"Alright, tell me, how do you plan on compensating us?"
Itsuki sat down confidently, his nose in the air, glaring at the Cloud Village emissaries. His first sentence completely stunned them.
Compensation?
From us?
Who do these Konoha people think they are?
How dare they demand compensation from the Cloud Village?
Did they forget why we're even here?
The Cloud emissary let out a laugh in disbelief, his tone icy. "Looks like Konoha has no intention of negotiating peacefully."
"How is that possible? Konoha is full of sincerity!"
Itsuki immediately responded, "If we didn't want to talk, we would've started kicking your ass by now."
"You..."
The Cloud emissary was so furious he nearly jumped out of his seat.
This was no longer just a matter of disrespect—it was straight-up mockery and insult.
"Ahem," Homura Mitokado cleared his throat, trying to defuse the situation. "Itsuki, mind your tone."
Inwardly, though, he was just as flabbergasted.
Compensation? Really?
We're supposed to be figuring out how to *minimize* what we owe them!
"Uchiha Itsuki, do you even understand the situation?"
"What do you mean, 'mind my tone?'"
Itsuki glared at Homura and slammed the table hard.
*BANG!*
The sound was so loud, Homura nearly jumped out of his seat in fright.
The Cloud emissary, on the other hand, was unfazed. They were used to Raikage breaking several tables a day.
"Council Elder, are you deaf? What part of my tone sounds bad to you? Go ahead, tell me. Speak up."
Homura meekly responded, "No, no, not at all. But... it would be better to be polite. After all, they *are* our guests."
"Hmph!"
Itsuki scoffed and turned his gaze back to the Cloud emissary. "So, what do you say?"
Grinding his teeth, the Cloud emissary spat, "There's no way the Cloud Village will ever compensate you. Absolutely not!"
"Oh, so you're asking for a fight, then?"
Itsuki smirked coldly, silently rolling up his sleeves.
...
Fugaku Uchiha watched quietly from the side. He turned to Itachi, who had just arrived.
"What do you make of this?"
Itachi spoke softly, "Their attitude is completely different."
Just a moment ago, how had the Cloud emissary treated them?
Arrogant.
Looking down on everyone.
Disdainful and full of contempt.
Acting like they were superior to all.
Otherwise, how would they have dared suggest to Fugaku Uchiha, the Uchiha clan leader, that he send his wife to the Cloud Village?
That was a blatant insult!
But now, facing Itsuki, their attitude had completely changed.
They were submissive.
Cautious.
Walking on eggshells.
It was like they were treading on thin ice.
The contrast was staggering.
"Why?"
Itachi couldn't understand it.
Based on status, Fugaku was much higher than Itsuki.
During the negotiations, Fugaku could have openly threatened war—and it would've been taken seriously.
Even if Itsuki made the same threat, no one would believe he could follow through.
A mere jonin calling for war?
Who does he think he is?
Konoha has over 300 jonin—does he think they all have to be ready to go to war at his command?
"Is it because Itsuki is unpredictable? Because he openly defied Danzo?"
That was the only explanation Itachi could think of.
"No."
Fugaku calmly responded to his son's question.
"What both the Cloud emissary and Homura are afraid of boils down to one thing."
"And what's that?"
"*Nutsjob.*"
Itachi: "..."
Fugaku had a strange expression. "At least, if it were me, I'd be worried that this guy might just... break my balls."
"You know how Itsuki is—he's the type to throw punches first and never bother with words."
"And don't think for a second that just because the other guy is a Cloud emissary, he wouldn't throw hands."
"Danzo was known as the Dark of Shinobi. Back in Konoha, he was undoubtedly the second-in-command, but he got knocked down a peg by a single explosion."
"No matter what happens in this negotiation, even if it leads to war, that's between the two villages. But as for your balls, they belong to you alone."
Itachi: "..."
That... makes sense.
As a man, you'd rather die than let something happen to your balls.
It's a choice between death or a fate worse than death!
So even Danzo, that shady guy, couldn't hold back back then. He grabbed his sword, eyes bloodshot, and chased after the guy who threw the bomb—ran so hard his shoes fell off.
Now, the people from Kumogakure are here for negotiations, but if they lose their balls, what kind of a mess would that be?
How would they explain it back at their village? "Lord Raikage, I sacrificed one of my balls for the village!"
…
With a cold voice, the man named Itsuki asked, "If you're not offering compensation, what did you come to Konoha for?"
The Kumogakure envoy gritted his teeth and said, "Over 300 of our people died, and we lost a tailed beast. The village is in chaos, and you in Konoha are demanding compensation from us?"
Itsuki replied indifferently, "So what? You had it coming. You're always stealing from people, making enemies everywhere, and now you're surprised they're getting revenge?"
"You…"
The veins on the Kumogakure envoy's forehead started to throb.
"Three hundred dead? That's nothing. We've lost…"
Itsuki paused, looking at Mitokado Homura, "How many from the Anbu and Root have died?"
"…I don't know!"
"Useless! You're always clueless. What's the point of you?"
Mitokado Homura clenched his fists.
I'm a senior advisor! I'm a big shot in Konoha!
How dare you insult me! Damn Uchiha!
Just you wait! I'll tell Danzo about this!
"What's that look?"
Itsuki sneered, glaring at Mitokado Homura, "Feeling pissed? Want me to help make it worse?"
His eyes flicked down, "I could send you straight to heaven for free!"
Mitokado Homura, feeling like cold water had been thrown over him, shuddered and quickly replied, "No… no need for that!"
After a moment's hesitation, he added, "Thank you, Itsuki. Really, there's no need."
"…"
That "thank you" truly broke everyone present.
Everyone's faces twisted.
"Bang!"
Itsuki turned back to glare at the Kumogakure envoy, slamming the table again and shouting, "So, what compensation are you offering?"
"We've lost thousands of Anbu and Root ninjas!"
"Do you know how much the Third Hokage and Danzo have cried? They've been crying for three straight days and nights. We've gone through dozens of blankets."
"They still haven't recovered. They look like they've been eating crap every day!"
"And you Kumogakure people still don't want to compensate us?"
"What are you trying to pull?"
The Kumogakure envoy's eye twitched uncontrollably. He kept taking deep breaths, over and over!
Thousands of Anbu and Root ninjas? What, did all of Konoha's ninjas join the Anbu and Root? And crying for three days and nights…
Damn!
Itsuki squinted at the Kumogakure envoy, "What's wrong? You farting now? Don't want to share? Might as well die miserably."
Damn it!
The Kumogakure envoy was almost choking, his tears nearly falling.
"Uchiha, are you seriously trying to start a war?"
Finally, he couldn't hold back any longer and stood up suddenly.
"If you want to fight, Kumogakure will fight. We're not afraid of any challenge!"
"If it's war you want, then let's have war. Anyone who doesn't fight is a coward!"
Itsuki smirked, "I won't kill you. You can leave now. We'll start fighting in three days!"
"Fine!"
The Kumogakure envoy shouted in anger and was about to storm out.
"Wait, wait a minute!"
Mitokado Homura was dumbfounded.
How did things escalate so fast into a war?
What the hell? You even set a time for the war?
No, this isn't right!
This is very wrong! Hiruzen specifically told me to avoid war at all costs when he sent me to mediate these talks! Mediate?
Oh, right!
I'm the representative of Konoha! I'm the main character here!
(End of chapter)