Inside the hospital ward, Koharu Utatane took the scroll from Shikaku and slowly unfurled it in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Homura Mitokado.

The two men stared at the terrifyingly long list of compensation items, their eyes blazing with boundless rage.

"Chiyo, that old hag, has completely lost her mind!"

Mitokado Homura couldn't help but curse out loud. He was in charge of many of Konoha's supplies and logistics. This list from Sunagakure would require emptying Konoha's existing inventory to make up for 90% of the supply, leaving a 10% shortfall!

Of course, this does not take into account the supplies of their own old buddies, as well as the private property of other families in Konoha.

If they were to really plunder resources from the entire Hidden Leaf Village, this list could be doubled to satisfy them. However, Mitokado Homura wasn't stupid; how could he possibly offend all the clans of Hidden Leaf Village just to meet the Sand Village's demands?

"Cough cough cough"

As Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the list in Koharu's hand, his chest heaving like a bellows, his eyes bloodshot, and some of the wounds on his body almost bursting open!

Damn it! It's one thing for the Cloud Ninja to bully me, for Uchiha Tajima to bully me, and for Orochimaru to bully me, but when did it become the turn of the Sand Ninja, a bunch of losers, to bully me, and even slap me in the face twice in a row!

"Start the war! Gather your men and start the war!"

"I'm going to hang that old hag Chiyo on the Hokage Rock and make her atone for her sins to Konoha!"

Thinking of the grievances he had suffered over the years, and the tragic deaths of his children and grandchildren, Hiruzen Sarutobi was filled with rage. Ignoring his injuries, he pounded on the bed and let out a hoarse roar.

At this moment, he seemed to be possessed by Madara Uchiha, his whole body filled with murderous intent, looking like a ferocious creature that wanted to devour Chiyo alive.

"Hiruzen, calm down! Konoha can't afford any more turmoil!"

As if startled by Hiruzen Sarutobi's sudden display of power, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane let him roar for a while before reacting. They then quickly moved closer to him, held down his writhing body, and began to persuade him.

Koharu Utatane pressed down on Hiruzen Sarutobi's agitated fist and gently advised, "Hou is right. If the fighting continues, the Kumo and Iwa ninjas will definitely make their move as well."

Konoha's strength has declined too drastically; they need time to recover.

We cannot allow the village our teacher entrusted to us to fall into war again!

Hiss, hiss...

On his sickbed, Hiruzen Sarutobi struggled desperately, only to find that he had little control over his body and was constantly in excruciating pain. In the end, all he could do was take deep breaths and then slump down and relax his tense body.

After a long silence, he asked in a hoarse voice, "Shikaku, can Konoha currently provide these resources?"

Also, in your opinion, what is the bottom line for the Sand Village?

Could we reduce the number, or even exchange prisoners directly?

Nara Shikaku had been observing the interaction between Sarutobi Hiruzen and the other two with a cold eye. His eyes were dark and unreadable, and he looked like he was already asleep.

Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi call his name, Shikaku could no longer pretend to be invisible. He cursed inwardly, "This damn job is being dumped on me again."

However, Shikaku had no choice but to answer. He carefully considered his words and said, "The Sand Village needs far too many supplies. In my estimation, even if we could provide them, the entire Hidden Leaf Village would probably be emptied out."

The reconstruction of Konoha will inevitably be delayed, and if the overall defense cannot be restored, it will be difficult to guarantee that other ninja villages will not take action.

After a moment's hesitation, looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi's burning gaze, Shikaku continued helplessly, "Actually, the Sand Village also suffered great losses this time. In terms of high-end combat power, they even surpassed Konoha. Not only is the Fourth Kazekage possibly dead, but the One-Tailed Jinchuriki is still under Konoha's control."

I think that although they succeeded in their surprise attack, they definitely don't have enough strength to continue the offensive.

Moreover, the relationship between Sunagakure and Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure is very tense, so it is impossible for them to continue to expend a lot of strength in Konoha.

I think Chiyo's intentions are mostly extortion; she wants to obtain resources from Konoha to make up for the losses of Sunagakure.

On this basis, negotiating to reduce the amount of supplies while concentrating combat power to stall for time is feasible.

Of course, we can't delay too long or push too hard, lest the Sand Village resort to desperate measures...

Nara Shikaku was also cunning. He avoided mentioning whether or not the Sand Village should be compensated for its losses, or how much compensation should be paid. Instead, he kept going on and on about the Sand Village's intentions and all possible developments with the three of them.

"Everything must prioritize the stability of Konoha. Regarding resources, we can send people to negotiate with the Sand Village and try to reduce the price as much as possible, since Konoha doesn't have many reserves left."

Seeing that Shikaku was taking forever to get to the point, Mitokado Yan had no choice but to speak up first.

"Konoha's stability is indeed the top priority, but if these resources are given to the Sand Village, will they be able to keep their promise and withdraw their troops?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi closed his eyes, his brows furrowed, and asked, looking utterly exhausted.

We need to prepare for both possibilities.

On the one hand, they sent people to discuss that the longer they could delay, the more Konoha could recover and the more combat power they could recall and adjust.

On the other hand, the promised supplies cannot be provided all at once; they must be provided in batches.

If they won't even agree to these conditions, then let's continue the stalemate. The Sand Village's resources are insufficient to sustain this!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other two began a discussion in the hospital room, skipping over whether they should agree to compensate for the supplies, and instead focusing on how much to compensate and how to do so.

Just as they were discussing the key point, Koharu suddenly noticed Nara Shikaku, who was pretending to be deaf and dumb and was about to fall asleep.

She quickly shut up and gave Hiruzen and the others a wink.

"Shikaku, I'd like to trouble you to arrange for someone to negotiate with Chiyo of the Sand Village and try to reduce the amount of supplies."

Also, you must remember that this is not compensation to Sunagakure.

This is Konoha's way of showing concern for its allies, squeezing out resources to support them despite its own difficulties.

The Fourth Kazekage was killed by Orochimaru; Konoha and Sunagakure share a common enemy!

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at Shikaku, his face conveying an air of absolute certainty that this important task was rightfully his.

Nara Shikaku was quite sensible. Seeing that he couldn't refuse, he had no choice but to accept this task that was destined to bring him endless infamy, while at the same time racking his brains to think of a way to shift the blame.

After Nara Shikaku excused himself and left, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other two continued their discussion in the room.

Before leaving, Shikaku only vaguely heard a conversation.

"Chiyo is not an easy person to deal with. Konoha will probably have to pay a heavy price this time."

"These supplies can't rely solely on the village's reserves; depleting the inventory will cause serious problems for the village's operations!"

“The village cannot be left behind, and there are always some families with abundant resources who do not think of contributing to the village!”

"Among the clans that suffered little damage to Konoha this time and still have a large amount of supplies, the Hyuga clan is probably the only one."

The moment the words "Hyuga clan" were mentioned, the voice seemed to contain endless coldness, as if it wanted to devour the Hyuga clan members alive!