Hearing the words this old woman, Natsume's mouth twitched slightly.
Natsume hurriedly took out the prepared documents from the Hokage's secretariat and tossed them over.
With precise control, they landed right in front of the two.
"These are the terms of alliance."
Natsume raised his hand and said, "Please take a look."
Chiyo and Rasa exchanged a glance and opened the file.
Before long, complex expressions appeared on their faces.
Anger, fear, helplessness.
It was like they were changing masks—impossible to settle on one.
"Lord Hokage."
Chiyo took a deep breath. "Although Sunagakure lost this war, the terms Konoha is proposing are excessive."
"Excessive?"
Natsume narrowed his eyes slightly, gaze falling on the two. "If we were the ones who lost, would you show mercy?"
Chiyo's face stiffened at once.
If Sunagakure had won, Konoha's fate wouldn't be pretty either.
She understood that much.
But if they really agreed to these three demands, Sunagakure would have no future.
And she and Rasa would go down as sinners, reviled by posterity.
Chiyo's expression shifted again and again. After a moment of silence, she asked, "The first two conditions are acceptable, but can we change the third?"
"Elder Chiyo?!"
Rasa shot to his feet, eyes fixed on her.
How could she agree to this?
Hand over Gaara and puppet techniques—what's left for Sunagakure?
"Shut up!"
Chiyo glared at him and snapped, "You're already a prisoner. What can you do?"
Rasa froze.
A moment later, looking dejected, he sat back down and kept quiet.
Elder Chiyo had undoubtedly made the right choice.
He understood that, but he couldn't help the bitterness in his heart.
Danzo!
Rasa grit his teeth and pinned the blame on him again.
Sunagakure had been doing fine, and he just had to stick his hand in!
In his anger, he completely forgot the excitement and ambition he'd felt when he first saw sealing techniques and the Dragon Vein.
"Sunagakure's environment is harsh and we've never been wealthy. In recent years, the Wind Daimyo has cut support, and we've grown even poorer."
Chiyo sighed, laying bare Sunagakure's hollow strength.
Of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Konoha, Kumo, and Iwa were the real deal.
The other two were in rough shape.
But now Kirigakure, relying on Natsume, was gradually improving.
Only Sunagakure remained unchanged.
Even Natsume didn't have many solutions.
It was a desert, after all.
In the previous world, they barely improved deserts with advanced tech.
The shinobi world was far behind that.
"Lord Hokage, if half our mission volume is taken away, many Sunagakure shinobi will be affected."
Chiyo continued, "Konoha isn't short of money or missions. I think you could change the conditions and gain even greater benefits."
Her words were quite reasonable—and from Konoha's perspective, no less.
Natsume silently marveled at her seasoned cunning.
If Sunagakure's economy survived, the future would still hold hope.
At least they wouldn't collapse.
"Money? We have plenty."
Natsume said something tailor-made to draw hate.
Especially from Rasa, who nearly coughed blood.
To fund Sunagakure's daily expenses, he—the Fourth Kazekage, a Magnet Release user—had been forced to pan for gold in the desert.
"I can even assign Sunagakure missions."
Natsume said slowly.
A shinobi's life is actually a lot like an MMO.
Take quests, earn money.
When they're not on missions, they eat, drink, and play.
Practically no different from players.
In that case, accepting Skynet wouldn't be hard.
They didn't need to know how it worked.
They only had to know they could take missions anytime, anywhere.
As for Chakra Coins, he could enable exchange with real-world currency.
Given Sunagakure's situation, they'd pour in chakra like mad to earn money.
After all, they didn't lack shinobi.
"What did you say?!"
Chiyo and Rasa thought they'd misheard, staring in shock and disbelief.
Natsume produced a Skynet login device and explained what it did.
The two found it even more fantastical and absurd.
Someone this generous could exist in the world?
Exchanging chakra for money.
Wasn't that basically free money?
Natsume smiled.
It looked like a huge win for Sunagakure, but it wasn't.
Leaving aside how to harvest chakra, once shinobi got used to Skynet, something would happen:
They would stop obeying Sunagakure's orders.
In essence, they'd become Natsume's mercenaries.
He was sure if he posted a mission to assassinate the Kazekage, some Sunagakure shinobi would take the risk.
Provided the reward was big enough.
And there were more "gameplay" options:
Submit jutsu, items, or intel for rewards.
"We agree!"
Rasa blurted out.
He'd had enough of being a gold miner.
Chiyo frowned.
Her instincts told her there was a catch.
But she had to admit it was tempting—solving Sunagakure's money problems in one stroke.
After a moment, Chiyo agreed as well.
"By the way, have Kankuro and Temari stay too, so Gaara won't be lonely."
Natsume thought for a moment and added a condition.
Shinobi squads came in threes.
Gaara alone needed two more.
Having Kankuro and Temari remain made perfect sense.
Chiyo and Rasa's faces stiffened.
Especially Rasa's.
Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari weren't just standouts of their generation—they were all his children.
Now all three would remain in Konoha—basically hostages.
But he didn't dare refuse, lest he be kept as well.
Then the whole family would be neatly lined up.
[Because of your actions, the fates of Chiyo, Rasa, Gaara, Shukaku, Kankuro, and Temari have changed. You gain 420 Fate Points.]
Not bad—more than expected.
Natsume was quite satisfied.
And with a few more moves in the future, they could keep contributing Fate Points.
Excellent.
The two sides signed the pact, making Konoha and Sunagakure allies from that day on.
An unequal alliance, though.
...
"Kurenai, make the announcement."
Natsume opened the door and casually handed the pact to Yūhi Kurenai.
It didn't mention Skynet.
But he'd added another condition: besides puppet techniques, all other secret techniques had to be submitted to Konoha as well.
In a shinobi village, the most important things are shinobi and jutsu.
Sunagakure was being cleaned out.
Kurenai glanced at the pact and her eyes lit up.
A tailed beast plus all their techniques—this was the most lucrative haul Konoha had seen since its founding.
She nodded and went back to the office, notifying the ANBU to spread the news through the village.
...
Sarutobi Clan compound.
"Old man."
Sarutobi Asuma handed a bulletin to Hiruzen. "What just happened."
Smoke drifted up.
Hiruzen took a deep drag on his pipe, wearing a complicated expression.
Previously, some said Natsume became Hokage thanks to Tsunade.
Now, no one could object.
Natsume would become the greatest Hokage after Hashirama.
Overnight, he'd surpassed decades of Hiruzen's maneuvering.
Hiruzen now deeply understood the importance of strength.
"Tsunade was right—she chose a good student."
His tone held a sliver of regret.
If not for Tsunade, Natsume might have fallen into his hands.
Then he could have contributed even more to Konoha.
Though things weren't bad now.
"Asuma, go remind the clan: from now on, no private agendas."
Hiruzen said sternly, "Natsume is Hokage. His word must be followed."
"Relax, old man. Who dares disobey now?"
Asuma said wryly, "Even Kurenai stopped paying me any mind once she became the Hokage's secretary."
"Kurenai, let her go."
Hiruzen advised. "Konoha has many good girls; she's not the only one."
"I know."
Asuma stroked his beard and sighed.
In looks, he couldn't compare to Natsume.
He could only watch Kurenai drift away.
And there wasn't anything he could do.
He might even need her help in the future.
...
A small inn not far from ANBU.
The temporary lodgings for the Sand delegation.
Except for Gaara, Baki, and Rasa, the other shinobi had been released.
Including Kankuro and Temari.
The siblings were sitting on the roof.
"I wonder if Elder Chiyo can get Gaara and Lord Kazekage back."
Kankuro had lost his earlier swagger and looked dejected.
"It'll be hard."
Temari, in a shoulder-baring fishnet outfit, looked worried.
"If they can't, Sunagakure…"
Kankuro trailed off, unsure how to say it.
"Sunagakure might become Konoha's vassal."
Temari spoke the harsh truth.
"I won't allow it!"
Kankuro bristled, unwilling to accept it.
"Keep your voice down."
Temari sighed. "Don't let Konoha hear and cause a misunderstanding."
Kankuro fell silent.
Even the usually forthright Temari had become so cautious.
Losers had no dignity.
Just then, an ANBU appeared at the nearby bulletin board.
He posted a notice and left swiftly.
Kankuro and Temari looked at each other and leapt down.
They hurried to the board.
As expected, it was the alliance result.
But the terms left them dumbfounded and horrified.
"Stay in Konoha?"
Kankuro grabbed the board to keep from collapsing.
"…"
Temari managed to keep calm, but her lips trembled.
They knew exactly what it meant.
Not just being far from home—being hostages.
They might never come back.
How could she accept that?
But did they have a choice?
They were shinobi—laying down their lives for the village was nothing.
Sunagakure once had a Scorch Release shinobi named Pakura.
Powerful—and in the end, to appease Kirigakure's wrath, she was killed by her own people.
Now it was Temari's turn.
Temari smiled without a sound.
"How can this be?"
Cold sweat broke out on Kankuro. "I have to see Elder Chiyo!"