In the world of Naruto, S-rank missions were already rare, and even among them, the few that existed might reward a ninja around 100 million ryo, sometimes less. Even then, the payment was usually split among a large team. These missions were exceptionally dangerous, such as raiding enemy supply bases, wiping out entire divisions of ninja forces, or executing high-risk assassinations deep behind enemy lines. Only true Kage-level shinobi could reliably succeed in such tasks alone, and even then, a newly promoted Kage-level ninja could still die if confronted by multiple coordinated jonin or elite jonin.
In other words, 100 million ryo was a lot of money.
And 10 billion ryo for a single S-rank jutsu sounded staggering, but in reality, it wasn't so.
Konoha possessed many S-rank techniques, but most were forbidden. Normal, non-forbidden S-rank elemental ninjutsu was extremely rare, typically held by a specific clan, not the village itself. A village might have one or two remaining from past generations or Kage legacies, and in some cases, an S-rank technique might even be tied to a bloodline limit, making it impossible to teach. Many S-rank jutsu within the great villages came from the late Warring States era, techniques inherited from clans that joined and perished, clans that were defeated in the process of village creation for being on the wrong side of history, or clans whose remaining members were absorbed as civilians. Of course, publicly known S-rank jutsus that were forbidden were usually taken by the village to regulate them, but these cases were also few.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that if Hashirama had wiped out the Uchiha during the founding era, all Uchiha jutsu would have become "village property."
The talks in Sunagakure continued for a few more minutes before everyone realized the details were too important to rush. They adjourned for the day, and Kurozai was summoned the following morning to meet the Daimyo and the Third Kazekage.
Kurozai and the other Land of Lightning officials could already guess the conclusion; they had made their decision.
It was the Daimyo of the Land of Wind who spoke:
"Advisor Kurozai, and officials of the Land of Lightning. In the name of the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, I declare that Roran shall come under the influence and protection of the Land of Lightning and Kumogakure. Furthermore, the surrounding desert territory belonging to the Land of Wind surrounding Roran to the southwestern coastline will be sold to the Land of Lightning and placed under Kumogakure's sphere of influence, so long as the Land of Wind and the Land of Lightning remain at peace and uphold the forthcoming non-aggression pact."
Hearing these words, Kurozai thought, "It's settled. We have a deal."
The actual paperwork and signing began shortly afterward. Only a few minor adjustments were made to the already-prepared agreements. One addition was particularly beneficial; Sunagakure would no longer be required to pay exorbitant domestic taxes to the Land of Wind when conducting village-level business. This applied only to the village as a military institution, not to individual ninjas, clans, or private merchants.
This meant that when Sunagakure purchased weapons or supplies through this new trade system, the materials passing through Land of Wind territory would be taxed at a symbolic rate rather than the crushing levies of the past, saving the village significant resources.
In exchange, Sunagakure chose the option of receiving two S-rank jutsu, while the Daimyo's mansion itself would receive the 10 billion ryo fully. Kurozai suspected Sunagakure had also requested that village funding return to normal levels within the next few years.
Once everything was finalized, the Daimyo and the Kazekage signed the documents and handed them to Kurozai. He summoned a messenger beast, entrusted the documents to it, and within minutes, it returned, bringing the papers now signed by the Raikage and the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning.
The agreement was official.
And history had quietly shifted, of course, after the completion of the materials handover.