Non-Aggression Pact

The night in Sunagakure was quiet. From the courtyard where the Konoha group was staying to the Kazekage's office, apart from the ninja patrolling in teams of four, Jiang Feng saw no one else.

Even without a curfew, the nights in Sunagakure were far less lively than in Konoha.

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

More than a dozen elders were seated around a round table, seemingly led by Rasa, Ebizo, and Chiyo, as if it had already been decided that Rasa would inherit the position of the next Kazekage.

Chiyo at this time was in her early fifties, not yet as frail as she appeared when she first debuted in the story.

Her skin was dry, resembling a purple iris that hadn't fully withered in the west wind, yet she was spirited, and one could still faintly recognize some of her youthful charm.

[Chiyo]

There was still an empty seat by the round table. Jiang Feng knew that seat was definitely not reserved for Pakura, even though Pakura was currently one of the strongest individuals in Sunagakure.

Facing the scrutiny of the Sunagakure elders, Jiang Feng walked straight to the empty seat and sat down. In this situation, Pakura seemed more like the outsider.

Chiyo's eyes lit up instantly, and she exclaimed, "What a Heavenly Flying Immortal, truly living up to your name."

Jiang Feng said calmly, "I am as my name suggests."

Being cornered by two young women and fleeing in disarray? That never happened. No matter how disheveled he was just now, he had to look cool first.

Chiyo suddenly sighed again, "What a shame, such a fine young man isn't from Sunagakure."

Jiang Feng didn't reply, because he knew that with this remark, Chiyo had already started setting a trap and baiting him.

Sunagakure currently faced a series of pressing issues: Sasori of the Red Sands' covert threat, the death of the Third Kazekage, the upcoming Chunin Exam, and potential repercussions from Konoha.

On the surface, Sasori of the Red Sands' issue seemed the most severe. In the past two days, Sasori of the Red Sands and the "werewolves" he controlled had caused significant trouble for Sunagakure, nearly plunging the village into internal strife.

To this day, Sunagakure had not resolved this problem.

However, Sasori of the Red Sands was not the most urgent issue for Sunagakure to address: the predicament caused by the Kazekage's death was what Sunagakure desperately needed to solve.

Sunagakure was unlike Konoha; it couldn't produce several Kage-level experts after losing one. Sunagakure had only a few top-ranked experts.

News of the Kazekage's demise could not be suppressed no matter what. The Kage of a ninja village could not remain unseen for multiple consecutive days. Sunagakure could not unrealistically imagine that everyone else would be blind to this.

Once the news of the Kazekage's death was made public, it would not only severely damage the morale of Sunagakure's own people but also make other ninja villages consider taking advantage of their weakness.

This was the fundamental issue that could endanger Sunagakure's survival.

Furthermore, to resolve the issue of Sasori of the Red Sands, this problem had to be addressed first. Pursuing Sasori of the Red Sands and eliminating the "werewolves" he had planted in Sunagakure would inevitably be a large-scale operation.

Once the action began, the news of the Kazekage's death could not be concealed. The assassination of the Kazekage by a gifted puppet master from Sunagakure would exacerbate the unrest within the village.

If that were the case, why not just announce the Kazekage's death and not mention Sasori of the Red Sands?

That was also impossible.

With the support of Sunagakure's higher-ups and more than half of the villagers and ninja, the successor would undoubtedly be Rasa. However, due to Jiang Feng's involvement in Sasori of the Red Sands manipulating Daishi to poison Pakura, Rasa was currently still under suspicion of harming a fellow villager and a Konoha envoy.

At that time, the opposition within the village would stir up trouble and spread conspiracy theories. Not only would they accuse him of harming Pakura, but they might even claim that the Kazekage himself was assassinated by the ambitious Rasa.

For the legitimacy and orthodoxy of the Kazekage position, Rasa had to eliminate Sasori of the Red Sands. Besides, all these events were indeed caused by Sasori of the Red Sands; why should Rasa take the blame?

Then the problem would return to the beginning: if Rasa wanted to eliminate Sasori of the Red Sands, he would have to announce to the public what Sasori of the Red Sands had done. This would again damage the cohesion of the Sunagakure people and further lead other ninja villages to look down on Sunagakure due to Sasori of the Red Sands' defection.

The situation seemed to have fallen into a vicious cycle. No matter what, Sunagakure would fall into internal strife and be exploited by other ninja villages.

When internal problems cannot be solved, an external force is often needed. Jiang Feng, and Konoha behind him, were the external forces that Sunagakure's higher-ups wanted to bring in.

On one hand, Konoha had been subdued after being ganged up on during the Second Great Ninja War and currently had no desire for active expansion, making them a trustworthy ally.

On the other hand, Jiang Feng had a good reputation, widely praised in the ninja world, and was equally trustworthy. They could also use his name to stabilize the situation in Sunagakure.

Seeing that Jiang Feng didn't respond, Chiyo asked again, "You seem to know why we invited you here?"

Jiang Feng sighed, "If you weren't so stupid, you would definitely have invited me."

"It seems you already know what happened."

Jiang Feng was too lazy to play word games with Chiyo anymore, "Are you referring to the possibility that the Third Kazekage was assassinated by Sasori of the Red Sands? If it's about that, then yes, I already know."

Rasa, Chiyo, and the Sunagakure elders' expressions changed slightly. He had indeed guessed something.

With the main issue at hand, Chiyo didn't dwell on the old matters of Sasori but said slowly, "Although I am very reluctant to admit it, my grandson appears to be the murderer of the Kazekage. He not only harmed the Kazekage but also secretly manipulated many Sunagakure ninja. Daishi, who previously attempted to assassinate you and Pakura, was acting under Sasori's manipulation and orders. His goal was to create a human puppet from Pakura's corpse. That is a secret technique developed by Sasori, a secret technique that can perfectly preserve the strength and Kekkei Genkai of the deceased, turning them into puppets."

Jiang Feng could roughly understand how heartbroken Chiyo was at this moment. Her beloved grandson had killed the Kazekage and damaged her beloved village...

So he just listened, remaining silent.

Chiyo continued, "We need to announce the Kazekage's death, elect a new Kazekage, and pursue Sasori to avenge the Kazekage... But before we do these things, we hope you can sign a treaty as Konoha's representative, proving the friendship between our two villages. I'm sure you know why we want to do this."

Pakura felt like she was listening to a fairy tale. When did Sunagakure and Konoha ever have friendship?

But facts spoke louder than words. In the face of imminent crisis, even two villages that had fought fiercely ten years ago could forge a friendship. The current Sunagakure needed this friendship more than Konoha.

"At most, I can sign a five-year non-aggression pact with your village on behalf of Konoha. As for anything else, you can publicize it however you wish. As long as it's not too excessive, I won't deny it."

Visibly, the Sunagakure elders in the office relaxed considerably. Being able to use Jiang Feng and Konoha as a banner to stabilize the morale and spirit of the people within the village had met their minimum expectations.