Soon, the envoys from the Grass Village and Hidden Waterfall Village were brought to the Hokage Office by Anbu members.
The envoys from the two Ninja Villages had similar demands, so they were brought together; after their introductions, they went straight to the point.
"Fourth Hokage, our Grass Village was deceived and coerced by the Hidden Rock Ninja, and without knowing the real intelligence, we went to war with Konoha. Fortunately, we finally realized the truth and rejected the demands of the Hidden Rock Ninja. This time, under the leader's order, we hope to sign a peace agreement with Konoha…"
"Fourth Hokage, the Hidden Waterfall Village is in the same situation. We were deceived and coerced by the Hidden Rock Ninja, and we came to seek peace…"
Their words meant the same thing: they were deceived, the fault lay with the Hidden Rock Ninja, and now they hoped to coexist peacefully with Konoha.
Hatake Sakumo nodded and said, "Konoha is also a village yearning for peace and warmly welcomes friends who also hope for peace. However, do the leaders of your two villages have any additions to the peace agreement?"
The envoys from the Grass Village and Hidden Waterfall Village exchanged a subtle glance, feeling hopeful, and then stated their leaders' intentions.
Roughly speaking, it was about not pursuing matters related to the war anymore, signing a peace and non-aggression alliance treaty, Konoha ninjas shouldn't take tasks from their country, open borders, and allow Grass and Hidden Waterfall ninjas to enter the Land of Fire for missions…
"No need to say any more."
Uchiha Yoichi was initially trying to endure his irritation to listen to their drivel, but he couldn't stand the two idiots muttering nonsense in his ears anymore.
"Fourth, this is what Master Jiraiya referred to as a peaceful resolution… It has only emboldened these two fools and wasted our entire morning. They still haven't recognized which is the defeated village. Let me teach them a lesson."
After saying this, Uchiha Yoichi glanced at the two with his Sharingan and continued, "These kinds of people won't understand until they feel pain; for these two villages, just a B-Class Task is enough."
Others in the room also felt that the envoys from Grass Village and Hidden Waterfall Village were overly ambitious, but Nara Shikaku and Sarutobi Hiruzen believed that negotiations could be made without resorting to force…
Nara Shikasuke hesitated for a moment and then said, "Yang Clan Leader, if we could have them remove some of the terms, we could still sign this peace agreement..."
"Why offer them benefits after winning? Clan Leader Shikasuke, who is responsible for the fallen Konoha ninjas?"
Uchiha Yoichi's words silenced Nara Shikasuke, reminding him that any further words would certainly spread from this room and could lower the Nara Race's reputation in the village.
If they appear not to care for the ninjas who died for the village, especially with the Memorial Tablet having just been built, they would earn the resentment of hundreds of families.
The envoys from the Grass Village and Hidden Waterfall Village were angered, thinking that Konoha wouldn't dare act against them, they said, "Sir, we are here to seek peace..."
Sharingan Genjutsu!
The two envoys felt all their vision disappear, leaving only the slowly spinning Three-Tomoe Sharingan in front of them, and in an instant, they experienced countless deaths.
Once they snapped back, their vision returned to the Hokage Office, but they were drenched in cold sweat, their limbs weakened, and even their Chakra felt out of control, causing them to kneel.
They had fallen into an Illusion Technique!
Sarutobi Hiruzen, Namikaze Minato, and the others thought upon witnessing this scene, the Illusion Technique was so swift, before they fully realized it, the Grass and Hidden Waterfall envoys were already kneeling, utterly terrified to the point of speechlessness.
"Hmm… It seems today's negotiations will have to be postponed, and we'll wait for the Grass Village and Hidden Waterfall Village to send new envoys instead."
There was no way Hatake Sakumo could agree to the demands of the Grass and Hidden Waterfall Villages. His gentle demeanor was reserved for allies, not for recent adversaries on the battlefield.
Uchiha Yoichi's remark also served as a reminder to him; offering any favors to these two villages begs the question, who will bear responsibility for the fallen comrades?
"Mr. Yoichi, B-Class Tasks are unnecessary. Proceed according to the standard S-Class Task; however, there's no rush. Take care of village matters first, then proceed with the task."
Upon hearing this, Uchiha Yoichi smiled and said, "Understood, I'll depart tomorrow."
In minor villages, perhaps only the Hidden Rain Village could pose a slight bit of trouble for Uchiha Yoichi, while none of the other villages could pose a threat to him.
Hatake Sakumo nodded and then, recalling something, reminded him once again, "Mr. Yoichi, don't go too far."
"Rest assured, Fourth, I won't target civilians."
Upon hearing the conversation between Hatake Sakumo and Uchiha Yoichi, the others realized Hatake Sakumo had agreed to Uchiha Yoichi's earlier proposal.
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a sense of urgency and said, "Sakumo, perhaps reconsider; the war just ended. Any move could spark another conflict."
"Third Lord, I have thought it through carefully, the Hidden Rock and Hidden Cloud cannot wage war again in the short term, and the Hidden Mist is always eager for action. With or without this issue, it might not be preventable. Unavoidable wars will happen, but the worrying wars won't occur..."
Hatake Sakumo finished speaking and glanced at the two envoys from Hidden Waterfall and Grass, a flash of disdain in his eyes, "Moreover, they indeed need a warning. Otherwise, Konoha's reputation would suffer, and even the begrudging Daimyo might become displeased, resulting in greater loss for Konoha!"
After hearing these words, Sarutobi Hiruzen momentarily didn't know how to advise further, though he clearly didn't wish for Uchiha Yoichi to undertake such a task.
However, before he could continue, Hatake Sakumo tapped the table, summoning Anbu from outside to escort the envoys from the Grass and Hidden Waterfall Villages away.
If they had approached in genuine humility, Hatake Sakumo might have negotiated with them, but they came expecting equal treatment, assuming they were one of the Five Great Ninja Villages?
"Let's discuss other matters; we've received intel that the Hidden Mist has paused its war with the Hidden Sand and seems to be eyeing us..."
Subsequently, Hatake Sakumo began discussing other issues. Though the wars with the Hidden Rock and Hidden Cloud had concluded, now the Hidden Mist was stirring up trouble.
Konoha seldom engaged with the Hidden Mist, even though in the last Ninja World War, Konoha only had minor skirmishes with them. At that time, the Hidden Mist was intensely battling with Hidden Sand and Hidden Rock. Who knew why they suddenly targeted Konoha.
"Mr. Minato, can I leave the situation with Hidden Mist to you? I shall add ten squads plus two Anbu squads. If there is any large-scale invasion from the Hidden Mist, report back to the village immediately."
Hatake Sakumo said, entrusting the matter to Namikaze Minato as few in the village could be entirely relied upon. As Uchiha Yoichi was handling the Hidden Waterfall and Grass, the Hidden Mist situation was passed onto Namikaze Minato, who had no pressing matters at hand.
"Understood, Fourth Lord."
Namikaze Minato immediately agreed after hearing this.
"Regarding the village's... "
Hatake Sakumo continued talking about village affairs, focusing on the tasks that needed addressing.
After he finished speaking, he looked around at everyone, "Does anyone have anything to add?"
"I have a question, Fourth."
Uchiha Yoichi asked, "Why does Root exist? Must Root and Anbu be kept separate? Given the village's current tight budget, I suggest trimming some of the high-cost departments to save on expenses."
Upon hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu clenched their fists under the table.
They hadn't expected Uchiha Yoichi to be so eager to act against Danzo, and coincidentally, Danzo himself was not present today for unknown reasons.
"Root, huh, I've just established Anbu, so I am not entirely familiar with that department..."
After Hatake Sakumo said this, he looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen and asked, "Third Lord, could I trouble you to explain to Mr. Yoichi?"