togophonebook Chapter 580 I'm just here to inform you
Chapter 580 I'm just here to inform you
"asshole!"
boom!
The Fourth Raikage, Ai, slammed his fist on the table, and the long table, made of thick ironwood, let out a mournful cry under his iron fist.
Blue and white lightning chakra, like mad snakes, thrashed wildly across his thick arms.
His eyes, filled with rage, glared at Onoki and Chiyo, as if he wanted to devour them alive.
"Your village is poor? Your people can't survive?"
"And what about our Hidden Cloud Village! Did those ninjas slaughtered by your demolition squad and puppet division deserve to die? Didn't their families, their children, want to live?"
"When you invaded our village, why didn't you say you were poor! Now that you've lost, you come here crying poor and playing the victim? What do you take war for! Is it child's play?!"
Ai grew angrier as he spoke, his muscles bulging and his entire being radiating a violent aura that seemed intent on destroying everything in his path.
Tsuchishiro, the strategist of the Hidden Cloud Village beside him, broke out in a cold sweat.
Oh no, the Raikage's temper is flaring up again!
This is a negotiation led by the Hokage. Your actions are disrupting his plans! What if…?
Tsuchishiro's heart leaped into his throat as he nervously looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who sat in the main seat.
However, the Hokage's displeasure, which he had anticipated, did not materialize.
Hiruzen Sarutobi simply raised his hand slightly.
A simple action.
But when the Fourth Raikage, Ai, who was on the verge of exploding in rage, saw this gesture, his overwhelming anger was actually suppressed.
He took a few heavy breaths, and the lightning on his arm gradually faded. Although he was still glaring fiercely at the person opposite him, he eventually sat back down unwillingly.
This scene made Onoki and Chiyo's hearts sink.
Even the Fourth Raikage, known for his volatile temper and power, had to obey this man.
Has Konoha's control over Kumogakure reached this point?
Just as they were filled with doubt and uncertainty, Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed.
He stopped looking at Ai and instead turned his gaze back to the pale, stiff faces of Onoki and Chiyo.
That smile remained gentle, even carrying a hint of understanding.
"I understand the difficulties faced by the two intruders."
He spoke slowly and deliberately, each word clearly reaching the ears of everyone present.
He deliberately emphasized the words "intruder," piercing deeply into the hearts of Onoki and Chiyo.
Before they could react, Hiruzen Sarutobi's smile vanished instantly, his gentle aura completely gone, replaced by a chilling indifference.
His voice suddenly changed, losing all warmth.
"but."
"I'm not sitting here today to discuss things with you."
These words struck like a thunderbolt, exploding in everyone's mind.
The entire audience was astonished!
The color drained from Onoki and Chiyo's faces in an instant, leaving them even paler than the ground beneath their feet.
They saw undisguised killing intent in Hiruzen Sarutobi's calm black eyes, and an absolute confidence that... regarded them as ants.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice continued, each word like a heavy hammer, slamming down on their crumbling dignity.
"This money, whether you want to pay it or not!"
Boom!
Onoki felt as if something had exploded in his head.
He suddenly realized an incredibly cruel, yet incredibly clear, fact.
Konoha... Hiruzen Sarutobi... never even considered negotiating with them!
From the moment they stepped into this tent, from that steaming bowl of ramen to that plate of fragrant grilled meat, and then to those two Kage-level powerhouses outside the window who stood like guardian deities…
None of this was for the purpose of negotiation.
This was a complete display of strength, a silent and overwhelming psychological victory.
Konoha was telling them in a way they had never seen or imagined before—I possess the power to erase you, along with your so-called will, from this world at any time.
So-called negotiations are nothing more than a formality for the victors, giving the losers a chance to die with dignity.
Having figured this out, Onoki wanted to say something, to refute, to rebuke, to stand up like a warrior, even if it meant death, to uphold his last shred of dignity.
But he found that his throat was so dry that he couldn't utter a single syllable.
His body was pressed firmly against the chair by an invisible force, unable to move.
Chiyo's situation was worse than his.
This old man, whose entire life had been spent with puppets and poison, and whose mind was as hard as steel, was now experiencing uncontrollable, violent trembling in his hands.
She recalled Hatake Sakumo's incredibly fast slash.
Then look at this unfathomable man in front of them, who, with just one sentence, has rendered two Kage-level powerhouses unable to lift their heads.
She finally understood.
Times... have really changed.
The old era they believed in, which involved plundering through war and slaughter, has been completely ended by this man in a way they cannot comprehend.
In the midst of this suffocating silence, Hiruzen Sarutobi made a new move.
He ignored their pale faces, reached for a pre-prepared document, and gently pushed it to the center of the table.
That wasn't the scrolls common in the ninja world, but a modern-style agreement bound in paper.
On the cover, the words "Compensation Agreement Regarding the War Against the Land of Lightning by Sunagakure and Iwagakure" are written in neat font.
Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped his fingers lightly on the agreement.
"Thump, thump."
Two soft sounds, yet they made Onoki and Chiyo's hearts clench violently.
Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his head, his face regaining its gentle smile, as if the cold and domineering man from before was just everyone's illusion.
He asked softly, in a calm tone, as if asking about the weather today:
"This is your village's war reparations agreement with the Land of Lightning. Do you two have any objections?"
Onoki and Chiyo's gazes, uncontrollably, fell on the agreement.
Their gazes froze the moment they saw the long string of dizzying numbers and the list of supplies on the first page of the agreement.