"You stupid fox! When I get out, I'm going to kill you!"
Shukaku roared furiously, gripping the bars of its cage. It was the type to keep running its mouth even when it couldn't win, which only earned it a more brutal beating from the Nine-Tails.
"Idiot..."
The Nine-Tails knew they had a long time to spend together. It was in a good mood for now, so it decided it would just pull the One-Tail out for a beating later when it wasn't.
Naruto Uzumaki had no time to resolve their dispute. Besides, emotionally and logically, he was on the Nine-Tails' side. If the Nine-Tails were to pummel the One-Tail, Naruto might even use his Adamantine Sealing Chains to help restrain it and prevent it from fighting back.
High above the Sand Village, Gaara nervously touched his stomach. He still had a piece of the One-Tail inside him, but this part, having lost a large amount of chakra, was now only the size of his palm. In the future, Shukaku wouldn't be able to fight him for control of his body, let alone provide chakra in a battle.
Being so small, what good is it?
No, it was still useful. As long as a Tailed Beast existed inside Gaara, he would not die.
In the beginning, all he wanted was to control the One-Tail so his father and the villagers would stop looking at him differently. That was Gaara's original dream.
The red-haired boy looked at Naruto across from him and suddenly asked, "Why didn't you take all of Shukaku's chakra and just kill me?"
"If I killed you..." A smile appeared on the corner of Naruto's mouth. "Who would be left to announce the Sand Village's unconditional surrender?"
"..."
The words were infuriating, but Naruto was speaking the truth. Right now, the Sand Village had only one path left: surrender.
Gaara looked down at the Sand Village, which had been turned into a forest, a complex feeling rising in his heart. He had once hated this place and looked forward to the day it would be destroyed.
That was his second dream.
Later, he became the Fifth Kazekage and wanted everyone to submit at his feet. That was his third dream.
In the end, his third dream had not yet been achieved, but someone else had arrived to help him complete the first two dreams he had long wanted to give up on.
What a joke life is...
Gaara slowly unclenched his fists, looked up at Naruto, and asked, "Naruto Uzumaki, what do you want now?"
"It's simple. To unify the ninja world." Naruto spread his hands with a helpless look on his face. "The Sand Village is just the first, and it definitely won't be the last."
"..."
Unify the ninja world... how is that simple in any way?
Gaara pondered for a moment and said coldly, "You should know what the consequences will be if I announce that all Sand Village ninjas will join Konoha. Besides, this declining village doesn't have many ninjas who are willing to obey my orders..."
Naruto blinked and looked at Gaara. "That's not a problem I should be thinking about."
In his previous life, he had been hands-on with everything. In this life, he had become a natural leader. How the Sand Village should be integrated into Konoha—such a small matter was not for him, the great Hokage, to worry about. It was for Gaara, the one surrendering, to figure out.
"..."
Gaara not only wanted to curse, but he also wanted to punch someone. He was only thirteen this year. Besides knowing that the weak are prey for the strong, what else did he know? The internal affairs of the Sand Village were mostly handled by Baki. If it really came down to it, he might as well fight to the death!
"Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore." Naruto's expression turned serious. "I know the Sand Village can't be integrated into Konoha right away, but from now on, it must unconditionally obey orders from Konoha. The families of the Sand's upper echelons must move to the Land of Fire..."
The blond boy methodically listed his conditions. These were all well-thought-out; he had been planning this on the way here.
Simple slaughter couldn't solve the problem. Because of the First Hokage's naive ideas, the ninja village system had been established for decades. Unless Naruto decided to actively start another Great Ninja War, he could only use a method of slow encroachment to annex the Sand Village for now.
The Akatsuki was still running rampant.
The Tailed Beasts had not all been captured.
The man behind the scenes, Obito Uchiha, was still at large.
And there was an insidious Orochimaru out there causing trouble.
Even the Konoha leadership wouldn't support his proposal.
Before dealing with these threats, he absolutely could not rashly start a war involving tens of thousands of people. The slightest carelessness could lead to even greater losses for the ninja world, and there was always the possibility that the Akatsuki would benefit from the chaos.
Every condition Naruto proposed was a humiliating term that stripped the Sand Village of its sovereignty. To prevent any resistance, he demanded that all the families of the Sand's leaders, as well as the Fifth Kazekage himself, be taken as hostages.
Every article was aimed at slowly consuming the Sand Village.
All children of the appropriate age in the Sand Village must enroll in Konoha's Ninja Academy. They would only be allowed to graduate with the approval of a Konoha teacher.
Even someone like Gaara, who wasn't skilled in political thinking, understood what this meant. Would ninjas raised this way be loyal to the Sand Village or to Konoha?
All ninjas of the Sand Village must be registered in Konoha. Otherwise, they would be regarded as rogue ninja.
This was essentially forcing the Sand Village to hand over all its intelligence on its shinobi.
Of course, there were some "benefits." For example, one article stated that Konoha would take over the Sand Village's mission assignment office. Konoha ninjas would post missions, and Sand ninjas would be allowed to accept them. The problem was, after a while, if the lower-level Sand ninjas decided to rebel, where would they get missions from? How would they support their families?
One of the most troublesome articles was this:
Konoha ninjas would be stationed in the Land of Rivers to constantly monitor the movements of the Land of Wind. The Sand Village would not be allowed to establish defensive outposts in either the Land of Wind or the Land of Rivers.
This would allow Konoha to destroy the Sand Village at any time.
"...Article nineteen, I haven't thought of it yet. It may be added at any time in the future. Anyway, that's it for now." Naruto let out a long breath, having listed all the conditions he could think of.
"..."
A dark look crossed Gaara's face. "Did you think of these on the spot?"
"I add things as I think of them," Naruto nodded, not denying it. "If I think of new clauses in the future, I'll add them to the agreement too."
"Then you might as well just destroy the Sand Village!" Gaara's face was ashen. The eighteen articles Naruto had proposed were things the Sand ninjas would never accept.
"Hahahaha... Gaara, you really don't understand your own villagers!" After a hearty laugh, Naruto's face suddenly turned grim. He waved his hand and dispelled the Deep Forest Emergence, lowering the trapped Sand ninjas and villagers to the ground.
Then, a pitch-black sphere gathered in his palm. The astonishing chakra radiating from it made everyone involuntarily look up.
Naruto slowly raised the sphere and looked down at the Sand ninjas below. "Some of you should have heard what I just said, right? Now, I demand that the Sand Village accept all my conditions. Do you agree?"
-----
Bonus:
Gaara: You know, you were late.
Naruto: Huh?
Gaara: When I wanted to control Shukaku, you didn't show up...
Naruto: ...
Gaara: When I wanted to destroy the Sand Village, you didn't show up...
Naruto: ...Yeah.
Gaara: But when I finally became the Fifth Kazekage and wanted to use Shukaku's power to rule the village, then you show up...
Naruto: Just stop talking. Sign the agreement so I can leave.