- Of course, Hozu-san, the terms and payment will be negotiated with you two separately," the Hokage reassured him before a new round of arguments could begin.
- Ryo Nara made an unexpected suggestion, earning a grateful look from his partner, and explained the reason for it, "Animals are much more sensitive to odors, so if a person smells like blood and metal, it could be a butcher, but it's much more likely to be a shinobi.
- As if no one would ever think to wash themselves," Danzo snorted.
- You'd have to change your clothes for new ones, scrape off the top layer of your skin and treat your hair with chemicals or shave it off, wouldn't you? - Nara's genius wasn't in debt. - Washing will only work against our sense of smell, and not always, and given the bloodthirsty nature of Kirigakure's shinobi, it's not always possible to get rid of the odor with such methods.
Many shinobi nodded at this argument.
- The amendment is accepted," Sarutobi didn't argue, so as not to further delay the meeting - it was already getting late at night. - The last issue to be decided was Kirigakure's answer.
A tense silence hung in the hall, no one willing to speak the thought that was in the air.
- Unlike Hatake-san's mission, the Mizukage has struck at our heart, and only war can be a worthy response," Shimura said with a scornful sneer, breaking the silence, "We may not be at the peak of our power now, but we have recovered, unlike Kirigakure.
- Like Stone and Cloud, Danzō-kun," Senju reminded the elder Toka, "except that this time there will be no Uzushio to take the brunt of the two Great Villages, and Konoha will have to deal with three of the five on its own, albeit with the help of an ally.
- The political situation in Suna is quite complicated and sending troops into their territory could turn an ally into an enemy," the village's chief strategist supported her, "especially now that Tuman needs to deal with the Sandmen, who have a huge advantage in their territory, and only then will they be able to attack us, so sooner or later we'll have to face the forces of three great villages at once, and it's not certain that Sunagakure will support us.
- Nara-san is right - the exchange of forces was made in our favor, despite our losses, and further weakened the Mists," Sakumo said, looking around at the crowd, "and despite my thirst for revenge, I think it's an appropriate response to hunt down their Great Swordsmen, for example, or to destroy a few of their strongholds as an allied aid to the Sand with a small detachment, but not to declare an unnecessary and even strategically dangerous war on us now.
- It's better to crush them now, while we have time, than to get bogged down in a war with Iwa and Kumo and miss a stab in the back at the most unexpected moment.
Hiruzen was even glad that his old associate had decided to take all the fire, not intending to pull Danzo aside - just because he wasn't blamed for what had happened didn't mean that the clans would forget such a big blunder of his subordinate Anbu, and it was better if someone took some of the heat.
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