"What conditions did Kirigakure agree to?", Just after leaving the Hokage's office, Terumi Mei started questioning Aoba.
"First was the Byakugan, and then…", Aoba also expressionlessly gave a rough explanation.
Anyway, with Tsunade's authorization, Terumi Mei would find out when they got back.
But after Terumi Mei listened, she frowned.
Aoba thought she had discovered something fishy, but Terumi Mei's next words caught him completely off guard.
"That's it?"
Terumi Mei felt underestimated. She, the dignified future Mizukage, was let go just because of such terms.
'No dignity at all!'
"?", Aoba looked at her like she was an idiot.
"Brat, what kind of look is that?". Terumi Mei looked at Aoba in dissatisfaction, 'That expression is too offensive.'
"Then what kind of terms do you think would be normal?", Aoba asked back.
"The Byakugan is reasonable, but normally it should be money, commission shares, secret techniques, kekkei genkai, or village information, right?", Terumi Mei wasn't entirely sure either, just roughly listed a few.
Sure enough, the ninja village brain could only think of those things.
Aoba couldn't help but roll his eyes and mercilessly mocked, "Do you Kirigakure people even have anything like that to offer now?"
Other than the Hydrification Technique from the Hozuki Clan, Kirigakure had nothing of value left to offer.
He felt that if it weren't for this ace named Terumi Mei, Kirigakure might have dropped out of the Five Great Ninja Villages already.
Terumi Mei was instantly choked by that.
Ever since the Bloody Mist era and the village lockdown, the village truly had no money, few commissions, and most of the kekkei genkai users had been killed off by their own people.
Only one of the Seven Ninja Swords remained.
The more she thought, the more Terumi Mei's expression collapsed. Kirigakure really was like a refugee camp now.
Although the other side was telling the truth, she was still very annoyed.
"You brat talk so annoyingly. I really don't get how those two little girls fell for you," Terumi Mei said with great dissatisfaction and pouted.
But after saying this, she became even more upset.
Even someone like him had two girlfriends already, while she was almost thirty and couldn't even find someone she liked.
She didn't even know if she'd be able to get married when it was time.
"I was just telling the truth," Aoba didn't know what she was thinking, nor did he want to argue about such pointless things.
"Hmph!", Terumi Mei just snorted lightly.
There was a moment of silence between the two.
After thinking it over, Terumi Mei asked again, "Do you know who proposed these conditions?"
"Me!", Aoba answered without hesitation.
"Hm? You?", Terumi Mei looked at the brat, who was almost two heads shorter than her, in disbelief.
"Any problem?"
"What's your relationship with your Hokage? She actually listens to you?", Terumi Mei asked again.
"She's my teacher," Aoba said. This was something everyone in Konoha knew, Mei could find out by asking around.
"This…", Terumi Mei widened her eyes, staring blankly, while her brain entered a brainstorm.
Aoba didn't know what she was thinking, but felt like this future Mizukage's head maybe wasn't working too well.
He didn't say more and continued walking out of the Hokage building.
After another moment of silence, Terumi Mei spoke again, "Tha... Thank you!"
"?", Aoba paused his steps. Confirmed, this future Mizukage's brain really might not be quite right.
"What's with that look again?", Though Terumi Mei was still displeased, her tone had softened a lot.
"Why are you thanking me?", Aoba looked confused.
Terumi Mei's lips curled into a seductive smile, "Although losing the hard-to-obtain Byakugan is very regrettable, the other two conditions don't have much impact on Kirigakure. In fact, they're quite beneficial."
"Why?"
Terumi Mei began explaining everything one by one.
"First, the passage fee for ships. Kirigakure barely earns anything from it each year. Second, the village population is small. Due to the lockdown for many years, most of the coastal areas are already wastelands, with only a few fishermen still living there."
"If you want to pick a spot to establish a trade port, not only would the village have no objections, it would actually be very welcoming."
"Also because of the past lockdown policy, the village hasn't had merchants coming for a long time. Even if we wanted to open up now, we wouldn't be able to attract merchants."
"So Konoha establishing a trade port in Kirigakure can actually help attract many merchants to do business. By then, the villagers' living standards will also improve."
"To reopen the village peacefully and restore prosperity, that's my biggest goal."
All in all, since it's already at the bottom, any change would be an improvement.
Listening to Terumi Mei speaking with such clear reasoning, Aoba almost believed he was really a peace ambassador sent to open up Kirigakure.
'What's that saying again?'
'She even has to thank me.'
'Well, it's true there are benefits for Kirigakure.'
For weaker villages, even if you built a military base there, they'd still smile and welcome you.
Kirigakure of course wouldn't welcome Konoha's ninjas, but they would welcome Konoha's merchants doing business in Kirigakure.
"In that case, if you're happy, then good," Aoba nodded, then expressionlessly quickened his pace.
Naturally…
The corners of Terumi Mei's mouth couldn't help but curl up again. She also quickened her pace, moving a bit closer to Aoba.
She felt like this was actually a cold-outside-warm-inside little brother, maybe even already had some improper thoughts toward her.
Otherwise, why would he "help" her this much?
Although he did meet her criteria, decent looks, strong abilities, it was a shame he was a Konoha ninja.
If only she could coax him into joining Kirigakure…
If only Aoba had the ability to read minds, he would've at least cursed once, ["Delusional!"]
"Aoba-nii!"
As the two exited the Hokage building one after another.
Karin, who had been waiting outside, immediately and naturally hugged Aoba's arm.
She also noticed Terumi Mei, who was standing quite close to him, and frowned.
"Aoba-nii, who's she?"
"She's Terumi Mei, a ninja from Kirigakure, also the target of my current mission. Sensei asked me to keep an eye on her for the time being."
"Keep an eye on her? Sounds like a dangerous person then," Karin stared at Terumi Mei for a while.
She felt this woman was standing way too close.
Terumi Mei also frowned, 'Another one?'
'Looks like this brat is more popular than I imagined.'
"Aoba-nii, I'll help you keep an eye on her too!", Karin said to Aoba.
"Then thank you, Karin," Aoba patted her head.
With Karin accompanying him, the mission of watching Terumi Mei probably wouldn't be too boring.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.
https://discord.gg/bYAfGyp98y