Chapter 148: Reactions from All Sides
"There was no other paper on hand, so I could only use this stuff to wipe his butt," Uchiha Douhuan said, shrugging.
"Teacher, but isn't this thing the treaty you and the Tsuchikage signed?" Neji also spoke up at this point.
"Yeah, that's the stuff," Uchiha Douhuan nodded. "Is it strange?"
Both looked at Uchiha Douhuan with incomprehension.
"The moment such so-called treaties are signed, they are destined to be torn up in the future. So, this thing itself is pretty useless," Uchiha Douhuan chuckled.
"Why do you think the previous three Great Ninja Wars happened?" Uchiha Douhuan asked his two disciples.
Sasuke and Neji pondered. After thinking for a moment, Sasuke gave the answer: "Because the other countries coveted our Land of Fire's fertile land?"
"Correct." Uchiha Douhuan nodded with satisfaction. "Exactly. The root cause of the previous three Great Ninja Wars was that other countries coveted our Land of Fire's fertile land. Therefore, in every Great Ninja War, it was our Konoha fighting against multiple countries alone."
"So, now, do you still think this mere sheet of paper treaty can restrain that old fellow, the Tsuchikage, make him give up his greed and get along with us amicably?" Uchiha Douhuan chuckled.
"I understand," Neji and Sasuke nodded.
"So, you see, this treaty is actually no different from toilet paper. No, for wiping butts, this stuff is even worse than toilet paper," Uchiha Douhuan said.
At this moment, Naruto also returned to the carriage. As soon as he entered, he complained, "Teacher, the toilet paper you gave me was too hard! It made my butt hurt."
Hearing Naruto's words, the three people in the carriage burst out laughing.
Naruto, back in the carriage, still didn't know what exactly had happened. Thinking they were all laughing at him, he grumbled discontentedly, "What are you laughing at? Those papers really were hard!"
"Hehe, Naruto, do you know, the toilet trip you just took might be the most expensive one in your life," Neji couldn't help but tease at this point.
Indeed, how could it not be expensive? The paper he used to wipe his butt this time was the nominal peace between two nations.
...
After the group returned to Konoha, the news that Uchiha Douhuan and Onoki signed the "Fire-Earth Non-Aggression Pact" also spread throughout the entire ninja world.
Reactions from all sides varied. Some rather brainless individuals, like the Daimyo of the Land of Grass, secretly expressed that Uchiha Douhuan and Onoki were just two fools. The Land of Fire and the Land of Earth don't even share a border; what kind of non-aggression pact were they signing?
But the Daimyos and ninja village leaders of the other two small countries situated between them, the Land of Rain and the Land of Waterfall, were not so optimistic.
Inside the tall tower of Amegakure, Nagato, in his room, stared at the map of the ninja world, lost in thought for a long time. Two major powers that don't border each other signing such a seemingly absurd treaty meant that it was small countries like theirs, situated between these major powers, that needed to be careful.
"Uchiha Douhuan and Onoki have probably even discussed how to carve up small countries like ours," after looking at the map for a while, Nagato muttered to himself. "It seems the plan must be accelerated."
...
There was no major stir within the Land of Rain because Nagato believed he could control the situation relying on his own strength. However, at this moment, Takigakure was not so calm.
As a small nation, although the Land of Waterfall had a ninja village, its strength was根本排不上号 (gēnběn pái bushàng hào - simply couldn't rank/was insignificant) among all ninja villages. The only thing the village could rely on was the Seven-Tails, which their first leader, with great foresight, had acquired from Senju Hashirama at a huge cost. But now, the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki had not yet matured. Their village, whether facing Konoha or Iwagakure, was like an ant before an elephant.
The previous fate of Kusagakure served as a lesson from the overturned cart in front. And their Takigakure Village, setting aside the Seven-Tails, was only marginally stronger than Kusagakure.
"As things stand, it seems we can only choose one of the two sides, bow our heads, and submit as a vassal to preserve the village," the current leader of Takigakure, Iwata Sawaki, said after a long sigh during a high-level village meeting.
"Then, should we choose Iwagakure or Konoha?" Takigakure's Aide asked at this point.
Once these words were spoken, the meeting site instantly fell into silence. From the current situation, neither leaning towards the Land of Fire nor towards the Land of Earth seemed like a good choice.
"The Land of Fire," after a while, the leader of Takigakure finally managed to say his choice with difficulty.
"The Land of Fire? But Uchiha Douhuan's temper doesn't seem easy to get along with," Takigakure's Aide remarked.
"But I feel, at least he can win. Onoki is too old, after all. If anything untoward happens to him, does Iwagakure still have a reliable successor?" Iwata Sawaki reasoned.
"That's true." Once this reason was stated, everyone in Takigakure, from top to bottom, nodded in agreement.
"Then let's send someone to contact Uchiha Douhuan," Iwata Sawaki nodded.
...
After Uchiha Douhuan returned to Konoha, he first reviewed the official business from this period.
"Handled really well. How about you come to the Hokage office more often in the future to help me deal with some of these official duties?" Uchiha Douhuan teased after pouring Kakashi a cup of tea.
"Cut the act!" Kakashi said, sporting dead-fish eyes. "These past few days, with Security Department matters and your Hokage Building official duties, I'm so busy I don't even have time to read!"
"Alright, alright," Uchiha Douhuan nodded with a smile. "By the way, the four Genin selected by the Security Department this time all performed very well in the Chunin Exams. Although they weren't formally promoted to Chunin at the assembly, I think their skills are sufficient. Sometime later, promote their positions and raise their salaries."
"I understand," Kakashi nodded.
The two chatted while drinking tea. Before long, a knock sounded on the Hokage office door.
"Come in," Uchiha Douhuan said clearly.
The office door opened, and Kado walked in, bowing to the two.
"Lord Hokage, Lord Aide," Kado bowed to the two with a fawning smile, then placed a gift on the desk and said, "This is Snowfield Rock Tea from the Land of Snow that someone recently gifted me. It's very precious, with an annual production of no more than thirty Ryo's worth. Such a rare item, I feel, would only be wasted in my hands. Only in Lord Hokage's hands can it be called a collector's item for appreciation."
"Mm, you're thoughtful." Uchiha Douhuan nodded and accepted the gift.
Subsequently, Kado took out a pile of exquisitely packaged books and presented them to Kakashi.
"Is this?" Kakashi's eyes lit up instantly upon seeing this pile of books.
"I have long heard that Lord Aide is a loyal fan of the best-selling ninja world author, Master Jiraiya. Therefore, I spent great effort collecting this set of Icha Icha Paradise, the original collector's edition, from across the ninja world. I originally intended to ask Master Jiraiya to personally sign it before gifting it to Lord Aide, but recently Master Jiraiya has been untraceable in the ninja world, so I can only present it as is. I hope Lord Aide will not mind."
"Mm, very good." Kakashi nodded and put away this collector's edition set of Icha Icha Paradise. This initially published collector's edition of Icha Icha Paradise had only ten sets in the entire ninja world. When it was published, Kakashi hadn't developed this hobby yet, so he missed out on these items. This had always been a considerable regret for Kakashi. He hadn't expected Kado to be so considerate as to procure this set for him. As for the signature issue, that was no problem; when Jiraiya returned to the village, what signature couldn't he get?
Uchiha Douhuan looked at Kado and nodded with satisfaction. It had to be said, this Kado kid was too good at currying favor; his efforts in cultivating him weren't wasted.
"The matter I assigned you previously, how is it progressing?" Uchiha Douhuan asked.
"Rest assured, Lord Hokage. That ninja tool factory has currently been built in the northwest of the Land of Fire. The production line and equipment are complete. We are just waiting for the materials to arrive to begin operations," Kado reported.
"Mm, well done." Uchiha Douhuan nodded. "As for starting operations, just wait for my news."
"Understood," Kado nodded. "I recently opened a high-end restaurant in Konoha. If Lord Hokage and Lord Aide have no other engagements tonight, I have arranged a banquet at the restaurant. I wonder if you two would honor me with your presence today?"
"A banquet?" Uchiha Douhuan looked towards Kakashi. "I have nothing else on my side. What about you?"
"Then let's go. Shall we bring Naruto and the others?" Kakashi nodded.
"Alright," Uchiha Douhuan nodded, looking at Kado. "Then you go ahead and make the arrangements first. We'll be there shortly."
"Yes!" Kado, having received approval, beamed with an even wider smile and rushed off nonstop to arrange tonight's banquet.
...
(End of Chapter)
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