The Nonaggression Pact

Sunagakure was quiet at night. From the courtyard where the Konoha group was staying to the Kazekage's office, Jiang Feng saw no one except teams of four Sunagakure Ninja on patrol.

Even without a curfew, Sunagakure's nights were nowhere near as lively as Konoha's.

When Jiang Feng pushed open the door to the Kazekage's office, he saw Sunagakure's leadership.

A dozen or so elders sat around a round table, with Rasa, Ebizo, and Chiyo at the center. It seemed they had already decided that Rasa would inherit the title of Kazekage.

Chiyo was probably in her early fifties. She wasn't yet as frail as she'd been when she first appeared in the story.

Her skin had already grown dry, like a violet iris that hadn't quite withered in the west wind, but she was still spirited. Faint traces of her youthful bearing could still be seen.

[Chiyo]

There was one empty seat at the table. Jiang Feng knew it hadn't been left for Pakura, even though she was one of Sunagakure's strongest shinobi.

Under the scrutiny of the Sunagakure Elders, Jiang Feng walked straight over and took the empty seat. In this situation, Pakura seemed more like the outsider.

Chiyo's eyes lit up at once. "What a Heavenly Flying Immortal. You really are just as your name suggests."

Jiang Feng replied coolly, "I've always lived up to my name."

As if he'd been cornered at the door by two young women and fled in disgrace. That hadn't happened. No matter how awkward things had been, he'd look cool first and worry about the rest later.

Chiyo suddenly sighed. "What a shame. Such a promising young man, and yet he isn't one of ours."

Jiang Feng didn't respond, because he knew that with those words, Chiyo had already begun laying bait.

Sunagakure was facing a series of urgent problems: Sasori of the Red Sands was lurking in the shadows, the Third Kazekage was dead, the Chunin Ninja Exams were about to begin, and Konoha might hold them accountable.

On the surface, Sasori of the Red Sands seemed to be the most serious problem. Over the past two days, Sasori and the "Werewolf" he controlled had caused Sunagakure a great deal of trouble, nearly plunging the village into civil strife.

Even now, Sunagakure still hadn't dealt with the problem.

But Sasori of the Red Sands wasn't the first problem Sunagakure needed to solve. The series of crises caused by the Kazekage's death was what the village urgently needed to address.

Sunagakure wasn't like Konoha. If one Kage Level shinobi died, Konoha could still produce several more. Sunagakure had only a handful of notable fighters.

There was no way to keep the news of the Kazekage's death under wraps. The leader of a hidden village couldn't disappear for days on end. Sunagakure couldn't unrealistically hope that nobody would notice.

Once the news of the Kazekage's death got out, it would not only deal a severe blow to the confidence of Sunagakure's own people, but also tempt the other villages to take advantage of the situation.

That was the real threat to Sunagakure's survival.

What's more, resolving the problem of Sasori of the Red Sands also required dealing with this crisis first. Hunting down Sasori and purging the "Werewolves" he'd planted in Sunagakure would inevitably be a major operation.

Once they took action, there was no way to conceal the Kazekage's death. The Kazekage had been assassinated, and the culprit was a genius Puppet Master from Sunagakure. Such a major operation would only further unsettle the village.

So why not just announce the Kazekage's death without mentioning Sasori of the Red Sands?

That wouldn't work either.

Rasa had the support of Sunagakure's leadership and more than half of its villagers and shinobi, so he was sure to be the successor. But because Sasori had controlled Daishi to poison Pakura, and because of Jiang Feng, Rasa still hadn't cleared his name of the accusations that he'd tried to harm fellow Sunagakure shinobi and a Konoha envoy.

If the opposition in the village stirred up trouble and started spreading conspiracy theories, they might claim that Rasa had harmed not only Pakura, but even the Kazekage himself, all to satisfy his own ambition.

To legitimize Rasa's claim to the title, they had to pin Sasori of the Red Sands down. Besides, Sasori really was behind everything. Why should Rasa take the blame?

That brought them right back to the beginning. If Rasa wanted to pin everything on Sasori, he'd have to tell the people what Sasori had done. That would undermine Sunagakure's unity and make the other villages look down on it even more because of Sasori's defection.

It seemed like a vicious cycle. No matter what Sunagakure did, it would descend into internal conflict and leave itself vulnerable to the other villages.

When internal problems couldn't be resolved, an outside force was often needed. Jiang Feng, and Konoha behind him, were the outside force Sunagakure's leadership wanted to bring in.

On one hand, Konoha had been beaten into submission during the Second Shinobi World War. It had no desire to expand at present and was a trustworthy ally.

On the other hand, Jiang Feng had a sterling reputation throughout the Ninja World. He, too, was trustworthy, and Sunagakure could use his name to stabilize the situation.

When Chiyo saw that Jiang Feng wasn't responding, she asked, "It seems you know why we invited you here?"

Jiang Feng sighed. "If you weren't complete fools, you'd have invited me."

"Then it seems you already know what happened."

Jiang Feng couldn't be bothered to keep speaking in riddles with Chiyo and the others. "You mean the Third Kazekage was most likely assassinated by Sasori of the Red Sands?

"If that's what you mean, then yes, I know."

Rasa, Chiyo, and the Sunagakure Elders all looked slightly taken aback. So he really had guessed something.

With more pressing matters at hand, Chiyo didn't dredge up the old history between herself and Sasori. She simply said, "Though I hate to admit it, my grandson does seem to be the one who harmed the Kazekage.

"He didn't just harm the Kazekage. He also secretly controlled many Sunagakure Ninja. Daishi, who tried to assassinate you and Pakura earlier, was acting under Sasori's control and at his command.

"His goal was to turn Pakura's body into a Human Puppet. It's a secret technique Sasori developed, one that preserves the deceased's strength and Kekkei Genkai while turning them into puppets."

Jiang Feng could more or less understand how heartbroken Chiyo must have been. Her beloved grandson had killed the Kazekage and brought ruin to the village she loved...

So he simply listened in silence.

Chiyo continued, "We need to announce the Kazekage's death, select a new Kazekage, and hunt down Sasori to avenge Lord Kazekage...

"But before we do any of that, we hope you'll sign an agreement with Sunagakure as Konoha's representative, one that can attest to the friendship between our villages.

"I'm sure you know why we want to do this."

Pakura felt as if she were listening to some absurd fantasy. Since when had Sunagakure and Konoha been friends?

But facts spoke louder than words. Faced with an imminent crisis, even two villages that had fought each other bloody ten years ago could be friends. Right now, Sunagakure needed that friendship more than Konoha did.

"The most I can do is represent Konoha in signing a five-year nonaggression pact with your village. As for anything else, you can publicize it however you like. As long as you don't go too far, I won't deny it."

The relief among the Sunagakure Elders in the office was plain to see. Being able to use Jiang Feng and Konoha's name to steady the village's morale and confidence already met their lowest expectations.