This Danzo Is Weird!

Under Danzo's overwhelming pressure, Yagura Karatachi finally accepted the reality of his defeat.

"What kind of bargaining chips does Lord Danzo want in exchange?"

At this point, Yagura had no choice but to ask obediently.

If he were facing the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, he might still have the confidence to act tough.

But against this darkness of the ninja world—especially when he was no match for him—he didn't dare to put up a strong front anymore.

Danzo also sat down cross-legged, looking as composed as if he were on vacation rather than in a negotiation.

That is, if one ignored the massive ruins behind him.

"Since you want Konoha to return the Mist's captives, the condition is simple: you must exchange them for an equal number of captives."

Hearing this, Yagura's first reaction was that this old fox was playing him!

He almost lost his temper on the spot.

But recalling Danzo's earlier display of strength, he quickly suppressed his emotions and sat back down.

"Lord Danzo, you should know that Kirigakure doesn't have many Konoha prisoners."

Danzo glanced at him, leisurely rewrapping the bandages over his right eye as he countered:

"Did I say I wanted Konoha's prisoners?"

Yagura's eyes flashed. He recalled the conditions Danzo had written in his initial letter and asked:

"You mean Sunagakure's captives are acceptable too?"

Danzo nodded.

"Prisoners are prisoners, after all."

"Of course, if Lord Mizukage thinks Mist's captives are more valuable than Sand's, we can also trade at a 2:1 ratio."

Yagura almost coughed up blood in rage.

He had no intention of making extra trouble for himself.

Ignoring Danzo's obvious jab, the young Mizukage fell into deep thought.

Even though it was a one-for-one exchange, Konoha had only managed to capture so many Mist ninja thanks to the perfect alignment of timing, terrain, and opportunity.

Given the mobility of ninja, it was rare to capture large numbers of enemies in a single battle.

For this to happen, the enemy's morale had to be utterly crushed, forcing them to surrender en masse.

For the Mist—who had already suffered significant losses—this would be a difficult feat to achieve.

"Lord Danzo, to be frank, these conditions are a bit too harsh."

Yagura didn't hesitate to voice his concerns.

Despite being at a disadvantage, he knew that Konoha was also under great pressure and needed Mist's support to share the burden.

As the victor, Danzo could certainly set terms in his favor, but they had to be within reason for both sides.

Danzo tapped his fingers against the rock he was sitting on. After a moment of thought, he said:

"If you can't capture that many prisoners, then how about heads?"

A hint of killing intent flashed in his eyes.

"Sunagakure ninja heads in exchange for Mist's prisoners—at a 2:1 ratio."

Yagura fell into contemplation once again.

Konoha had captured about 1,200 Mist ninja.

This meant that to rescue all of them, Kirigakure would need to kill 2,400 Sand ninja on the battlefield!

That was an enormous price to pay…

"That's still too much."

Yagura locked eyes with Danzo, bargaining:

"At that rate, Mist would be making too many sacrifices!"

Danzo chuckled lightly.

"In that case, let me do some calculations for you, Lord Mizukage."

"If you refuse to negotiate, Mist will have to accept the loss of 1,200 prisoners."

"If you agree, you can gradually regain 1,200 combat-ready ninja while also launching an offensive against Sunagakure with Konoha's support."

"Even if Mist and Sand suffer equal casualties in battle, Mist would lose 2,400 ninja, but with 1,200 reinforcements, the actual net loss would only be 1,200."

"The losses are the same, but choosing the latter option allows Kirigakure to end the war with Konoha, avoid the morale collapse caused by abandoning its prisoners, and most importantly, potentially recover its losses in the war against Sunagakure."

Danzo, like a shrewd devil, thoughtfully helped Yagura Karatachi calculate the downsides of both choices.

Yagura's expression was grim.

But he had to admit—Danzo's logic was correct.

And there was another crucial point Danzo hadn't even mentioned.

If Kirigakure refused the peace talks, Mei Terumi and Ao would undoubtedly perish here. Combined with the loss of the Seven Ninja Swords, this was an outcome Kirigakure could not accept.

"Lower it... just a little lower!"

Yagura's bloodshot eyes made him look like a desperate gambler.

Seeing this, Danzo sighed.

"Since Lord Mizukage is so sincere, I'll reduce it by 200."

His gaze turned sharp, and his voice grew hoarse.

"I want 2,200 Sand ninja dead."

"Deal!"

Yagura panted heavily.

Because he knew that the moment he gave this order, countless Kirigakure ninja would die on the battlefields of the Land of Wind.

But he was willing to take the gamble.

He wanted to reclaim from Sunagakure what Kirigakure had lost to Konoha!

"Let's be clear—we need Konoha's cooperation."

Yagura hadn't lost all rationality. He believed that working together with Konoha in a pincer attack against Sunagakure would greatly increase their chances of success.

Danzo readily agreed.

"Of course. After all, those damn invaders are still roaming within our territory."

With Danzo's confirmation, Yagura brought up another concern.

"What about the ninja swords and my two subordinates?"

"The ninja swords, huh..."

Danzo rubbed his neck, pondered for a moment, and said:

"Three hundred million ryo per sword."

That meant a total price of 1.8 billion ryo

"Including the 3 billion ryo war indemnity, the total comes to 4.8 billion ryo."

Yagura immediately objected.

"Impossible! Kirigakure simply doesn't have that much money right now!"

Danzo shrugged indifferently.

"That's your problem. If you don't have the cash, you can pay with other assets—ships, mines, food supplies, secret techniques, and so on."

"If that's not enough, you can pay in installments—up to 72 installments over six years. Just make sure to pay interest on time. We can negotiate the interest rate separately."

Danzo's modern financial jargon made both Minato and Fugaku break out in cold sweat.

"Of course, you can also offset part of the debt with resources and supplies from the Land of Wind when the time comes."

Considering how crucial the ninja swords were to Kirigakure, Yagura had no choice but to grit his teeth and accept.

"And Mei Terumi and Ao? What do you want in exchange for them?"

"Trade ports."

This time, Danzo's demand was crystal clear.

"I want four trade ports in the Land of Water, where merchants from the Land of Fire can conduct business freely. Kirigakure must not obstruct trade in any way."

"Trade ports?"

This request caught Yagura off guard.

Although he was a perfect Jinchūriki, he knew next to nothing about commerce.

But after a moment of hesitation, he had no choice but to agree.

After all, the lives of his two most capable subordinates were at stake.

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This Danzo Is Weird 210 advanced chapters: (5-10 ch updates everyday)

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