Chapter 155
The Trap Set by Hiruzen Sarutobi
Hiruzen Sarutobi had dug an enormous pit for Haruto Saito, and Haruto had already jumped in—about to be buried alive! He never expected that the Land of Iron had already offered such a high price!
"Lord Hokage, the Land of Iron is offering a hundred million ryō, yet you're only giving me fifteen million? That's..." Haruto's eyelid twitched. Hiruzen Sarutobi was way too ruthless!
And also, how could the Land of Iron possibly offer such a high price?!
"You need to understand—this price is only this high because Konoha is negotiating," Hiruzen said matter-of-factly. "Because Konoha has the strength to protect the Black Samurai Armor, eliminating the possibility of the Land of Iron taking it by force. But if you were the one negotiating alone, do you think they'd offer you even a fraction of that? Or do you think they'd offer you anything at all?"
That logic was hard to argue against. The Land of Iron was only negotiating because they feared Konoha's strength.
If the Black Samurai Armor had fallen into the hands of a minor ninja village or some small faction in the Land of Rain, the Land of Iron wouldn't have sent diplomats to negotiate. They would have sent assassins.
Even so, a hundred million ryō was an astronomical amount!
"Make your choice! Are you backing out?" Hiruzen asked, standing up. He walked to the window, hands clasped behind his back, and looked out over the village. "Either you represent Konoha in negotiations with the Land of Iron and secure greater benefits for Konoha—at least 150 million ryō—or you back out now. If you back out, I'll give you fifteen million ryō, you'll hand over the Black Samurai Armor, and the rest of this matter will have nothing to do with you."
Hiruzen was laying everything out on the table—he was deliberately making things difficult, forcing Haruto to give up!
Haruto could tell that Hiruzen was not in a good mood.