Chat group from Naruto

"King's hand! (The meaning of 'general' in shogi.)"

Nara Shikaku put the chess piece down and looked up at the opposite side: "Otsutsuki-san, the chess piece is dead."

Fang Zhou looked at the chessboard for a long time and couldn't find any way out.

Every movement space of "Jade" is blocked by the opponent's chess pieces. No matter which step he takes, he will be dead.

"I lost." Fang Zhou admitted defeat simply and messed up the chess pieces on the board: "I can't win if I can't play. The level gap is too big. It's boring."

The two played shogi, also known as island chess in the main world. It was the chess game that the Nara father and son always played together in the original book.

Of course, Fang Zhou didn't know how to play shogi in the past. Even chess was at the level of a bad chess player. He had never won against the elders in the community.

However, since he gained extraordinary power, with Fang Zhou's mental strength, it was very easy to learn this game.

Of course, just because you’ve learned it doesn’t mean you’ll be proficient.

Even if the thinking speed and calculation ability of extraordinary people are far superior to ordinary people, as long as they do not reach the level of super computers for a day, it is not that easy to defeat the top chess players among "ordinary people".

Anyway, Fang Zhou never won when playing chess with Nara Shikaku.

And every time he loses miserably, even if the opponent gives up a chess piece.

Nara Shikaku wanted to praise Fangzhou a few words, but he couldn't think of anything worthy of praise at the moment, so he could only say: "Otsutsuki-san, your chess skills have improved very quickly."

"Okay, I know what level I am at."

Fang Zhou waved his hand, deliberately showing dissatisfaction, and complained: "You people, you just talk about things, and you still come to me to play chess every day. Aren't you tired of going around like this?"

The world of Naruto has a deep imprint on the culture of the island country, which pays attention to "virtuous etiquette", and it is the same when talking about business.

If it's an emergency, there are naturally efficient ways, like how Iwa Ninja and Konoha established an alliance in just a few days.

But if it's not so urgent, you have to put enough effort into saving face first.

Even in order to avoid the negative impact caused by the breakdown of negotiations, they will not start negotiations face-to-face immediately, but find a suitable "middleman" to test each other's attitudes.

This is also to prevent everyone from having a bad time if the talks break down.

It's much better to have a middleman as a buffer.

After sending many messages through the intermediary to confirm that both parties are sincere in negotiating, they will sit down and discuss the business.

Fang Zhou has been in the world of Naruto for so long, and although he has never really integrated into it, he still understands some of these basic customs.

Understanding does not mean liking.

After trying to "do as the Romans do in the country" for a few days, Fang Zhou finally couldn't help it anymore and took the initiative to say to Nara Shikaku: "I know what you mean. If you want to negotiate, it's okay. Let Yondaime come and talk to me in person about some of my conditions. You can’t make the decision either.”

Nara Shikaku seemed not to have expected that Fangzhou, who had always been "steady as a mountain", would suddenly come to the point.

However, after all, he is the "think tank" of Konoha. Nara Shikaku responded quickly. He was silent for a few seconds before nodding: "I understand. I will report to the Hokage. If you have other requests, it is convenient." , I can also convey it on your behalf.”

Nara Shikaku's own strength can only be said to be pretty good among Jonin, but he is still far behind the "strong ones" in the first echelon.

But as Konoha's think tank, Nara Shikaku's vision is very broad. He has come into contact with many powerful people and understands their habits.

Some strong people have no airs and can even get along with ordinary people, such as Jiraiya.

Some strong people are much more arrogant and even disdain to touch the weak.

In Nara Shikaku's view, Fangzhou does not entirely belong to the latter, but it is somewhat close.

Intelligence showed that during his stay in Konoha, "Otsutsuki Ichiraku" had almost no contact with anyone except the top brass of the two major families, Hinata and Uchiha, and Uchiha Itachi, who was accepted as his disciple. , at best, it’s just a nod of acquaintance.

Even among the two families who are said to be "family friends" with the Otsutsuki clan, there is no one close to Otsutsuki Ichiraku.

The only one who might be considered close to him was his disciple Uchiha Itachi.

Except for this child who was still in the ninja school, there were almost no people who could speak in front of Otsutsuki Ichiraku.

If not, Namikaze Minato would not have sent Nara Shikaku to be this lobbyist.

Although a "smart man" with high quotient is indeed suitable for this kind of lobbying work, it is actually a better choice if someone with close connections acts as a middleman.

Fangzhou didn't know that Nara Shikaku had so many thoughts in his heart. After hearing what the other party said, he just thought for a moment and said: "Our clan will not participate in anything in the ninja world, except for chasing and killing that person." 'Other than that, the only thing I'm interested in is teaching my disciples. However, if I have the right leverage, I can't accept a short-term employment."

"Short-term employment? I understand."

Nara Shikaku immediately captured the key point from Fangzhou's words.

Not formally and permanently joining Konoha, but in the form of a mercenary mission.

The difference is naturally huge.

At least it was obvious that the other party had no interest in joining Konoha.

However, if they are willing to pay enough chips, the other party will probably not mind acting as a temporary mercenary.

Just like some underground forces who make a living as war mercenaries.

This would also be good for Konoha.

If it is just a hiring mission, you only need to pay the reward for one mission.

Even if asking a master of this level to take action would be absolutely sky-high, it would definitely be much lower than the cost of letting the other party join Konoha.

In a short period of time, Nara Shikaku could only think of this.

"Then, I will take my leave first. After reporting to the Hokage-sama, I will come back to make an appointment with you."

Seeing that the other party had expressed his attitude, Nara Shikaku could be regarded as getting the information he wanted. He did not continue to pester him and quickly stood up to leave.

Fangzhou said a few polite words and called a servant to send him away.

"If nothing else happens, Namikaze Minato shouldn't keep me waiting for too long. The situation in Konoha seems to be stable now, but in fact there are still deep hidden dangers."

Fang Zhou muttered to himself, looking towards the east subconsciously, as if he wanted to penetrate the barrier of endless distance and see the scene of the Kingdom of Water.

Of course, it is impossible for Fangzhou to see the Kingdom of Water, but through the chat group, he can "see" Terumi Mei's every move, and judge the situation in Kirigakure Village through what she sees.

Due to the failure of the first raid, Kirigakure was divided into two factions.

Conservatives believe that since Konoha's defenses are tight, there is no need to continue testing.

Kirigakure Village is already weak, so it would be a better choice to go on the defensive or look for opportunities elsewhere.

Even if it’s difficult to attack the distant Kingdom of Earth and Kingdom of Wind, isn’t there still the Kingdom of Thunder? !

Now in the Kingdom of Thunder, the northern defense line of Kumo Ninja Village can still be maintained, but on the southern battlefield, Kumo Ninja Village is being beaten back by Konoha and is about to be beaten back to its hometown. This is not a secret.

In this case, in order to avoid having another powerful enemy, Konoha must not mind Kirigakure Village taking a share of the pie.

From the perspective of the radicals, the resources of the Country of Thunder are far less rich than those of the Country of Fire, and most of them will inevitably be taken away by the coalition forces of Konoha and Iwanin Village.

Even if Kirigakure went to rob it, how much could they get?

It is true that the Kingdom of Thunder also has rare materials such as chakra conductive metals, but for Kirigakure Village, which has seven special ninja swords, there is not such a shortage of chakra conductive metals that can be used to create special weapons.

On the contrary, the various unique medicinal materials of the Fire Country are what Kirigakure Village needs.

Especially the many great ninja clans who control the power of Kirigakure's top leaders, each of them needs a large amount of medicinal materials to cultivate their clan members.

For Kirigakure Village, although it is said that it is easier to plunder the Kingdom of Thunder, what they actually need more is the resources of the Kingdom of Fire.

A group of radicals headed by Mizukage Kaguya Sukeo insisted on taking advantage of the opportunity of Konoha's war with the powerful enemy in the north to open up a new battlefield and seize a large piece of fat from Konoha's mouth.

However, although the radicals had the upper hand, the conservatives led by the Snow Clan and Elder Yuanshi refused to give in, and the radicals were unable to completely overwhelm the opponent.

When the overall strength of Kirigakure Village itself is weak, at least in the short term, it is impossible for the radicals to leave the conservatives alone and go it alone.

The situation in Kirigakure Village made Fangzhou scratch his head.

If Kirigakure didn't start a war with Konoha immediately, the price Namikaze Minato would be willing to pay to invite him would probably be much lower.

If Kirigakure goes to war with Konoha, even if it is just a symbolic raiding team to try to cross the border and enter the Land of Fire, whether it succeeds or not, it can put great pressure on Konoha and Namikaze Minato.

At that time, Namikaze Minato would be willing to pay more in order to invite Fang Zhou to help.

only……

Fang Zhou shook his head and gave up his plan to interfere in the internal affairs of Kirigakure Village through Terumi Mei.

With Terumi Mei's character, it is almost impossible to get her to cooperate with him and harm the interests of Kirigakure Village.

What's more, if the current situation remains, will Namikaze Minato's offer for him be lower?

A ninja who does not belong to any "big force" and has unique strength is not so easy to find.

Of course, there are always a few ninjas who meet this condition in the ninja world.

But if you add the condition of "barely reliable", then the range of choices will be very limited.

Besides himself, the only two candidates Fang Zhou could think of were Orochimaru and Tsunade.

However, it is impossible for the former to return to Konoha.

This is not the situation in the original work where the Seventh Generation Hokage's reputation was ridiculously high after the Fourth Ninja War.

After the four battles in the original work, Uzumaki Naruto's prestige was high enough to suppress any dissatisfaction and forcefully push forward whatever he wanted to do.

Even if someone is dissatisfied, Uchiha Sasuke will use a knife to silence the dissatisfied person.

But now, it is impossible for Namikaze Minato not to care about what the "people" think.

There is no second pillar around him who specializes in "dirty work".

If Orochimaru is really invited back, Namikaze Minato, the Hokage, won't have to do it anymore.

Tsunade was a perfect candidate.

But the problem is, except for Naruto Uzumaki, who used the most powerful plug-in "Mouth Release" in the original work, can anyone really convince Tsunade, who has already given up hope for Konoha?

Anyway, Fang Zhou didn't think there was anyone or anything in Konoha now worthy of Tsunade's wandering love.

After excluding Orochimaru and Tsunade, the only candidate for Konoha is Fangzhou himself.

To be precise, it is the false identity of "Otsutsuki Ichiraku" played by Fang Zhou.

Although this was a desperation choice that could only be described as "making do", when this choice became the "only" one, the bargaining power was no longer on Konoha's side.

In the past few days, Fang Zhou was exploring clues about some hidden "treasures" in Konoha. On the other hand, he was also thinking about what the outcome of the "Fourth Ninja World War" would be. What is most beneficial to you.

The final conclusion was that Konoha could help.

Of course, from the perspective of maximizing the origin of the world, it would be the most favorable outcome for Konoha to completely disappear from the map of the ninja world.

According to Ye Xiaolan's calculations, if Konoha disappears and all the Konoha ninjas whose names were left in the original books die in this war, at least more than [-] world sources will be obtained.

But doing this would be difficult for his disciples to explain.

Besides, there are several characters in Konoha whom Fangzhou has a favorable impression of.

Although they are somewhat different in reality from those in the plot, more "real" and with a bit more of the inevitable dark side of human nature, this does not prevent Fang Zhou from still having a good impression of these plot characters.

It would be a pity to die like this.

Especially, like Jiraiya, Fang Zhou tried his best to reverse the opponent's "death fate" role and worked hard to let them avoid the fate in the original work. Is it just to trick them to death with his own hands?

The benefits of promoting the Fourth Ninja War are already high enough. There is no need to do things that make you unhappy for the sake of profit.

In order to keep your favorite plot characters alive, it is necessary to help Konoha when necessary.

The identity of "Otsutsuki Ichiraku" does not need to show all the strength to make this war no longer suspense, but can also do many things at the same time, which is the most suitable choice.

As long as Namikaze Minato is willing to pay a sufficient price, Fangzhou doesn't mind using the identity of "Otsutsuki Ichiraku" to stand on Konoha's side openly and establish an absolute advantage for Konoha on the battlefield.

——With Fangzhou's strength, even if he only uses illusions and Sharingan, he is qualified to suppress any great ninja village except Konoha by himself.

Of course, all this is based on the premise that Namikaze Minato is willing to pay enough benefits.

If he is not willing to pay even the most basic benefits, Fang Zhou is not the kind of saint who wholeheartedly pays for others.

Just after Nara Shikaku left with Fangzhou's request, early the next morning, Nara Shikaku once again came to visit as the "messenger" of Namikaze Minato.

"Your Excellency Otsutsuki, if you have time, Lord Hokage would like to have an interview with you this afternoon. Any time from two o'clock in the afternoon to before ten o'clock in the evening."