Chapter 135: The harsh

Without rushing to put forward his own demands, the Cat King simply asked three words in a flat tone.

"On what grounds?"

As soon as these three words were spoken, the atmosphere at the scene clearly began to turn ominous.

In the eyes of Hozuki Mangetsu, who was unaware of the truth, this move by the Cat King was, on one hand, a lack of trust in Ryosuke, and on the other, likely an irritation caused by Mizunuki Ryosuke’s previous actions.

Yet, unexpectedly, upon hearing the Cat King’s inquiry, Ryosuke merely smiled broadly and slowly spoke three words.

"On my grounds."

As his voice fell, a terrifying aura, even more overbearing than before, surged from Ryosuke’s body.

In an instant, the entire great hall was permeated with the terrifying presence unique to Mizunuki Ryosuke.

"Good! Good! Good!"

At that moment, the Cat King’s corpulent body stood up directly from the black-and-white throne, uttering the word "good" three times in succession.

"I have three conditions."

"If the Mist can fulfill them, it is not impossible for me to let you take away what I hold in my hands."

This time, the Cat King’s attitude had undergone a qualitative change compared to just a moment ago.

Anyone could see that the Cat King’s attitude was much more serious now than when he was talking to Hozuki Mangetsu earlier.

"Very well, pray tell."

A flash of solemnity crossed Ryosuke’s eyes.

"First, I want your guarantee."

"From now on, should the Ninja Cat clan encounter an irresistible disaster, the Mist must assist with all its might."

This first condition alone caused Hozuki Mangetsu to knit his brows tightly.

This matter was of great importance, and at present, neither he nor Mizunuki Ryosuke had the qualifications to make such a decision for the village.

Yet, unexpectedly, Ryosuke remained expressionless upon hearing this.

"Very well, that is reasonable."

Mizunuki Ryosuke directly chose to agree.

"Second, I require the Mist to provide territory for the Ninja Cat clan to operate within the human world."

Once these words were spoken, Hozuki Mangetsu’s expression changed drastically.

By setting such a condition, the Cat King was undoubtedly stating directly that the Ninja Cat clan was no longer content to remain in these deep mountains and wanted to use the Mist as a springboard to advance into the entire ninja world!

"Agreed."

Yet, unexpectedly, Mizunuki Ryosuke still remained expressionless and agreed to the Cat King’s request.

"Hiss!!!!"

Whether it was the Jonin far away in the Mizukage Building or Hozuki Mangetsu in the Cat King’s palace, everyone gasped in unison.

They never imagined that Mizunuki Ryosuke would actually dare to agree to such a request.

Immediately, Hozuki Mangetsu grabbed Mizunuki Ryosuke beside him and shouted.

"Mizunuki Ryosuke, you’ve lost your mind!"

Hozuki Mangetsu stared at Mizunuki Ryosuke in disbelief.

Theoretically speaking, the entire Land of Water was still the territory of the Land of Water’s Daimyo; even the Hidden Mist Village could not theoretically agree to such a request.

Surely they couldn't just hand over the Hidden Mist Village’s own territory to the Ninja Cats, could they?

To this, Mizunuki Ryosuke simply pushed Hozuki Mangetsu aside gently, signaling him not to be anxious.

Hozuki Mangetsu laughed out of extreme anger; he wanted to see what kind of madness had gripped Ryosuke.

"Finally, I hope to receive material support from the Mist."

"The contents include..."

The Cat King proposed a long list of material requirements, which made Hozuki Mangetsu’s face turn deathly pale as he listened.

Because the material requirements proposed by the Cat King could no longer be called "a lion’s share," but rather "a dinosaur’s share."

These supplies were more than double what Hozuki Mangetsu had just proposed!

Relying solely on Mizunuki Ryosuke’s own ability, it was absolutely impossible to gather so many supplies.

In this way, there was only one possibility: Mizunuki Ryosuke was writing "bad checks," or he was directly selling out the village’s interests!

Hozuki Mangetsu was already furious and about to lash out, but unexpectedly, the Cat King on the main seat extended a thick, short arm and pointed a finger lightly at Hozuki Mangetsu.

In an instant, Hozuki Mangetsu, who was about to rage, was as if he had been hit by a "mute" button; no matter how he opened his mouth, he could not make a sound.

Clearly, this was an extremely profound Yin Release technique.

It wasn't just Hozuki Mangetsu; inside the Mizukage Building, all the Jonin had ugly expressions on their faces.

If Mizunuki Ryosuke agreeing to the Cat King’s first request was overstepping, then these conditions could now be called "selling out the village."

The facts were already clear: Mizunuki Ryosuke was using the village’s interests as a bargaining chip to successfully ascend to power using the "Mizukage Secret Scroll" in the Cat King’s hands.

This caused some of the Jonin who originally had a very good impression of Ryosuke to now cast looks of disdain at him through the water screen.

"Squad Leader Tian Tian Yuanshi!"

"For a ninja like Mizunuki Ryosuke, I suggest we directly strip him of his candidacy for Mizukage!"

"No! We should expel him from the Mist entirely!"

Immediately, a hot-tempered Jonin shouted directly at Tian Tian Yuanshi on the side.

This Jonin’s statement instantly ignited the anger in the hearts of the other Jonin, who began to chime in one after another.

"Right!"

“Exactly, exactly!!!!”

“He must be punished; I agree to expel him from the village!”

“”

The Jonin at the table soon began to chatter and argue, looking as if they wanted to drown Mizunuki Ryosuke with their spit.

“Don’t be impatient, keep watching.”

Yet unexpectedly, Tian Tian Yuanshi merely shook his head faintly, a trace of a smile even lingering in his eyes.

“What?”

Seeing Tian Tian Yuanshi’s expression, the Jonin frowned, wondering what else there was to see under such “conclusive evidence.”

But out of respect for Tian Tian Yuanshi’s usual prestige, the Jonin shifted their gazes back to the water screen.

“I can take the initiative to agree to your three conditions.”

“But likewise, I also have one condition.”

After agreeing to the “sell-out” treaty proposed by the Cat King without changing his expression, Mizunuki Ryosuke spoke slowly, his demeanor remaining solemn.

“Speak.”

The Cat King looked joyful at this moment, seemingly because he had taken advantage of Ryosuke.

“Apart from the things in your possession.”

“The Ninja Cat clan must support Hidden Mist with one hundred mature ninja cats as summoning beasts every year.”

“Hidden Mist guarantees that it will treat the ninja cats fairly, and all ninja cats will enjoy the same rights within Hidden Mist as the ninjas.”

Mizunuki Ryosuke said slowly, his expression remaining very grave and serious.

No one had expected that Mizunuki Ryosuke could agree to the previous “sell-out treaty” with such an expression, nor could anyone have imagined it.

After agreeing to the “sell-out treaty,” Mizunuki Ryosuke had actually made such an unrealistic and exorbitant demand.

As long as the Cat King wasn’t a fool, he would never agree to such a rude request from Ryosuke.

Suishi Tatsuo, who was in a “silenced” state, looked at Mizunuki Ryosuke with a surprised gaze; he never expected Mizunuki Ryosuke to suddenly propose such an unrealistic request—could it be that he had truly gone mad?

But the subsequent development left Suishi Tatsuo completely dumbfounded.

“Agreed.”

The Cat King agreed to Mizunuki Ryosuke’s request quite calmly, even with a trace of indifferent amusement on his face.

“Huh?!! What?!”

Suishi Tatsuo stood on the spot, looking completely stunned and speechless.

Who could tell him what on earth was going on?

Not only him, but all the Jonin gathered in the Mizukage building also fell silent; they looked at each other, standing blankly on the spot.