Chapter 364 If We Can't Negotiate, Then There's No Need to Negotiate!

"So this is the reason Konoha invaded the Land of Wind and plundered it so extensively this time?"

Elder Chiyo narrowed her eyes and stared directly into Ren's eyes as she questioned him.

"'Plunder' isn't quite the right word. We merely took back what belonged to us in the first place."

Ren's gaze did not waver in the slightest. He answered without backing down.

"Hmph. I'll admit that the younger generation of Konoha has far surpassed your predecessors when it comes to shamelessness."

Ebizō angrily cut in.

"To think you can make an invasion sound so completely justified!"

"Hardly. I can't speak for Konoha's predecessors, but when it comes to shamelessness, our Konoha is still far behind your Sunagakure."

"Lose a war, form an alliance, then stab us in the back. You do it every time and never learn your lesson!"

"If we're talking about the most shameless nation and shinobi village in the entire shinobi world, Sunagakure would easily take second place."

"As for who could possibly take first?"

"Only Kumogakure."

Ren did not show Sunagakure the slightest bit of courtesy, firing back without hesitation.

"You!"

"All right!"

Ebizō was furious, but before he could explode, Chiyo once again raised her hand and cut him off.

Ebizō continued glaring at Ren with undisguised displeasure, but under Chiyo's pressure, he eventually shut his mouth.

Ren found the scene somewhat amusing.

The siblings Chiyo and Ebizō were clearly masters of the good-cop, bad-cop routine. Their coordination was remarkably polished.

The only problem was that their intentions were far too obvious.

Chiyo seemed to have noticed this as well, but she paid it no mind and continued,

"Since Konoha's only objective this time was to plunder resources, you've already made a fortune. Isn't it time for you to leave?"

In truth, by saying this, Chiyo was already showing weakness and openly revealing that she had no desire to fight.

That was a major taboo in negotiations.

But Chiyo had a feeling that Ren had already seen through her reluctance to fight—and that he might have even more dangerous plans in mind.

So she could no longer afford to concern herself with negotiation tactics and simply decided to speak to him directly.

"Straight to the point. I like it."

Seeing that Chiyo had already been this frank, Ren stopped beating around the bush.

"If everything had gone according to plan, then yes, we should have withdrawn by now."

"In fact, we might already have been on our way out."

"But there's a problem."

"Things have gone a little too smoothly."

"Now we can't leave even if we want to."

Chiyo frowned.

"What exactly do you mean?"

Ren spread his hands helplessly.

"Your villagers are simply too enthusiastic."

"They've strongly requested that Konoha lead them toward prosperity and a better life."

"We really can't bring ourselves to abandon them."

"Damn it! What exactly are you trying to do?!"

Chiyo's eyes widened as she glared at Ren through clenched teeth.

His words immediately reminded Chiyo of the earlier report from the Sunagakure shinobi about the villagers living in harmony with the Konoha shinobi.

An ominous feeling rose in her heart.

Ren merely smiled.

He did not continue discussing the matter. Instead, he changed the subject.

"Elder Chiyo, I think the timing is excellent."

"If Sunagakure genuinely wants peace negotiations, why don't we discuss the specific terms right now?"

"Right now?"

Chiyo's brows furrowed.

She rejected the proposal without even thinking.

"No! Our Fourth Kazekage is still in your hands. This is absolutely not the right time for negotiations!"

As if that were a joke.

Sunagakure was already at an overwhelming disadvantage against Konoha. If they negotiated under these circumstances, they would have no leverage whatsoever.

Who knew how many unequal treaties Konoha would force them to sign?

There was absolutely no way Chiyo would agree to negotiate with Konoha at a time like this.

"You're right. This indeed isn't the time for negotiations."

To Chiyo's surprise, Ren actually nodded in agreement.

But before she could think further, Ren continued,

"Since we can't negotiate, then there's no need to negotiate!"

"Let's just consider this a notification from Konoha to Sunagakure."

"All you need to do is accept it."

Bang!

Ebizō's face flushed red. He slammed his palm into the sand and roared furiously,

"Uchiha Ren! What exactly do you mean by that?! Are you looking down on Sunagakure? Are you looking down on the more than ten thousand shinobi of Sunagakure?!"

"Sunagakure is one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages! Regardless of our strength or status, you should at least show us the most basic respect!"

"Strength? Status?"

Ren let out a cold laugh.

"Sunagakure isn't qualified to talk to Konoha about either."