reading the peace accord.
Lord of the Treasury Koizumi Chisa sat to one side, staring fixedly at the fox opposite her.
Delivering the copy of the peace accord was secondary; the fox had come to bid her farewell.
Yoru said:
“Lord Daimyo, the Land of Rivers war is officially over. The Land of Wind and Hidden Sand Village are powerless to launch another war in the short term, so please rest assured.
There is one matter that Commander-in-Chief Nara Shikaku wanted to specially remind Lord Daimyo about.
The Daimyo of the Land of Wind plans to send an envoy group to Kyoto, Land of Fire, and Kyoto, Land of Rivers.
They will negotiate with the Land of Fire Daimyo and you regarding drawing water from the underground caves in the Ji Gang Mountain Range.
The Land of Wind plans to create a small tributary on the Jishui River in the Land of Rain, manufacturing an oasis for the Land of Wind with minimal impact on the flow of the Land of Rivers’ Jishui River.
Unless both daimyos commission a national-level mission to the village, our Konoha will not intervene in this matter.
The Land of Fire, Land of Rivers, and Land of Wind—the three countries can reach an agreement through diplomatic means.”
Yoru observed that Nara Shikaku’s meaning was that Konoha was unwilling to cross the Land of Rivers to the Land of Rain to maintain such a long stretch of the Jishui River.
The consumption would be huge, with poor defensive effects.
It was better to leave it to the three countries’ daimyos to discuss themselves.
The Land of Rivers Daimyo nodded and said: “I understand. I will send an envoy to Kyoto, Land of Fire, to reach a unified opinion with the Land of Fire Daimyo as soon as possible.”
Yoru said again:
“Lord Daimyo, I suggest establishing a flow monitoring system on the Jishui River.
When the water level drops, detect it early and take action quickly. There is already a hydroelectric power station on the Jishui River; it cannot afford any mishaps.”
The daimyo turned to his sister and said: “Lord of the Treasury, follow the Konoha Copper Fox’s suggestion and establish a water level monitoring system.”
The daimyo of the Land of Rivers had also heard of the Copper Fox’s name.
This was the prestige of a ninja; the more the Copper Fox appeared in the ninja world, the louder his name would become.
Koizumi Chisa said with expectant eyes:
“I hope Mr. Copper Fox can stay in Kyoto for a few days and help us establish the water level monitoring system.
I will immediately commission a designated mission to the Konoha Village mission office in Kyoto.”
Konoha Village had mission offices in all major towns.
The mission offices received commissions and sent them to Konoha Village, which would then dispatch ninjas to carry them out.
“Thank you for your trust, Lord of the Treasury.”
They arrived at the office main hall of the Daizo-in.
Yoru wrote a water level monitoring plan and handed the scroll to Koizumi Chisa.
Koizumi Chisa then handed the scroll to a maid, instructing her to deliver it to the designated official.
“Before this system is established, Fox, you stay here.”
She came before Yoru, took his hand, and led him into a boudoir in the residential area of the mansion.
—
The full moon was like a silver plate.
Yoru waited for the full moon on the large bed in Koizumi Chisa’s boudoir.
For seven consecutive days, Yoru admired Chisa’s intellectual face, frameless glasses, and the contrasting shyness and passion.
The contrasting glasses girl—who could refuse?
Chisa tried to remove the fox’s mask, and the fox did not refuse.
She finally saw the fox’s handsome face again.
“Fox, will it be a long time before I see you again?”
“I will try to take Land of Rivers missions to see you.”
Yoru stood at the entrance of Chisa’s boudoir.
On the large bed behind him, Chisa pulled over the red quilt to cover her body, just like Yoru putting on his mask.
The fox body flickered away, leaving Koizumi Chisa feeling empty inside.
