The importance of Kushina to the village was self-evident, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Konoha's ultimate weapon. While a weapon might be too cold, it was still better than an ordinary little girl.
In the Hokage's office building, the meeting was still in progress.
"What? Ten times the supplies? This is impossible, we will not agree!" The patriarch of the Akimichi clan roared upon hearing the unreasonable demand from the Cloud Village envoy.
The Nara clan patriarch next to him frowned, contemplating the Cloud Village's motive for acting this way.
Buying time? And then what?
Stealing Konoha's secret intelligence? But Konoha's secret intelligence was stored in the Hokage building, and now so many clan patriarchs were gathered here, the Cloud Village had no opportunity.
Kidnapping Konoha's new generation of young sprouts? The Ninja Academy was not that easy to invade.
Causing destruction in Konoha at an opportune moment?
Sigh, this is truly troublesome...
The Uchiha clan patriarch and the Hyuga clan patriarch remained silent, their eyelids lowered, not wanting to be involved. They were merely present to make up the numbers.
"Ten times is ten times, there is no room for negotiation!" The Cloud Village envoy's attitude was firm, not backing down an inch!
"This is extortion by your Cloud Village! We Konoha are the victors, I..." The Akimichi patriarch's body puffed up with anger. He raised his fist, wanting to deliver a few blows to the envoy's face to loosen his jaw.
"Tch! If you hadn't said it, I would have almost forgotten. You just got lucky and picked up the fruits of victory. Do you really think your Konoha could have won? Our Cloud Ninjas haven't even entered the arena yet!" The Cloud Village envoy seemed to have lost his mind, saying such things in front of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"What did you say!" This time, the Konoha clan patriarchs couldn't help but stand up, glaring at the Cloud Village envoy. Even the usually silent Hyuga patriarch's eyes glinted with sharpness, his aura gradually rising, giving the impression that if an explanation wasn't provided, he would act.
"Tch, did I say something wrong? Didn't your Konoha win by picking up scraps? Can such a victory be called a victory? This is..." The Cloud Village envoy dared to be an envoy to Konoha, having already been sure that Konoha wouldn't dare to offend the Cloud Village. As long as the mission was completed, he could leave with swagger and boast about how he had shown off in front of the Konoha Hokage.
"Urgent report!" An ANBU directly pushed open the door and interrupted the Cloud Village envoy.
"Don't you have any manners, Konoha! Didn't you know to knock? With your manners..." The Cloud Village envoy, interrupted, began to curse loudly.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes, which had been lowered, gradually became sharp with the arrival of the ANBU. He completely ignored the Cloud Village envoy and said in a deep voice, "What is the situation?"
"Reporting to Hokage-sama! ANBU discovered three Cloud Village envoy ninjas have infiltrated Konoha and kidnapped a young girl. Unit 23 is already tracking them."
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a sense of disappointment. Kidnapping a young girl? Is that all the Cloud Village is capable of? Then how could he "make a big fuss"?
"Are you sure it was just a young girl they kidnapped?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, unwilling to accept it.
"Yes, I am sure. It was a ninja student named Uzumaki Kushina." The ANBU reported truthfully.
"What! Uzumaki Kushina!" This time, not only Hiruzen Sarutobi was horrified, but several high-ranking officials who knew the inside story also looked panicked and angry.
Who was Kushina? Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. The Nine-Tails was the leader of the Tailed Beasts, and Hiruzen Sarutobi knew how terrifying its combat power was. Although the First Hokage subdued the Nine-Tails easily, that was the First Hokage! There was only one First Hokage. To put it bluntly, the Nine-Tails could crush everyone present.
At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi glared at the Cloud Village envoy with gritted teeth and said, "Your Cloud Ninjas have tremendous guts, daring to kidnap our Konoha's Jinchuriki. Do you want to start a war with us Konoha!?"
The Cloud Village envoy was a bit confused. Wasn't she just a little girl with a special chakra? How did it escalate to a Jinchuriki? He also knew the importance of a Jinchuriki to a village. Their Cloud Village had two Jinchuriki. Anyone who dared to touch them would be an enemy of the Cloud Village.
The Cloud Village envoy was somewhat frightened and said, "Is there some mistake? How could we possibly kidnap Konoha's Jinchuriki?"
"We will know if there is a mistake soon. Notify everyone, pursue those three Cloud Ninjas with all your might, and rescue Uzumaki Kushina." Hiruzen Sarutobi paused, then said firmly, "If they resist, their lives will be forfeit!"
"You can't do this! We didn't know she was your village's Jinchuriki. We can revise the negotiation terms. How about 8 times? 5 times is also fine? 2 times! We agree to 2 times!" The Cloud Village envoy still tried to buy time. As long as the Cloud Ninjas left the Land of Fire, it would still be up to them to decide!
"Heh, even if Uzumaki Kushina were just an ordinary little girl from Konoha, she's not someone your Cloud Ninjas can just kidnap! This is Konoha's dignity!" The Akimichi patriarch, who had been holding back his anger for a long time, finally felt relieved.
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not object to the Akimichi patriarch's words. The Nara clan patriarch looked at him as if seeing him for the first time, with considerable admiration in his eyes. Only the Akimichi patriarch was suited to say such words. In fact, the most suitable person would be...
The Nara clan patriarch glanced at the Third Hokage and sighed inwardly.
"You... you..." The Cloud Village envoy was intimidated by the Akimichi patriarch's aura, unable to speak clearly, stammering.
"The truth of the matter will be known later. For now, please do not leave this place, Cloud Village envoys, otherwise, don't blame Konoha for not observing diplomatic etiquette," the Nara clan patriarch said calmly as he stood up.
The Cloud Village envoy's face turned ashen, and he lowered his head. He could only hope that Torada and the others could escape Konoha's pursuit and safely return to the Land of Lightning. Then, he would not only be safe but also receive great merit!
...
On the other side, in the outer forests of Konoha, three figures were shuttling through the trees, startling waves of birdsong.
"I say, boss, we're already out of Konoha, do we still need to rush like this?" Iisu felt that the boss and the others were making a fuss over nothing. Konoha was nothing special, weren't they still able to come and go as they pleased?
"It's always good to be careful. Let's get out of the Land of Fire first," Torada had a bad premonition, as if he were being targeted by some primeval beast.
Inside the sack behind Torada, Kushina had already woken up, but her eyes were a little vacant. She had been called by Kurama to chat.
Inside Kushina's inner world.
Kushina stood gracefully before the sealing gate, looking at Kurama somewhat displeased and said, "Stinky fox, why are you bothering me? I still need to beat up that villain who dared to sneak attack me!"
"Pfft! With your little body, you still want to beat up others? Let me tell you, those three outside are all Jonin-level existences. You're not even Genin, what are you going to use to resist?" Kurama scoffed, muttering to himself, not everyone is like that kid Lin Yu, who would let you beat them up!
Kushina puffed out her cheeks angrily. She knew that she was likely no match for the three outside, but she, Kushina, valued her pride! She couldn't lose face in front of the stinky fox. She said unhappily, "Then why did you call me here? To laugh at me?"
"I can help you. If we cooperate, those three outside will be nothing to worry about. But I have a condition..." Kurama's slightly seductive voice rang in Kushina's ears.