"Sister, is there any news about the peace talks with Konoha Ninja Village?" Ebizo lay propped against his bed, half his body paralyzed, struggling even to speak. The loss of function in his flesh had begun spreading to other parts of his body. If not for Chiyo's exceptional medical skills, he would eventually die.
"Yes." After a moment of silence, Chiyo answered.
While the two sides maintained a temporary peace, their envoys traveled to the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers for negotiations. Their main task was to discuss the conditions for a ceasefire, but the terms that came back were difficult for Chiyo to accept.
"How did it go? What did Konoha Ninja Village say?" Noticing his sister's hesitation, Ebizo asked, "Do they want me to step down? They certainly won't let whoever started the war off the hook. As the leader of Sunagakure Ninja Village, I naturally have to take responsibility for starting it. I can accept stepping down. In this condition, I can't serve as Kazekage anyway."
"That is one of their demands, but it isn't just you. Every senior Sunagakure ninja who supported the war, myself included, must step down. Sunagakure's leadership has to be rebuilt," Chiyo replied.
"What kind of joke is that?" Ebizo looked slightly taken aback. "If all of you step down, what strength will Sunagakure Ninja Village have left to protect itself?"
Chiyo and the other senior members of the War Faction were among Sunagakure Ninja Village's strongest fighters. That was part of their misfortune: too many of the village's strongest ninja belonged to the War Faction. If the War Faction had merely gained a temporary advantage over the Peace Faction, removing them all would not necessarily have stripped Sunagakure's leadership of its strength. But under Sunagakure