Chapter 141: Uchiha's Rules

Cee had a bitter smile on his face. Although Rengoku was most likely bluffing, he was still frightened and had to speak kindly, "Lord Rengoku, please stop joking. Whatever your demands are, we of the Hidden Cloud will do our best to satisfy them."

"Heh…", Rengoku let out a light chuckle and withdrew his blade.

At this distance, he didn't need a weapon to kill Yugito.

"I really wasn't joking," After saying this, Rengoku grabbed Yugito with one hand and slung her over his shoulder.

"However, Yugito is now already a prisoner of our Uchiha."

"You of the Hidden Cloud should understand the rules of the Uchiha."

Rengoku placed special emphasis on the words "Uchiha's rules."

Cee should understand what he meant.

Of course Cee knew what the rules were. Before the Uchiha joined Konoha, they specialized in mercenary work.

They were often hired by various factions; today's enemy could become tomorrow's employer.

So the Uchiha often captured people from different factions.

The downside was that once someone was captured, they were considered Uchiha property. To ransom them, one had to pay.

The upside was that the Uchiha wouldn't ask for anything else, they only wanted money.

"If it's about money, I guarantee we'll satisfy Lord Rengoku."

Cee quickly agreed, what else could he do? Their Jinchuriki had been slung over Rengoku's shoulder like a piece of prey.

This was one of Hidden Cloud's strategic weapons. They had to think of every possible way to get her back.

Rengoku looked at Cee, who carried himself with neither arrogance nor servility, and he could already see the shadow of the future "Left Hand" of the Fourth Raikage.

"Alright, let's find another place to talk."

Rengoku looked around at the ruins. Some areas were still burning, and more importantly, there were still many scouts on the outskirts.

He naturally didn't want any intelligence leaking out.

Cee had no choice but to follow Rengoku away.

After they left, all the factions erupted into chaos.

They had come here with two goals, most importantly, to observe the Uchiha's stance.

The second was to assess the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Based on previous intel, after the Uchiha awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, no one knew their actual combat strength.

This time, Rengoku acted alone and completely overpowered a top-tier powerhouse in the ninja world.

Just a shadow clone had forced Yugito into complete Tailed Beast Transformation. When his true body made a move, it only took one strike to capture her.

Everyone immediately relayed the information, reassessing the Uchiha clan's power level.

The other factions' intelligence personnel were there, and of course so was Zetsu.

Zetsu, who had hidden in a corner to watch the entire battle, was also deeply wary.

Right now, he was scouring the world for traces of Konan and Nagato.

But the two of them had seemingly vanished into thin air, not a single trace had been found.

Nagato and Konan now appeared to be slipping from their control, and with only Tobi left, it was hard to manage.

'This is troublesome.'

Thinking this, Zetsu slowly sank into the ground.

———

Rengoku, carrying Yugito, moved quickly and, after shaking off the eyes of other factions, finally stopped.

The Hidden Cloud couldn't even be bothered with the filler ninjas they'd brought.

Now the most important thing was that Yugito couldn't be taken away by Rengoku.

"Alright, this place will do."

Rengoku calmly said, "Our Uchiha clan currently needs to grow, so I'll need to exchange for some wealth."

"For the well-established Hidden Cloud, this shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Cee nodded, "Yes, Lord Rengoku, please state your terms."

Rengoku thought for a moment, "Flat price, three billion."

Cee's pupils shrank suddenly, "This… Lord Rengoku, that's too much…"

The Hidden Cloud's annual revenue didn't even reach three billion.

Cee instinctively began bargaining.

Rengoku raised a finger and shook it, "I said, flat price, no bargaining."

"If the Hidden Cloud isn't interested, I can sell the Jinchuriki to Konoha, or even to Iwagakure."

Cee's face turned deathly pale. This level of strategic weapon falling into a rival nation's hands wasn't something money could fix.

Even if the Jinchuriki didn't defect, the Tailed Beast could be extracted and a new Jinchuriki chosen.

Iwagakure was already powerful, if they gained another Jinchuriki…

And don't even mention Konoha. Though Konoha looked weak right now, as long as the Uchiha were there, they could control Tailed Beasts.

Plus, with the Mangekyo Sharingan's combat strength, one Nine-Tails wasn't enough, they wanted to add the Two-Tails too.

Right now Cee was filled with regret, tremendous regret.

They had gravely underestimated the Uchiha's combat strength, and now the situation had escalated drastically.

"Lord Rengoku, could you wait a few days here? I'm not authorized to decide this," Cee's greatest fear now was Rengoku taking Yugito away. They were still on the border of the Land of Fire.

If Rengoku brought Yugito to Konoha, it would be completely over.

Konoha would never let the Jinchuriki leave again.

Rengoku glanced at the surroundings, "This area's not bad. You guys can set up camp here."

"Starting today, I'll wait only five days. If I don't see the money on the fifth day, Yugito dies."

"The Raikage and Killer Bee are forbidden from appearing. Otherwise, I'll kill Yugito on the spot."

Cee's heart skipped a beat, he had no doubt that Uchiha Rengoku would really do it.

"Elder Rengoku, I beg you, please give us two more days. We need time to send messages and gather funds and personnel."

Rengoku gave Cee a half-smiling glance.

"No problem, make it seven days then."

———

[Land of Water, Kirigakure]

After a long journey, Yagura Karatachi finally returned with Zabuza and Juzo Biwa.

He had sent a signal ahead of time.

By the time they arrived at the village, Mei Terumi, Ao, and some other experts were already waiting to greet them.

Of course, the most important step was for Ao to take a look and verify whether Yagura had any issues.

Ao activated his Byakugan and carefully observed Yagura's chakra, finding everything normal.

He nodded to the other high-ranking members of the village.

Zabuza and Juzo Biwa's last doubts were also dispelled.

Ao, of course, didn't know about the existence of Kotoamatsukami.

Kotoamatsukami directly modifies perception, and when cast by the Uchiha clan, it is faster and harder to detect.

After the perception modification ends, the ocular power and chakra dissipate, making it completely undetectable via chakra.

"Everyone, follow me to the conference room," Yagura gave the order without even resting and walked directly toward the meeting room.

Mei Terumi and the others exchanged looks, they felt that the Fourth Mizukage's demeanor had changed drastically.

Now he even seemed full of vitality.

This was the complete opposite of the hollow and lifeless state he had before.

———

[Kirigakure Meeting Room]

Everyone soon gathered.

Yagura opened his mouth and said, "You all know I went out for a trip. Those well-informed may already know, I went to Konoha."

The people below stirred slightly. Most of them hadn't known this.

After all, Kirigakure was isolated by the sea, and news from the Land of Fire took time to travel.

There was certainly information on the black market, but Kirigakure was in turmoil, and few were paying attention to such intel.

"The Uchiha and Hiruzen in Konoha have entered a standoff…"

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