Office.
Hanzo frowned, staring at the map on his desk. Suzaku stood silently behind Hanzo, like an inconspicuous shadow.
Many Amegakure ninjas stood neatly in front of the desk. They were all elite ninjas who had a say in the village.
Feeling the heavy atmosphere in the office, Yushi looked at his companions beside him, then at Hanzo in front. He suddenly cleared his throat.
Several gazes immediately focused on Yushi.
Yushi felt immense pressure, and he tentatively said, "Hanzo-sama, how about we proactively submit a contract to Konoha?"
As soon as Yushi finished speaking, an Amegakure ninja immediately retorted, "We haven't lost the war between us and Konoha. Why should we be the first to back down?"
Yushi's lips twitched, and he explained, "What does this have to do with backing down or not? We certainly haven't lost, so it's normal for us to submit the contract. As one of the Five Great ninja villages, and currently fighting Sunagakure, how could Konoha have the time to proactively submit a contract?"
Actually, what Yushi wanted to say more was that Konoha had deep foundations. Although Amegakure had achieved a temporary victory relying on Hanzo's power, it might not be able to maintain its winning streak forever.
Instead of being utterly defeated in the future, it was better to quit while they were ahead.
As long as Konoha acknowledged Amegakure's status and signed a non-aggression pact with them, it would suffice.
Now that Konoha was fighting Sunagakure, if Amegakure proactively submitted a contract, Konoha would likely sign it.
Saying these words would too much diminish their own prestige, so Yushi chose to express his meaning in a subtle way.
Hanzo glanced at Yushi, and Yushi felt as if his thoughts had been seen through by Hanzo.
Yushi had a clear conscience. He was also thinking for Amegakure.
At this moment, a crow landed on the office window. The crow tilted its head, pecked at its feathers, and shrewdly watched the people talking in the office.
"An ordinary crow, not a summoning beast." Suzaku checked it and then told Hanzo.
Hanzo nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the Amegakure ninjas in front of him.
"As Yushi said, submit a contract to Konoha." Hanzo made the final decision.
The current war between Konoha and Sunagakure was escalating, and they would not choose to antagonize Amegakure. This was also Hanzo's consideration.
Once the war between Konoha and Sunagakure stopped, wouldn't they be free to continue fighting Amegakure?
Hanzo's ultimate goal was to drive out the ninjas of the Great Nations in the Land of Rain, not to continuously fight the Great ninja villages.
The Amegakure ninja who originally wanted to refute immediately swallowed his words.
"Yes."
...
The crow circled and landed on the railing of a single apartment balcony.
On the tatami mat in the living room, Haruki stroked his chin, recalling the scene he had just witnessed in Hanzo's office.
Amegakure and Konoha were going to sign a contract?
Haruki vaguely remembered that the chaotic situation in Amegakure hadn't ended this quickly.
However, although they had decided to sign a contract, the final result was not yet determined.
Haruki still had a chance. The battlefield, for him, was the perfect place to collect emotional value. He couldn't bear for the war to end like this.
But even if the war between Amegakure and Konoha ended, there was still Sunagakure eyeing them from the side.
Glancing at the increasingly dark sky outside the window, Haruki went out to retrieve his sword.
At Yuma's blacksmith shop, Yuma took down Haruki's sword, which was hanging on the wall, and handed it to Haruki.
Haruki took it with both hands, one hand on the hilt.
With a clang of metal, the long sword was unsheathed. The blade slowly revealed itself, displaying a deep, inky black color.
A faint blue light flowed on the blade, like lightning tearing through the night.
The edge of the sword was so thin it was almost invisible, condensing a bone-chilling cold light.
Under the firelight, it was so sharp that it made Haruki's eyes sting slightly, he was satisfied.
He looked at Yuma in surprise and said, "The sword is so sharp. Thank you."
Yuma smiled slightly. He was clearly a burly man with over the top muscles, but sometimes he was unusually shy.
"The sword is too sharp, be careful when you practice with it." Yuma reminded him.
Haruki nodded heavily. "I will."
He slung the sword behind his back, full of fighting spirit. "I will practice well, work hard to become stronger and become a powerful ninja that everyone can rely on."
Yuma looked at Haruki, thinking that he had already become a powerful ninja that everyone could rely on.
Haruki's Medical Ninjutsu gave all the Amegakure ninjas a second life. On the battlefield, he was the confidence that allowed the Amegakure ninjas to fight without restraint.
His thoughts were overflowing, but Yuma couldn't bring himself to say them directly.
[Ding!]
[System detected Yuma's Affection Value +1000]
[Your companion Cursed Spirit Rika's rank has increased to 59.8%]
Haruki glanced at Yuma, it seemed Yuma had a lot of internal thoughts.
"I'm leaving first, brother Yuma."
Haruki waved at Yuma and ran out of the blacksmith shop.
Yuma chased to the doorway, and the words he hadn't said at noon finally blurted out, "Be careful on the way."
"I know."
Haruki looked back halfway, continued to wave at him, and his figure quickly disappeared from Yuma's sight.
Yuma breathed a sigh of relief, he hadn't expected that he would actually say it.
Haruki weaved through the steel pipelines of Amegakure and soon arrived at the training ground. When he arrived, a familiar figure was already standing in the rain.
"…"
Hanzo really loved to launch surprise attacks.
What was the difference between Hanzo and Haruki's homeroom teacher in his previous life?
"You didn't have training this afternoon, where did you go?"
When Haruki stood still in front of him, Hanzo sternly questioned him.
After finishing his political affairs, he came to the training ground to check Haruki's training progress, but he didn't even see a trace of Haruki.
Had Haruki forgotten yesterday's promise so quickly?
"I…"
Haruki took down the long sword from his back and held it in his hands. "I went to get my weapon. I didn't mean to be lazy. I've already practiced my curses, and for the rest of the time, I want to practice swordsmanship and become a powerful swordsman like Hanzo-sama …"
The more he spoke, the more his voice trembled.
Hanzo hadn't expected this to be the reason, and his fingers curled at his sides.
Looking at Haruki's teary eyes, Hanzo's heart felt as if it was squeezed by an invisible hand.
[Ding!]
[System detected Hanzo's Guilt Value +5000]
[Not enough to generate a Cursed Spirit, Guilt Value has been stored]
[Ding!]
[System detected Hanzo's Affection Value +2000]
[Your companion Cursed Spirit Rika's rank has increased to 60%]
Haruki noticed the system's wording.
'What does generate a Cursed Spirit mean?'
'Didn't it used to be activate a Cursed Spirit?'