Hearing Hiruzen's words, A surprisingly did not get angry.
Recklessness was just an outward appearance, and its application depended on the situation.
If he dared to smash the table now, Hiruzen would turn around and leave. At that point, he would have to humble himself and go chase him back.
Moreover, this was an outcome that had already been anticipated, as Kumogakure's think tank was not to be underestimated.
Dodai said, "Hahaha, Hokage, this can be negotiated. If it's not enough, you can make demands. We in Kumogakure can consider them."
As an old minister, he could speak on such occasions.
Hiruzen did not speak. Shikaku, who was beside him, looked at Dodai and said, "We need to see sincerity. After all, this collaboration is the first between Konoha and Kumogakure in many years."
Dodai frowned slightly. What Kumogakure could offer now was already the biggest concession so far. As for some future matters, they would need further detailed discussion within the village. For a moment, he couldn't think of any good solution.
A tapped the sofa lightly, looking at Hiruzen before him.
If it weren't for such a genius appearing in Konoha now, he really wouldn't want to form an alliance with Konoha.
Shinji was currently in his village and he could kill him?
Don't be stupid.
Someone who could defeat the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki head-on, could he be killed so easily?
If it had been during the Moon Ring Gorge incident, A would have had that thought. After all, Shinji didn't defeat Bee in a one-on-one fight. But now it was different. If he didn't have the most secure assurance, and if he couldn't kill him, Kumogakure would face Konoha, this war machine.
Konoha in the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars left too deep an impression. It almost consecutively beat several great nations and won, otherwise, how could the title of the First Ninja village possibly have fallen to Konoha?
"Hokage." Thinking of this, A said in a neutral tone.
A's opening remark immediately drew everyone's attention to him.
Mabui and Dodai were slightly nervous, fearing that their Raikage would suddenly explode.
Hiruzen and the others wanted to see what A wanted to say.
A said in a calm tone, "How about we exchange the Heavenly Transfer Technique with you?"
As soon as these words came out, Mabui and Dodai looked at A in disbelief.
Hiruzen was a bit surprised. Heavenly Transfer, a secret Ninjutsu of Kumogakure, was no longer a secret in the Ninja World.
Kumogakure was always able to move faster than others in battles because of this Ninjutsu. This technique surpassed all existing communication methods. Whenever the Raikage's office had a strategy, this technique would be used. It could instantly deliver commands or items quickly to any battle zone.
Don't underestimate this small amount of time. If used well, it could produce unexpected results.
Honestly, Hiruzen was tempted. Although Konoha had the Flying Thunder God, this technique had overly high requirements.
To this day, only the Second Hokage and the Fourth Hokage could perfectly utilize it. The others were just members of the Fourth Hokage's guard squad at the time, but it required the cooperation of three people.
Moreover, comparatively, the operation was too troublesome. Spatial talent, Chakra, and perception all needed to be perfect.
Compared to Heavenly Transfer, the three-person Flying Thunder God Technique seemed a bit unnecessary. After all, Flying Thunder God Technique had too high requirements, while Heavenly Transfer was different.
"We will consider it carefully." Hiruzen did not agree immediately. There was no hurry for this, they could discuss it in detail after returning.
Hearing this, A didn't say much more. This was the maximum extent they could reach. If Konoha was still unwilling, then so be it.
A said, "No problem, Hokage can consider it carefully. And regarding the alliance we, Kumogakure, and Konoha, are forming this time—"
Hiruzen took over from A, his tone solemn. "Konoha has always pursued peace. Kumogakure being able to put aside past conflicts and ally with us is precisely what we have always pursued. After returning, I will inform the Daimyo and make it widely known."
This was also what Hiruzen wanted: to clearly inform the Ninja World that even Kumogakure had reached a cooperation with Konoha.
Even if this cooperation might be broken at some point, before then, Konoha would be able to achieve more things with it and gain more say with the Daimyo.
"Hokage is straightforward."
A cursed Hiruzen as an old fox, yet his face showed approval.
The two most powerful people in the Ninja World sat there, laughing, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.
— — —
"Yo ~ yo ~ check it out ~ a set of pancakes."
On the road, Bee was making strange gestures, mumbling a jingle.
Even Kakashi, who usually didn't care much about other people's gazes, couldn't help but distance himself from Bee, this inexplicable guy.
Since leaving Kumogakure, this guy could always blurt out one or two strange sentences, no matter when or where.
Who would have thought that such a goofball was the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki?
"Hey, Shinji."
Bee quickly caught up, speaking to Shinji sitting at the back of the carriage.
"Something wrong?" Shinji opened his eyes, looking at Bee with some exasperation.
"Do you have any other dynamic words? I think you're very talented, oh~" Bee gesticulated as he asked Shinji for advice.
"No."
At this moment, Shinji regretted saying those sentences to make Bee quiet for a moment. Now, Bee bothered him from time to time.
Inside the carriage, Hiruzen heard the sounds from behind and couldn't help but chuckle.
Regardless of whether Konoha and Kumogakure could form an alliance now, at least his disciple had one or two friends.
In Hiruzen's opinion, Shinji really had few friends.
In the Academy, besides Iruka, he was almost always alone. Moreover, when doing missions, even if he had a few teammates, he rarely interacted with them after returning to the village.
As for Shikaku and the others, they were all older than Shinji. Relatively speaking, only Kakashi and Guy were not too far apart in age.
Yet, there were still very few who could joke or play around with Shinji.
"Idiot ~ fool ~ don't be so cold ~"
"As friends, we should communicate more~"
Bee jumped up and sat directly beside Shinji.
Seeing this, Shinji couldn't help but twitch his lips. Bee was truly big-hearted.
Didn't he see Samui looking nervous?
Kakashi and Shisui inside the carriage were already secretly on guard.