Copies of the agreement with Sunagakure were also handed to Naruto and the others. After reading the terms Madara had drawn up, they breathed a huge sigh of relief—Madara had no intention of making Sunagakure's ninja atone with their lives.
Konoha and Sunagakure would renew their alliance. Sunagakure would retain its independence, but it had to acknowledge Konoha's leadership and never betray it again. In return, Konoha would provide Sunagakure with material aid to help it through its difficulties.
When Kumogakure or Iwagakure started a war, nine times out of ten, they did it to seize territory. When Sunagakure started a war, it really was just trying to survive.
Why had Fourth Kazekage Rasa supported war?
Because Sunagakure had nearly reached the point where it could not obtain supplies without going to war. If Konoha ignored its plight, Sunagakure would inevitably fall back into the hands of the pro-war faction within a few years.
Sometimes, sacrificing a little tangible benefit to gain an important ally was a necessary strategic move.
This was something Madara Uchiha had learned in the Capital of the Land of Wind.
"Is this really all you're asking for?"
The conditions Madara Uchiha had laid out left Baki scarcely able to believe his eyes.
The Konoha of this lifetime was not the battered village of the previous one, with its divided leadership. Through fighting Konoha, Baki had gained a profound understanding of just how deep its reserves of combat-ready forces were, and how bright its future looked.
That was not even counting how powerful Madara Uchiha was now. The reappearance of the Flying Thunder God Technique alone was enough to make other nations think twice about coveting Konoha.
Sunagakure, by contrast, had lost its Fourth Kazekage in office, just as it had its Third Kazekage. More than