As the Ninja Village of one of the Five Great Nations, Sunagakure had always been relatively weak, but Gaara still had his dignity as Kazekage.
Although Gaara had already seen through the weakness of the Land of Wind's leadership, he still wanted to see whether he could protect Sunagakure on his own.
His arranged duel with Sasuke was his challenge to the Land of Fire and Konoha.
In the end, the facts proved that Sasuke alone had the power to flatten all of Sunagakure, never mind that Konoha also had Naruto, Shisui, Hayato, and a host of other elite fighters, with the Fifth Hokage overseeing everything from the rear.
After answering Kankuro's question, Gaara turned to Sasuke.
During their battle, Sasuke had clearly seen through his intentions and had played along from beginning to end.
With Sasuke's strength, he did not actually need to cause such a commotion to kill him. Sasuke had done it to help him give Sunagakure an explanation.
"Thank you."
The taciturn Gaara sincerely expressed his gratitude to Sasuke, just as he had thanked Sasuke for sparing his life years ago. At the same time, he was grateful that Sasuke had offered Sunagakure such favorable terms even when Konoha held an overwhelming advantage.
Kankuro, who had been unhappy about Sunagakure bowing to Konoha, recalled Sasuke's Susanoo after hearing Gaara's words. Usually afraid of nothing, he shuddered.
Indeed, Sunagakure had no chance whatsoever against an enemy like that. Since those Sunagakure served had already submitted to Sasuke and his companions, bowing to them did not seem like such a big deal anymore.
"Sasuke and the others have sent word. Sunagakure's leadership, headed by Gaara, is now willing to pledge allegiance to you."
In the imperial palace of the Land of Fire, Hokage Madara sat in the Hokage