At that moment, Rasa...
Although he had regained his free will, being forced to make a decision right now left him unsure what to do.
Looking at the man before him, Rasa felt a flicker of doubt.
"You're already Konoha's Hokage now?!"
Rasa spoke slowly.
"Yes."
"And as long as I give the word, no one in Konoha will oppose it."
Uchiha Kazama gave him a firm answer.
Hearing this, Rasa's expression changed again.
Konoha...
It consisted of multiple shinobi clans, making it much harder to govern than other shinobi villages.
The fact that Uchiha Kazama could make such a claim was enough to astonish Rasa.
"What do you need me to do?"
After a moment of thought, Rasa spoke slowly.
"Leave the jinchūriki with me for now."
"Sunagakure doesn't need to keep participating in this war in the shinobi world. Go straight back and preserve as much of your strength as possible."
"If you're short on resources, come directly to me. I'll have someone arrange them for you."
"Of course, you'll also need to eliminate the elements in your village that are hostile to Konoha."
Kazama laid out his demands without haste.
The jinchūriki!
The destabilizing element [Chiyo]!
Uchiha Kazama's terms seemed generous, but beneath them lay an unquestionable tyranny.
Most importantly, Rasa understood the situation all too well.
He had no other choice whatsoever.
Refuse?!
He would die immediately!
And of the Sunagakure shinobi behind him, probably only a handful would escape.
Their entire village had come out.
If they all died here, Sunagakure would be a village in name only.
He didn't know what Uchiha Kazama hoped to achieve by offering him this choice.
But at this stage, there was absolutely no better decision.
"I agree."
Rasa lowered his head helplessly and gave his answer.
"You won't