After leaving Konoha, Jiraiya led Naruto and the others onward at a swift pace.
On the one hand, Jiraiya knew their mission was to prevent the true leader of the Akatsuki from attacking Nagato. On the other, as their teacher, he was overjoyed to discover that Nagato and Konan might still be able to turn back.
Fortunately, Amegakure was not too far from Konoha. Before long, Jiraiya and his Action arrived, where a woman wearing a Red Cloud Cloak had already been waiting for some time.
"Jiraiya-sensei."
Unlike the Konoha ninja who had brought war to Amegakure in the past, Konan knew that Jiraiya and the others had come to help them.
Because of that, a trace of complicated emotion colored her greeting to her teacher.
"Konan, I've come on the Hokage's orders to sign an alliance agreement with you. This is the agreement Konoha has drafted."
Although Jiraiya had countless things he wanted to discuss with his students and questions he wanted to ask, he first took out the scroll Madara had given him, both to ease any lingering suspicions Konan and Nagato might harbor toward Konoha and to establish proper relations between the two villages.
Konan accepted the alliance agreement Jiraiya mentioned. She opened the scroll and read it carefully. Although Nagato was the leader of the Akatsuki, Konan handled more of Amegakure's administration, so in a sense, she was the village's true leader.
"Lord Hokage is indeed as generous and benevolent as the rumors say. I am willing to sign this agreement on Amegakure's behalf."
Generally speaking, when a small nation allied with a great nation, it had to offer concessions or even submit outright.
The same principle applied if Amegakure wanted to establish an alliance with Konoha.
Yet Madara had made no mention of any price