Ebizo was left speechless by Gaara's retort, his old face flushing the color of liver.
He forced out an argument. "A daimyo's promise naturally carries more weight than a ninja's verbal agreement! The alliance between Iwagakure and Kumogakure is backed by the shared will of both nations' daimyo. This is a treaty between countries!"
Gaara looked at him calmly, his browless eyes holding an indifference beyond his years.
"Elder Ebizo, you've taken part in more wars than I have. Then you should understand better than anyone what a daimyo's promises are worth in a Shinobi World War."
"Throughout history, haven't there been enough small nations used as pawns by great powers and discarded once they were no longer useful?"
Grandmother Chiyo lightly tapped her cane against the floor and took over.
"Not just small nations. Ebizo, have you forgotten how, during the Third Shinobi World War, Iwagakure 'mistakenly struck' our diversionary forces along the border of the Land of Earth?"
"And during the Second Shinobi World War, how Kumogakure used cooperation as a pretext to stab us in the back, trying to seize the resource points we'd just captured?"
With every sentence Chiyo spoke, Ebizo's expression worsened.
"These matters are recorded clearly in the history books. Cooperating with them is no different from seeking the hide of a tiger."
The atmosphere in the hall grew increasingly heavy, and even the elders who supported Ebizo began to waver.
At that moment, an elder who had remained silent all along finally spoke, his voice full of exhaustion and helplessness.
"When all is said and done, Lady Chiyo has proven just how untrustworthy Iwagakure and Kumogakure are, but... that still doesn't prove how much better Konoha is."
The moment his words fell—
"Creak—"
The heavy wooden doors of the conference room were pushed