Elsewhere.
Baki's Chakra had long since been exhausted. Relying solely on sheer willpower, he sprinted through the desert with nothing but raw physical strength.
The six jonin behind him were in even worse condition. Their lips were cracked, their eyes unfocused, and they were barely keeping pace with Baki on instinct alone.
They could not stop!
They absolutely could not stop!
"Faster! Just a little faster!"
Baki roared madly in his heart, squeezing out the last shred of strength from his body.
Finally, at the end of the horizon, the massive outline of Sunagakure appeared in sight.
"We're here!"
"We... we made it back!"
His subordinates behind him let out hoarse cries of tearful joy.
Baki did not pause for even a moment. Like a madman, he charged toward the Kazekage Building.
"Urgent military report!!"
"Move aside!!"
Baki barreled through every guard who tried to stop him along the way, then used the last of his strength to kick open the door to the Kazekage's office.
Boom!
The doors crashed inward.
Inside the office, Nishidai Kazekage Rasa, Chiyo, and Ebizo shot to their feet, staring at the doorway in shock.
"Baki?!"
Rasa's pupils contracted.
"We failed..."
Baki dropped to his knees, gasping for breath.
"Kazekage-sama... our plan... has completely failed..."
Chiyo's expression darkened as she snapped, "What happened?! Did Konoha refuse to negotiate?"
"No..."
Baki struggled to raise his head, his face filled with despair.
"They didn't refuse to negotiate..."
"They... never intended to negotiate in the first place!"
He repeated Uchiha Yao's words exactly as they had been spoken.
"Konoha hereby unilaterally terminates all alliances with Hidden Sand Village."
"From this moment onward, we are enemies."
"You of Hidden Sand Village have only two choices."
"First, submit. Dissolve Hidden Sand Village, and have all ninja merge into Konoha, becoming