The faces of Chiyo and the others turned extremely ugly, their hearts filled with immense anger, humiliation, and even fear.
Kankurō, young and hot-blooded, with a rather impulsive personality, could no longer hold back.
"Lord Hokage, in the desert, a familiar battleground, Sunagakure will be united in its determination to protect the village, unafraid of death. The outcome is not yet certain!"
Kageyama Kogetsu frowned, his face displeased. "When adults are talking, what right does a child like you have to interrupt?"
"And who gave you permission to call me Lord Hokage?"
"You should call me Lord Hokage-sama. No manners, no upbringing. Slap yourself."
Although Kageyama Kogetsu's voice was calm and light, without a trace of anger, it easily plunged Kankurō into a genjutsu. His hands moved uncontrollably, slapping himself hard across the face, the sound echoing sharply.
With just one slap, the corner of his mouth started to bleed. Baki and Temari, who were beside him, rushed to break the genjutsu, but they were completely unable to.
Helpless, the two could only grab Kankurō's arms tightly.
Seeing this, Chiyo had no choice but to personally stand up and dispel the minor genjutsu cast by Kageyama Kogetsu.
He was her brother, after all. Although their bond wasn't too deep, combined with what Kageyama Kogetsu had said before, it also made Gaara very unhappy, and killing intent arose in his heart.
Gaara, with his problematic personality, couldn't help but make a move. Chakra-infused sand spewed from the mouth of his gourd, and then... there was no then.
Kageyama Kogetsu raised his head and pressed his hand down in the air. The chakra Gaara had gathered poured out, and even the chakra in the sand within his gourd was instantly absorbed from a distance.
Thud!
The sand fell, and the powerless Gaara collapsed to the ground. The Armor of Sand on his body crumbled, turning back into sand and falling to the floor.
"This Jinchūriki of yours has a decent amount of chakra, but unfortunately, he has no brain."
"What league are you in, to dare to make a move on me?"
"Even the One-Tail Shukaku is just a little tanuki I can suppress with a wave of my hand."
"Someone, drag him out and teach him a good lesson."
Swoosh. Fū Yamanaka and Torune Aburame, dressed in ANBU uniforms, appeared in a flash and were about to drag Gaara away to be disciplined...
"Lord Hokage-sama, Gaara... because of his childhood experiences, his personality is flawed. He doesn't know any better."
"Kankurō is impulsive; he didn't mean it. I beg you, be the bigger person and spare them this one time," Temari knelt down abruptly, her face pleading.
"Lord Hokage, please don't lower yourself to the level of children."
"Kankurō, Gaara, apologize to Lord Hokage at once," Chiyo said, bowing deeply.
Kageyama Kogetsu waved his hand. Fū and Torune stopped their actions, staring at the two menacingly.
"I apologize, Lord Hokage-sama. I misspoke," Kankurō said, his eyes fearful as he bowed.
Gaara was not afraid of death, but facing the expectant and pleading gazes of Chiyo, Temari, Kankurō, and Baki, he could only lie on the ground and speak.
"I apologize, Lord Hokage-sama."
Kageyama Kogetsu waved his hand. "Forget it."
Fū Yamanaka and Torune Aburame disappeared in a flash.
"Help him up. It's not that I'm trying to lecture you, but you all are really being ungrateful."
"I, Konoha, have treated you well enough. Tell me, which prisoners have ever received the treatment you have?"
"Besides being locked in prison, have you been tortured? Have you been deprived of food and drink? You were even allowed to continue participating in the Chūnin Exams."
"You are either Rasa's children or his trusted subordinates."
"I admit that I plotted against Rasa, but if he hadn't had the idea to betray the alliance and attack Konoha, would he, you, and Sunagakure have ended up in this situation?"
"You are still young. Elder Chiyo has experienced much more."
"Ask her, if the same thing happened in Sunagakure or any other hidden village, how would they handle it?"
"I'm afraid unspeakable things would have happened long ago. Am I right, Elder Chiyo?"
Chiyo sat back down on the sofa and forced a smile. "Thank you, Lord Hokage, for your magnanimity."
Baki and the others felt that Kageyama Kogetsu had a point, but they didn't want to admit it. For a moment, their feelings were very complicated.
That's right. Sunagakure should be thanking him.
"Let's be direct. The reason I had the four of you participate is, one, to let you gain some experience, and two, to warn you."
"When you have dissenting thoughts, you'd best think about today's events and consider carefully whether you can bear the price of betrayal..."
"From my perspective, you should be the most outstanding group of people in Sunagakure, unless Sunagakure is hiding even more talented individuals."
"If nothing unexpected happens, you will be the future high-ranking officials of Sunagakure."
"Elder Chiyo, you wouldn't want the outstanding younger generation of your village to die young, would you?"
Kageyama Kogetsu's tone remained calm and light, but the underlying threat in his words made the five of them feel a little dizzy.
"Lord Hokage, the last condition is truly too much."
"How about this: in the future, Konoha's opinion will be taken into consideration when selecting the Kazekage?" Chiyo said in a softer tone.
Kageyama Kogetsu shook his head. "No, absolutely not. The two big steps I've already conceded cannot be for nothing."
"Sigh... don't say anything about renegotiating."
"This is how I do things. There's no need for procrastination, and the same goes for negotiations."
"Besides, there's no time to procrastinate. Let's be direct. I want to cut through the mess with a sharp knife and not give the other villages a chance to intervene."
"So, delaying tactics are useless with me. Agree or not, give me a straight answer."
Hearing this, Chiyo sighed inwardly. It really was one trap after another, pressing them at every step. There was no room for maneuvering at all.
What to do?
Should I agree or not?
Seeing that Chiyo didn't refuse outright and was caught in a dilemma, Kageyama Kogetsu was secretly pleased and continued to raise the stakes.
"Don't be too desperate. I, Kageyama Kogetsu, am not a harsh and heartless person."
"As long as Sunagakure performs well and proves itself trustworthy, the mission share and other things can be discussed in the future."
"Also, for the bodies of the dead Suna ninja, I will only charge a small storage fee. The amount will definitely not be large, just a little something for the hard work of my subordinates."
"I've said my piece. Give me your answer in five seconds."
Kageyama Kogetsu held up his hand to count, retracting one finger every second.
When the last finger was about to be retracted, Chiyo finally broke.
"On behalf of Sunagakure, I agree," Chiyo said with a bitter expression.
Sigh... there's no other way. The circumstances are stronger than the person. I can only endure the humiliation and agree.
I can only hope that the younger generation will be more promising and find an opportunity to break the two heavy chains shackling Sunagakure after Kageyama Kogetsu's death.
I probably won't live to see it.
Baki and the other three looked at each other, their hearts also filled with bitterness.
From now on, the Kazekage would be subordinate to the Hokage, and the Suna ninja would be subordinate to the Konoha ninja...
"Good. He who understands the times is a wise man. Elder Chiyo is truly a rare heroine in the ninja world," Kageyama Kogetsu praised with a broad smile.
Heroine my ass. If I were a true heroine, I wouldn't have agreed to such a humiliating condition.
Even if I was one before, I'm not after agreeing to this.
Sigh... it will be troublesome to persuade the other high-ranking officials when I get back, and even more troublesome to appease the ninja in the village. I might just die from exhaustion.
Chiyo complained inwardly, but on the surface, she had to force a smile. "Lord Hokage, you flatter me."
"Haha... no, absolutely not."
"Go to the Administrative Department and have the two elders draw up the treaty. Then bring it here."
"Yes, Lord Hokage-sama."
Kageyama Kogetsu warmly invited them, "Come, have some tea, have some tea. You all sit down and have some tea too."
The five of them had no choice but to comply. The top-quality tea entered their stomachs, but the only taste they could discern was bitterness.
Soon, Fū Yamanaka brought the treaty. After reading it carefully, Chiyo took out the Kazekage's official seal and stamped it.
As for the signature...
What was an old retired woman like her supposed to sign? It should be signed by all the high-ranking officials of Sunagakure together, so they could all help carry the blame!
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