Naruto The Thunder Calamity

"How strong?" 

Raijin raised an eyebrow and asked Suisei. 

Raijin didn't deny that the Rinnegan was strong, but the key was that it was the Rinnegan used by Uchiha Madara. 

If a member of the Uzumaki clan had the Rinnegan, how strong could it really be? 

"Mm... very strong." 

Suisei rubbed her chin, thinking for a long time before responding to Raijin. 

Interesting! He just unlocked the Rinnegan; how can I know how strong he is?! 

"..." 

Raijin blinked and fell silent for a moment. 

"That's truly terrifying..." 

Raijin pursed his lips and nodded in agreement. 

Six Paths Pain... it's too terrifying. 

"Also, Zetsu should have already started suspecting me... no, he's certain that I've betrayed him." 

Suisei paused before continuing to speak to Raijin. 

"Mm, that was expected." 

Raijin nodded, the smile on his face fading slightly. 

Even though he had guessed this, hearing Suisei say it made him feel a bit of a headache. 

After all, this meant Suisei's protective charms now only had the Three-Tails and Six-Tails left. 

After thinking for a moment, Raijin asked Suisei, "Does Senjutsu have any effect on the curse mark?" 

"How long do you expect it will take to train Senjutsu to the point where you can open the Death Gate?" 

Suisei lowered his face and replied with a question to Raijin. 

The curse mark was on his heart. If he wanted to rely on Senjutsu to deal with it, he would need to train Senjutsu to the level of opening the Death Gate. 

"Ah..." 

Raijin pressed his lips together, thinking about when he could train Senjutsu enough to open the Death Gate. 

Who could know? Based on the current situation, would it be ten years? Several decades? A hundred years? There are no predecessors, so Raijin couldn't pinpoint an exact number.

"Sigh..."

This is such a hassle.....

Raijin sighed and spoke to Suisei.

"Since you haven't taken action against him yet, let's just keep things as they are for now. Remember to protect Nagato and keep Zetsu away from him. If necessary, don't hesitate to turn against Zetsu."

"Is that so?"

Suisei blinked in confusion, not understanding Raijin's thoughts at all.

What would happen if Zetsu got close to Nagato?

Could Zetsu even replace Nagato to perform some kind of technique?

"Well, it's always better to be careful. Who knows what that guy is capable of?" Raijin replied to Suisei.

"Alright, I understand."

Suisei nodded in acknowledgment.

"Let's leave it at that for now. I'll think of something for that curse mark issue on you."

Raijin nodded and prepared to leave.

"By the way... if possible, try your best to keep Nagato alive."

Looking at Raijin about to leave, Suisei suddenly spoke up.

"Ah... I'll do my best."

Raijin slightly turned his body, glanced at Suisei, and then vanished before him.

Though he didn't understand why Suisei had that sudden thought, since Suisei brought it up, Raijin would do his best to fulfill it.

.

Normally, Raijin might have teased Suisei about this matter, but right now...

Forget it, Raijin didn't have the mood for that at the moment

...

While Raijin and Suisei were having their private meeting in the Kamui space, Black Zetsu silently appeared in Uzumaki Nagato's room.

Looking at the sleeping Uzumaki Nagato, Black Zetsu's eyes flickered with a hint of expectation.

Hurry and grow up, Uzumaki Nagato.

Black Zetsu knew very well that reviving Uchiha Madara was the best option right now.

Even if it was just waiting for the three-tailed and six-tailed beasts to be revived along with Madara, Black Zetsu would feel much more at ease.

But it couldn't happen yet...

Although Uzumaki Nagato had awakened the Rinnegan, his age was still too young.

At this age, even though the Uzumaki clan naturally had strong vitality, how much of an advantage could that be?

Even if Black Zetsu controlled Nagato to perform the Rebirth technique and revive Madara, how much longer could Madara last?

So, waiting was necessary...

Ten years, just ten more years, and they could get past this awkward period.

Please, don't let anything go wrong...

With a deep look at the sleeping Uzumaki Nagato, Black Zetsu's figure quietly vanished from the small room.

...

"The envoy from Sunagakure has arrived."

In the Hokage office, Tsunade spoke to Raijin.

"Is it time for negotiations?"

Raijin looked up, watching as Tsunade stood and began walking toward the Hokage office door. He stood up to follow her.

"Not negotiations."

Tsunade shook her head and turned to Raijin.

"It's to minimize the losses for Konohagakure as much as possible."

"Ah... If you say so..."

Raijin shrugged and followed Tsunade outside.

Well, now that she's Hokage, Tsunade's words have become more formal.

"You seem a bit distracted?"

On the way, Tsunade furrowed her brows and asked Raijin.

"Ah... did you figure it out?"

Raijin didn't hide anything from Tsunade and directly explained the troubling issue.

Once it's discovered, there's no point in hiding it further, as it would only create a barrier between them without any benefits.

"If there's really no way around it, maybe you could consider approaching it from a medical ninjutsu perspective."

Tsunade thought for a moment before suggesting this to Raijin.

"Huh??? Change the heart?"

Raijin was stunned for a moment, looking at Tsunade in surprise.

"Why not?"

Tsunade chuckled lightly, asking Raijin in return.

If the curse mark really can't be solved, why not just remove the curse mark along with the heart?

That way, wouldn't everything be solved?

"Then whose heart would we use?"

Raijin continued asking Tsunade. After all, cloning technology wasn't available in this era.

"Would an animal's heart work?"

Tsunade furrowed her brows. Removing and extracting a heart wasn't difficult.

But finding a suitable replacement... that was the tricky part.

"Maybe you could ask Suisei what kind of animal he likes..."

In Raijin's view, Tsunade's idea wasn't even as reliable as asking Orochimaru to develop something that wasn't a form of reincarnation.

"If we can't come up with anything right now, let's put it aside and focus on solving the immediate problem."

Tsunade bit her lip and placed her arm around Raijin's shoulder.

"Since Zetsu hasn't made a move on Suisei yet, it means that Zetsu must be holding back. So what could be stopping Zetsu from attacking Suisei? I think it must be that child carrying the Rinnegan, right? 

Therefore, since Zetsu hasn't attacked Suisei yet, at least for many years, Zetsu won't make a move on him. 

We still have time. We can solve this."

"Mm."

Feeling the gentleness in her touch, Raijin nodded lightly. He already had a basic plan forming in his mind.

Since it was difficult for Suisei to remove the curse mark on his own, what if a third party used natural energy to erode the curse mark on Suisei's heart?

Maybe this plan could be discussed with Mito-sama.

---

In the Konohagakure conference room, the Sunagakure emissaries had been waiting for a long time.

"Regarding the compensation, before the war ended, the Second Kazekage Shamon and the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama, my great-grandfather, had already reached an agreement."

"I believe there's nothing more to discuss on that matter."

The door to the meeting room opened, and Tsunade tilted her chin slightly, looking down at the Sunagakure emissaries.

"Mm, we don't deny the reasonableness of the compensation," one of the emissaries, who seemed to be the leader, immediately stood up and said to Tsunade. 

A professional smile was on his face, showing no concern for Tsunade's superior posture.

"And Sunagakure's loss of supplies within the Land of Rivers should have nothing to do with Konohagakure."

Tsunade nodded in satisfaction and continued speaking to the Sunagakure emissary.

"Yes, this has nothing to do with Konohagakure. We just want to clarify that it's not that we don't want to provide supplies to Konohagakure or that there's some other reason."

The Sunagakure emissary nodded, showing no objection to Tsunade's words.

"Mm, Konohagakure acknowledges this matter. But no matter what, this issue was caused by Sunagakure, and it's the reason Konohagakure didn't receive the compensation it deserved."

Tsunade nodded in response, while the Sunagakure messenger opened his mouth but ultimately didn't say a word. 

With the village in an overall disadvantaged position, words were just Blue-white and powerless. 

Now, all that was left was to wait for Konohagakure to give their terms. 

"Sunagakure has two options: Next year, Sunagakure will need to send not only the supplies for this time but also those due for next year to Konohagakure. Among these, the total value of this batch of supplies must increase by 20%." 

Tsunade held up two fingers as she spoke to the Sunagakure ninja. 

"Sorry, Sunagakure cannot afford to provide these supplies." 

The Sunagakure messenger immediately bowed deeply to Temari and said without hesitation. 

Not to mention a 20% increase, Sunagakure couldn't even afford the original amount. 

Even if the Third Kazekage dug gold in the desert for eighteen hours a day, it wouldn't be enough. 

"I admire your honesty." 

Looking at the Sunagakure ninja bowing 90 degrees in front of her, Tsunade couldn't help but laugh. 

Of course, Tsunade knew that Sunagakure couldn't come up with the money. 

And the purpose of Raijin's presence was to help her out when the situation reached a stalemate, to bring things down a notch. 

Although to Tsunade, fighting with Sunagakure wasn't a big deal. 

She hadn't expected Sunagakure to lower themselves so much. 

"Since that's the case, we'll let this slide. Next year, you'll still pay the compensation to Konohagakure as planned, but the interest will increase. I won't bother calculating it. Sunagakure can pay for two more years. Is that a problem?" 

With this, there was no need for Raijin and her to coordinate. 

"No problem." 

The Sunagakure messenger immediately responded without hesitation. 

Before coming, the Third Kazekage had already instructed them. 

As long as the compensation for next year didn't change, paying a few more years was acceptable. 

After all, this money would never be fully paid off. 

So, they would just keep paying until Sunagakure couldn't bear it anymore or Konohagakure's strength started to decline. 

The so-called ceasefire agreement was just a scrap of paper, and the strength of Konohagakure and Sunagakure was what gave it any value. 

If Konohagakure remained strong, Sunagakure would have no chance of rising again. 

So, there was no need to waste words or make meaningless struggles. 

Just give Konohagakure an explanation and return to the village. 

The Sunagakure messenger also agreed with Shigeru's view. 

"Alright, then it's settled." 

Tsunade nodded and exchanged a glance with Raijin before turning to leave. 

Tsunade wasn't unaware of what Sunagakure was thinking. 

But it didn't matter. 

If Konohagakure couldn't stay strong even with these supplies, then it would be natural for them to be wiped out. 

And Tsunade believed that situation would never happen. 

Although this approach might push Sunagakure and Iwagakure fully into Uchiha Madara's camp in future wars, 

Tsunade didn't mind. 

After all, even without these supplies, Sunagakure and Iwagakure would never side with Konohagakure. 

Compared to that, Tsunade felt that another matter might be more important. 

"Are we not going to the Hokage office today?" 

On the way, Tsunade asked Raijin.

"Hmm? You've been watching me work all this time, and now you want to rest?"

Raijin raised an eyebrow and replied to Tsunade.

"Well... I think there's something more important than all this work."

Tsunade wrapped her arms around Raijin's shoulders, leaned forward, and placed all her weight onto him.

"Hmm? What's that?" Raijin asked, confused.

Is there anything important left to do in Konohagakure?

The village is stable, and Tsunade's position as Hokage is secure.

There are no internal conflicts.

There's no Shimura Danzo, always thinking about becoming Hokage.

And no indecisive Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Outside the village, while Zetsu lurks in the shadows, it won't affect Konohagakure in any significant way for now.

Konohagakure only needs to focus on steady development.

And this kind of development doesn't require much effort—just let time do its work.

All good policies require time to show results.

"You're almost thirty this year. Don't you think it's time to have a child? While things are calm now," Tsunade asked, raising her head and frowning at Raijin.

"Ah... I see..." Raijin chuckled lightly and teased Tsunade, making her feel uncomfortable.

"Forget it... I wasn't really asking for your opinion," Tsunade said as she glanced at Raijin, shrugged, and with a small leap, wrapped her arms around his neck and began pulling him toward home.

"Hey! Take it easy! You're choking me!" Raijin grabbed her arms with both hands, protesting.

(End of this chapter)

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