Chapter 284 - Cap 262: Negotiation (2)

"It is strange..." - murmured Kushina as she noticed how all the people seemed to be running around when she returned to Uzu with her former student - "Did anything happen while we were in Konoha? No, I don't think it's possible, after all, we were only there for about 30 minutes".

Yugao said nothing in response, after all, anything could happen in this place.

"It's good to see you're back, Kushina-sama!" - exclaimed one of the villagers.

"?" - Kushina frowned in confusion when she saw how everyone started to look at her - "Ok, I don't know what's going on, but I feel it will be a pain in the a.s.s..."

The villagers looked at each other, only to shake their heads.

"Anyway, why were you running around like headless chickens?" - Kushina asked as she looked at the villagers in confusion - "Did a problem occur?"

"Oh, it's nothing bad," replied the leader of the group as he looked at the redhead. "It's just that we are preparing some things for the wedding of one of our villagers"

". . ." - Kushina could only breathe a sigh upon hearing this as she gave the villagers a blank stare.

"We're sorry if we made you think something had happened, it's just that the idiot who proposed to her thought it would be a good idea to have the wedding a week later without telling anyone... now we're all trying to help him" - sighed one woman as she looked in the direction of a man about 27 years old, who at least had the decency to avert his gaze out of embarrassment.

"I see..." - Kushina nodded as she looked around at the villagers - "But that doesn't explain why you're so happy to see me"

"Oh, it's because we were told that we needed permission to use the public area for the wedding" - answered the man who was getting married - "The problem is that Kurama-sama is not here because he went on a small training trip with Inari, or at least that's what Tsunami said, and the other members of the Uzumaki clan are all doing something different"

"I see..." - murmured Kushina as she nodded with a frown because this confirmed that they needed more help, or they would end up stressed by so much work - "What place do you want to use?"

"I'd say the flower park," replied the man as he scratched his cheek. "Or at least that's what she wants"

"I see... approved" - said Kushina as he watched the villagers begin to celebrate - "If that's all, now I have to go home and check on my son"

"We're sorry we stole your time, Kushina-sama" - said the villagers as they cleared the way for the woman to pass.

"That was a little strange..." - said Yugao as she looked at her sensei.

"I know... but one gets used to it in time" - replied Kushina as she shook her head.

"True... you have not had the quietest life, Kushina-sama" - said Yugao, then released a sigh full of tiredness. She knew the red-haired woman from all the time they had spent together, so she knew many things that other people ignored.

"All members of the Uzumaki clan have suffered lives full of danger" - responded Kushina while looking at her student for a few seconds - "It is a curse that we have, one that almost caused our extinction..."

". . ." - Yugao was silent when she heard this, only to shake her head.

* * * * *

"Okay, I'll tell them" - said Mei as she stopped hearing the voice coming from her scroll, one that connected her directly to Ao, although most of the time she had it 'disconnected' because she was tired of hearing the new Mizukage begging her to take back the position as leader of Kirigakure no Sato.

"I swear to God this is worse than before..." - Mei murmured while she grabbed the bridge of her nose because of how stressed out she was after half an hour of discussion - "I love Kiri because it's my home village, but this is starting to get annoying..."

Ao had spent half an hour discussing how she could help them to get more quotas so that they could show more military power during the next meeting of the 5 Kage.

"Although it is a surprise that the Kages are meeting" - thought Mei while she narrowed her eyes - "Akatsuki has been a pain in the a.s.s for the Elemental Nations for a long time, and seeing that they are now weak from the last attack, it is the best time to attack them and eliminate them once and for all"

"I think the same thing," said Anko as she entered the room of the reddish-brown-haired woman, who could do nothing but raise an eyebrow - "Do you need anything, Anko-san?"

"The truth is that Kushina-san has just come home and wants to talk to you," Anko answered while shrugging her shoulders, "She said something about negotiating, no f.u.c.k.i.n.g idea what she was talking about"

". . ." - Mei remained silent for a few seconds while she shook her head because it was obvious that the news had flown fast - "I guess that the negotiation with other villages is already underway, that leaves Kiri a little behind..."

"Other villages?" - asked Anko while raising an eyebrow.

"The truth is that in two months there will be a meeting between the 5 big villages in Tetsu no Kuni" - answered Mei while she shrugged her shoulders - "The summit of the 5 Kage, or something like that, I never asked the name"

"What a shitty name," said Anko as she laughed. "But leaving the name aside, I guess it has to do with Akatsuki being in the deepest shit"

"Exactly, the Kage can't take it anymore, so they decided to meet to declare war on Akatsuki" - Mei nodded as she straightened her wrinkled clothes and walked to where Kushina should be, only to notice how Kurotsuchi was also there - "Ok, this confirms my theory even more"

"How are you, Kiri's bitch?" - asked Kurotsuchi as she turned to look at the reddish-brown-haired woman.

"Fine, at least until I saw Iwa's board," answered Mei as she lifted her c.h.e.s.t and at the same time, pulled out a vein in the forehead of the girl in front of her.

"Okay, you, me, out," - said Kurotsuchi as she felt her anger grow as she saw the condescending smile of the woman from the Hidden Village in the Mist.

"Enough!" - exclaimed Kushina as she looked at the two women - "I didn't call you to start your games, so I warn you to leave this for another time"

The two women looked down, but not before giving each other one last angry gaze because it was obvious that Kushina was treating them like two troublemakers.

"Well, now that you've calmed down a bit, I want you to tell me what your leaders told you," Kushina said seriously.

"Ok, I'll go first" - said Mei calmly as she ignored Kurotsuchi's annoyed look - "First, Kiri approves the purchase of fishing boats, and before the stone head says something like 'Uzu can build its own boats', this will take time, and frankly these will not compare with the latest boat technology that my village has created, after all, that's what 90% of our imports consist of".

"Hmm..." - Kushina nodded when she heard Mei's proposal - "Go on..."

"Ao told me that Kiri will offer a boat completely free as a sign of good faith, and will pay with two more boats to use the training area" - Mei answered calmly - "These have a capacity of at least 3 times what you have estimated for the boats of Uzu"

". . ." - Kushina thought for a few seconds before nodding - "I accept"

"Good," smiled Mei as she gave the Iwa girl a condescending look,

"Iwa offers this," said Kurotsuchi as she ignored the look of her clan 'sister'.

"Another rock?" - asked Mei as she resisted the urge to laugh, just to remember what had happened before. Her expression changed to one of seriousness as she waited for the woman's answer.

"Lapis Nocturne?" - asked Kushina as she opened her eyes in surprise. She quickly grabbed the girl's shoulders and pulled her dangerously close to her face - "How much do you have?"

". . ." - Mei remained silent because she never thought that a simple stone would have such an effect on the redhead.

"5 kg" - answered Kurotsuchi calmly - "Iwa can sell you a little more, but that will be a subject for another time"

". . ." - Kushina bit her lips while nodding - "Ok, you got a deal"