Danzo arrived in Sunagakure with a full force of one thousand Konoha shinobi.
The moment Konoha's reinforcements entered the village, Sunagakure welcomed them with almost excessive warmth.
Under the command of the Fourth Kazekage, Chiyo, the village treated Konoha's arrival as if they were welcoming the force that had pulled Sunagakure back from the edge of destruction.
Flags were raised.
The main road was cleared.
Sunagakure shinobi stood in organized rows on both sides of the street, their expressions restrained but respectful.
It was the highest reception Sunagakure could offer.
As the commander of Konoha's support force, Danzo was personally received by Chiyo and Ebizo. After a brief public welcome, the three of them entered the Kazekage's private reception room.
It was there that Danzo received the full report.
Yesterday afternoon, Kizaru had single-handedly repelled the combined invasion of Iwagakure and Kumogakure.
The Sand had survived because of him.
And now, Kizaru's name had begun spreading through the ninja world at a terrifying speed.
A shinobi who could suppress an entire battlefield alone.
A shinobi whose presence could decide the fate of a village.
That kind of reputation was already beginning to resemble something from an older era.
The era of the First Hokage.
Back when Hashirama Senju was alive, the entire ninja world had been forced to lower its head before his strength. Because he desired peace, the other villages had no choice but to restrain themselves.
That was the weight of overwhelming power.
Danzo let out a slow breath in his heart.
His visible expression did not change, but his gaze sharpened slightly.
Kizaru's existence had become even more valuable than he had expected.
Sitting across from Chiyo and Ebizo, Danzo placed both hands over his cane.
The real discussion was about to begin.
Chiyo and Ebizo were already prepared.
They knew Danzo had not come here out of pure goodwill.
At yesterday's internal meeting, Chiyo had used her authority and strength to silence the remaining voices in Sunagakure that still failed to understand their position.
The village had already reached its most dangerous moment.
For Sunagakure to survive, compromises had to be made.
As long as the village's autonomy remained intact, and as long as Sunagakure could still keep a share of mission commissions, everything else could be negotiated.
That was the line Chiyo and Ebizo had drawn.
Give up what could be given up.
Endure what had to be endured.
Live first.
As long as the village survived, there would be a future.
If they bought enough time, Sunagakure could rebuild.
One day, they might raise another shinobi of extraordinary talent.
Not necessarily someone as monstrous as Kizaru.
Even someone with seventy or eighty percent of Kizaru's ability would be enough to change the village's fate.
By then, what Sunagakure lost today could be taken back.
And the debt owed by Iwagakure and Kumogakure for invading them could also be repaid.
That was Chiyo's thinking.
It was also the conclusion reached by the senior officials who had been forced to accept reality.
With survival as their first priority, Sunagakure and Konoha began negotiations.
But even though Ebizo had prepared himself for harsh terms, his expression still changed when he heard Danzo's proposal.
"Elder Danzo."
Ebizo's voice remained calm, but his eyes had turned cold.
"Are these really Konoha's terms for an ally?"
Chiyo sat beside him without speaking, but the air around her had clearly grown heavier.
Danzo's demands were not simply harsh.
They were designed to reach directly into Sunagakure's foundation.
First, Sunagakure would pay five hundred million ryō to cover the cost of Konoha's reinforcements.
Second, Konoha and Sunagakure would sign a brotherly alliance, with Konoha taking the leading position in all major decisions between the two villages.
Those two points, painful as they were, could still be endured.
But the rest were far worse.
In order to better protect the Land of Wind and Sunagakure, the Sand would invest three hundred million ryō every year to hire Konoha shinobi to conduct regular patrols and maintain peace inside the Land of Wind.
In order to support Sunagakure's reconstruction, Sunagakure would also invest another two hundred million ryō every year to hire Konoha education consultants, who would assist in reforming the village's ninja education system.
On top of that, any mineral resources mined by Sunagakure in the future could only be sold to Konoha.
Those three conditions were enough to choke Sunagakure's future.
Five hundred million ryō every year in so-called protection and guidance fees.
If Sunagakure agreed to that, the village would never truly recover.
The shinobi of the village would risk their lives on missions for an entire year, only for a large part of that income to flow directly into Konoha's hands.
What would be left for development?
Weapons?
Puppet research?
Training?
Infrastructure?
The village would barely maintain its current state, let alone rise again.
And Konoha wanted to interfere with Sunagakure's education system.
That was not assistance.
That was planting roots inside the next generation of the Sand.
Danzo, however, remained unmoved.
"These conditions are meant to stabilize your village."
Ebizo's gaze sharpened.
"Stabilize?"
His fingers pressed against the armrest of his chair.
"You want Konoha shinobi patrolling our land, Konoha consultants entering our academy, and our resources sold only to Konoha."
He stared straight at Danzo.
"That is not support. That is control."
Danzo's expression did not change.
"Sunagakure's current situation is not a secret, Ebizo."
His voice was low and steady.
"You lost too many shinobi. Your defenses are broken. Iwagakure and Kumogakure have both seen your weakness."
Chiyo's eyes narrowed.
Danzo continued without hesitation.
"If Konoha had not moved, what would have happened to this village yesterday?"
The room fell silent for a moment.
Ebizo's expression darkened.
"We are grateful for Konoha's support."
"Gratitude alone does not rebuild a village."
"And surrendering our future does?"
Danzo looked at him coldly.
"You misunderstand your position."
Chiyo finally spoke.
"Then explain it to us."
Her voice was old, but there was nothing weak about it.
Danzo turned his gaze toward her.
"Sunagakure needs Konoha."
Chiyo's fingers moved slightly beneath her sleeve.
Danzo did not miss it but he continued.
"And Konoha is willing to give you protection."
Ebizo let out a quiet breath.
"Protection that empties our treasury, enters our academy, and takes control of our trade."
Danzo's eye hardened.
"Protection always has a cost."
"That cost is too high."
"Too high?"
Danzo's tone sank.
"Compared to the village being burned down?"
The atmosphere in the room tightened at once.
Several Sunagakure shinobi standing outside the room instinctively straightened.
Ebizo's face turned ugly.
"Elder Danzo, choose your words carefully."
Danzo leaned slightly on his cane.
"I am choosing them carefully."
Chiyo stared at him.
Danzo met her gaze without flinching.
"You saw what happened yesterday. You saw what Kizaru did."
At the mention of that name, the room became even colder.
Danzo's voice remained calm.
"Konoha has the strength to protect Sunagakure."
Then his tone lowered.
"No one else does."
Ebizo's jaw tightened.
"Is that a threat?"
Danzo's answer came without pause.
"It is a fact."
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then Ebizo said sharply, "If this is Konoha's sincerity, then I see none of it."
Danzo's face darkened.
"Sunagakure intends to reject our goodwill?"
"It is not goodwill when it comes with a collar."
Danzo's fingers tightened over his cane.
"You should consider the consequences before refusing."
Ebizo's voice also hardened.
"And Konoha should consider what happens when it pushes an ally too far."
"Hmph."
Danzo's lips barely moved.
"An ally?"
His one visible eye looked between Chiyo and Ebizo.
"Allies stand on equal ground."
Neither Chiyo nor Ebizo answered.
Because that was exactly the problem.
Sunagakure no longer stood on equal ground with Konoha.
The first day of negotiations ended in open conflict.
No agreement was reached.
That night, after leaving the reception room, Danzo went to the room where Kizaru was staying.
When he entered, the first thing he saw was Shukaku and Matatabi sitting on Kizaru's bed, playing cards.
The One-Tail's small body was hunched forward with a deeply serious expression.
Matatabi sat opposite him, her two tails swaying lazily.
Danzo stopped in the doorway.
For a rare moment, his expression became strange.
During the negotiations today, Danzo had already heard that Kizaru had somehow convinced Shukaku to follow him and intended to take the One-Tail away from Sunagakure.
Ebizo had immediately seized on that point.
He had argued that Sunagakure had already paid a tremendous price by losing its tailed beast, and that this alone proved the village's sincerity.
Danzo's answer had been simple.
Even if Shukaku stayed in Sunagakure, the village no longer had the strength to suppress him if he went on a rampage.
Kizaru taking Shukaku away was for Sunagakure's own safety.
On that point, Danzo had not lied.
With only Chiyo remaining as a Kage-level force, Sunagakure truly lacked the ability to suppress the One-Tail.
Chiyo's puppet technique was powerful, but puppet users were better suited for fighting shinobi, not restraining tailed beasts.
The ability to suppress a tailed beast was one of the unspoken requirements when the Five Great Shinobi Villages selected their Kage.
That had also been one of the reasons Chiyo had not become Kazekage in the past.
If the Third Kazekage had not suddenly died in battle, and if Sunagakure had not suffered such severe losses, Chiyo would never have been forced to step into the position of Fourth Kazekage.
Danzo's statement had been true.
But saying it so bluntly had still made Chiyo and Ebizo furious.
It was the kind of truth that gave the other side no room to refute.
The kind that left them humiliated, yet unable to overturn the table.
"Kizaru."
Shukaku noticed Danzo first and glanced toward the door.
"There's an old man here."
Danzo's cheek twitched.
His first impression of the One-Tail immediately sank to the bottom.
A tailed beast like this should be sealed properly and turned into a jinchūriki weapon.
Danzo gave Shukaku a cold glance.
Shukaku grinned back without fear.
Just then, Kizaru walked out from the inner room.
Danzo's face shifted back into a mild smile.
"Kizaru."
He looked at his nephew with what seemed like concern.
"You worked hard."
Kizaru tilted his head slightly.
"Ooh~ not really."
He walked over lazily and dropped himself onto the sofa.
"From here on, the hard work is yours, Uncle."
Danzo sat across from him.
"I expected you to say that."
Kizaru smiled faintly.
After asking Kizaru for the details of yesterday's battlefield, Danzo gave him a full explanation of the negotiations with Sunagakure.
Kizaru listened with one hand propping up his cheek, his expression as relaxed as ever.
After finishing, Danzo gave his own judgment.
"Sunagakure suffered too much in this war."
His voice was calm.
"They have no path left except relying on Konoha."
Kizaru leaned back against the sofa.
"How frightening~"
Danzo glanced at him.
"That was not a joke."
"It sounded like one."
Danzo ignored that and continued, "I pushed them hard today. Chiyo and Ebizo resisted, but that was expected."
Kizaru smiled.
"You looked like you were ready to start another war."
"That was intentional."
"Hmm~"
Kizaru rubbed his chin.
"Maybe next time, make it look a little less natural."
Danzo's eye narrowed.
"You think my acting was poor?"
Kizaru's smile deepened.
"No, no."
He waved one hand lazily.
"That was the scary part."
Danzo stared at him for a moment, then suddenly laughed.
"When it comes to acting, I am still far behind you."
His words carried another meaning.
In Danzo's mind, Kizaru's usual lazy appearance had long since become a mask used to conceal deeper ambition.
Kizaru paused.
Then he scratched the side of his head in distress.
Danzo had clearly misunderstood something again.
But after thinking about it, Kizaru did not bother explaining.
If Danzo wanted to misunderstand, then that was fine.
It might even make things easier.
"I don't really understand what you mean, Uncle."
Kizaru's expression became innocent.
Danzo laughed again.
"I am simply pleased with your performance."
After saying that, he gradually suppressed his smile and returned to business.
"You will remain in Sunagakure for a few more days."
Kizaru looked at him through his sunglasses.
"Still?"
"When Homura arrives, you may leave whenever you want."
Danzo had no intention of allowing Kizaru to directly participate in the negotiations.
Kizaru's role was not to speak.
His existence itself was the greatest pressure.
Right now, the name Kizaru carried enough weight to hold down an entire country.
"That sounds troublesome~"
"You do not need to worry about the negotiations. Just stay in the village."
Kizaru let out a slow breath.
"Got it."
After giving the arrangements, Danzo did not stay any longer and left the room.
For the next two days, Danzo continued playing the hardline role.
Every day, he entered the reception room with a gloomy face, pressed Sunagakure hard, and brought up Kizaru whenever the negotiation reached a deadlock.
Sunagakure was not foolish.
Chiyo and Ebizo could roughly guess that Konoha was deliberately using Danzo as the harsh face, trying to intimidate them first before introducing more acceptable terms later.
Everyone present was an old fox.
No one needed the game explained to them.
Chiyo and Ebizo did not expose it.
They simply continued arguing with Danzo each day, pushing back where they could and refusing to give ground too easily.
Compared to Danzo's intense negotiations, Kizaru's days were much easier.
For the past two days, Sunagakure had assigned shinobi to guide him around the village.
He wandered through the streets, looked at the scenery, and tasted the local food.
Compared to Konoha, Sunagakure's resources were definitely poorer.
But the village still had its own specialties.
In particular, their grilled meat had a distinct desert flavor that Kizaru rather liked.
The quality and number of beautiful women in Sunagakure were not bad either.
Unfortunately, because the village was located deep in the desert, there was nothing like the hot spring streets outside Konoha.
That was a small disappointment.
"Ooh~"
On the commercial street in the heart of Sunagakure, Kizaru suddenly stopped.
In front of him stood a small red-haired child holding a wooden puppet.
The child looked no older than four.
He had a quiet face and a pair of eyes that seemed far too calm for his age.
Kizaru lowered his sunglasses slightly and bent down.
"What a serious little face."
The red-haired child looked up at the tall, strange man in front of him.
Then he silently took two steps back.
Kizaru smiled.
"Ara ara~ no need to be that cautious."
The child hugged the wooden puppet tighter.
The Sunagakure shinobi assigned to guide Kizaru quickly hurried over.
"Kizaru-sama."
He did not know what had happened, but remembering Ebizo's order not to offend Kizaru under any circumstances, he immediately lowered his head slightly.
"Did this child trouble you?"
Kizaru straightened up and smiled.
"No, no."
He glanced at the child again.
"I just thought he looked interesting."
The Sunagakure shinobi quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Then he smiled and explained, "This is Kazekage-sama's grandson. His name is Sasori. He just turned four this year."
After that, the Sunagakure shinobi looked at the boy and softened his voice.
"Sasori, this is Kizaru-sama. He is an honored guest from Konoha."
Konoha.
The moment he heard that word, Sasori's eyes moved slightly.
He remembered hearing his parents mention Konoha before they left.
The little boy looked up at Kizaru.
"Uncle Kizaru."
His voice was soft, but there was clear expectation inside it.
"Have you seen my parents?"
The Sunagakure shinobi's expression changed.
His eyes immediately became pleading as he looked toward Kizaru.
Kizaru's smile on his face faded slightly.
Sasori's parents had both been elite puppet masters of Sunagakure.
During the ambush battle in the Land of Rain, the Sand's puppet unit had been completely wiped out by Hatake Sakumo.
In the original course of events, Sasori's parents would also have died at the hands of Sakumo.
Kizaru's arrival had changed many things.
But some tragedies had only happened earlier.
In the original story, Sasori's path into darkness had begun with the death of his parents.
Chiyo, unable to bear the loss of her son and daughter-in-law, buried herself in forbidden research. She tried to give life to the father and mother puppets Sasori created, hoping to ease the pain of the child left behind.
But because she focused too much on forbidden techniques, she failed to truly stay beside Sasori when he needed her most.
That loneliness eventually pushed him toward darkness.
If Chiyo had not chosen to escape into research after losing her family, and had instead stayed with Sasori, perhaps his life would have turned out differently.
The ninja world really was cruel.
Kizaru did not regret defeating enemies on the battlefield.
Nor did he think Hatake Sakumo had done anything wrong by destroying Sunagakure's puppet unit.
That was war.
A war between countries.
A war between shinobi villages.
On the battlefield, there was no clean right or wrong.
Only who survived and who did not.
Maybe the real mistake was being born into this era.
This shinobi world created too many children like Sasori.
Too many people lost something precious, then spent the rest of their lives trying to change the world in their own broken way.
Heroes.
Villains.
Avengers.
Dreamers.
In the end, most of them were only people who had been hurt too deeply.
Maybe gathering the entire world under one system really would reduce tragedies like this.
Kizaru thought about it for a moment.
Then his expression became weary.
That sounded far too troublesome.
He was not suited for that kind of work.
Better to hand those difficult dreams to energetic young people and give them a push from behind.
Kizaru looked at Sasori again.
A small goal first, then.
Perhaps Konoha could raise its own Akatsuki.
"Your parents are on a mission connected to Konoha."
Kizaru crouched down in front of Sasori and spoke gently.
"You'll see them again someday."
The Sunagakure shinobi beside him hesitated.
His lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing.
"Really?"
Sasori's eyes lit up.
After Chiyo returned to the village, Sasori had sensed something.
The adults around him acted strangely.
Some stopped speaking when he came close.
Some looked at him with pity.
Even though he was young, Sasori had vaguely understood that his parents might never come back.
But Kizaru's words gave him a small thread of hope.
Even if he knew this man might be lying, Sasori still wanted to believe him.
Just in case.
"Really."
Kizaru's smile softened.
He raised his hand and placed it gently on Sasori's head.
This was not entirely a lie.
Kizaru did know ways for Sasori to see his parents again.
Edo Tensei could allow Sasori to meet them.
And the Rinnegan's Outer Path, the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique, could even truly bring the dead back.
Of course, the price of using Rinne Rebirth was the caster's life.
But that was not an unsolvable problem.
There were plenty of shinobi in the ninja world who had committed unforgivable crimes.
If the lives of that kind of scum could be used for something meaningful, Kizaru saw no problem with it.
As for whether such people could withstand the Rinnegan and successfully use Rinne Rebirth, that would depend on Orochimaru's future research into Hashirama cells.
First, strengthen the body with Hashirama cells.
Then leave behind a method of control.
After that, transplant the Rinnegan.
Finally, use Sharingan genjutsu to control the vessel and activate Rinne Rebirth.
In theory, the possibility of success was not low.
"Then…"
Sasori looked at Kizaru with barely hidden eagerness.
"Can you take me to Konoha to see them?"
Kizaru smiled.
"Be a good boy."
He slowly stood up.
"I'll come find you later."
Kizaru knew very well how talented Sasori was in machinery, puppets, and biological modification.
In Kizaru's opinion, it would be a waste for Sasori to only focus on ordinary puppetry.
Puppets were fine.
But if he was going to build something, why stop there?
Mecha.
That was the romance of men.
Sasori nodded seriously.
"I'll be good."
Kizaru reached out and lightly rubbed Sasori's head once more before withdrawing his hand.
I wonder how far Orochimaru has gotten with Edo Tensei.
Looking at Sasori's expectant face, Kizaru decided that after returning to the village, he should ask Orochimaru about his progress.
He still remembered that when he had taken Hatake Sakumo to visit Orochimaru, the first solution Orochimaru proposed for Sakumo's wife had been Edo Tensei.
As long as the technical side had no major problem, the remaining issues could be solved one by one.
And Sasori himself already fit into Konoha's next plan.
As the first target of the international student program, Konoha's proposal required the descendants of Sunagakure's senior officials to enter Konoha's Ninja Academy as students.
As the grandson of the Kazekage, Sasori was naturally on that list.
As long as Danzo and Homura Mitokado successfully persuaded Sunagakure to accept Konoha's demands regarding foreign students and stationed troops, four-year-old Sasori would soon be sent to Konoha to study.
As for whether Sunagakure would refuse, Kizaru did not think the chances were high.
Because Sunagakure only had two choices.
Accept Konoha's conditions, become a true ally under Konoha's protection, and continue surviving.
Or reject Konoha's conditions, stand against Konoha, and be carved apart by the Land of Fire, Land of Earth, and Land of Lightning.
If Sunagakure accepted the student program, then Sasori, as Chiyo's direct descendant, had to be sent to Konoha.
As Kazekage, Chiyo had to set the example herself.
If even her own grandson remained in Sunagakure while the descendants of other senior officials were sent away, resentment would spread immediately.
And Konoha would never accept that kind of exception.
Just as Kizaru expected, after Homura Mitokado arrived in Sunagakure, the negotiations between the two villages finally began to make real progress.
Compared to Danzo's earlier demands, Homura's proposed terms sounded far more reasonable.
Even though Sunagakure's senior officials remained deeply dissatisfied with Konoha's educational support plan and the stationing of peacekeeping troops, they could not deny that the new proposal was much easier to accept than Danzo's first conditions.
The Konoha troops stationed near Sunagakure would not require yearly payment from the Sand.
They would help maintain regional security without adding further financial pressure to the village.
Sunagakure only needed to pay two prices.
First, they had to provide territory near the village for Konoha's shinobi force to be stationed.
Second, the descendants of the village's senior officials would be sent to Konoha as students.
Everyone understood what that meant.
On the surface, they were international students.
In reality, they were hostages.
But compared to losing the village entirely, even that price was something Sunagakure had no choice but to consider.
The war had already pushed them to the edge.
And now, whether they liked it or not, Konoha's hand was already on the future of the Sand.
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