"Lord Third Hokage..."
At that moment, elsewhere, inside the First Training Ground, the shadow behind the Third Hokage, who was watching the next battle, suddenly deepened. Then, a voice came from behind him.
"How is it?"
Hearing the voice, the Third Hokage continued watching the battle in the arena, with not the slightest change in his expression, as if nothing had happened behind him. He merely spoke softly.
"Everything on Lady He Yin's side has been settled."
The voice behind him answered truthfully.
"Mm."
The Third Hokage nodded slightly. Everything seemed to be within his expectations, but a trace of hesitation flashed through his eyes.
Is this a little too hasty? That thought crossed his mind.
Just moments ago, he had sent a trusted shinobi to draft an alliance agreement with He Yin, Kusagakure's nominal guiding Jonin and, in reality, one of the village's actual rulers. The agreement had already been signed, and they had agreed to announce it to the entire Shinobi World once neither side violated its terms during the Chunin Exams.
Once it was announced, the alliance agreement would officially take effect.
At that time, Konoha would provide Kusagakure with aid to help it emerge from its economic crisis, as well as continued assistance beneficial to its economic recovery. In return, Kusagakure would not align itself with any shinobi village other than Konoha. If necessary, Konoha could even require Kusagakure to stop accepting aid from other major shinobi villages.
During wartime, Kusagakure would firmly stand with Konoha. If necessary, it could publicly declare its stance to the entire Shinobi World and comply with all of Konoha's strategic arrangements.
Naturally, Konoha also promised that it would not turn Kusagakure into cannon fodder.
There were also numerous forms of cooperation involving economics, politics, and even education. It could be