Signing the Agreement

"What did Lord Hokage mean by that? Were you planning to wipe us all out and haul us away in one package?"

Yunqing looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with amusement and mocked him.

There were not many assassination-type ninja in the entire Ninja World, much less ones who had reached Kage-level.

Imagine two Kage-level fighters clashing, only for someone of the same level to strike you viciously from the shadows. You would definitely be in for a bad time—if you did not die, you would at least be crippled.

Likewise, Mu and Hanzo looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with no goodwill.

Damn it, Hiruzen Sarutobi, with those thick brows and big eyes, looked like such an upright man, yet he was using tricks like this too.

Just think of the three famous summoned beasts belonging to Orochimaru and the others, plus Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was proficient in ninjutsu and capable in both offense and defense, with Hatake Sakumo added in the shadows. Who could possibly withstand that?

This combination was unstoppable throughout the Ninja World.

"Enough. Lord Kazekage, Lord Tsuchikage, that little game has already wasted enough time. Let us discuss the postwar arrangements."

Hiruzen Sarutobi rebuked them with a sharp gaze. As for what he was thinking, no one could know.

Heh. As long as you cannot keep me here, did you think a mere glare would scare me?

Having taken the position of Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi could only say that his skin was thick enough that he did not care.

Following Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Mu and Hanzo both turned to look at Yunqing.

No matter how much they argued or competed, one fact could not be changed: Sunagakure had lost and needed to take responsibility for itself.

"Sunagakure's situation is right here. We have no money, only lives. If you truly want compensation, then pick whatever land you like along the border and take it yourselves. Sunagakure will immediately withdraw its troops and cede the land."

Yunqing spread his hands, narrowed his eyes, and spoke indifferently.

Yunqing's decisiveness and shamelessness stunned both Hiruzen Sarutobi and Mu.

They had prepared for everything. No matter what Yunqing said, they had been ready to refute it. Even if Yunqing resorted to threats of force, they had been prepared to join hands.

But they had never expected Yunqing to be this shameless.

Ceding land for peace was humiliating, but what use did the victors have for Sunagakure's land?

Why had Sunagakure started this war? Who among them did not know?

The Land of Wind's ground could barely be called land. It would be more fitting to call it quicksand.

Step on it, and there was nothing but sand. There was nothing there at all. They could neither govern it nor leave it alone; it basically had no value.

Other than providing a little so-called consolation.

"Hehe, Lord Kazekage, you jest. We are civilized people. Land is priceless, and we are not that shameless. You only need to pay us money."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a smile.

Without the slightest embarrassment, he fully displayed a politician's true nature.

"No money. It was all spent on the war. If we had money, we would definitely keep fighting."

Yunqing answered crisply, without the slightest hesitation.

"Lord Kazekage, please stop being unreasonable. Are you trying to force us to keep fighting? Do you understand?"

Mu slammed his hand on the table, rose to his feet, and roared. His only exposed eyes glared viciously at Yunqing. "If you refuse to cooperate, we will fight our way to Sunagakure and take it ourselves."

To go along with Mu's performance, everyone else released their auras as well and stared fiercely at Yunqing.

"Sure. Do as you please. Sunagakure has ten thousand ninja capable of fighting. We will abandon our positions and wage guerrilla warfare."

Yunqing slowly stood as well, releasing his full aura. He looked at everyone calmly and said, "Every inch of land must be paid for in blood. I can tell you this: if you push me too far, I will show you what it means to struggle with every step."

Was it not just a matter of playing dirty? Sunagakure was not without the strength to fight, and its relationship with the Daimyo of the Land of Wind had already soured. Since that was the case, those with nothing to lose did not fear those with everything to lose. Come on, then. Let us hurt each other.

Yunqing faced everyone present alone and did not yield in the slightest.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Mu exchanged glances, each seeing the helplessness in the other's eyes.

Their own situations were not good either, and they simply could not spare a large force to continue the offensive.

Kumogakure was watching Konoha like a tiger eyeing its prey, while Mu's feud with the Second Mizukage, Hozuki Gengetsu, was known to everyone in the Ninja World.

If they continued fighting and suffered a defeat, those two sides would definitely kick them while they were down and stab them in the back.

Both sides had their own unspoken difficulties, yet neither wished to lose face. For a moment, the entire meeting room fell into a stalemate.

"Ahem. The three Kage, please sit down. Is there anything that cannot be discussed properly? We can speak as equals."

Hanzo stepped in to smooth things over. To be honest, he wished all three of them would die here, but he had no choice. If the Kage-level fighters present truly began fighting, he would be the one to suffer the losses.

As Hanzo's words fell, the three men snorted coldly and took the opportunity to sit back down.

"Lord Hokage, Lord Tsuchikage, we are all old foxes, so there is no need to play games. The demands your daimyo gave you are already cutting flesh from Sunagakure. Do not push your luck. The guarantee I can offer is this: for the next ten years, Sunagakure's ninja will not intervene in any war and will never attack either Ninja Village. On the contrary, we will restrain Kirigakure. How does that sound?"

Having just sat down, Yunqing took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in his chest, and spoke as calmly as possible.

No one wanted to admit defeat, but there was no choice.

Yunqing was confident that everyone present combined was no match for him. But what of it? Sunagakure stood behind him, and he had responsibilities to bear.

Yunqing's words were exceedingly blunt. He had laid the unspoken rules bare, just short of saying outright that it was not Sunagakure that had lost, but the Daimyo of the Land of Wind.

If he hadn't held us back, we might not have lost.

"Fine, I agree. The rest is up to Lord Hokage."

While Hiruzen Sarutobi was still thinking, Mu immediately agreed without the slightest hesitation.

The Land of Earth had never been on good terms with Konoha, nor with Kumogakure or Kirigakure. With Sunagakure withdrawing, they would be in the greatest danger.

Konoha did not care about the number of missions, but Iwagakure did.

Thinking of Yunqing's personality and Sunagakure's reputation, Mu agreed outright.

Hiruzen Sarutobi clenched his fists and gave Mu a deep look. If the hatred in his eyes could kill, Mu would have been sliced into a thousand pieces already.

"Fine. Lord Kazekage is truly young and accomplished. I concede."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said bitterly, "But don't celebrate too soon. I have an additional condition: I need Tailed Beast ninjutsu."

Yunqing thought for a moment before understanding what Hiruzen Sarutobi meant. He replied readily, "Sure, no problem. Afterward, Sunagakure will offer up all our records concerning Jinchuriki with both hands."

As long as he could stabilize both sides, Yunqing felt that giving up some information regarding the Tailed Beasts was no issue at all.

Compared with ten years of development, those were minor matters.

They could all be resolved.

Over the following period, the three sides signed an agreement and set a date to announce it to the ninja world.

The moment the agreement was signed, Sunagakure's complete withdrawal from the Ninja World War became a fact.