"By a deeper level," Chiyo said with added emphasis, each word seemingly weighed with care, "I mean that in any future large-scale operation against the Akatsuki or that mysterious third party, Sunagakure's forces would be willing to relinquish command and place themselves entirely under Konoha's unified command."
Everyone present was stunned!
Relinquish command? Such a thing was utterly unthinkable between shinobi villages! It was tantamount to placing their village's military lifeline in someone else's hands! Had Sunagakure gone mad?
Even Tsunade looked incredulous. Behind her, a sharp glint flashed through Kakashi's perpetually languid eye. Only Toru Kujyo remained expressionless, as though he were listening to some trivial matter that had nothing to do with him.
"Of course, we do have one condition." Granny Chiyo's gaze turned deeply earnest. She looked at Tsunade as though she were her last hope. "We have witnessed that mysterious man's destructive power, those attacks on par with natural disasters... Sunagakure's sandstorm defenses cannot withstand them at all. So we hope... to obtain from Konoha a complete set of colossal defensive barrier ninjutsu capable of withstanding strikes on the scale of a 'meteor.'"
As her words sank in, everyone understood.
Sunagakure was afraid. The power that mysterious man had displayed had utterly terrified them. Command authority, the village's dignity-none of it was worth a thing before absolute power capable of wiping their entire village off the map. They were trading military sovereignty for their village's right to survive!
"Heh, heh..." A dry chuckle came from above as Ōnoki slowly floated down, a shrewd smile on his face. "You old hag, Chiyo, you've certainly worked out a clever bargain. You think an empty promise will buy you Konoha's lifesaving barrier?"
He turned to Tsunade and rubbed his hands together, looking every bit the haggling merchant. "Little Hokage,