Chapter 557: The Rinnegan is Handed Over, Waiting for the Villages to Get Beaten

Tsunade had been mentally prepared for this, but even Orochimaru looked a little stunned.

He never expected that after revealing Uchiha Madara's conspiracy, the four great ninja villages would barely react. Their interest remained firmly fixed on the Rinnegan.

It didn't take Orochimaru long to figure out why.

Without wasting more words, he quietly stepped back behind Tsunade.

If they aren't interested, no amount of explanation will change their minds. Only after experiencing Madara's terror firsthand will they understand the need for an alliance.

"What does Konoha want?"

The Third Raikage was the first to speak up. The Cloud Village had a keen interest in the Rinnegan. As long as it wasn't a fake, he didn't mind paying a price to take it back.

Since discussing Madara wasn't going anywhere, Tsunade saw no need to insist. Instead, she held up a single finger.

"There's only one pair of Rinnegan. Giving it all to one village is impossible. We need to split it."

Her tone was firm.

"This measure is to prevent Madara from reclaiming both eyes. I hope you all understand. Besides, if we handed both to a single village, I doubt the others would be happy."

Not just unhappy—they'd be outraged. If Konoha really did that, they'd be making some dangerous enemies.

The Third Raikage glanced at Onoki, who returned the look. Rasa and Yagura were completely ignored.

To Onoki and the Third Raikage, Rasa and Yagura were juniors. Their opinions didn't matter.

Besides, what could the Sand Village and Mist Village offer in competition? The real rivalry was between the Rock Village and the Cloud Village.

"Konoha needs resources—lots of them," Tsunade declared bluntly, not bothering to hide her intentions.

We don't need the Rinnegan. Whoever wants it can have it—as long as they pay the right price.

The Third Raikage and Onoki didn't mind her bold demand.

Negotiation is part of any deal, but first, we need to get rid of the extra players.

They exchanged a knowing look, setting aside their differences for now.

"Is the Wind Village or Mist Village really planning to compete with us?"

"..."

Rasa clenched his fists at the blatant disrespect. He was about to explode when Chiyo placed a hand on his shoulder, whispering something softly.

His anger deflated like a punctured balloon, and he slumped back into his chair.

Being belittled was infuriating, but it was also the truth. The Sand Village couldn't go toe-to-toe with the Rock Village or Cloud Village.

The same applied to the Mist Village.

They lacked the manpower and resources to compete.

Konoha had made it clear they wouldn't take sides. They were only interested in profits.

If Rasa or Yagura tried to fight for the Rinnegan, Onoki and the Third Raikage would crush them.

Knowing this, Yagura glanced at Tsunade and made a more reasonable request.

"The Mist Village will refrain from competing, but we expect appropriate compensation from whichever village gets the Rinnegan."

It was a final act of defiance.

Simply withdrawing would make them look weak and cowardly. Asking for compensation, on the other hand, would help save face.

"Fair enough," Onoki and the Third Raikage agreed without hesitation.

Yagura's cooperation earned their respect. They wouldn't push too hard and risk driving the Mist Village back into Konoha's arms.

Onoki added, "The Sand Village should receive compensation as well. Do you agree, Kazekage?"

It was a way of offering Rasa an easy out.

Take the compensation and step aside quietly. You can't handle the Rinnegan anyway.

"Hmph," Rasa snorted, but he didn't reject the offer.

If they couldn't win the prize, they might as well take the consolation prize and leave.

After an entire day of haggling, the final agreement was reached.

The Rock Village and Cloud Village each received one Rinnegan, while the Sand Village and Mist Village were compensated with resources.

The Five Kage Summit ended as abruptly as it began, almost like a children's game.

After the meeting, Takuya stretched as he entered the conference room. Snowy hopped onto the table, dropping the container with the Rinnegan onto it.

"How you split them is up to you now," Takuya said casually before turning to leave with Tsunade.

"Ho—" Yagura raised a hand to speak, but Tsunade ignored him and walked away.

"..."

Yagura stood there awkwardly, his frustration evident.

Orochimaru chuckled, licking his lips. "It seems that for your village, profits come before alliances. Be careful—Takuya can be much more vindictive than Tsunade."

"Ugh, that infuriates me!"

Back in the Hokage's office, Tsunade slammed the door and let out a furious shout.

"Why are you angry? We got plenty of benefits out of it," Takuya said, unfazed by the attitudes of the other villages.

Let them take the Rinnegan. When Madara comes knocking, they'll regret it soon enough.

As for the Sand and Mist Villages, Takuya didn't even bother to comment.

"There's no such thing as cooperation between villages," he continued. "It's all about interests. When those don't align, there's no cooperation at all."

Tsunade's face remained cold.

"They couldn't care less about the threat of Madara or his Infinite Tsukuyomi plan. All they want is the Rinnegan."

She had put a lot of effort into preparing for this summit, only to find it was all for nothing.

What a waste of time and energy.

In the original timeline, even after the One-Tail and Two-Tail were captured by the Akatsuki, the Five Great Nations remained indifferent.

It wasn't until the Fourth Raikage discovered his brother Killer B had been captured that he called for a Five Kage Summit.

If they had taken the Akatsuki seriously from the start, the organization wouldn't have been able to capture the other tailed beasts so easily.

"People don't believe you until they've suffered," Takuya said, shaking his head.

Even he found it hard to believe how little they cared about Madara's threat.

Only Onoki showed some concern. The others, even those from the Sand and Mist Villages—despite their past suffering—were indifferent.

"Just wait. They'll soon learn how terrifying Madara truly is."

Madara and Black Zetsu only had two options now:

One, use Kamui to steal back the Rinnegan with Obito's help.

Two, resurrect Madara with the Edo Tensei and have him retrieve the Rinnegan himself.

The first option was risky. The Rock and Cloud Villages would guard the Rinnegan fiercely. Even with White Zetsu's tracking abilities, finding it wouldn't be easy.

The simplest solution was for Madara to personally take action.

Onoki and the Third Raikage left Konoha, each carrying one Rinnegan. The agreed-upon resources would be delivered later.

The summit ended as quickly as it began—like a child's game.

Orochimaru's surveillance was lifted. Even if he had any schemes left, it wouldn't matter now. The Rinnegan was no longer in Konoha.

Finally freed from babysitting Orochimaru, Jiraiya rushed off excitedly to pursue the women he had been longing to meet.

"Tsunade, why didn't you inform us about such an important matter?"

As the four villages left, a voice of protest rose within Konoha.

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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read the rest of the Chapter at Patreon com/ Emik01. 

DO NOT FORGET POWER STONE AND CHATTING