Chapter 296: Won't Talk Properly? A Beating Will Fix That!
"In that case, let's start the war."
Akiyama Makoto had a smile on his face, but his words made everyone feel as if they had fallen into an ice cellar.
Start the war just like that?
Torifu Akimichi looked at Makoto in shock. Did Makoto come with the Hokage's order?
If this was Tsunade's order, then he could only execute it.
Although he couldn't guarantee how many casualties his side would suffer, as a member of the Ino-Shika-Chō trio, he swore allegiance to the Hokage until death.
Chiyo also looked at Makoto in shock. Hadn't they agreed to negotiate?
Makoto had already become lovers with Temari, yet he wouldn't even give her this much face?
Kankurō was anxious and wanted to speak immediately, but Temari pulled him back and covered his mouth.
Kankurō looked at Makoto in confusion. Temari just shook her head; there was no chance to explain now.
She chose to trust Makoto.
Having been with Makoto for so many days, she saw clearly what his attitude towards the Sand Village was.
Makoto had no killing intent, and even had some attachment to the Sand Village, eager to do something.
No matter what Makoto wanted to do, letting him handle the relationship between Konoha and the Sand Village was obviously the best choice.
As for why a conflict broke out between the two sides again, Makoto had already said it.
Young people of their generation found it difficult to understand Chiyo.
Perhaps Chiyo was protecting the interests of the Sand Village in her own way, but as long as Makoto didn't approve of her, Chiyo was an obstacle to peace.
Of course, Chiyo herself couldn't admit this easily.
Therefore, Makoto also had to use his own means to make her admit it.
"Akiyama Makoto!"
Seeing no one speak for her, Chiyo shouted loudly, "Do you want to declare war on the Sand Village on behalf of Konoha?"
"I represent Konoha?"
Makoto pointed at himself, looking very surprised.
Then he laughed, shook his head, and said, "I'm just a civilian. I can't represent Konoha, I can only represent myself."
Makoto pointed at himself, then at Chiyo.
"I, Akiyama Makoto, declare war on the Sand Village with my own strength."
Chiyo looked at Makoto in shock, still wondering what kind of madness he was having.
But Makoto had already clasped his hands together and said, "Are you ready? I'm going to act."
Seeing that Makoto didn't seem to be joking, Chiyo immediately gritted her teeth and led her team to prepare for battle.
But the result was no different from last time. In less than a minute, dozens of people, including Chiyo, were knocked to the ground by Makoto.
This time, Makoto wasn't so polite.
Everyone was seriously injured. Broken legs and arms were considered minor injuries. Someone like Chiyo had a collapsed chest and was coughing up blood, looking like she was breathing out more than in.
Torifu watched all this in shock.
Although he had long known that Makoto's strength had exceeded Elite Jōnin and reached Kage-level, and Chiyo and her subordinates in front of him were just fierce in appearance but weak inside.
But Makoto's killing efficiency against the Sand Village still far exceeded his imagination.
Especially the scene where chakra threads extended from Makoto's fingers and seized control of Chiyo's puppets made Torifu, an old-school ninja who had lived for decades, realize for the first time that puppet jutsu could be played like this?
Of course, although he knew it, he couldn't use the same move.
Makoto, a Konoha person, relying solely on talent to cultivate chakra threads, was actually stronger than Chiyo, who had been immersed in the way of puppets for decades. Where could Chiyo go to reason?
Kankurō fell into deep doubt.
Chiyo was the number one puppet master in the Sand Village, even more powerful than Sasori of the Red Sand in his concept.
And such a powerful ninja couldn't even use puppet jutsu in front of Makoto. was puppet jutsu really so unbearable?
For the first time, a look of fear appeared in Chiyo's eyes, which were usually calm and fearless of death.
She wasn't afraid of death, but afraid that after Makoto killed her, he would go on to slaughter the entire Sand Village.
Chiyo didn't even dare to look at Makoto, but looked at Temari and said, "Temari—"
"Granny Chiyo."
Temari's face was pale. She knew Makoto was deterring Chiyo, but seeing familiar people so miserable, she still found it a bit hard to bear.
"You must guarantee that he won't kill the people of the Sand Village—otherwise I won't die in peace!"
Chiyo spoke with her last strength. Temari didn't know how to answer, but Makoto stepped forward and stood between the two.
Finally, squatting beside Chiyo, still maintaining a calm smile, he said, "Decided to die just like this, Chiyo?"
Only then did Chiyo summon the courage to look at Makoto, but apart from the unyielding spirit of a ninja, her eyes were full of gloomy despair.
"If you really want to die, I won't stop you. But I have news about your grandson, Sasori of the Red Sand. Are you sure you don't want to hear it?"
Chiyo's gloomy eyes suddenly lit up, looking at Makoto in disbelief.
She opened her mouth, but blood flowed from the corner of her mouth.
Then she forcibly swallowed the blood, struggling internally, and finally temporarily gave up the idea of death.
Again, Chiyo wasn't afraid of death.
For her grandson, for the Sand Village, she could die in battle immediately.
But she couldn't die worthless. If she couldn't help the village, she at least wanted to see her grandson once more to die in peace.
"What exactly do you want to do?"
Chiyo spoke with difficulty. Makoto continued, "I just want you to understand a truth: what you can't get on the battlefield, you can't get at the negotiating table either."
"Tsunade is still young—well, I mean in terms of political maneuvering. She is helpless against your rogue tactics, but don't forget, I have the weapon of criticism."
"So when facing me, you have to learn to speak based on facts."
Makoto took out a scroll and started writing.
"The Sand Village lost, plain and simple."
"Of course, you can treat the Fourth Kazekage Rasa as a rogue ninja and deny everything he did."
"It's just that in this way, we have nothing to do with each other. After all, the one I like is Temari, not your Sand Village."
Makoto had a smile on his lips, but the killing intent in his eyes made Chiyo shudder.
Now she finally experienced firsthand how this killing god Makoto slaughtered Rasa and his army.
Rasa at that time must have been as desperate as she was, right?
How did Konoha produce such a monster?
"I—cough cough, I understand. The Sand Village will admit defeat."
Chiyo softened. Makoto clapped his hands lightly and said, "That's right."
The next second, Makoto created several shadow clones and began to treat the Sand Village ninja.
Seeing this scene, Temari quickly called Kankurō to help.
Torifu also waved his hand to let everyone put away their battle preparations. Makoto had solved everything single-handedly.
Of course, the rest were just some aftermath matters.
"Alright, don't look like dead fish. I know what you're worried about."
"Konoha did suffer heavy losses, but your Sand Village doesn't have much money either. We know we can't squeeze any oil out of you."
In Makoto's view, the most valuable things in the Sand Village were nothing more than people and the accumulation of puppet jutsu.
Of course, the Sand Village's accumulation of various ninjutsu was also rich, but compared to Tobirama Senju, who created most of the forbidden jutsu in the ninja world alone, it paled in comparison.
Until now, the Sand Village hadn't even figured out the sealing jutsu for Jinchūriki. At least Makoto wasn't very interested in their stock.
So Makoto said, "To repay your mistakes, I will suggest letting Sand Village ninja come to work in Konoha to make money. You can even accept my private commissions."
"In addition to the normal commission belonging to the village, half of the proceeds must be taken out as war reparations, and you have to pay for your own food and lodging. How about this condition?"
If it were a Konoha person, hearing such conditions, they would definitely jump up directly.
According to this rule, they would get at most twenty to thirty percent of the share.
After deducting living expenses, accommodation fees, and ninja tool consumption fees, basically nothing would be left.
If they encountered unexpected situations, they might even end up paying out of pocket to do missions. Only a fool would agree.
However, the Sand Village was different.
The current Konoha was short of manpower.
And the Sand Village had no one to hire them at all, and no missions to do.
Makoto's plan was like letting people from the Sand Village come to the Land of Fire and Konoha as migrant workers.
Although the money earned was only half that of Konoha ninja, or even less than half.
But buying supplies and taking them to the Sand Village would be enough for them to live a moderately prosperous life.
Chiyo naturally understood all this, widening her eyes and looking at Makoto in disbelief, not expecting Makoto to propose such generous conditions.
She couldn't help asking, "Aren't you afraid—that our Sand Village will secretly sabotage Konoha's plans?"
"Talk such nonsense after Gaara has the strength to challenge me. You're not a war maniac like Rasa, so stop pretending to be tough all the time."
Chiyo was indeed a stubborn and tough old woman, but she was far from being inhumane like Rasa.
So Chiyo only pondered for a moment before nodding, agreeing to Makoto's arrangement.
Although the Sand Village would be exploited by Konoha because of this, it also gained a way to survive.
One day, when the war debt was paid off, the Sand Village could stand on its own again.
Even in the process of doing missions in Konoha, Sand Village ninja could accumulate reputation and customers. Maybe in a few years, life in the Sand Village would improve.
Thinking of this, Chiyo's expression relaxed a bit, but the pain became more intense, causing her to cough up blood again.
Makoto turned a blind eye to this and said, "Next, there is one more condition. That is, the remnants of Rasa must be cleaned up."
"Although we aren't worried about you playing small tricks again, you don't want the cooperation between our two sides to break down because of these people's small tricks, right?"
"At that time, you not making money will be a small matter. Maybe I'll have to take action personally."
Chiyo's pupils constricted slightly. She didn't expect Makoto to exterminate them completely.
She couldn't help asking, "Then Gaara—"
"He definitely doesn't count, because he is Temari's brother."
Makoto didn't mention Gaara's drastic change in temperament. If he said it, the Sand Village might suspect he had been brainwashed by Konoha.
It was easier to convince Chiyo by attributing it to himself. Didn't she see that first it was Temari, and now even Kankurō was brought out by him?
"I advise you not to take chances. I have obtained a lot of intelligence. I'm afraid there are still a few die-hard supporters of Rasa left in the Sand Village."
"Of course, I'm talking about those with certain strength and influence—let's say Chūnin and above. Genin and civilians don't count."
There were no prodigies in the Sand Village's future, and Makoto wasn't worried about any die-hard Rasa loyalists jumping out to cause trouble for him.
Besides, when Gaara returned, these people would definitely attack Gaara first.
As Rasa's son, a once cold-blooded and emotionless killer, now starting to talk about the Will of Fire, what was this if not betrayal?
Chiyo gritted her teeth and nodded.
Compared to Makoto going to the Sand Village himself, she'd better do it herself. At least she wouldn't kill innocents indiscriminately.
Of course, Chiyo knew very well.
If she did such a thing, regardless of the reason, she would no longer have the standing to lead the Sand Village.
Chiyo herself had no regrets about this, but besides her, who else could preside over the overall situation of the Sand Village?
Forget it—if it doesn't work, let Ebizō take over for now.
Makoto saw Chiyo's thoughts, which was also what Makoto wanted.
Although Ebizō was from the same era as Chiyo, he had a gentle temperament and didn't have such deep-seated sectarian bias.
After Gaara ascended to the position, Ebizō probably wouldn't struggle much before choosing to give way.
Seeing Chiyo nod, Makoto also had a shadow clone start treating Chiyo.
With this, Chiyo also breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Makoto was basically satisfied.
But her grandson—
"When the peace talks are over, I will tell you the current intelligence on Sasori of the Red Sand. However, I advise you not to look for him without permission. Otherwise, in your condition, you will most likely die at his hands."
Chiyo's expression became solemn, but she finally said firmly, "No matter what, I have to see him once more before I die."
Seeing that he couldn't persuade her, Makoto stopped trying.
After all, for Makoto, Chiyo's death would be a good thing instead.
However, before she died, her puppet jutsu had better be passed down.
"In that case, accept Kankurō as your disciple. Before you prepare to die, let Kankurō learn your ninjutsu, otherwise the Sand Village's puppet jutsu will plummet."
Chiyo looked at Makoto in astonishment, not expecting him to arrange even such things.
But seeing Temari's gentle and virtuous appearance, Chiyo felt she understood.
Sigh, if I had known this earlier, I would have put all my focus on Temari and let her use pillow talk to persuade Makoto.
Why did it have to come to this point, where not only was everyone beaten up, but they would also have to sign the surrender document as defeated generals later?
Fortunately, Makoto didn't ask Chiyo to go to Konoha to apologize to Tsunade, otherwise Chiyo would rather commit suicide right now.
One must know that Chiyo once caused huge trouble for Konoha with her poison techniques, and Tsunade neutralized Chiyo's poison techniques with medical ninjutsu.
So although there was a big age gap between Chiyo and Tsunade, Chiyo still held some hatred towards Tsunade in her heart.
But now, these things were meaningless.
As long as Makoto didn't die and stood on Konoha's side, the Sand Village was meaningless.
Unless—
Chiyo seemed to think of something, and her gaze turned to Temari again.
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