Here's a bonus chapter for you all! Thank you so much for waiting. I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments, and I hope you have a wonderful time reading!
As the moon set and the sun rose, the noisy night faded into the past.
Rinjin strolled leisurely back to the guesthouse, only to be greeted by two stormy-faced Kumogakure officials—Tsuchinobu and Ayawai.
"Where did you go after escaping last night?" Tsuchinobu demanded, his expression severe as he blocked Rinjin's path.
"Got tailed by Konoha's Anbu, obviously. Took a nice jog around the outskirts of the village before shaking them off," Rinjin replied nonchalantly, shrugging.
After all, it was Ayawai who sent me out. If you've got complaints, take it up with her.
Tsuchinobu's teeth ground audibly as he glared at Rinjin's indifferent demeanor. However, this wasn't the time to argue with this slippery character. The priority was retrieving their captured comrades and figuring out how to proceed with the negotiations.
The thought of it gave Tsuchinobu a headache. Normally, he prided himself on his dignity. But at this point, dignity had to take a backseat.
It was time to fully embrace Kumogakure's glorious tradition of brazen shamelessness.
Steeling himself, Tsuchinobu led the way out of the guesthouse.
---
Soon, negotiations with Konoha resumed. The young and vigorous Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, wore a particularly grim expression today. Beside him, two younger advisors also looked equally displeased.
But Tsuchinobu's face was the worst of all.
"Hmph! We were merely testing Konoha's defenses and gauging your Anbu's response time, and yet you had the audacity to detain my men!" Tsuchinobu began with a shamelessly direct opening salvo, setting the tone for the negotiation.
Hiruzen's face darkened further at these words.
Beside him, Homura Mitokado slammed his hand on the table in fury. "Nonsense! You attempted to kidnap Konoha's Princess Tsunade, and now you dare call it a defense test? Such shamelessness!"
Unfazed by the outburst, Tsuchinobu didn't even blink. Instead, he conjured an image of the Third Raikage's legendary scolding sessions for inspiration.
"Advisor, you keep accusing us of kidnapping. Where's your evidence? Is your precious princess missing?" Tsuchinobu's voice suddenly rose an octave.
"She's not! My men were even slapped away by your Uchiha, and your princess wasn't harmed in the slightest. In fact, she was safely returned to her room! How can you call that a kidnapping? Have you ever seen such a gentle kidnapping?"
In truth, before the operation, Tsuchinobu had strictly instructed his team: they could abduct the target, but under no circumstances were they to harm her. This was meant to pressure Konoha into negotiations, not to provoke an all-out war.
Homura was momentarily stunned, his youthful face contorting in disbelief. This guy is a shameless old scoundrel!
Koharu Utatane, Homura's long-time partner, quickly chimed in, "Your men were caught red-handed at the Senju compound!"
Tsuchinobu snorted dismissively. "Hmph. This is Konoha; you can say whatever you want. You could arrest me right here in the Hokage's office and claim I was caught trespassing, and I wouldn't be able to say a word!"
Hiruzen and his advisors collectively recoiled, swallowing hard. This level of shamelessness is truly next-level.
If not for his position as Hokage, Hiruzen might have been tempted to use Earth Release: Earth Flow River to sweep this man straight to the Land of Demons.
---
Eventually, both sides grudgingly reached an agreement.
Konoha and Kumogakure signed a ten-year peace treaty. Both villages gained preferential trade rights for each other's goods. Additionally, Kumogakure paid 500,000 ryō to secure the release of their three captured operatives.
Finally, to celebrate this "friendly" agreement, Konoha generously gifted Kumogakure two sealing techniques—the Five Elements Seal and the Four Symbols Seal.
On the surface, it seemed like Konoha had conceded two valuable techniques. However, in reality, Konoha came out ahead.
As the most geopolitically vulnerable of the Five Great Nations, Konoha had struggled to gain much leverage in negotiations since the days of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.
For a village still recovering from the First Shinobi World War, peace and development were paramount.
---
After the treaty was signed, a weary Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to his office, where a stern-faced Danzo Shimura was waiting for him.
Danzo, already aware of the negotiation results, was visibly displeased.
As soon as Hiruzen entered, Danzo stood and frowned. "Hiruzen, how could you hand over sealing techniques to Kumogakure? If they successfully seal the Two-Tails, do you realize how much damage that could cause us?"
Hiruzen shook his head, a faint smile tugging at his lips. With Rinjin keeping an eye on the Two-Tails, it's still uncertain whether Kumogakure can even succeed in sealing it.
Out loud, he replied calmly, "It's fine. Even if they manage to seal the Two-Tails into a jinchūriki, I've kept the Five Elements Unseal and Four Symbols Unseal techniques as a contingency."
Danzo, who had been expecting another weak justification, was momentarily stunned. His lips twitched as he cursed inwardly. Damn it, Hiruzen, you sly bastard!
---
As night fell, the three-day-long negotiations finally came to an end. Both sides breathed a sigh of relief, their mutual exhaustion palpable.
Kumogakure had obtained the sealing techniques they needed to bind the Two-Tails into a jinchūriki.
Konoha, on the other hand, secured precious time to focus on development and nurture the next generation.
By dawn, Kumogakure's delegation would depart from the bustling, beautiful village.
---
Under the cover of darkness, Rinjin slipped out once more. Finding a secluded spot, he formed a hand seal and teleported back to the Senju compound.
Carefully avoiding the watchful eyes of numerous Anbu, Rinjin made his way to Rie's room. From inside, the sound of cheerful laughter reached his ears.
Oh great. New grudges and old scores are piling up.
Scowling, Rinjin slid the door open with a loud thud.
The laughter inside came to an abrupt halt.
Two pairs of wide eyes turned to stare at him.
The next moment, Rie, who had been sitting cross-legged on the floor, sprang to her feet and began forming hand seals at lightning speed.
"You jerk! Here to kidnap Tsunade-neechan again?! How dare you! Eat this—Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!"
She inhaled sharply, ready to unleash her jutsu.
But Tsunade, standing beside her, reacted swiftly. With a look of exasperation, she grabbed the reckless girl and clamped a hand over her mouth.
"This is your brother," Tsunade whispered into Rie's ear.
Rie's eyes widened in realization. Her gaze darted around nervously before she broke into a sheepish grin.
"Big brother! I missed you so much!" Dropping her half-formed hand seals, Rie wriggled free from Tsunade's grasp and darted toward Rinjin, arms outstretched.
Rinjin greeted her with a warm smile, catching her in a hug.
Tsunade, thinking the matter was resolved, relaxed—only to notice Rinjin's smile slowly morph into something sinister.
"Trying to burn my hair, huh?" Rinjin muttered darkly. In one swift motion, he flipped Rie over his knee, picked up a rolled-up scroll, and began spanking her.
The sound of thwack thwack thwack filled the room.
The little girl soon knelt on the floor, crying pitifully, her tears streaming down her face.
Watching this bizarrely domestic scene, Tsunade buried her face in her hands. This… this is textbook "abuse of power for personal revenge."
---
After thoroughly disciplining Rie and assigning her a mountain of homework, Rinjin left her room, feeling immensely satisfied.
He then composed himself and sought out Mito Uzumaki, who was enjoying the moonlight in the main hall.
After some polite conversation, Rinjin received what he had come for—the Five Elements Seal and Five Elements Unseal techniques.
This was Mito's way of thanking him for saving Tsunade.
---
The next morning, Rinjin joined the Kumogakure delegation as they bid farewell to Konoha.
As usual, he trailed at the very back of the group, engrossed in studying the Five Elements Seal scroll in his hands.
The Five Elements Seal had notable advantages over the current, unmodified version of the Four Symbols Seal. While the Five Elements Seal wasn't as sturdy, it lasted much longer. The current Four Symbols Seal, though strong, weakened over time.
This durability was one of the reasons Rinjin chose the Five Elements Seal. He didn't need unyielding strength; he had already made arrangements with Matatabi.
However, mastering the Five Elements Seal required proficiency in all five chakra natures. Rinjin, as usual, left the training to his shadow clones. After all, that was how he had developed his lightning chakra nature.
---
As the group journeyed on, Rinjin noticed Tsuchinobu diligently practicing the Five Elements Seal whenever they stopped to rest. It seemed the Raikage intended to use the seal on Matatabi.
Halfway through the journey, Rinjin found an opportunity to leave a shadow clone behind in the group while his real body teleported to the Thunder Temple.
After several jumps, he arrived at a mountain overlooking the temple, which was still under reconstruction.
What he saw left him dumbfounded.
The massive figure of the Third Raikage sat beside a giant Buddha statue in the open-air temple, a large, round jar strapped to his back. Beside him sat Fukai's uncle, radiating an aura of serene tranquility.
Around them, several Anbu patrolled vigilantly.
Damn it! Why is the Raikage here?! And he brought the Amber Purification Jar?! And the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki?!
Realizing the situation, Rinjin sighed in frustration. Forming a hand seal, he teleported underground to Matatabi's location.
The Two-Tails lay sprawled on the ground, her paws tucked under her body, looking utterly bored.
The moment Matatabi saw Rinjin, her head shot up, and she scooted closer with a pitiful expression.
"Rinjin! That bastard Raikage is bullying me!"
"Uh… how exactly is he bullying you?"
"These chains used to be loose enough for me to roll around a bit. But recently, he tightened them so much I nearly got strangled!"
"And… did you insult him?" Rinjin asked cautiously.
"Of course I did!" Matatabi replied proudly.
"Uh…" Rinjin scratched his head awkwardly. "Then why didn't he gag you?"
Matatabi smirked smugly. "I threatened him. I told him that if he gagged me, I'd never cooperate with the jinchūriki, even if I got sealed. I'd cause trouble for them every single day!"
Hearing this, Rinjin couldn't help but give her a thumbs-up. "Genius! Absolute genius!"
He then pulled out a scroll and waved it in front of her. "Matatabi, I've got the sealing technique. Are you sure you want to come with me?"
Matatabi nodded without hesitation. "You're such a strange human. You're so sincere toward me, yet you doubt my sincerity."
"Besides, I lost our bet. A deal's a deal."
Her earnest words warmed Rinjin's heart. This is Matatabi? Love it, love it!
Grinning, Rinjin confidently thumped his chest. "Don't worry! Stick with me, and you'll live the good life! Five-day workweeks, weekends off, nine-to-five hours, and plenty of time to roam around!"
Matatabi snorted haughtily, but her eyes sparkled with amusement.
What she loved most about Rinjin was his resilience. He couldn't die, and he'd occasionally let her out to stretch her legs.
And if danger ever arose, she could always count on him for help.
This immortal human? Love it, love it!