"We can give you some supplies, but not too much," Takuya said flatly. "And it'll only be food, nothing else. As for buying grain from the Land of Fire's daimyo, that's fine, but you can't send any of your shinobi to do the purchasing."
Providing some supplies was part of the Third Hokage's plan. It wasn't much, just a token gesture to keep things calm. In the end, Rain Village would still have to pay for its own supplies.
As for the checkpoints, Konoha wouldn't block them, but Rain Village's ninja wouldn't be allowed to enter the Land of Fire. Instead, they'd have to issue a request and let Konoha's ninja escort the supplies to Rain Village.
This strategy had multiple benefits for Konoha. Not only did it help maintain control, but it also increased Konoha's income through mission requests.
The Third Hokage was truly a crafty old man. He'd set up this situation perfectly, waiting for Rain Village to fall into the trap.
What's the harm in giving some food? The real money was in the missions and requests.
In a way, this was like slowly digging out the foundation of Rain Village's economy. But did Hanzō have any other options? Not really.
Aside from the Land of Fire, it would be nearly impossible for him to buy enough food from anywhere else. Even if they had the money, other nations wouldn't be eager to sell to them, especially during wartime when food supplies were tightly controlled.
Other countries weren't like the Land of Fire, where they had plentiful harvests year-round. Buying from smaller neighboring nations would only cause tension with the Stone or Sand Villages.
So, all things considered, buying from the Land of Fire was his best option.
Konoha had really played this well.
Hanzō was tempted to flip the table in frustration.
Tsunade kept a serious expression, fully aware that this was a tough deal for Hanzō to swallow. But the terms weren't hers—they were the Hokage's.
"I accept," Hanzō finally muttered, conceding defeat. Though they were sitting in his own village, he didn't feel any sense of control.
After two devastating lightning explosions from Takuya, the man's nerves were shot. One wrong move and Rain Village could very well be reduced to rubble.
Condensing lightning chakra into a ball and detonating it? What kind of crazy jutsu was that? Hanzō had never seen anything like it before. It had to be some sort of forbidden jutsu, right?
Little did Hanzō know, the Lightning Explosion wasn't a forbidden technique—it was Takuya's signature move, unique to him.
And even if someone else wanted to learn it, good luck. Takuya had no intention of teaching anyone, and even the basics weren't exactly easy to grasp.
With most of the main terms settled, the rest of the negotiation was just a matter of hashing out minor details. Takuya stretched lazily and headed outside, letting Tsunade and Shikaku handle the rest.
Tsunade would lead the talks, and Shikaku could watch.
Hanzō, for one, was more than happy to see Takuya go. The guy's presence was suffocating. The further he stayed away, the better. Preferably until the negotiations were over.
"Sir," one of the ANBU members said, stepping forward as Takuya left the building.
"I'm just going for a walk. Stay here and continue protecting Tsunade," Takuya replied, waving them off.
He strolled alone through the mostly deserted streets of Rain Village. After wandering around for a while, he noticed something strange—there were an unusual number of shady businesses.
"Are they seriously trying to build a red-light district?" Takuya muttered, shaking his head at the scantily clad women standing under the eaves of various buildings. He wasn't impressed. The place was poor, and so were the women.
Even if they paid him, he wouldn't be interested, let alone the other way around.
Just as he was about to head back, something caught his eye. Around the corner, three small kids were struggling to pull a cart loaded with supplies. Are they trying to make a living by hauling stuff around? Takuya thought, scanning the trio.
What surprised him most was the chakra within one of them—Nagato's chakra levels had grown significantly. Yahiko and Konan seemed about the same as before, but Nagato's chakra was impressive.
The three kids were the same ones he had met before—the future core members of the Akatsuki: Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan.
Sensing that someone was watching them, Nagato looked up. The moment his eyes locked onto Takuya, he froze, murmuring, "Teacher..."
"Teacher? What teacher? Come on, Nagato, we've got to push this cart!" Yahiko grumbled, noticing the cart had suddenly gotten heavier. He glanced back, ready to scold Nagato for slacking off, but stopped when he saw where Nagato was looking.
Yahiko's grip on the cart's rope slipped, and Konan, who had been pushing from behind, cheered in delight. "Teacher!" she called out.
"Uh…" Takuya facepalmed. "Since when did I become your teacher?"
Still, he waved them over. Even though Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan were only three years younger than him, their malnutrition made them look much smaller—like they were five years old instead of seven.
"Teacher!" Yahiko shouted, running toward Takuya, with Konan close behind. Nagato hesitated but eventually followed.
"Looks like you've been practicing what I taught you," Takuya said as the three of them stood before him, soaking wet but beaming with excitement. They didn't even seem to care about the rain.
"Heh, it's all thanks to your great teaching, Teacher," Yahiko said, scratching his head with a sheepish grin.
Takuya chuckled. "I don't recall ever officially taking you three on as disciples."
He looked them over, frowning at their ragged, dirty clothes, which were soaked through and covered in mud. Sighing, he gestured for them to follow. "Come with me."
As they walked through the streets, Takuya noticed a few shops were still open despite the poor weather. There was a clothing store nearby, as well as a restaurant.
Yahiko and Konan didn't seem to care about what Takuya said earlier. They happily followed him, while Nagato trailed behind, still cautious but less on edge than before.
"What can I do for you, sir?" the shopkeeper greeted them warmly as they entered.
Takuya cut him off, pointing at the three kids behind him. "Get them two sets of your best clothes each." He tossed some money onto the counter.
The shopkeeper's eyes lit up at the sight of the cash, and his face broke into a wide grin. "Right away, sir!"
"Teacher, we don't really need…" Konan began to protest, but one sharp look from Takuya silenced her. She lowered her head, obediently following the shopkeeper's instructions as he helped them pick out clothes.
The shopkeeper even let them use the restroom to clean up.
After a good wash and change of clothes, the three of them finally looked more like normal kids, though Nagato still kept his head down, his red hair hiding his Rinnegan.
Once they were dressed, Takuya bought them umbrellas and then led them to a restaurant, where he ordered plenty of food.
As they sat down to eat, Takuya asked, "So, how did you three end up in Rain Village?"
Note: If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 245+ at patreon.com/ Emik01. Don't forget to give a power stone for many bonus chapters