bioinnovel Chapter 157 Who exactly is he?
Chapter 157 Who exactly is he?
Inside the council hall of the Daming Palace, the scent of incense could not suppress the chill emanating from the corpse.
The usually dignified face of the Fire Country Daimyo was now ashen and gloomy.
"Thump." Sarutobi Asuma knelt on one knee, his forehead touching the cold floor.
His voice was unusually heavy: "Your Excellency, I am incompetent. I only managed to kill Fuka, Fudo, and Fuen. I let Kazuma take the test subject away."
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood in the corner, his gray eyebrows furrowed in a knot.
He looked at Asma's exhausted profile, his eyes swirling with complex emotions.
After an unknown amount of time, the daimyo of the Land of Fire let out a long sigh.
He walked to Nanwu's stretcher, looked at the young man's hideous wounds, and said in a deep voice, "Pass on my order: the entire Imperial Medical Academy is to stand by and do everything in their power to save Nanwu. Beizi, Xidu, and Dongmao shall be buried with the honors due to national heroes, and their families shall be supported by the national treasury for life. There must be no mistake."
"Yes!" The messenger bowed and withdrew.
The daimyo rubbed his temples, his voice tinged with lingering weariness: "Furthermore, the Four Nations Conference will proceed as planned. Tell them that the Land of Fire is willing to return the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, Fu, and is also willing to compensate for all losses incurred in this conflict. The war... cannot continue."
Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly looked up, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes: "Daimyo, are you really going to make a decision? That's a huge sum of compensation..."
The magistrate's expression was unusually resolute. He waved his hand: "The national treasury can be replenished when it's empty, but once a person is gone, everything is gone. As for the matter with Ma, it cannot be left like this. Send men to secretly investigate. Once his whereabouts are discovered, kill him without mercy!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded: "As you command, Daimyo!"
Then, Hakuun Castle, a neutral city on the border of the Land of Fire, suddenly became the focus of the ninja world.
......
In the royal palace of the Land of Water, Uchiha Mitsunori held a little girl in his arms: "Karin, come here, give Daddy a kiss, and Daddy will give you candy."
Three-year-old Karin blinked her watery red eyes, hugged her father's big head, and kissed him on the cheek.
Uchiha Mitsunaga kissed Karin, then handed her a piece of candy wrapped in gold leaf: "Karin, you're such a good girl, go play!"
Karin took the candy, carefully unwrapped it, and looked smug and happy.
Young Sasuke walked over and looked on longingly, "Father, I want candy too!"
Uchiha Mitsunori patted Sasuke's head: "There's no more candy. Go play with Xingchi-nii!"
Sasuke looked at the candy on the table: "Father, you're being unfair! There's clearly more candy on the table!"
Just then, the leader of the secret guards bowed and entered, his voice extremely low: "My lord, news has come from the Land of Fire that the daimyo of the Land of Fire will convene a five-nation conference tomorrow in a neutral border city to return the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, Fu, and promise to compensate for the losses."
Uchiha Mitsumine's brows furrowed slowly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
He waved his hand, and the leader of the secret guards bowed and retreated.
Uchiha Mitsunori gazed into the distance, deep in thought: The Land of Fire has suffered heavy losses in the wars of recent years, and its treasury is already empty... Compensation... Voluntarily returning the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki... This is not something you can easily end just because you want to!
......
The following day, the daimyo of the Land of Fire personally attended the Five Nations Conference.
He publicly announced that the Land of Fire would pay a total of 50 billion ryo to the four villages of Iwagakure, Kumogakure, Sunagakure, and Takigakure to make up for the losses of the war.
The representatives of the four countries initially had some doubts, but seeing that the Land of Fire was willing to return the Jinchūriki and that the compensation amount far exceeded their expectations, they eventually relented.
After the agreement was signed, each of the four countries sent an elite team to the designated location to receive the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, Fu.
The task of escorting this three-year-old child naturally fell to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The group traveled through a desolate valley, with steep cliffs on both sides and only a narrow path winding forward in the middle.
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, a sense of unease creeping into his heart: "Stay alert! This road is too quiet, not even a bird in sight. Something's not right."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a dark shadow swooped down from the cliff above.
The figure wore a long robe with a black background and red clouds, and moved so fast that it left only a blur.
Upon landing, a mysterious figure wearing a vortex mask surveyed the crowd from above.
"Who goes there?" Hiruzen Sarutobi instantly formed hand seals, and the Anbu members around him immediately formed a circle, protecting Fu in the middle.
The mysterious man did not answer; instead, he flashed and quickly formed hand seals.
In an instant, the temperature in the air plummeted, and a biting chill swept over us. Countless tiny ice crystals condensed and swirled in mid-air.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was startled and immediately shouted, "Watch out! This is an Ice Release Kekkei Genkai! Attack with Fire Release..."
Before he could finish speaking, the mysterious man had already pressed one hand to the ground.
"Ice Release: Freezing a Thousand Miles!"
A chilling aura emanated from him and instantly spread outwards.
A smooth layer of solid ice quickly formed on the ground, throwing the guards' defensive formation into chaos.
Hiruzen Sarutobi leaped up hastily, spewing forth a torrent of flames: "Combination Ninjutsu... Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet... Wind Release: Cyclone!"
The fire dragon roared, grew larger, and scattered, crashing into the ice wall that rose in front of the mysterious man.
The water vapor suddenly billowed up, and the entire valley was instantly shrouded in white mist.
Just then, the mysterious figure, like a shadow blending into the mist, moved between the ice cones and ice mirrors, freezing everything in its path into ice sculptures.
Hiruzen Sarutobi roared, "Protect the Jinchuriki!"
Then, he created several shadow clones, which pounced on the mysterious man again.
In the chaos, an ice mirror suddenly appeared in front of Fu.
In the mirror, the figure of the mysterious man flashed by, and the next second, he had already picked up the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki Fu with one hand.
Goodbye, everyone.
Before he finished speaking, countless ice crystals danced and swirled around him, forming an ice tornado.
When the tornado dissipated, the mysterious man and Fu had already vanished without a trace.
Hiruzen Sarutobi knelt on one knee on the ice, breathing heavily.
An ice-style technique with an extremely large range... When did such a person appear in the ninja world...? Who exactly is he?
Soon after, the forces from the Shikoku Ninja Villages arrived, only to find a devastated battlefield and corpses frozen into ice sculptures.
When the news reached back, the ninja world was once again in an uproar.
The four major ninja villages accused the Land of Fire of staging a "ruse," claiming that while ostensibly returning the Jinchuriki, they secretly sent people to kidnap him again, and demanded that the Land of Fire pay more compensation.
The daimyo of the Land of Fire was so angry that he vomited blood on the spot, but he could only swallow his anger and accept it.
Ultimately, he promised to add 50 billion ryo to each of the villages of Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure, and 20 billion ryo to Takigakure.
Seeing the Fire Country's "sincerity," the four countries reluctantly agreed to another ceasefire.
The seventeen-month-long war of attrition finally came to an end in a farcical agreement.