Back in the Hokage's office, Koharu asked, "Are you sure about this, Hiruzen? Even though he has done well so far, I still don't think asking him to lead such a mission is a good idea. Fighting and negotiation are two entirely different things."
Hiruzen shrugged and said, "It's alright. Besides, what's the worst he can do? At max, we will have to help them eliminate that rogue faction for free. And even then, he will be doing most of the work."
Hiruzen knew about Fujin's Wind Domain. While he wasn't entirely sure how strong it was as Fujin no longer practiced it in the open, the fact that he could steal Sasori's puppets was all Hiruzen needed to know. Even if they had to fight, he was sure Fujin would be able to take care of it without any issue. If Iwa tried interfering, then he could deploy Jiraiya to deter them.
Unlike him, the others in the room had different thoughts. Koharu wondered, 'Why does he trust that boy so much? Even though he could kill Juzo, fighting a rogue faction is different from fighting a single ninja. It could cost us several lives. But from the way Hiruzen is speaking, it's as if he is sure that we won't lose any lives.'
As for Shikaku, his mind was stuck on a few words that Hiruzen spoke. They were, 'What's the worst he can do?' For some reason, Shikaku had an extremely bad feeling.
Fujin and Homura entered the room. Immediately, 12 eyes looked at them. There were several papers on the round table and it looked like they had already been discussing how to handle the negotiation.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})On seeing the two of them, one of them said, "Elder Homura, Councilor Fujin, it's good to have you. Elder Homura, we wanted to ask you a few things."
To his surprise, Homura raised his palm and said, "While I will be joining the mission, I won't be participating in the discussions. Fujin will be the one leading this mission."
Immediately, everyone in the room was surprised. They all assumed that Homura would lead the mission. While they were familiar with Fujin, he barely used to participate in the missions. For a moment, none of them knew what to say.
Fujin had expected such a reaction and wasn't particularly offended. In fact, he was surprised as well when Hiruzen informed him that he would be leading this mission.
He chuckled to break the silence and asked, "What's with this reaction? Don't worry. I won't mess up too much. Let's start the meeting."
His words caused some awkward smiles to appear on their faces. However, it broke the ice and they finally began the meeting as Fujin and Homura sat down. Fujin asked, "Did you guys decide on what resources to ask in return for helping them?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})One of them answered, "We haven't discussed that much yet. Considering the tone in their letter, our discussion so far was focused more towards what we should say to counter their points when they ask for help free of cost."
Another added, "We were also considering letting them owe us the money so that they could repay in the future."
Fujin shook his head and said, "They are facing an existential crisis. How would they pay us in the future if they were to be destroyed? Besides, they could take loans from us and ally with Iwa later. Or threaten us asking us to forgive the loans or they would ally with Iwa.
No need to consider allowing them to owe us. Just decide on how much money to demand. If they don't have the money, decide what resources to ask for instead. Be it precious metals, chakra metal, elemental crystals or even their land."
Fujin's words surprised everyone in the room, including Homura. One of them countered, "But, that won't be right. Their message emphasizes the fact that they won't be able to pay. Focusing on which resources to demand instead of convincing them that they need to pay and giving them some options is like putting the cart before the horse."
Another added, "In addition, we need to keep in mind that we have been allied for several decades. Forcing them to pay could create some resentment, undoing the decades of good work. It might also provide Iwa with an opportunity to improve their ties with Kusa, which will increase the risk of them double-crossing us in the future."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Fujin chuckled and replied, "The decades of being in an alliance didn't stop them from making a disguised threat about allying with Iwa. Anyway, you don't need to worry. I do have a plan in mind, though I need to finalize the details. Just focus on deciding the resources first.
Later, we can focus on thinking about what arguments to give when they say that they can't afford to pay. As for giving them a line of credit, there is no need. If they are serious about paying us, then their Daimyo could discuss the same with the Fire Daimyo."
As the leader of this mission, Fujin's word was the final. In addition, the way he said it implied that there was no scope for debate. They looked at Homura but he didn't say anything. Hence, they followed his order and began deciding what to ask from them in exchange for helping them.
Meanwhile, Homura analyzed, 'Hmm, he can use authority very well. As expected of someone who was an Anbu Captain. Still, he is quite inflexible. During negotiations, being flexible is the most important. Otherwise, both sides could stay at an impasse for years!
In this particular case, there wasn't any harm in letting them owe us. In fact, the negotiation should have been about how much they should owe us and what the rate of interest should be. Even Hiruzen would have done this.
His inflexibility is disappointing considering how well he analyzed the meetings after Hiruzen was done negotiating. There is a big gap between his analytical and execution skills. I now see why Hiruzen wants to give him some experience in leading diplomatic missions.'
Fujin glanced at Homura while paying attention to the discussion. Though Homura didn't show any expression, Fujin could clearly feel a sense of disappointment from him. He thought, 'I guess he wanted me to go the normal route and provide them a line of credit.
That said, he doesn't have the knowledge of the future. Not too long from now, Konoha and Iwa will be allies. Why would it matter whether Kusa is allied with us or them? If anything, they'll be scrambling to have closer relations with Konoha. In fact, it doesn't even matter whether Kusa or the rebels are in power in the Land of Grass. It'll all be the same.
As for Iwa, Onoki won't look for a direct confrontation against Konoha. He wouldn't be called the Fence-Sitter if he jumped head first in an unrewarding battle. Besides, Iwa has already lost Han to the Akatsuki. From the information Anbu gathered, Deidara seems to have gone rogue as well. He should have joined Akatsuki by now.
So, Onoki will be paying a lot of attention to Akatsuki and their movements. He won't risk a battle with Konoha while Iwa is the weaker side.'
Due to his knowledge of the future, Fujin didn't have the same considerations as Homura and others. The group discussed what to ask from Kusa. When they reached the final amount, Fujin said, "Hmm, that's too little. Even if they gave us normal missions, it would cost 25% more than this value. Increase its overall worth by 25%. Wait…"
Fujin took a pause before adding, "Actually, they are in a tough spot. And, they are asking us to deploy our forces rapidly. We should charge them a premium considering how badly they need our help. Increase it first by 25% and then increase it by 50% once more."
"..."
The entire room became silent. No one had any words. Even Homura was left speechless. Everyone just looked at each other not knowing what to say. Every single one of them was surprised by Fujin's greediness and shamelessness.
Only one person smiled. It was Hiruzen who was watching through his crystal ball. He cried imaginary tears of happiness while thinking, 'Finally, the village will benefit from his greedy nature. That said, there is no way Kusa will agree. Though the scroll mentioned that they are in a tough spot, this isn't something that they can't handle. The only thing they truly require from us is our preparedness in case Iwa makes a move.'
Though Koharu and Homura were worried, Hiruzen was truly looking forward to how Fujin would handle the negotiations against someone who didn't particularly care for his well-being as Hiruzen did. He had to see whether Fujin's greed would work while negotiating with other villages or whether it would become an obstacle.
