The place was a mountain split down the middle, with a fissure four or five meters wide and forty or fifty meters across. A flat platform stood on either side, and each party occupied one as they negotiated across the gap.
Hatake Ziyan had brought Konan here early and hidden nearby, waiting for both parties to arrive.
They had barely been hiding there for long when they spotted a squad of masked ninja whose clothing clearly marked them as outsiders rather than Amegakure ninja taking cover not far from them!
Another ten-odd minutes passed before Yahiko and Nagato arrived with the Akatsuki members. They sent people to make a cursory sweep of the surroundings, then stood on the platform on this side, waiting for Hanzō.
A full hour after Yahiko and the others arrived, Hanzō finally approached at a leisurely pace with his Amegakure ninja. The ninja beside him held Hatake Ziyan's clone, disguised as Konan, in custody!
"Hanzō! You shameless, despicable bastard! Let Konan go right now!" Yahiko shouted when he saw the fake Konan with her hands bound, dragged along from the front and shoved from behind.
Hanzō did not rush to answer Yahiko. He took the rope binding Konan's arms and slowly led her to the edge of the cliff.
"Yahiko, I can let Konan go! But you must agree to bring your Akatsuki members and willingly join Amegakure, becoming part of our village!" Hanzō's voice emerged from beneath his gas mask!
Yahiko clenched his fists and shouted at Hanzō, "You're the Kage of Amegakure, yet you're using a little girl as a hostage to negotiate with others. Don't you feel ashamed?"
Hanzō smiled indifferently and said to Yahiko with a hint of mockery, "The victor takes all! As long as I achieve my goal, my methods