After seeing off the messenger from the capital, Shamon seemed to lose all the strength in his body and sat down powerlessly; a trace of fatigue appeared on his cold face, and never before had others seen such a weak side to this strong Kazekage.
"You have all heard it; the capital demands that we immediately cease fire and make peace with the Land of Fire," the Second Kazekage said, glancing at the high-ranking Officials present.
Although everyone knew that peace was the inevitable outcome, they did not expect it to come so quickly. According to the Second Kazekage's initial plan, they were supposed to reach a stalemate with the Land of Fire before negotiating for peace, so that they would not be led by the nose during the negotiations.
But now, the unit led by Fūmori Masaki of Konohagakure was still striking the Land of Wind's forces, and the regular army of the Land of Fire was also suppressing the Land of Wind's samurai troops; the situation could be described as very poor.
Sunagakure was not without the power to counterattack; they had been formulating a battle plan during these days, not asking for a great victory, just not to lose. But before it could be implemented, the order from the capital was thrown at them.
"Lord Kazekage, are we just going to admit defeat like this?" Chiyo was very unwilling, "We clearly still have strength left!"
"Since the Daimyo has said so, we have no choice but to comply. After all, we are still Ninjas employed by the Daimyo, and we cannot ignore the employer's words," the Second Kazekage shook his head.
Even with a certain status, the traditional Ninja mindset still bound them—be loyal to the employer, treat oneself as a worker, and be diligent—if they were rogue Ninjas, it would be easy to break out of this thinking, but for a traditional Ninja like the Second Kazekage who came from the Warring States Period, it was impossible to easily change his concepts.
Chiyo was also a Ninja educated with traditional concepts; with the Daimyo's order in front of her, she couldn't say anything either. She smashed her fist hard on the table and gritted her teeth, saying: "Damn it, why did the Daimyo have to do this at this time..."
"Because the people from the Land of Fire sent envoys over, telling the Daimyo that since the defeat was already set, there was no need to fight meaninglessly. They also roped in those Officials in the capital who had long thought the war should end, which really made the Daimyo nod," the Second Kazekage sighed.
It was not that the Second Kazekage hadn't considered submitting a petition to the Daimyo, but the messenger from the capital conveyed the Daimyo's meaning—back then, it was you who said you could win benefits for the country, which is why he supported increasing military strength. But the result was like this, and it seemed impossible to gain anything. Instead of wasting military funds in vain, it was better to end it now!
Because the Land of Wind's land was barren, the national treasury's funds had always been tight, and the Daimyo was basically calculating, just like a miser. For the sake of enhancing national strength, he supported Sunagakure's tendency towards militarism, but now, seeing that the war situation was unfavorable, he gave up decisively. After all, maintaining military expenses for so many people for a doomed war was simply too wasteful.
"Although it is a bit regrettable, it is not unacceptable. The envoys of the Land of Fire have submitted a preliminary peace agreement. At least they are very sincere about peace and do not intend to covet much from the Land of Wind," the Second Kazekage said, then gave a bitter smile, "There isn't anything here worth them coveting, is there?"
This self-deprecating remark from the Second Kazekage couldn't help but arouse sorrow in everyone's hearts. What were they shedding their blood and sacrificing their lives for, if not for this country to get better land?
"The specific peace agreement still needs to be discussed in detail with Konohagakure. Let's try our best to strive for some benefits for the country; the Daimyo said the same thing," the Second Kazekage concluded.
Thus, Sunagakure requested a temporary ceasefire from Konohagakure and asked to discuss the terms of peace. Seeing the other side finally soften, the Konohagakure side was also very happy and immediately sent envoys to negotiate with them. The first draft of the agreement was the one submitted by the Land of Fire's envoy; on this point, they did not deceive them.
Tobirama intended to adopt Fūmori Masaki's suggestion. The Land of Wind was a country that was both powerful and fragile. It was powerful in its military strength and fragile in its domestic life. If there was no way to kill it with one blow, then slowly bleed it dry to eliminate future troubles; it was not a bad idea.
Therefore, in the peace talks with Sunagakure, the focus should be on the goal of long-term bloodletting. Giving the other side some concessions in the near-term goals would not matter, as long as it didn't drive them to desperation.
First, after the agreement is signed, both sides will withdraw their troops and return, and neither may enter the Land of Rivers again. This is a necessary condition, and no one has any objections;
Second, both sides will conclude a treaty of alliance, not to invade each other. When one side requests military assistance, the other side should provide appropriate help to maintain peace in the Ninja World;
Third, is to return the land that the Land of Wind obtained during the distribution of the Tailed Beast as compensation for invading the Land of Fire, and the war reparations can be appropriately reduced.
This point had been anticipated long ago. As the losing side, the Land of Wind naturally had to pay some price. These lands were not the Land of Wind's to begin with. Although it hurt, it was still acceptable, at least psychologically;
Fourth, using the Land of Rivers as a transit point, establish commercial channels and conduct trade. The Land of Fire can provide food, fruits, living utensils, and other materials urgently needed by the Land of Wind, selling them at reasonable prices and offering discounts depending on the situation. If the Land of Wind cannot pay an equivalent amount in money, they can use the abundant ores in their country as a substitute.
This was the condition that made the Daimyo tempted. To be able to get what they lacked without war, even if it cost money, it was still lower than the military expenses required for war;
Fifth, Sunagakure needs to lease out a portion of its chakra metal mines, and Konohagakure will provide a leasing fee annually, namely food and money.
This was something that Sunagakure needed to consider carefully. chakra metal is a special metal that can conduct Chakra, very suitable for making weapons like Chakra blades, and puppets are constructed with this metal. Although it cannot be said to be a resource that cannot be given up, it is an important one, which makes people hesitate.
What made people curious was why Konohagakure needed chakra metal. chakra metal is basically used to make Chakra blades; it is useful, but it is not that powerful. The new method of utilization is Sunagakure's puppets, so some people feel that Konohagakure wants to imitate the puppet tactics.
It looked a bit alarming, but after the Second Kazekage considered it, he felt there was no need to make such a fuss. Indeed, if it was the manufacturing method of puppets, as long as Konohagakure studied it carefully, they could always figure it out. But the core of puppet manipulation belonged only to Sunagakure; this was formed by unique geographical environments and cultural traditions, which were not so easy to imitate. By the time they imitated it, Sunagakure would have long left Konohagakure far behind.
Furthermore, Konohagakure was only leasing—although everyone could see that it was obviously an occupation, if they really wanted to seize it by force, Sunagakure would not be able to oppose it. Under the name of leasing, at least Sunagakure could still get food and money—this was still acceptable, so this condition was also agreed to.
The general content of the peace agreement consisted of these five points, and some details were also fully supplemented. Both sides were satisfied and handed it to their respective leaders. After the Second Kazekage read it, he said to the others: "Konohagakure's peace talks are still very sincere, lower than we imagined, and the trade is also what we need. This war was not completely without gain."
"However, signing such a treaty is still very shameful." Chiyo lowered her head slightly.
"Therefore, I hope you will not forget today's events. In the future, if there is a chance, you must make Konohagakure pay it back. But... if there is no such chance, you must be on good terms with Konohagakure, do not let emotions affect your decision-making, and ensure the interests of the country. I hope you can keep this in mind!"
"Yes!" everyone said in unison.
Afterwards, both sides agreed on a location for peace talks. This time, there were no people like Kinkaku and Ginkaku to disturb them. The treaty was successfully signed, the troops were immediately withdrawn, and the reparations and land would be delivered one after another. Although there were still many follow-up matters, the dawn of peace had arrived quietly.
the new third hokage of konoha