Wait, what the hell had gotten into her all of a sudden?
Mikami Yuu froze for a moment.
Pakura had already grabbed his right wrist. She placed her slender index finger against his open palm, her fingertip lightly tracing over his skin as though writing down the details of some location.
After she finished "writing" a line of text, Pakura let go of his hand. Then she exhaled softly and said in a slightly sweet, cloying voice, "Little White-Hair, if you want to have a proper talk… come see me again tonight. I'll be waiting at the old place. Don't stand me up~"
"?"
Mikami Yuu raised an eyebrow and watched as Pakura turned away, swaying gracefully back toward the watchtower and leaving behind a silhouette that invited all kinds of imagination.
On the other side, Rin Nohara glanced at Pakura as they brushed past each other. She frowned slightly, then came over to Mikami Yuu.
"Yuu, that female Sand ninja…"
"Oh, she probably just lost her mind."
By now, Mikami Yuu had more or less guessed what Pakura was trying to do. She was probably trying to stir up trouble between him and Rin Nohara. As for that, Mikami Yuu only found it both funny and helpless. She was already an adult jōnin, yet she was still playing this kind of childish prank. Honestly, that was something else.
"I wanted to ask her about information on summoning beasts in the Land of Wind, but unfortunately, I didn't get a direct answer… Rin, why did you come out too?"
"It was getting too noisy inside, so I came out for some air."
Rin Nohara said.
"Fair enough."
Mikami Yuu understood.
No matter what world it was, being a diplomat was never easy.
Especially in the Naruto world, where until only the last few decades, everything had been in constant turmoil. Between ninja villages, signing an alliance one day and tearing it up the next was nothing unusual. Kumogakure had even kidnapped Hinata the night before signing a treaty with Konoha, resulting in two deaths, and in the end, it still hadn't affected the treaty being signed.
So even if this negotiation succeeded, maintaining ten years of peace between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind would already be quite good.
Still…
Mikami Yuu was a little surprised that someone with Orochimaru's personality would personally take part in this kind of negotiation.
Through the door, he could faintly hear Orochimaru's sarcastic, insinuating remarks as he and Nara Shikaku engaged in a war of words with Chiyo. It was strangely interesting in its own way.
"…Yuu."
Rin Nohara stood beside Mikami Yuu, gazing out at the distant mountains and forest with him. After a brief silence, she spoke softly.
"That female Sand ninja… Pakura. I think she probably likes you a little."
"Huh?"
"With her personality, if she didn't have at least some interest, she wouldn't have acted like that just now. Even as a prank."
As Rin Nohara said this, she turned to look at Mikami Yuu's face. A subtle emotion floated in her light chestnut eyes.
"But that's normal, isn't it? Yuu, you're outstanding, and you're good-looking too. Any girl who sees you would have a hard time not being moved."
Mikami Yuu glanced at Rin Nohara as well.
"Then, Rin, do you…"
"Of course I like you too."
"…Eh?"
Mikami Yuu's eyelid twitched. He turned back and met Rin Nohara's gaze.
The girl's eyes were clear and bright, like a flowing mountain spring, clean yet carrying a touch of gentleness.
To be honest…
It wasn't as though Mikami Yuu had never sensed Rin Nohara's feelings for him. He simply hadn't expected her to admit it so directly and openly. Instead, it left him momentarily at a loss, unsure how to respond.
After they looked at each other for a moment, Rin Nohara smiled. She clasped her hands behind her back and said gently,
"But I know that right now, I'm still not really worthy of standing beside you. If I forced myself to confess to you at a time like this and demanded an answer, it would only become a burden for you. So…
"I'll keep liking you, and I'll keep working hard. I'll work hard until the gap between us isn't so big anymore. When that time comes, I'll confess to you properly and seriously. When I do, I hope you can follow your own heart. Is that okay?"
"…Okay."
Mikami Yuu nodded, his gaze becoming slightly complicated.
To be honest…
The reason he had never made these emotional matters clear before was partly because he was worried Obito might go insane over it. But there was another reason too: he had always thought of Rin Nohara and the others as kids.
Well, to be exact, they were still very young. If placed in the modern world, they would be around high-school or college age, still at a stage where many things had yet to fully mature. Getting involved in ambiguous feelings with a girl of that age always gave him a faint sense of guilt.
But now it seemed…
At least Rin Nohara was already quite mature in her thinking. She clearly knew what she wanted and what she ought to do.
That kind of quality was something that Obito, with his Wisdom 2, and Kakashi, who looked mature on the outside but was still an awkward kid on the inside, could hardly compare to.
As expected of a girl who possessed Wisdom 8 at such a young age.
"All right, let's not talk about this for now."
Rin Nohara smiled brightly, stretched her neck and wrists a little, and changed the topic.
"Yuu, about the Mystical Palm Technique that Lady Tsunade taught us before, there's still something I don't quite understand. I asked Teacher Shaji before, but I didn't get an answer. Could you help me take a look?"
"Sure. Tell me what the problem is."
"It's like this…"
...
Time slowly passed.
Mikami Yuu watched as the sun gradually shifted southward, then began to tilt west. Before he realized it, an entire day had quietly slipped by during this negotiation.
During that time, he and Rin Nohara discussed medical ninjutsu and the Strength of a Hundred-style superhuman strength technique for a while. Later, he chatted with Kakashi, who had also come out to "get some air," about the development of "Chidori Current." Although Mikami Yuu himself didn't know Lightning Release, even if he had never eaten pork, he had at least seen pigs run. Offering Kakashi some ideas was still well within his ability.
In the end, even Obito ran out and wanted Mikami Yuu to give him some "guidance" too.
That was a little difficult.
After all, the original Obito had basically relied on Kamui alone to dominate everything. It wasn't that he had no battle IQ, but it really couldn't be called high. If Kamui hadn't been so shamelessly overpowered, then during the Five Kage Summit alone, the two Root elites under Danzō would have been enough to give him a serious headache.
Mikami Yuu couldn't exactly teach Obito how to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan either. After thinking for a long while, he suggested that Obito copy more ninjutsu whenever he had the chance and try taking the broad, profound path of a "Copy Ninja."
"'Copy Ninja' Uchiha Obito, huh…"
"That nickname feels kind of lame."
Obito muttered.
"Do you want it or not?"
Mikami Yuu glanced at Obito and said flatly, "Those ninjas without the Sharingan couldn't get that nickname even if they wanted to, and here you are picking and choosing. Or would you rather go fight Rasa? If you win, I'll give you the nickname 'White Reaper.'"
Beside them, Kakashi was looking at Obito with a rather unfriendly expression.
For some reason, he kept feeling that the nickname "Copy Ninja" had a deep connection to him. Now that Obito had reserved it in advance, Kakashi felt an inexplicable sense of loss.
Even worse, Obito was actually complaining that the nickname didn't sound good.
"Mm… Fine, then."
Obito reluctantly agreed.
"'Copy Ninja' it is. It's not very distinctive, but it's better than nothing. Hey, Kakashi, come spar with me for a couple rounds. I'm going to copy all your ninjutsu!"
"…Not interested. Go away."
"Hey, hey, how can you be like that? If you don't help me, I'll spread the word that you read dirty books! From now on, everyone will call you 'Perverted Ninja' Kakashi!"
"…"
Kakashi couldn't hold it in anymore.
He turned around, shot Obito a fierce glare, and jerked his chin irritably.
"Get over here! You're the one who asked for this spar. Don't blame me when I beat your face into a pig's head."
"Heh heh."
Obito followed him cheerfully.
Mikami Yuu stood off to the side, watching this pair of star-crossed idiots head toward an open clearing in the nearby forest. He sighed, then returned to the watchtower with Rin Nohara and listened in on the movement inside.
At this moment, Konoha and Sunagakure had already been negotiating for nearly six hours. They had engaged in frank, efficient, and constructive in-depth discussions regarding postwar matters, fully exchanged views, deeply understood each other's "sincerity" and "position," and clearly expressed their respective bottom lines and demands…
Translated into normal human language: everyone was talking past each other, and the disagreements were huge.
However, Sunagakure was, after all, the disadvantaged party.
By the end of the discussion, Orochimaru and Nara Shikaku tactfully laid their cards on the table.
"I believe we must remind your village of one thing. Rasa is still in our hands. According to the intelligence we have obtained, Rasa's Magnet Release: Gold Dust bloodline limit can rapidly survey and mine gold deposits. He is an extremely important source of funding for your village. If this negotiation fails…
"Then we will consider bringing Rasa back to Konoha and hiring him as an external mineral exploration consultant for our village. Over the course of three to five years, he will mine resources for the Land of Fire to compensate Konoha for the losses suffered in this war."
"…"
Chiyo was choked speechless.
If Sunagakure's acting Kazekage was really taken by Konoha to work in the mines… then Sunagakure would lose a truly enormous amount of face. By then, even the nobles and civilians of the Land of Wind might lose confidence in Sunagakure, perhaps even grow contemptuous of it, and hand missions that would originally have gone to Sunagakure over to other ninja villages instead.
Besides, Rasa's identity as a "gold miner" was even more important to Sunagakure than his identity as Kazekage. If they failed to rescue Rasa and also lost noble commissions…
Then Sunagakure's position in the ninja world would probably sink straight to the bottom.
Thinking of this, Chiyo finally gritted her teeth and made a concession.
"We can withdraw our troops. However, the matter of compensation needs further discussion. After all, Sunagakure has also suffered considerable losses, and the amount your village is demanding is simply too massive. It is unreasonable."
Orochimaru gave a sinister smile.
"That's no problem. If you cannot pay it all at once, you may repay it in installments. Konoha can afford to wait."
"…Orochimaru, don't go too far."
Chiyo's expression stiffened again. She hesitated, then said, "Kumogakure is still eyeing you hungrily, and Ōnoki is no easy opponent either. If you continue dragging things out with us, Konoha will face no small amount of trouble as well, won't it? Besides, although you won the Battle of Mount Kikyo, if Sunagakure launches a full mobilization…"
"Then you need not trouble yourselves worrying about us. If Sunagakure can truly mobilize all its forces, risk total destruction, and fight us to the bitter end… then I would actually quite like to witness it."
"You!"
With things said to this point, the dagger was already fully revealed.
Orochimaru also knew that they couldn't truly force Sunagakure into a dead end.
After all, Sunagakure had always been the type to act like the barefoot weren't afraid of those wearing shoes, or like a dead pig wasn't afraid of boiling water. If Konoha's conditions were too harsh, there was a real chance they would simply give up and stop cooperating altogether. In that case, even if Konoha won the war, it would still suffer overall losses, and it would constantly have to guard against being bitten by Sunagakure again.
So Orochimaru took out another contract.
"Elder Chiyo, this contract was discussed and drafted by Lord Third Hokage of our village together with several advisor elders. It involves matters such as commercial trade and cooperative resource development between our two villages. I believe you may be interested in its contents."
This so-called "commercial trade" was actually a way of slowly boiling the frog, a disguised method of collecting compensation from Sunagakure. However, it sounded a little better and wouldn't make Sunagakure's civilians feel that their leadership was selling out the country.
Moreover, if Sunagakure truly had the ability, it wasn't impossible for them to gain some benefits through these cooperative projects as well and at least get a share of the leftovers.
This was a plan that Konoha's F3 and the Nara clan's strategists had only finalized after careful consideration.
Incidentally, "Konoha Raw Cola" had also been written into this contract.
Mikami Yuu was certain he had not mentioned this matter to Orochimaru yet. If it wasn't something Orochimaru had decided on his own, then it was most likely Tsunade who had brought it up to Konoha's F3.
Sure enough, Chiyo's expression eased somewhat this time.
"This matter is significant. I need to communicate with the other elders before giving you an answer."
"Very well."
Orochimaru nodded in agreement.
"Then let us set the next negotiation for four days from now. I hope by then, we will see a wise answer."
Both sides stood one after another and left the stronghold.
Before parting, Mikami Yuu glanced back at Pakura. She was also staring at him. After their eyes met briefly, she turned and left.
...
After returning to Kikyo Castle, Mikami Yuu and the others reported the results of the negotiation to Jiraiya.
Naturally, Jiraiya had no objections.
After all, at this point in time, he and Orochimaru were still the kind of close friends who could share a quilt, and he didn't believe for even a second that Orochimaru would do anything harmful to Konoha. With Orochimaru acting as an external brain to handle the negotiations, Jiraiya was more than happy to take it easy.
That night, Mikami Yuu and the others got an extra meal, a small perk for completing their "guard duty."
After dinner, Kakashi went to the training ground to think through "Chidori Current." Obito followed him, intending to start his path toward becoming the "Copy Ninja" by copying Kakashi's ninjutsu.
Rin Nohara went to the medical unit to help Shaji look after patients.
Time slowly passed.
At last, the lights went out and night closed in from all sides.
Mikami Yuu, who had napped briefly, sat up from his bed. He casually threw on his outerwear, his figure like a ghost blending into the night as he silently left the Kikyo Castle camp.
Then he sped toward the location Pakura had written in his palm earlier: a desolate riverbank northeast of Wildfire Castle.
~~~
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