By now, Iwagakure and Sunagakure's economies had recovered considerably. Kirigakure and Kumogakure, which had suffered greatly before, were no longer willing to keep making concessions.
"We can agree to that."
Rasa and Ōnoki had long been mentally prepared for this. Though both wished the other three villages would subsidize them more, no one would keep pushing their own interests outward.
They had let them benefit last time because the economies of their two villages had truly been in terrible shape.
Everyone had made concessions so they could recover as quickly as possible.
Now that Iwagakure and Sunagakure's economies had recovered considerably, it was impossible for them to expect everyone else to keep yielding to them.
Either cooperate as equals, or go it alone.
As long as there were gains to be made, Ōnoki and Rasa did not mind taking a little from the other three villages. Since there were no more advantages to exploit, equal cooperation would do.
After all, equal cooperation brought many benefits to their villages as well.
It was still better than going door to door, begging for cooperation.
At the very least, it was much easier for the Five Kage to sit together and discuss cooperation.
Kirigakure was doing all right, but the cooperation between Konoha and Kumogakure absolutely could not be interrupted, or they would lose a great deal of profit.
Watching Ōnoki and Rasa stare at Yan and A, Mei Terumi was speechless yet helpless about it. Kirigakure's economy was stuck in an awkward middle ground.
Not good enough to compare with the best, but better than the worst.
Even in cooperation, Iwagakure and Sunagakure preferred working with Konoha and Kumogakure. Konoha was their first choice because when the profits were small, Yan could not be bothered to cheat others.
Compared with Kumogakure, Ōnoki