Rasa froze at first, then wild joy blazed in his eyes.
He jerked his head up, his voice filled with barely contained urgency:
"Cooperate? How?"
"As long as you can help me regain power and get out of here alive..."
"I can cooperate with you!"
Xuandou smiled, speaking at an unhurried pace:
"I'll help you return to Sunagakure and firmly reestablish you as Kazekage."
"I'll also deal with those plotting against you behind your back."
"In exchange..."
He paused, his gaze settling on Rasa's face.
"You must pledge your loyalty."
"From now on, you will no longer be a Kazekage serving the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, but my subordinate."
Rasa's eyes flickered, but he nodded almost without hesitation:
"Agreed!"
"As long as you can restore me to the position of Kazekage, I, Rasa, will pledge my allegiance to you."
Seeing how readily Rasa agreed, Xuandou gave a faint, mocking smile:
"Of course, to prevent you from turning on me once you're back, I'll need to put some safeguards on you."
"If you betray me, you know the consequences."
Rasa's expression stiffened slightly, but soon returned to normal.
He had expected all along that Xuandou would not be so kind.
In his place, he would not release a former enemy without keeping any contingency measures either.
After a moment of silence, he changed the subject:
"What do I need to do to cooperate once I return?"
"It's simple. You will govern Sunagakure and serve me."
"You will continue handling the Land of Wind's routine affairs as usual."
"For major decisions, report to me first."
"From now on, you will be responsible for carrying out my will!"
Rasa gave a bitter chuckle at that.
"Actually, Sunagakure also has factions led by Ebizo and others."
"Even if I return, I won't