He never expected that after so many years, someone would bring this up again.
This was the last thing he wanted to talk about—it was practically a demon haunting Onoki's heart.
Seriously?
Yagura and Rasa both turned in surprise.
Meanwhile, A was fuming, too furious to care about anything else. Right now, all he wanted was to fight Takuya.
Whether he could win or not was another matter, but keeping his anger bottled up was unbearable.
"I know plenty," Takuya scoffed, then continued, "What the hell are you glaring at? Is that all you can do? If you've got the guts, don't leave after the meeting. If I don't beat you so bad your own father won't recognize you, then I'm not Yagami Takuya."
You looking for a fight? Fine.
I'm not your damn father; you think I'll coddle you?
Acting all high and mighty—I'll beat the crap out of you.
Kushina clenched her small fists. She rarely got angry, but right now, she really wanted to punch A.
This bastard had a real knack for saying the wrong things.
A proper Fourth Raikage, and yet, he just had to run his mouth.
"Ahem."
Yagura quickly coughed twice and stood up to intervene.
"Takuya, we're all here to solve Iwagakure's problem. Can we set everything else aside for now? At the very least, we're here to help them."
They were all guests. Fighting in front of their host wasn't exactly good manners. A little bit of respect was due. If he wanted to beat A up, he could do it after they left.
As he spoke, Yagura kept winking at Takuya.
Takuya leaned back.
"This could've been dealt with easily, but now? I don't feel like handling it anymore. Do whatever you want."
I came here to help, not to argue.
They're all panicking, unable to solve the crisis, but instead of being grateful, they act all self-important.
Fine, then. You figure it out. I'm done.
Let's see who starts sweating first.
"What?"
"Konoha has a way to expose the hidden White Zetsu?"
Rasa and A froze. The most anxious among them, Yagura, shot to his feet, while Onoki was beyond excited.
The little old man even flew up into the air—it made talking to Takuya a bit easier that way.
"Why the hell would I be here if we didn't? Sightseeing? Or maybe I'm just here to watch the show, like some people," Takuya sneered, his gaze flicking toward a certain someone.
"Some people are only good at running their mouths. I'm really curious, though—when your village ends up in the same mess, will you still be so calm?"
I just threw a little insult at you!
Did you really have to go that far?
A was so mad his lungs were about to explode.
Normally, he'd be jumping ten feet in the air, ready to argue.
I might not be able to beat you, but I sure as hell can yell at you.
But this time, he held back, no matter how unwilling he was.
Because Kumogakure was also on the list of potential targets.
If he ran his mouth now, who would help them when it was their turn?
Even if someone did, the price would be unimaginable.
Just like that?
A clenched his jaw and kept quiet. Even though he was seething inside, he lowered his head and didn't respond.
Arguing any further wouldn't help Kumogakure. Worse, it might push the other villages to take Takuya's side.
After all, Konoha had the solution to Iwagakure's predicament.
If you have a way to solve the problem, you call the shots. If you don't, then shut up.
A long sigh came from Kumogakure's group.
Only Dodai sighed even harder—what a mess.
Everything had been fine, and then suddenly, it all escalated into this disaster.
Dodai couldn't scold A. He could only hope Onoki would keep Takuya from walking away.
If Takuya left, Kumogakure would be in deep trouble. They'd not only offend Konoha but Iwagakure as well.
Completely thankless.
Seeing Takuya's clear unwillingness to help, Onoki quickly spoke up.
"Takuya, it's natural for A to be upset. Everyone else arrived days ago, while you only just showed up."
You were late. Not just late—a lot late. It's only fair that people complain.
But Takuya wasn't buying it.
"Spare me that."
Looking at Onoki, who was trying to smooth things over, Takuya smirked.
"Not long ago, we held a Five Kage Summit in Konoha, hoping everyone would join forces against Uchiha Madara. But what did you do? You only had eyes for the Rinnegan, completely ignoring Madara himself. And now, when things have gone south, suddenly, you're all panicking. Where was this urgency before?"
"To put it bluntly, Konoha isn't afraid of Madara causing trouble. But you? One mistake, and you're done. I can't wait to see your faces when Madara actually comes knocking."
"If anyone wants to deal with this, go ahead. Konoha is out. Bye."
Takuya turned and made to leave, taking Kushina and Pakura with him.
"I apologize. It was my fault—I was too reckless."
Before Takuya could step out, A caved.
Given the circumstances, he had no choice but to swallow his pride.
Losing face was better than completely falling apart.
That fast?
Takuya was a little surprised.
"I thought you'd hold out longer."
"Is apologizing enough?"
Kushina snapped, her frustration overriding any sense of decorum.
"We came here to help, but you lot act all high and mighty—"
A clenched his fists and took a deep breath, forcing down his anger.
"I will send a batch of gifts to Konoha as compensation. Will that suffice?"
"Huh?"
"What gifts?"
Interrupted mid-rant, Kushina's train of thought derailed completely.
You should just stop talking.
Pakura wanted to cover her face. Kushina was too naive—she should've let Takuya handle this.
Now she had just handed them a way out.
"..."
Kid, why couldn't you hold back?
Takuya sighed. His original plan was to make Kumogakure pay dearly for A's loose tongue.
If they didn't bleed a little, he wouldn't let it slide.
But thanks to Kushina, that was off the table.
There would still be compensation, but it wouldn't be nearly as much as Takuya had hoped for.
Everyone exchanged odd looks, glancing between Kushina and Takuya as if they wanted to ask:
"Does Kushina speak for you? Can she make decisions?"
Noticing the weird atmosphere, Kushina hesitated, then asked softly, "Takuya, did I mess up?"
"You didn't say anything wrong," Takuya chuckled, ruffling her hair.
"Just curse them out harder next time. Otherwise, people might think you're an easy target."
"Got it! I'll be more careful next time."
With A's issue settled, nobody knew what kind of gifts Kumogakure would offer, but the most pressing matter was still solving the crisis at hand.
Onoki, unable to hold back, asked eagerly, "Takuya, since Konoha has a way to solve this, Iwagakure is prepared to show its sincerity in return. Please, lend us your aid."
Since they were already here, there was no way they'd leave empty-handed.
At the very least, solving this problem would earn Onoki's gratitude.
Not to mention, they could get some benefits out of it.
"It's up to you now."
Takuya nodded at Kushina.
"Alright."
Given such an important responsibility, Kushina didn't feel nervous at all. In fact, she found it exciting.
This was something she had never experienced before.
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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read the rest of the Chapter at Patreon com/ Emik01.
DO NOT FORGET POWER STONE AND CHATTING