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In the Raikage's office, it was now empty except for Raikage Ay and Tsuchi.
Ay leaned back in his chair, his unusually thick arms resting on the table, fingers lightly tapping the surface as he pondered something.
Tsuchi stood quietly nearby, like a guard.
"Do you think the information Kazuki wants to sell is worth buying?" Ay asked.
Hearing this, Tsuchi slightly lowered his head and replied, "Raikage-sama, I believe it should be worth it. After all, he's staking Konoha's reputation on it. It's likely that this is also the intention of the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade. Without her approval, Kazuki wouldn't dare make such bold claims."
Staking the village's reputation—this wasn't something to be taken lightly. A single misstep could damage the village's standing.
Konoha had recently suffered a blow to its reputation and was eager to restore it. They wouldn't dare gamble with their name at such a critical time.
Therefore, Tsuchi concluded that the information priced at fifty million ryo was absolutely worth it.
Even if it wasn't, it wouldn't matter. At worst, they could tarnish Konoha's reputation, and spending fifty million ryo to do so would still be worth it.
After all, a few million ryo was nothing to the Cloud Village. They could afford the loss.
"Other villages are probably also considering buying the information, but they're keeping it quiet. Perhaps they want to make private deals, purchase it exclusively, or negotiate a lower price."
"Hmph, they sure have their schemes. Tsuchi, I want you to go on my behalf and speak to Kazuki. Tell him we want the information, but with one condition: the Cloud Village gets exclusive rights. Konoha cannot sell this information to any other village."
Buy it!
After a brief consideration, Ay decided to spend the money.
As long as the information was worth the price, they would buy it.
Besides, if the information didn't live up to the price, there was always Konoha's reputation to fall back on.
What was there to fear?
If Konoha wasn't afraid of tarnishing its own reputation, why should the Cloud Village worry about losing a bit of money?
As long as Konoha kept finding new ways to disgrace itself, the Cloud Village had plenty of money to spare.
The only question was whether Konoha dared to keep doing it.
Just as Kazuki had predicted, if Konoha offered the information for free, Ay would suspect they had ulterior motives.
But selling the information was different—it reduced his suspicions.
"Understood."
Tsuchi responded loudly. After a few seconds, he couldn't help but ask, "Raikage-sama, what if Konoha refuses to sell it exclusively?"
"Buy it anyway."
It would be best if they agreed to an exclusive deal, but even if they didn't, Ay still wanted to buy it. He was curious to know what gave Konoha such confidence.
"Understood. I'll take my leave now."
With his task clear, Tsuchi promptly left the Raikage's office to find Kazuki and negotiate the possibility of purchasing the information exclusively.
At the same time, in different locations, the Rock Village, Mist Village, and Sand Village were also considering the matter. Even the financially strained Sand Village had no intention of giving up on buying the information.
Chiyo believed that Tsunade wouldn't risk Konoha's reputation at such a critical juncture.
Moreover, while Konoha might not have many other strengths, they cared deeply about their reputation—this was beyond doubt.
So what if the village's finances were tight? They could tighten their belts and save money, but some things were worth buying, and this was one of them.
Buy it!
Apart from the Cloud Village, representatives from the other villages quickly made their decisions.
As a result, envoys from the various villages coincidentally arrived at Konoha's temporary residence at the same time, leading to an awkward encounter.
"....."
The representatives from the four villages looked at each other, none expecting such a coincidence.
It seemed that the idea of purchasing the information exclusively was now impossible.
Seeing the representatives from the other villages, Tsuchi realized that Ay's plan to buy the information exclusively had already fallen through.
The other villages wouldn't back down.
"Since we're all here for the same reason, let's go in together," Tsuchi, as the representative of the host village, spoke up.
Shisui, who had already prepared to receive them, opened the door and said to the people outside, "Please come in. Elder Kazuki has prepared tea and is ready to welcome you."
"Hmph! That Kazuki kid is quite confident," Chiyo muttered sarcastically, leading the way as the others followed.
In the living room, Kazuki sat in the main seat, snacking on some treats with his legs crossed.
"Please, have a seat."
He had known they wouldn't give up!
Their earlier disinterest in the Raikage's office was just a ploy to negotiate privately. But fate had other plans—either no one came, or everyone came at once.
If Tsunade were here, they could have played mahjong.
Wait, no—there would be one too many for mahjong.
Seeing the situation, the representatives realized that Kazuki had already anticipated their arrival.
He had them right where he wanted them.
Once everyone was seated, Kazuki made his stance clear:
"Let me make this clear upfront: the information is not for sale individually, and there will be no price negotiations. If you're willing to buy, pay the money, and I'll give you the information. If you want to haggle or buy it exclusively, please leave now."
The Cloud Village, with its deep pockets, naturally wanted to buy the information exclusively and prevent it from being sold to other villages.
The Sand Village, on the other hand, was financially strained and wanted to negotiate the price.
Kazuki had anticipated all of this and was prepared to hold firm.
The Mist Village and Rock Village could only go with the flow.
The representatives from these two villages felt they just needed to follow along without causing a fuss.
The most uncomfortable was Chiyo. She wanted the information, but the Sand Village's finances were tight.
She had come hoping to save some money, but before she could even speak, Kazuki had shut her down.
The Third Hokage might have sympathized with the Sand Village's struggles and given them some leeway, but Kazuki wouldn't.
He had little patience for the Sand Village's habit of repeatedly betraying its allies.
What was even more baffling was that after every war, the Third Hokage never considered pushing to cripple the Sand Village once and for all. Instead, as soon as the Sand Village called for surrender, he would immediately send envoys to negotiate peace.
And it was always peace without any war reparations—utterly ridiculous.
It was as if Konoha, after being betrayed and sacrificing countless lives to win the war, ended up with nothing and had to cover its own losses.
It had to be said that the Third Hokage's tenure was full of such questionable decisions.
Many of his moves were so baffling that they left people cursing in frustration.
"Should we sign a contract first and then receive the information once the payment arrives?"
Among those present, only Tsuchi dared to suggest a straightforward exchange of money for information. The other three villages couldn't do this, as none of them carried such large sums of money around.
"No contracts, no IOUs. Those who decide to buy can have their villages send the money. I want cash. Once everyone's payment arrives, I'll hand over the information."
"Of course, you can also borrow from the Cloud Village and repay them once your village's funds arrive."
Kazuki believed the Cloud Village would be willing to lend the money—they had the confidence to do so and wouldn't worry about the debt going unpaid.
That was the Cloud Village's strength.