Seeing Shikaku Nara walk in with a black eye and a forced smile, Xin couldn't help but laugh again.
"You're unbelievable! You've still got the nerve to laugh. We were playing cards together, so why was I the only one who got beaten up while you're perfectly fine?" Shikaku groaned, rubbing his black eye in frustration.
Internally, Shikaku made a vow: If I ever play cards with Tsunade again, I'm a fool!
After resting for a bit and holding an ice pack to his bruised eye, Shikaku asked curiously, "Xin, why was I brought into the negotiation team with the Rain Village?"
"There is no team. The village didn't have anyone else to send, so they had Tsunade take the lead," Xin replied casually, not even looking up from playing with Ophis.
"And since I saw you at the camp, I figured we'd bring you along. We needed someone with a high IQ to handle the details," Xin added.
Ah, so it's your doing, Usagi Xin, Shikaku thought, shaking his head internally.
Damn, this hurts... Shikaku winced at his sore eye. Tsunade really didn't hold back. It's going to take days for this to heal. Such a hassle.
Women... they're the worst.
Of course, this kind of complaint stayed inside Shikaku's head. He wasn't foolish enough to say it out loud and risk getting Tsunade mad again. No matter his status as the heir to the Nara clan, it wouldn't mean anything to her.
"So, what's the bottom line here? If we're negotiating with the Rain Village, we need to know the village's stance, right?" Shikaku asked, his mind shifting back to the task at hand. Without knowing Konoha's bottom line, they couldn't begin negotiations. It wouldn't make sense to just go in blindly.
Besides, there was no way Shikaku could lead the talks himself. Hanzo would definitely take issue with that.
What would Hanzo, the so-called 'Demigod of the Shinobi World,' think if Konoha sent a kid to negotiate with him?
He'd see it as an insult for sure.
Without a solid bottom line, it would only lead to trouble.
"The bottom line?" Xin said, still stroking Ophis's scale. "Konoha's main goal is just to sign a peace treaty with the Rain Village. As for any spoils of war, don't expect much. It's not like the Rain Village has anything to offer us anyway."
What could they even give us? Xin thought. The Rain Village was dirt poor. Asking for reparations would be a joke.
Yup, this is gonna be a pain, Shikaku thought, feeling his headache grow. "We might even end up having to help the Rain Village instead of getting anything from them. That part's going to be tricky."