Chapter 576: Kusagakure prepares for a war!
The room was left speechless yet again. Even when Kusagakure leaders had taken a step back, Fujin threatened them once more! It was so strange that the Kusa leaders were confused about whether they should put up a strong face again or just sit in their chairs.
In the end, no one got up. Even the Konoha side was weirded out by the situation. Finally, Hiroshi replied, "You can rest assured that we won't be betraying Konoha."
Fujin nodded and said, "That's good."
He smiled and added, "We would hate to see such a long-standing alliance getting broken as well."
Hearing that, everyone on Kusagakure's side cursed him internally. All of Fujin's actions made them think that he wanted a fight instead of a peaceful negotiation. Yet, he shamelessly claimed that he wanted to preserve their alliance.
Fujin got up and said, "Let's conclude the meeting. I have already informed you what the cost would be to ask for our help. And that cost won't decrease in the future. If you change your mind in the future and decide to ask for our help, you can send a message to Lord Hokage."
Seeing that Fujin was prepared to leave, Hiroshi asked, "Why not wait for some time and experience our hospitality?"
As offended as he was by Fujin's attitude, he understood that he couldn't make Konoha too upset. In addition, if someone like Fujin stayed in Kusagakure for a few days, it would send a message to the rebels and could make them tone down their aggression. It could even make Iwa back off.
Fujin understood his thoughts. However, why would he do something like that? He smiled and replied, "Some other day for sure, Hiroshi-san. I have to return to the village quickly. The world is too tumultuous right now. I'm sure you understand it the best."
Hiroshi sighed and said, "That's a shame. Alright, we will show you our hospitality some other day."
Fujin nodded and turned around. The Konoha ninjas got up and followed him. Within a few minutes, the group left Kusagakure.
Back in the meeting room, there was a total silence. Seeing that no one was leaving the room, the ninjas, who were overlooking the security, assumed that they wanted to discuss among themselves and closed the door.
As soon as the door closed, curses were heard inside the room!
"That fucking bastard!"
"Konoha crossed all limits today!"
Everyone in the room nodded. The old man, who spoke earlier, said, "Though his words were humiliating and we were refused any free or cheap help, the situation isn't bad. We can deal with the rebels ourselves. So we don't need to consider whatever Konoha wants to charge us for help. It's just that our losses will be significant."
Hiroshi nodded and added, "Yes. But since we don't need to worry about Iwa's interference, we can finally stop being on the defensive and begin our counterattack. I want to see how much unity they show once their losses start mounting."
He got up and looked at everyone in the room. Making eye contact with everyone, he said, "I know that none of us have deployed all our forces until today due to our worries. However, from this moment onwards, we will be focusing entirely on this war. No more holding back. It's time to eliminate those fucking traitors!"
Hiroshi's words had the intended effect. Everyone in the room began making plans for their counterattack.
As the Konoha group left Kusagakure, Homura looked at Fujin. By that moment, he had analyzed everything that had happened in the meeting. He thought, 'The Spectral Swordsman I almost forgot that he was called that when he was in the Anbu.
I never imagined that he would have such a deterrence effect in the minor villages! None of them had any intention of fighting him. Even though they tried to hide their emotions, fear was visible even in Hiroshi's eyes when Fujin said that he would hunt them down later.
It seems that Koharu and I underestimated his reputation. However, Hiruzen should know it very well. Is this the reason why he insisted upon training him to become an negotiator?'
The others from Konoha had their thoughts as well. The ones from Anbu had worked with Fujin earlier. As a result, they weren't too surprised with the effect he had. However, seeing the Kusagakure leadership being so afraid of him increased their respect for him.
As for the diplomats, they were still full of complaints. They suffered several panic attacks once Fujin started speaking. One of them asked, "Did we need to be so harsh? It could hurt their ego and push them towards Iwagakure. Due to your open threat, they might even do so in the dark."
Fujin replied, "If they want to do so in the dark, then there was nothing stopping them earlier either. It's better to just deter them right now instead of hoping that our goodwill moves them. Besides"
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