Chapter 1258 - 130: Contact

Chapter 1258: Chapter 130: Contact

Konoha, Hokage Tower.

"Lord Hokage, this is the alliance agreement submitted by the Hidden Sand Village."

Yamanaka Inoichi placed the agreement on the desk in front of Hiruzen, which detailed the cooperation matters between Konoha and the Hidden Sand. Overall, it suggested joining forces against the Land of Demons.

At the bottom of the agreement, there was also the personal signature of the Kazekage, in a very formal format.

"Thank you for your hard work, Inoichi."

Having just returned from the Daimyo’s Mansion not long ago, Hiruzen felt somewhat tired, but he held on. The alliance with the Hidden Sand was quite important diplomatically for Konoha at the moment.

The Daimyo of the Land of Wind was contacted by the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

The contact work with the Hidden Sand had naturally been handed over to Konoha, as they were also a Ninja Village.

"How is Lord Kazekage’s mental state?"

Hiruzen glanced at the agreement and then put it down, asking about the Kazekage’s health.

"When I saw him, he seemed much better mentally. But aside from that, Lord Kazekage also wrote a letter, asking me to personally deliver it to you, Lord Hokage."

As he spoke, Inoichi took an unopened letter from his chest and handed it to Hiruzen.

Hiruzen took the letter with curiosity, opened it, glanced through it, and fell into thought.

"Is there something wrong, Lord Hokage?"

Seeing Hiruzen deep in thought after reading the letter, Inoichi couldn’t help but wonder.

"Nothing, the Kazekage hopes to exchange sealing techniques with us. On their side, they will provide equivalent secret technique materials for Konoha to study."

Hiruzen glanced at Inoichi and said.

"Sealing techniques?"

"Yes."

"I see, it’s for Shukaku, isn’t it."

Inoichi remembered something.

"Shukaku?"

"Yes, during my visit to the Hidden Sand Village, the One-Tailed Shukaku briefly rampaged, causing some damage to the village’s structures. The Kazekage wants to negotiate sealing techniques with us, hoping to strengthen the seal on Shukaku."

Inoichi explained.

"I didn’t expect such an incident to occur during your visit to the Hidden Sand."

Hiruzen was quite surprised.

The rampage of a Tailed Beast is certainly not a good thing.

If not properly prevented, the destruction of structures is nothing compared to the potential for significant casualties, which could greatly harm a Ninja Village.

However, compared to Konoha’s Nine-tailed, the power of the One-tailed Shukaku is relatively weaker. With the current strength of the Hidden Sand Village, it shouldn’t pose a major threat.

This also implies that the Hidden Sand Village lacks sealing techniques against the Tailed Beast.

After all, the chakra amount of a Tailed Beast is quite enormous, and typical sealing techniques find it hard to seal a Tailed Beast.

Currently in the Ninja Realm, the most threatening sealing techniques for Tailed Beasts are those handed down from the Uzumaki Clan, which can effectively seal Tailed Beasts, including the strongest, the Nine-tailed.

"So, what are you planning to do, Lord Hokage? Are you going to make such a deal with the Kazekage?"

Inoichi asked.

"From my point of view, we can provide a portion of it. The sealing techniques of the Uzumaki Clan are incredibly powerful, and if given entirely to the Hidden Sand, they might form a new threat in the future."

Hiruzen pondered for a moment before sharing his thoughts.

Currently, with the alliance agreement signed between the Hidden Sand and Konoha, it wasn’t appropriate for Hiruzen to outright refuse the Kazekage’s personal request.

However, Hiruzen also didn’t intend to trade the most profound Uzumaki Clan sealing techniques. He only chose a portion of them for an exchange with the Hidden Sand’s secret technique research materials.

The Hidden Sand could originally have made such a trade with the Land of Demons instead. The Land of Demons doesn’t only house the Uchiha and Hyuga clans but also includes remnants of the Uzumaki Clan. With these remnants, the Land of Demons must have vast amounts of written data, where advanced sealing techniques are certainly included.

Nonetheless, given the current estranged relations between the Land of Wind and the Land of Demons, the Kazekage surely wouldn’t want to make such a trade with the Land of Demons.

Inoichi nodded; this was for the best.

This way, they neither refused the Kazekage’s trade—saving face for him—nor did they ignore future concerns, preventing the Hidden Sand from using sealing techniques acquired from Konoha against the village.

While an alliance, necessary precautions still couldn’t be ignored.

After all, the collaboration with the Hidden Sand at this moment was because they had a common enemy.

"Inoichi, you can leave now. Stay in the village and rest for a while, you don’t need to carry out any missions for now."

"Yes."

With a straightened posture, Inoichi turned and left the office.

Shortly after Inoichi’s departure, an Anbu with an animal mask abruptly appeared in the room, standing straight in front of the desk.

"Tenzo, is it?"

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

"Where is Kakashi? Didn’t he come over personally?"

"Captain Kakashi is currently tutoring Uchiha Sasuke. The Anbu is currently managed by the four of us sub-captains."

Tenzo replied meticulously.

"During my absence, nothing significant happened in the village, did it?"

Hiruzen spoke with intention.

Tenzo reflected for a moment, then responded: "No, both advisors have been fairly conscientious in their duties, not exceeding their authority. As for Root, it’s the same as always: they’ve locked down their base and surrounded it with talismans, preventing even the Byakugan of the Hyuga Clan from peering into its secrets."

"To maintain such secrecy, Root must have significant plans."

"Should we send someone to probe it?"

"No, the village needs stability right now, and it’s unwise to clash with Root."

As long as Root didn’t engage in human experiments on village members, like Orochimaru, Hiruzen chose to turn a blind eye to such cases.