Ōnoki was so angry that he huffed through his nose.
Unfortunately, being angry was useless. Even knowing his village and country would have their lifeblood siphoned away in advance, he could only grit his teeth and accept it.
Because there was no such thing as a free lunch.
The other villages being willing to stimulate Iwagakure's economy was already the best possible outcome. Being drained dry was simply the price they had to pay.
To put it bluntly, if Yan had not laid this matter out in the open, even if Ōnoki had privately approached A and Mei Terumi to negotiate, they might not have been willing to help him.
Profit?
There were plenty of ways to make a profit. Why would anyone want to wallow in Iwagakure's muddy pit?
If Ōnoki went back on his word, they would be the ones to suffer.
Iwagakure's benefits could only be considered long-term returns. A considerable amount of money had to be invested upfront, and if anything went wrong during that time—or Iwagakure simply refused to honor the agreement—their investment would go down the drain.
This sort of trap was not unheard of.
And some aspects of Ōnoki's credibility... were worth pondering.
That was why A and Mei Terumi had remained unmoved before Yan brought it up.
Now that Yan had spoken, with Konoha taking the lead, Konoha was effectively the guarantor. If their interests were harmed or Iwagakure refused to honor the agreement, Konoha would be the first to come after them.
With Konoha bearing the burden at the front, what was there to wait for? They only needed to follow along.
In any case, neither A nor Mei Terumi believed Ōnoki could gain any advantage from Yan.
Even if they were helping Iwagakure, they still had to take every benefit