Chapter 568.Hey, Hey, Hey! You’re Actually Using Your Beauty

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This was exclusive, classified intelligence – the kind of critical secret that ordinary conditions simply couldn’t pry loose. After knowing each other for so long, after interacting for so long, and after engaging in back-and-forth business dealings numerous times, Mabui had long since seen through Kazuki completely.

If the intelligence was classified and couldn’t be disclosed, Kazuki would certainly have found an excuse to change the subject. But he hadn’t! Instead, he wore a look of apparent difficulty! This meant... this intelligence was available for purchase or trade! As long as your Cloud Village’s sincerity was sufficient to move me, then everything is negotiable.

’You truly never change. You absolutely refuse to take even the slightest loss.’ Mabui sighed inwardly, but her outward smile remained undiminished. "Please, Lord Advisor, directly state the conditions you desire. After all, I am merely the Raikage’s secretary. There are major decisions I cannot make; they still require the Raikage’s approval."

Let’s be direct. You propose your conditions, then we discuss them, and I’ll relay the message back for the Raikage to decide. If the Raikage agrees, then it’s a pleasure doing business.

You came knocking on my door yourselves. It’s not like I deliberately schemed against you or coerced you.

Kazuki had been looking for just such an opportunity. He raised a single finger, presenting his condition. "Very simple. Once our village’s Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Naruto, returns, I will send him to the Cloud Village. He will be taught by your village’s Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer Bee – taught how to become a perfect Jinchuriki and master the power of the Tailed Beast." Naruto was destined to make a trip to the Cloud Village eventually. Better to negotiate the terms now and avoid being extorted later when the time came to ask for a favor.

"YOU—" Mabui was so shocked she leaped to her feet entirely, her face drastically paling. Her voice even stammered. "H-how... how do you know that?!"

This was absolute top-secret intelligence of the Cloud Village – something barely a handful of people even within the Cloud Village were aware of!

Yet Kazuki had blurted it out in a single breath. Could it be that the Leaf Village has a spy planted deep within our village – a high-ranking official privy to numerous classified secrets? Mabui instantly panicked. She felt an urgent need to warn the Raikage, to have him conduct a thorough internal investigation. Otherwise, the Cloud Village would not only be placed in an extremely passive position against the Leaf Village but would also suffer tremendously. It was as if all their classified intelligence was a complete joke in front of the Leaf Village – everything was seen through with perfect clarity.

Izumi’s beautiful, large eyes also widened into perfect circles, because even she, as Kazuki’s personal secretary, hadn’t been privy to this intelligence. Judging by Mabui’s reaction, this information was critically important to the Cloud Village. Yet Kazuki, through some unknown channel, had already acquired it.

"How I know... I cannot tell you. Simply relay my exact words to the Raikage," Kazuki said. He couldn’t possibly tell Mabui: Because I know the plot trajectory of this world, so I’ve known for ages that your Cloud Village’s Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer Bee, is a perfect Jinchuriki capable of mastering the Eight-Tails’ power. Since he couldn’t say that, he’d let the Cloud Village rack their brains trying to figure it out. Maintaining a bit of mystique was also a good thing. As for how the Cloud Village should conduct their self-investigation – that had little to do with him.

Even if it turned their village upside down with chaos, that was the Cloud Village’s internal affair. Mutual planting of spies was, after all, a tacitly accepted practice among the villages. Surely he couldn’t be expected to reveal all of his own village’s espionage intelligence, could he?

"I will relay your words faithfully to the Raikage," Mabui said, gritting her teeth and enunciating each word. Inwardly, however, she was a complete nervous wreck. She desperately wanted to send the information back immediately so the Raikage could swiftly purge the internal spy and minimize the village’s losses. For a Leaf Village spy to have infiltrated the upper echelons of the Cloud Village – the very thought was terrifying. Who could it be? The faces of various high-ranking officials flashed through Mabui’s mind. At this moment, everyone seemed like a potential spy.

"Could we... trade for it?" Mabui gritted her teeth and, still harboring a glimmer of hope, posed the question. While the spy was important, so were interests. If interests couldn’t sway the other party, it only meant the offer wasn’t sufficient. If a bit of benefit could extract the intelligence, it would be absolutely worth it.

"????" No way, woman. You’re even trying to fish for completely fabricated intelligence like this? If the Leaf Village truly had the capability to plant a spy in the upper echelons of the Cloud Village, would your Cloud Village even have been able to develop this smoothly? Should I take this chance to swindle the Cloud Village? It seemed problematic either way. Not cheating them felt like a disservice to himself. But if he went too far, they might retaliate with petty tricks when Naruto went there to learn later. Wait – there’s an opening!!

Seeing Kazuki furrow his brow in thought, Mabui’s eyes lit up. Excitedly, she sat back down, pressing her hands on the table and leaning forward, staring intently at Kazuki. "What are you doing?! Trying to use your feminine wiles to extract intelligence?!" Lost in thought, Kazuki hadn’t noticed Mabui’s movement and was nearly smacked in the face by her chest. He instinctively jerked his head back, demanding to know what she meant by that.

"YOU—" Caught off guard, Mabui’s face instantly flushed crimson.

"Pfft—" Izumi nearly burst out laughing. She hurriedly stood and headed for the door. "I’ll go check on how the kitchen preparations are coming along."

"Hey, hey, hey! No way!" After Izumi stepped out, Kazuki put on an exaggerated expression. "I never imagined you were that kind of person – actually using this to test a senior official!"

"Cut the nonsense. State your terms," Mabui snapped, a volatile mix of anxiety and anger churning within her. Me, using myself to extract intelligence?! Go to hell! Am I that kind of person?! I was clearly... wait... this doesn’t seem like a loss... For a kunoichi, sometimes using one’s body to obtain intelligence was indeed a necessary tactic. It was just that her identity was rather special – she was the Raikage’s secretary. The Raikage’s secretary... hiss... it felt somewhat....

Noticing the shift in Mabui’s expression, Kazuki knew she had taken the notion seriously. The thought had probably already fully formed in her mind. If the Raikage’s secretary became the Hokage’s secretary... would that be even more thrilling? Wait, what am I even thinking? Wouldn’t that be going too far in screwing people over?

"Ahem!" Clearing his throat, Kazuki adopted a righteous and stern demeanor as he refused. "My apologies, but I am not that kind of man. What I want is the entirety, not just one night."

Was there even a difference?! Mabui’s mouth twitched violently. She struggled to maintain the smile on her face. "I will need to first contact the Raikage before I can give you a definitive answer. My apologies... I must excuse myself for a moment."

Mabui had completely forgotten about eating barbecue. Her only thought was to establish contact with the Raikage as quickly as possible. The matter was of grave importance and had to be dealt with swiftly. Ideally, it should be settled before the peace talks between the Mist Village and the Sand Village even began.