Negotiations with Sunagakure

"I didn't ask you for chakra, so why did you give me so much?! Is this what you humans call love?! What a disgusting guy!!"

"Although it feels disgusting, it actually feels... not bad." Shukaku blurted out his thoughts as he pondered this.

"It seems that's true. The Tailed Beast aren't inherently evil; they've simply seen through the struggles among humans," Shiyu speculated.

"Tch! That's only one aspect. What we hate most is being used as a ninja weapon. But the Yamato is an exception. I just wanted to help him," Shukaku said.

"Alright, since that's the case, I'll be leaving now. Be patient and wait; the Child of Prophecy will appear soon! But still, be careful of those ill-intentioned humans," Shiyu reminded him.

"I understand! I understand! Goodbye, human! I hope you're still alive when I see you again." Shukaku seemed impatient, but was actually very kind-hearted.

Shiyu smiled faintly, then left the space deep within the Tailed Beast's mind.

"Have you reached an agreement?" Bunpuku asked.

"Yes, now it's time to end the war." Shiyu then ran towards One Line Sky with Bunpuku.

Although Sunagakure and Konoha haven't made a move yet, the Yakumi One Line Sky Yixiantian remains high.

"Lord Orochimaru? Attack or retreat?" Konoha ninja asked.

"Listen to Shiyu, this time it was my fault." Orochimaru knew that if Shiyu hadn't come all the way to rescue him, he probably wouldn't have escaped death. Now he was just making amends for his mistakes.

The Sunagakure's defense forces, along with Chiyo Ebizo and others, were also very serious; they were the last remaining force guarding the Sunagakure's One Line Sky.

"I wonder what will happen to Sunagakure's status after this battle?" Rasa asked.

"Then we'll have to see the final result. If we defeat Konoha, that's fine, but if we lose, I'm afraid..." Karura didn't finish her sentence, but everyone knew the worst-case scenario.

"Byakugan! Lord Shiyu and Bunpuku are already heading this way. Let's hold off on making a move for now," Hizashi advised his subordinates Nao and Kurenai.

The Sunagakure was united as one, and even with corpses piled up like small mountains, they did not give up easily, which made Orochimaru look at the Sunagakure with new respect.

"Bunpuku!"

"Lord Shiyu!?"

Both sides' ninjas asked anxiously.

At this moment, both Konoha and Sunagakure were extremely tense. War? That would mean rivers of blood! Peace? That would mean both sides would take a step back and avoid fighting, but both would have to pay a price.

"So, who exactly won? Shall we continue fighting?" Both ninjas asked.

Bunpuku clasped his hands together and said with great reverence, "Buddha above."

"Chiyo-sama, Ebizo, Konoha has agreed to a ceasefire!"

"As expected." Orochimaru also raised the corners of his mouth. Although they did not wipe out Sunagakure, both sides preserved their main forces, which can be considered as minimizing losses.

"Does Konoha really intend to cease hostilities?" Ebizo asked in return.

"You're not plotting something, are you? Why are you suddenly attacking us?" Chiyo asked directly, her straightforward nature evident.

Since the effects of the Black Radiance Technique had worn off, Chiyo had regained her five senses.

"It can't be serious." The female ninja known as Pakura also limped to the front of the One Line Sky.

"Shiyu, have you thought this through?" Orochimaru asked again and again.

"We will withdraw our troops together, but you have to agree to five conditions!" Shiyu said with a smile.

"So there were conditions, huh? To maximize Konoha's interests? That's very much like this guy's style." Orochimaru thought to himself, squinting at Shiyu.

"What does Shiyu want to do?" Kurenai asked in a low voice.

"I don't know, but some of his ideas are quite progressive. I don't think we'll suffer any losses," Nao guessed.

"That's right. If there's no benefit, war is meaningless." Kakuzu believed that things should be handled this way. If wars are waged without any reward, it's like killing without compensation—it becomes utterly boring.

"What should we do? Fight?" Chiyo asked Ebizo with a questioning look.

"Sister, don't rush. Let's hear his conditions first." Ebizo was also very calm, saying to Shiyu, "We can hear your conditions first, but you should suspend your attack and retreat at least fifty miles."

"Fifty li? No need. Our troops will withdraw directly from the Sunagakure Village of the Land of Wind, while I will stay behind to negotiate terms with you privately." Shiyu waved his hand, and Orochimaru understood what Shiyu meant.

"Retreat!" At Orochimaru's command, the Konoha Ninja turned and retreated northeast.

"Kid, you trust us that much?" Chiyo was also taken aback.

"What will you do if we don't agree to your conditions? At that point, we..." Chiyo's words were abruptly interrupted by Ebizo.

"Sister, we Sunagakure don't want the war to continue either. Let's hear Mr. Shiyu's terms first before making any plans," Ebizo said.

Shiyu smiled and said, "Don't worry, Chiyo, you'll definitely agree to my conditions. If you don't, you're all complete fools."

"Speak!" Chiyo was getting impatient.

Shiyu said, "The reason why our Konoha was able to reach the One Line Sky is mainly because of your invasion of the Land of Rivers. We wanted to teach you a lesson. Therefore, the first condition is that your Sunagakure must guarantee that it will not annex the Land of Rivers within five years and will not allow its army to cross the border of Kazekawa."

"What if it were your Konoha?" Chiyo immediately retorted.

"What is Konoha doing, invading the Land of Rivers? That's our ally. Besides, Konoha would never send ninjas to ambush Sunagakure, and we've never launched a surprise attack on you." Shiyu's words were indeed true. The Land of Fire had never attacked Sunagakure; on the contrary, Sunagakure had repeatedly attacked Konoha for its territory.

"We agree to the first condition! You can continue!" Chiyo agreed to the first condition at Ebizo's prompting.

"Secondly, in this war, Sunagakure and Konoha were evenly matched, with both sides suffering losses. For the sake of mutual development in the future, I hope that Sunagakure can sign a non-aggression pact with Konoha. I personally hope that we will have more economic cooperation in the future."

"What?! They just finished fighting us? And now they have the audacity to talk about cooperation?!" Chiyo was about to fly into a rage, but Ebizo stopped her.

"I think it's a good thing to turn enemies into friends at this time," Rasa also expressed his support.

"I also think it's acceptable." Bunpuku knew that if Shiyu hadn't held back, Sunagakure would likely have suffered even greater casualties given his ability to fight Shukaku hand-to-hand.