Chapter 274

274. Chapter 274: Shukaku: I Was Just Bragging About the Eight-Tails

"I can sue you for slander, you're slandering me!"

Uchiha Gin, who had originally been thinking about how he and the two Black Laoda were in the same boat, saw his complexion turn pitch-black the moment he heard the First Raikage's words; he was just a hair's breadth away from pointing at his nose and cursing.

He, Uchiha Gin, had always kept himself clean and self-respecting; how could he ever go to such a place to listen to music in a brothel!

"Is it really not true?"

Seeing Uchiha Gin's look of exasperation, the First Raikage stroked his little mustache, turned his head to look at the Second Raikage behind him, and asked in a low voice,

"Little Ai, you asked about that guest yesterday, didn't you? Did you find out anything?"

"It seems it really wasn't Mr. Gin's appearance. I heard from that madam that the guest was a bald, tattooed man with a ferocious face."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it was our misunderstanding. Let us apologize to you here."

Knowing he had wrongly accused Uchiha Gin, the First Raikage immediately showed an apologetic expression and offered an apology.

"The two of you don't understand my character, so it's only natural that such a misunderstanding occurred."

Given the Black Laoda's good attitude in admitting his mistake, Uchiha Gin waved his hand to signal that he wasn't a petty person, though he had already made a small mental note of it.

"I wonder, Brother Gin, what are you doing out so early?"

Holding his waist, the First Raikage looked with some curiosity at Uchiha Gin, who was dressed in formal attire; clearly, when they met yesterday, the other's dress and style had been so casual.

"Oh~ I'm heading out early for a meeting. You know, I'm considered a minor civil servant, after all."

In order not to be misunderstood by passersby again, Uchiha Gin stubbornly straightened his waist, feeling the faint tearing pain in his lower back, and answered with a straight face,

"A meeting? Are you going to the Hokage Building?"

"That goes without saying."

Hearing Uchiha Gin's answer, the two Black Laoda exchanged a tacit look. Then, the First Raikage leaned in a few steps, lowered his voice with a mysterious expression, and asked,

"Brother Gin, do you have any inside information?"

The First Raikage recalled the attitude of that Security Force captain when facing Uchiha Gin yesterday; it clearly showed that this Brother Gin's status was by no means simple.

Even if he wasn't part of the Konoha leadership, he was an Uchiha ninja with a certain status, so he wanted to get some inside information about the Five Kage Summit from him.

"Inside information? About what?"

"Tsk~ Brother Gin, have you heard anything about the Five Kage Summit?"

Holding onto the mentality of giving it a try, the First Raikage asked in a low voice,

"Ah, this... do I know or not?"

Not expecting the First Raikage to want to know the inside scoop on the meeting in advance, Uchiha Gin raised an eyebrow, his eyes darting around, and he appropriately revealed a slightly troubled expression, while one hand subtly gestured a certain sign to the Black Laoda.

"Oh, oh, oh!"

The First Raikage, who understood the hint, was naturally well-versed in these ways; he deftly took a stack of high-denomination Land of Fire currency from his bosom and quietly stuffed it into Uchiha Gin's hand.

"Brother Gin, just a small token of appreciation, take it to buy some tea."

"Cough, cough, cough... this is all confidential information of our Konoha, it's really not convenient to disclose..."

Seeing Uchiha Gin's expression loosen a bit, the First Raikage didn't dawdle and pulled another stack of currency from his bosom, stuffing it into Uchiha Gin's other hand. Seeing the price was right, Uchiha Gin changed his tune and uttered the two words: "Tailed Beasts."

"... Information about those Tailed Beasts!"

Hearing this, the First Raikage's eyes lit up immediately. Konoha really was going to distribute the Tailed Beasts; it seemed that what was said in Senju Hashirama's letter was not false.

The First Raikage, whose heart was greatly moved, looked at Uchiha Gin, who was stuffing the banknotes into his bosom, glanced around, and after confirming that no one was eavesdropping, he asked again,

"Brother Gin, could you tell me a little about the details of the Tailed Beasts?"

"Tsk, Brother Ai, aren't you making things difficult for me?"

Uchiha Gin frowned; the price the other side gave was only worth that bit of intelligence fee just now. Could it be they wanted a free ride?

"Uh... wait, wait."

From Uchiha Gin's skillful movements just now, the First Raikage could tell at a glance that this curly-haired guy was a habitual offender. He immediately turned around and stretched out his large hand toward the Second Raikage, who was looking listless.

"Little Ai, take out the activity funds. I remember I gave them all to you before we set off."

"Ah? Lord Ai, didn't we spend all the funds last night?"

The Second Raikage was completely bewildered. When they were drinking and getting foot massages last night, the First Raikage had directly requisitioned the activity funds, and that money had long since been squandered by him.

"Stop spouting nonsense. Do you have the receipts? How are we going to report the expenses when we get back? Hurry up and take it out!"

The First Raikage, whose expression had darkened slightly, looked at the bewildered Second Raikage with a threatening gaze.

"Oh, oh, oh~ I know, wait a moment."

As the Second Raikage who was best at interpreting the First Raikage's intentions, the reason he was able to sit firmly in the position of Raikage candidate was inseparable from his flexible ability to handle affairs. After being reminded, he had no choice but to painfully dig out his little treasury and hand it to the First Raikage with tears in his eyes.

That was the money he had prepared for his foot massage!

"Don't worry, I won't take it for nothing. When we get back, we'll go through the intelligence fee process, and I'll report double for you."

The First Raikage still understood the ways of the world; after borrowing the money, he didn't choose to discard the donkey after it had finished grinding the grain, but instead patted his chest and gave a guarantee.

"Brother Gin, sorry to have kept you waiting~"

Deftly stuffing the Second Raikage's little treasury into Uchiha Gin's hand, the First Raikage said with a smile,

"I wonder about those Tailed Beasts..."

"Phew~ Brother Ai, I can't disclose too much, but there is one thing I can tell you quietly. This is exclusive information; besides Lord Hashi... Lord Hokage, I'm probably the only one who knows."

Weighing the money in his hand, Uchiha Gin nodded secretly, and then his tone lost its previous stiffness and became very warm.

"What information?"

Not expecting to have an unexpected harvest, the First Raikage was overjoyed, lamenting that his money hadn't been spent in vain, as he could actually get inside information that only the First Hokage knew.

"Brother Ai, after testing by our Konoha authorities, it was discovered that Tailed Beasts also have a distinction in strength, and the strongest Tailed Beast here in Konoha has eight tails; one is worth three."

Quietly revealing this information to the First Raikage, Uchiha Gin smiled with great satisfaction as he saw the other's ecstatic expression.

I really am an honest intelligence dealer~

"Thank you, Brother Gin, we will definitely reward you heavily after this!"

The deeply moved First Raikage clasped his hands together. He hadn't expected to meet such a good person in this foreign land, and he almost couldn't hold back the tears welling up in his eyes.

"No need, no need, this is all what I should do."

Just don't put a bounty on me afterward~

Just like that, the three of them, who were having a pleasant conversation, walked into the Hokage Building together. The guards let them pass after simply confirming the First Raikage's identity.

"Eh? Brother Gin, why are you walking up too?"

Originally thinking that Uchiha Gin would stop at the meeting room on the lower floors, he hadn't expected him to move with them to the entrance of the stairs on the top floor, which left the First Raikage a bit confused.

"Just going the same way, just going the same way~"

Uchiha Gin didn't offer an explanation, just smiled simply.

"Lord Ai, something's not right. There are no more floors above this, are there?"

The Second Raikage keenly discovered the problem. Looking at the leisurely Uchiha Gin behind them, he reminded him in a low voice.

"Perhaps Brother Gin is going up to move some chairs~"

The First Raikage, who also harbored doubts, had no choice but to comfort himself with a very reasonable explanation.

Just when the two were full of suspicion, a man with long black hair stood at the entrance of the meeting room not far away, wearing a red Hokage robe, with a very hearty smile on his handsome face. Upon seeing the two Raikage, he waved and greeted them with a loud laugh,

"Welcome, welcome~"

"Lord Hokage?"

Casting his previous doubts to the back of his mind, the First Raikage looked at the man radiating a sunny aura before him, his brow furrowing instantly.

"That's right. Judging by your skin tone, you must be friends from the Hidden Cloud Village, right?"

"First Raikage, Ai."

Sensing the terrifying aura emanating from Senju Hashirama's body, the First Raikage felt a bead of cold sweat seep from his forehead. But as the leader of a village, how could he lose face? He straightened his expression and slowly stated his name.

After speaking, the First Raikage opened his tiger-like eyes wide, staring fixedly at Senju Hashirama before him, fearing that his own momentum would fall into a secondary position. In his view, although Senju Hashirama's aura was a notch above his,

ninja battles relied on endless methods; surely no one could really rely on one trick to conquer the world, right?

The unique ninjutsu of their Land of Lightning were all Lightning Release techniques with extremely strong lethality; they would never be weak in a contest of the same level, and there was no lack of opportunity to kill across levels.

"Please come in, please come in. The Kage of the other major nations have already taken their seats; we were just waiting for you."

Due to the excessive consumption last night, the two Raikage had spent some time on the road, becoming the last nation to enter.

Looking suspiciously at the two listless Black Laoda, Senju Hashirama found that there were no wounds on their bodies, indicating they hadn't been attacked, but why was their aura so weak? Could it be they ate something bad?

Just as he was completely puzzled, he saw Uchiha Gin following not far behind the Raikage. Senju Hashirama's eyes lit up immediately; his helper had finally arrived!

You have to know that when the Kage of the other major nations came earlier, they all had a small, brave-hearted brother following behind them.

And Tobirama and Madara had both gone to the Tailed Beast side to keep watch, waiting for the major nations to inspect the goods after the meeting. After all, it was his first time attending an international conference, and Senju Hashirama was a bit nervous; having no one by his side made him inevitably feel a bit apprehensive.

Senju Hashirama, who finally felt he had a foundation, then walked toward Uchiha Gin with a face full of smiles.

The two Raikage, who were secretly guarding against Senju Hashirama, found that the other side had quickened his pace toward them. Both of their hearts tightened, and they subconsciously formed hand seals.

However, to their surprise, Senju Hashirama walked straight past them toward Uchiha Gin, who was looking leisurely behind them.

"Brother Gin, you've finally come!"

Under the dumbfounded expressions of the two, this peak of power in Konoha, the First Hokage who created the one-village-one-nation system, actually had a respectful expression, even with a bit of a fawning posture, as he enthusiastically took Uchiha Gin's hand.

"Hi~ Isn't this to save face for you? I even dug out the formal wear I'd only worn once, tidied up properly, and tried not to lose face for Konoha~"

Since Brother Hashirama gave him so much face, Uchiha Gin naturally couldn't lose face for him.

"Brother Gin, you..."

Looking at the two who were so familiar, the First Raikage, who had recovered from his brief shock, pointed at Uchiha Gin with a dumbfounded look. Even though he considered himself wise and brave, he hadn't expected that this plain-looking Uchiha was actually a big shot whom even the Hokage treated with three parts courtesy.

"Hey~ Brother Ai, I was mainly afraid that these worldly matters would destroy the pure friendship between us, and besides..."

Seeing the First Raikage's look as if he had seen a ghost, Uchiha Gin immediately shook his head and explained, and at the end, he subtly winked at the other, meaning: "My brother, I handled things well, right? I even leaked the inside information to you~"

"Hehe... that's right, that's right. With our relationship, no need to say these things..."

After being reminded like this, the First Raikage woke up as if from a dream. His black, old face wrinkled like a chrysanthemum, and he kept saying yes.

"Brother Gin, I'll definitely treat you to a good foot massage tonight!"

"Oh my, how could I be so embarrassed~"

Senju Hashirama, who was on the side, also slowly came to his senses after listening for a while, and then looked with a complex gaze at Uchiha Gin, who was talking eloquently.

I didn't expect Brother Gin to have made friends with the Raikage; his personal charisma is truly terrifying.

Seeing that the time was about right, Senju Hashirama smiled and interrupted the exchange between the few.

"Let's leave the pleasantries for after the meeting. Everyone, please enter the venue; the meeting is about to begin."

Inside the meeting room

The spacious space was filled with the scent of gunpowder. Uchiha Gin poked his head out and saw at a glance two old men playing a staring game; one of them was none other than the Mizukage, Bai Lian, whom he had met once yesterday.

"Sorry for keeping everyone waiting."

Senju Hashirama, bringing the two Raikage, smiled and broke the murderous atmosphere in the meeting room. The six pairs of eyes present instantly shifted to the late Raikage.

"As expected of the Raikage, what a big ego, making us wait here for so long."

Shihe, who had just been staring at Bai Lian, narrowed his eyes and said sarcastically.

"Such behavior truly lacks the demeanor of a leader."

Crossing his hands against his chin and secretly cosplaying Commander Gendo, the First Kazekage, Reto, also followed up with an unhappy expression.

Bai Lian of the Land of Water didn't speak; they had some unspeakable transactions with the Land of Lightning and didn't want to tear their faces off for the time being, so he chose silence.

"Hmph!"

Being humble in front of Senju Hashirama was understandable, but in front of this bunch of guys, if he showed weakness, they would only think the Land of Lightning was easy to bully. He immediately let out a cold snort, the sound like thunder, making everyone's eardrums vibrate.

"Alright, alright, everyone is here, let's start the meeting~"

Seeing this, Senju Hashirama hurriedly came out to smooth things over. He had finally initiated a meeting; it couldn't turn into a scene of armed conflict.

"Lord Hokage, are you planning to attend the meeting alone?"

Reto looked at the solitary Senju Hashirama and asked with some confusion.

"No, there's also Gin... eh, Brother Gin, where are you?"

This Kazekage must have stayed in the Land of Wind for too long and gotten sand in his eyes; he couldn't even see a person as big as Brother Gin.

"You... you are, Mr. Gin!"

Just as Senju Hashirama was searching for Uchiha Gin's tracks, Reto, who had asked the question, found that Shamon behind him had suddenly spoken, and his voice wasn't as firm as usual, but instead carried a bit of excited trembling, which startled him into turning his head.

"Yo~ Brother Shamon, long time no see~"

Looking at Shamon, whom he hadn't seen for many years, Uchiha Gin greeted him with a smile. Compared to when he first met him, the other had a bit more firmness on his face.

"Mr. Gin, why are you here?"

Never having thought he would meet Uchiha Gin again on such an occasion, Shamon, who had already become the second-in-command of the Hidden Sand Village, had more astonishment on his face than the joy of a long-awaited reunion.

"Hi, didn't I tell you? My hometown is in the Land of Fire; isn't it normal for me to appear here~"

"But this is..."

"Shamon! You're being a bit unseemly."

Reto, with his brow furrowed, looked at Uchiha Gin, who was behaving very familiarly with Shamon, and reminded him coldly.

"Sorry, Mr. Gin, let's get together properly after the meeting ends."

Shamon, who had been glared at by Reto, instantly became obedient. After saying a word to Uchiha Gin in a low voice, he returned to his previous cold demeanor, but the joy revealed in the corners of his eyes was clearly visible.

Understanding Brother Shamon's difficulties, Uchiha Gin didn't say anything more and walked along the table toward Senju Hashirama. Along the way, he curiously sized up the mysterious bandaged man; from the heavy smell of herbs on the other, he could judge that this guy had only recently been injured.

"Hi~ Wig."

When passing the Land of Water camp, Uchiha Gin greeted him casually.

But today, Katsura was acting a bit cold; he kept his eyes tightly closed, as if he hadn't heard Uchiha Gin's call.

Not talking, pretending to be an expert?

Uchiha Gin, feeling bored, stood behind Senju Hashirama, replacing the position of Senju Tobirama from the original story.

"To be able to have the first Five Kage of the five major nations gathered here like this to hold the Five Kage Summit, I am truly very grat..."

Senju Hashirama looked excitedly at everyone present. After simply calming his emotions, he first expressed his gratitude and prepared to kowtow.

"I did indeed come here to recognize Lord Hokage's Five Kage agreement, but that doesn't mean I will sign it for nothing. The Land of Water can't hold on for much longer."

Seeing Senju Hashirama about to start a long speech, Shihe was the first to interrupt his congratulatory remarks, his attitude very tough.

Good, good, good, the Land of Earth choked Brother Hashirama once.

Uchiha Gin silently noted it in his little book behind his back, preparing to let his cousin review it after the meeting.

"It's just being proud for a moment."

The unconvinced Bai Lian retorted coldly.

"Cough, cough, cough... since that's the case, I'll get straight to the point."

Senju Hashirama, who had been interrupted, had a slightly awkward expression; he had just been preparing to kowtow to express his gratitude. He then opened the folder in his hand and said loudly,

"I hope that all nations can sign a peace agreement. As a condition for signing, I will distribute the Tailed Beasts fairly to everyone."

"So, this is a transaction?"

Reto, after listening to Senju Hashirama's words, pondered for a moment before asking.

Uchiha Gin, who was distracted behind Senju Hashirama, felt his spirit shake involuntarily after Reto's voice sounded; it was his turn to take the stage.

"That's right. The distribution of the Tailed Beasts will take many factors into account, and besides..."

The Kage present hadn't expected Uchiha Gin to answer, and they all cast their gazes upon him, as if guessing what kind of sacred being this man, who had no relevant information, was to be able to accompany the First Hokage to attend this meeting.

Judging by his clothes, he should be an Uchiha, but that curly hair? It didn't match the appearance of Uchiha Madara in the legends.

Uchiha Gin, who was long accustomed to such gazes, felt no discomfort at all. He had been on even bigger stages; this kind of small scene was just a sprinkle of water. He then narrowed his eyes and stared back at the people from the other four nations without any retreat.

"And besides what?"

"The Tailed Beasts won't be handed over to you for nothing. It requires everyone to uphold the principle of voluntariness and invest funds to purchase them~"

Upon hearing that money was actually required, the expressions of several Kage sank instantly, especially the Land of Wind, which was already a poor nation, whose brows furrowed into a "chuan" shape. The Land of Earth and the Land of Water, which were currently at war, also looked gloomy enough to drip water.

On the contrary, the First Raikage, who had predicted the information in advance, had a flash of brilliance in his eyes; he was determined to get the Eight-Tails that Uchiha Gin had mentioned earlier.

"Brother Gin, a discount would also be fine~"

Seeing that the scene was a bit cold, Senju Hashirama poked Uchiha Gin beside him and said in a low voice.

"Leave it to me~"

Uchiha Gin gave Senju Hashirama a reassuring look, signaling him not to talk too much and just watch his performance.

The First Kazekage, who knew his own lack of financial resources, was the first to break the silence. He raised his head and slowly spoke,

"Our village has had monks from a certain temple sealing a Tailed Beast since ancient times; we already have one and don't need more. If you want us to cooperate and sign the agreement, the conditions cannot be the same as the other villages. We need corresponding rewards; no problem, right?"

"What do you want?"

The First Raikage, who was thinking about how to obtain the Eight-Tails, asked with some surprise upon hearing that someone actually didn't want a Tailed Beast.

"Our country is covered in yellow sand, so we want to ask Konoha, our neighbor, for fertile land instead of a Tailed Beast, and we also want 30% of the funds from other countries purchasing Tailed Beasts to be given to us."

"Are you kidding me! You gloomy man!"

"That's too much, Kazekage!"

Once these words were out, Uchiha Gin didn't even need to spray; the Kage of the other nations had already formed a united front and outputted a round of fire at Reto, who didn't know the depth of the situation.

"Hmph~ If you don't agree to me, I won't sign the agreement. Our country is a desert nation and cannot engage in production. When contending with the four major nations, we naturally have to use the Tailed Beast of our village to the maximum extent."

Good, good, good, so you're the barefoot one not afraid of the one wearing shoes, you've just broken the jar and let it shatter~

"We four nations can join forces and swallow your Land of Wind directly!"

Bai Lian, who had a more irritable temper, slapped the table and directly threatened.

"No way, no way~ No one really thinks their own Tailed Beast is the best in the world, right?"

Just when the atmosphere was a bit tense, Uchiha Gin, who hadn't spoken until now, turned on his sarcastic mode.

"What do you mean by that?"

Reto, the center of the topic, heard the sarcasm in Uchiha Gin's words and immediately frowned.

"Sigh~ You don't even know what the Tailed Beasts are made of, yet you're here spouting nonsense. You should be glad that it's not my cousin attending the meeting today, otherwise, you guy would have died countless times already~"

Uchiha Gin picked his ear, his expression very punchable, and said, his words full of deep luck for Reto.

"Hmph! How have you ever witnessed the power of Shukaku? It is a terrifying disaster beast that can destroy a village in an instant, and according to the monk in the temple, Shukaku has repeatedly claimed that it is the strongest Tailed Beast." (End of chapter)