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"Haru is back!"
"It's Uchiha Haru!"
As soon as Haru returned, members of the Uchiha clan quickly surrounded him.
"Haru, did everything go smoothly?"
The Great Elder approached with a calm smile, his tone gentle. Of course, he knew with Haru's abilities that nothing would have gone wrong, but he asked out of politeness.
"Yes," Haru replied with a nod. He then instructed the guards to take the captured Killer Bee and Samui away and place them under heavy watch.
Turning to the Great Elder, he asked, "How are things on your end?"
"Haha, don't worry," the elder laughed, motioning with his hand. Two Uchiha ninja appeared, dragging behind them a restrained shinobi from the Hidden Cloud Village.
It was C, also known as the right-hand man of the Fourth Raikage.
Haru's mission had been simple: disrupt the Hidden Cloud's plans and capture Killer Bee. The remaining Cloud ninja were left to the Uchiha clan. Haru had no intention of letting his clan rest on their laurels. If they couldn't subdue a bunch of defeated, disorganized ninja, what good were they?
Fortunately, it seemed they had managed just fine.
"Bring him forward," Haru said, waving casually. The Uchiha shinobi pushed C forward.
"Were you the one leading this operation?" Haru asked flatly, barely bothering to look at him.
"Yes, Lord Haru," C answered with respect. It wasn't just because he was a prisoner—Haru's sheer strength had left an undeniable impression.
"So it was you who thought you could take on the Uchiha clan? What a joke."
"Did you forget to look in the mirror before coming here?" one of the younger Uchiha sneered.
But C remained composed, his bearing calm and unshaken.
Haru gave a slight nod, inwardly impressed. It wasn't easy to maintain such poise after a defeat like that.
"Lord Haru, on behalf of the Raikage, I wish to express our deep regret for the Hidden Cloud's actions. We acknowledge our fault in this. I ask that you show mercy and release our people."
"The Hidden Cloud Village is one of the five great ninja nations. If you allow this, the Raikage would be grateful, and eager to build a friendship with the Uchiha clan."
C tone was diplomatic, almost too smooth. He didn't speak like a prisoner; he spoke like an envoy.
Haru chuckled.
Most would hear nothing but humility in C words.
But Haru heard the hidden message clearly.
"Show mercy, make friends" — veiled threats.
The message was simple: Hidden Cloud was powerful. Cooperate and they'd be allies. Refuse, and they'd become enemies.
And given the state of things, even Konoha had little interest in offending the Hidden Cloud right now.
What chance did the Uchiha clan alone have?
Haru looked at C and said casually, "Make friends? Yes, we Uchiha are always happy to make friends."
C eyes lit up for a moment, the glimmer of hope quickly hidden.
Maybe it really could be that easy?
After all, the Hidden Cloud Village held significant sway.
Who would dare oppose them?
As for friendship... that was just political theater.
When had lions and sheep ever become friends?
The Great Elder stood beside Haru, clenching his fists, barely restraining himself from intervening. He understood the Cloud's power, yes. But releasing prisoners so easily would make them appear weak. What would stop other villages from trying the same thing?
Still, he said nothing.
He knew Haru wasn't so simple. There was no way he would let things go cheaply.
"Release them? Of course," Haru said with a slow nod. "But there will be a price."
"Money is no problem," C replied quickly. "If you have any other requests, Lord Haru, please say so. As long as it is within my power, I will comply."
Over a hundred elite jōnin had been captured. Among them were Samui, a rising star, and Killer Bee—a perfect jinchūriki, brother of the Fourth Raikage.
Bringing them all back was worth any price.
In C mind, Haru was just using this as a face-saving gesture.
Surely he wouldn't ask for too much. Who would dare demand a steep ransom from the Hidden Cloud?
"One million ryō," Haru said calmly.
"Alright, no problem! One million—"
"Per person."
C froze mid-sentence.
"One... per person? One million ryō?"
You have to understand—in the ninja world, a bowl of ramen only costs about sixty ryo.
One million ryo is an astronomical amount of money!
One million ryo per person.
There were over a hundred captives. That meant the total ransom would exceed one hundred million ryo?!
"Mr. Uchiha Haru, you… you're not joking, are you?"
C looked at Haru, incredulous. He suspected that Haru had no idea just how massive a sum one million ryo really was.
Haru only cast him a cold glance. "No."
"There's no use keeping them alive then. Kill them all."
"Yes!"
The ninja nearby acknowledged the order without hesitation, pulling C along.
One million ryo—if the ransom was paid, they'd live. If not, they'd die.
The attitude was merciless, utterly devoid of compromise.
C finally realized Haru was serious. And his earlier thoughts, about fearing the Hidden Cloud Village and hesitating to attack them? Ridiculous.
No, they just wanted the money...
"Wait! Wait!"
"Mr. Uchiha Haru, yes! Yes! One million ryo per person is acceptable!"
C shouted, desperate.
"Do you have the authority to decide this?"
The great elder interrupted with a grave expression.
But inside, he was relieved.
He knew Haru well enough to trust that he wouldn't let the Uchiha suffer needlessly.
One million ryo each... if anyone else tried to negotiate that, it would be impossible. This was not negotiation—it was outright robbery.
They'd already received substantial funds from Konoha before. Now, with ransom money from Kumogakure, the Uchiha clan could live without worrying about basic needs anywhere.
"Yes! I can decide."
"There are 123 ninjas from the Hidden Cloud Village captured here. Each will be worth one million ryo."
C swallowed hard.
He saw the cold resolve in Haru, so formidable and fearless.
When dealing with a man like this, you couldn't afford to show any hesitation. It would only cost you more.
"No... no, wait!"
Haru shook his head. "The regular ninjas get one million ryo each, but you three have special statuses. One million is not enough."
He was talking about C, Samui, and Kirabi.
"You'll have to pay more."
"Ah?"
C was stunned.
More money???
"What about our price?"
C asked, swallowing nervously.
Haru paused, then said, "The Jinchūriki is the most expensive. The woman comes next. You are the cheapest. I'll determine the exact amounts."
Cheapest?
C's emotions twisted into a confusing knot.
Was that good news? Bad?
Either way, the matter was settled.
No matter the cost, the important thing was that no one would get hurt.
Especially Killer Bee, the perfect Jinchūriki—his value to Kumogakure was beyond measure.
As long as he remained safe, the Raikage wouldn't hesitate to pay whatever price was asked.
He sighed deeply. "Alright."
"I accept all terms. When can we leave?"
"You all may go, but the Jinchūriki and the female ninja must remain."
"When the payment arrives, I will release them."
There were more than a hundred captive Kumogakure ninjas.
Taking them all along was impractical—feeding and guarding them would be a huge burden.
It was best to keep only a few key people.
Of all the captives, the highest status was Killer Bee, the perfect Jinchūriki and younger brother of the Fourth Raikage.
He had to be kept.
The female ninja was also a rising star of Kumogakure and very important. Keeping these two ensured the Cloud Village wouldn't renege on the deal.
"Can't you release us all?"
"With the reputation of Kumogakure, we would never break our word!"
"Please trust us!"
C looked at Haru pleadingly.
Another day's delay only increased risks.
The tailed beast within Killer Bee was the top priority—no mistakes were allowed.
And Samui... young, beautiful, and with a tempting figure.
Being held by the Uchiha clan felt like a lamb walking into the tiger's den.
Though the terms had been negotiated, the risk was still real.
But what if…
"Are you trying to negotiate with me?"
Haru's gaze cut coldly through C, eyes icy and filled with lethal intent.
C trembled inwardly, sensing genuine fear for the first time.
"Impossible!"
The great elder next to C spoke firmly: "One hand gives the money, the other hand releases the captives. Our dealings are fair."
"As long as Kumogakure meets our demands, we will release the Jinchūriki."
His tone was gentle but resolute.
There was no room for further bargaining.
C had no choice but to accept for now.
After confirming the values for C, Killer Bee, and Samui, Haru ordered a list to be drawn up and handed it to C.
Following the agreement, all other Kumogakure ninjas were released first.
Haru led the Uchiha clan, along with the captive Killer Bee and Samui, onward to the Land of Water.
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