"Let's see. Perhaps it's not bad, but it's a pity there's no more information on Ōtsutsuki Takeshiki."
Hiruzen rubbed his temples, then he asked again.
"By the way, did you ask Mount Myōboku about Naruto?"
"I mentioned it. Toad Sage said he wouldn't answer me, probably wanting me to solve it myself."
Jiraiya pursed his lips. It was easy to unlock the two Chakra seals within Naruto. But they wanted more than just unlocking them, so there were indeed many things that needed to be resolved here.
"What a pity. It seems we can only take it slowly."
Hiruzen nodded, but Takemi raised an eyebrow.
He wondered if he could try his hand at this matter?
Having just completed his upgrade, his control over Chakra had reached an incredible level.
This wasn't just for himself. He could achieve this with external Chakra as well.
"Let's see first. We'll talk about these things later. Anyway, I don't feel this will be difficult for me."
Takemi muttered to himself, but at that moment, there was movement outside the door again.
"Hiruzen, you called for us?"
The door opened, and two elderly people walked in.
Seeing these two appear, Jiraiya pursed his lips, and Tsunade also crossed her arms and snorted softly, ignoring them.
Takemi, however, looked them over with a hint of curiosity. He knew these two were Hiruzen's other two old classmates.
"Koharu and Homura."
In his memory, these two were products of old-fashioned Ninja thinking.
When faced with trouble, they dared to step up. They didn't shrink back during the Nine-Tails incident.
But when making decisions, they also showed no mercy, like the Uchiha clan massacre.
"Of course, they also took the blame for Danzo."
Takemi seemed to remember that when Pain came to destroy the village, Danzo found them and said that Akatsuki's target was the Nine-Tails.
As a result, these two rushed to Tsunade to prohibit Naruto from returning, which was essentially Danzo setting them up.
"Of course, they also didn't hesitate to set up Danzo."
Both times, they treated Danzo as someone with a disability who silently contributed to Konoha, but they never mentioned him for the Hokage selection.
"You're here. It's a good time to handle some matters here." Hiruzen nodded, which made Jiraiya's scalp tingle.
"Hey, this is my hospital room, is this really necessary?"
"Jiraiya, you were too careless. At such a critical moment, you got yourself injured again."
Koharu glanced at Jiraiya, then spoke plainly, and Homura also nodded in agreement.
"That's right. The Chunin Exams are about to restart, and there's immense external pressure. You really shouldn't have."
"I..."
Jiraiya's fists clenched. Like Tsunade, he wasn't very fond of these two, but fortunately, Hiruzen spoke up.
"Enough of that. It was an accident. There's a situation with Sunagakure. Have you received the news?"
"We've seen it already."
Koharu didn't bother Jiraiya further. After nodding, she looked at Takemi, then continued, "Sunagakure has decided to surrender completely, promising to provide certain compensation, but they also demand that One Tail and their other Ninja be sent back."
"I think that's acceptable." Homura said.
"Although Sunagakure isn't great, it's still a major Ninja Village. Even though they lost a Kazekage, they still have some fighting strength."
"Besides, Sunagakure doesn't offer much in terms of profit, and we're currently haggling with Kirigakure over the Land of Waves issue." Koharu continued.
Homura immediately interjected, "It's perfect for us to give the Land of Waves to Kirigakure, fully accept the benefits from Land of Grass and Land of Rivers, and then focus on dealing with Kumogakure. That's the real trouble."
The two of them spoke back and forth, essentially having figured out the problem with Sunagakure.
Simply put, there wasn't much to gain from Sunagakure.
Instead of completely defeating them, the only gains would be partial benefits from Lamd of Rivers and Land of Grass.
It was more worthwhile to accept Sunagakure's surrender, avoid being attacked from both sides, give up the offshore interests of the Land of Waves in exchange for closer benefits, and then focus on dealing with Kumogakure.
"They're truly cold, political machines."
Tsunade actually thought this wasn't bad, but perhaps because she had been annoyed with them since childhood, she muttered softly.
Jiraiya also nodded, which gave Hiruzen a headache.
"You two, settle down. Takemi, what are your thoughts?"
"Huh?"
Takemi was stunned. He looked around and then pointed at himself.
"Me?"
"Yes, tell me your thoughts."
Hiruzen nodded. Kakashi and Guy seemed to understand something and patted Takemi's shoulder.
"Go on, you're already a Jonin. You'll be attending plenty of these meetings in the future."
"That's right, go for it, Takemi."
"You two..."
Takemi was a little exasperated. In truth, how could he not know Hiruzen 's intentions?
Asking him to host Deidara and Mei, didn't that already explain the problem?
However, he felt that this matter shouldn't be too urgent. Gaara became Kazekage so young because Sunagakure truly had no one else.
Konoha, on the other hand, was still full of talent.
"Actually, I think this is about right."
Takemi rubbed his chin, thinking for a moment before speaking.
"Besides that, I also have some other ideas."
"Oh? Tell me quickly."
"Kakashi-sensei, Guy-sensei, and I have been to Sunagakure. There aren't many powerful Ninja there, so we can manipulate things a bit."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, can we secretly support a Ninja from their village, provide money and vocal support, and push him to become the Kazekage?"
"Hiss..."
"This way, Sunagakure will always follow us?"
"..."
It was fine when Takemi didn't speak, but once he did, Hiruzen and the others' eyes widened in shock.
This kid's first suggestion was already so grand?
"Doing this isn't impossible, but the funding issue..."
However, before Hiruzen could say anything, Koharu seemed somewhat moved, and even Homura nodded.
"Although it's a bit extreme, it's good for Konoha, but it will consume a lot of funds, unless we don't demand compensation..."
"How can we not demand compensation? That's the Konoha Ninja's relief fund!"
Before the two could finish speaking, Takemi shook his head and interrupted them.
"If the Daimyo of the Land of Wind is stingy, then let them find a way to replace him."
"???"
"Anyway, they all dislike their Daimyo, and as long as the bloodline is pure, it doesn't matter who becomes Daimyo then."
"..."
"I think they'll definitely be very happy."
"..."
These words silenced everyone present.
Kakashi covered his forehead, unwilling to look, while Guy looked around blankly.
Jiraiya leaned his head against the headboard, and Tsunade rolled her eyes.
Hiruzen and the other two looked at each other in silence, and they all had a strange feeling.
It's back.
That feeling from back then is back!
Takemi in front of them gave them an extremely familiar feeling...
"Don't talk nonsense. This matter cannot be handled recklessly."
Hiruzen finally couldn't hold back. He spoke, breaking the silence, and then he rhythmically tapped the wall.
Instantly, everyone in the room felt the surrounding Anbu collectively withdraw.
"Once we make a move, the rules will be broken, and the Ninja World's unspoken agreement will also be broken. This will lead to negative consequences."
"Anyway, it's not us doing it, just the people of Sunagakure."
Takemi didn't care, but seeing Hiruzen's eyelids twitching, he smiled and changed the subject.
"Alright, enough about that. I actually have another idea."
"Tell us."
Before Hiruzen could speak, Koharu and Homura spoke in unison.
"I'm thinking, should we ask Sunagakure to send over the bones of some powerful Ninja who have died this time?"