After several days of continuous travel, everyone was exhausted. Although the physical exertion was still within a manageable range, trekking through the desert under the scorching sun was a real torment to their spirits.
Shinsei woke up the next morning. He had only eaten a little something the night before, and his stomach was growling with hunger.
He walked to the bed next to him and patted Kiba Inuzuka, who was fast asleep.
"Hey, wake up." Ya mumbled a few times, then turned over and went back to sleep.
Akamaru raised his head and barked at Shinsei.
Shinsei grabbed Akamaru and held it in his arms, gently rubbing its head with his right hand. Akamaru whimpered twice but didn't dare to resist.
Next door was Kurenai Yuhi and Hinata's room. Shinsei walked up and gently knocked on the door.
"They're not here; they went out this morning," a voice came from inside the room.
Shinsei turned his head and saw that it was Shino Aburame sitting on the bed tidying up her clothes.
" Shino, why are you so quiet in the room?" Shinsei asked, somewhat surprised that he hadn't noticed there was another person in the room.
Shino pushed up her sunglasses and said, feeling wronged, "I thought Shinsei, you were different from the others and would be able to spot me quickly."
Just then, there was a knock on the door. The door opened, and Kurenai Yuhi and Hinata walked in, carrying large and small bags of food.
"Come and have breakfast!" Kurenai Yuhi greeted everyone warmly.
"Thank you, Senior Red." Shinsei tossed Akamaru onto Kiba's bed and said, "Tell your master to get up."
Akamaru dashed to the front of Kiba and began licking Kiba's face with his tongue.
After quickly washing up next door, Shinsei began eating the sumptuous breakfast on the table.
The Land of Wind is short of resources, Sunagakure relies heavily on imports for its food; roasted potatoes like these come from the Land of Rivers. Local specialties include roasted lizard, cactus fruit, and desert frog meat.
Suddenly, Ya, who was lying on the bed, sniffed and jumped up from the bed.
"Wow! You guys didn't even call me when you were eating!" Ya grabbed a roasted lizard, took a bite, then ripped off its tail and stuffed it into Akamaru's mouth.
"I've been calling you for ages and you still won't answer me. Go away, you still have sleep in your eyes."
Everyone finished breakfast chatting and laughing.
Knock, knock, knock—there was a knock on the door.
"Please come in."
The door opened, and standing outside were Chiyo, Ebizo, Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara.
"Guests from Konoha, please forgive our poor hospitality." Chiyo bowed tremblingly to the crowd.
" Elder Chiyo, you're too kind. We ninjas don't stand on ceremony. Now that you're here, let's negotiate as soon as possible." For Shinsei, Sunagakure was utterly boring, and he wanted to end it all as soon as possible.
"Thank you for your understanding, Lord Shinsei, but could I please see my unfilial grandson first?" Chiyo sighed softly, tears welling up in her cloudy eyes.
Shinsei took the package from the bed and pulled out a cylindrical object, which was Sasori of the Red Sands's Regeneration Core. In a sense, this was Sasori of the Red Sands himself.
" Chiyo, be careful." Shinsei handed the Regeneration Core to Chiyo, Chiyo took it and gently stroked it.
" Lord Shinsei, can you help me break the seal?" Chiyo's eyes were almost pleading.
The seal was placed by Tsunade herself, and the Sunagakure's sealing skills were naturally insufficient to break it. Seeing the old man's simple wish, Shinsei did not refuse.
"I can help you break part of the seal so he can act on his own, but I can't guarantee what will happen to someone like Sasori of the Red Sands after the seal is broken."
"Thank you very much."
Shinsei Hand Seals, Chakra surged from his right hand, gently touching the Regeneration Core.
Chiyo took out a sealing scroll, gently unfurled it, and a puppet boy with red hair and handsome features appeared in the room.
Shinsei had seen this puppet before; it was Sasori of the Red Sands, only it looked a few years younger.
Several Chakra Threads extended from the Regeneration Core, pulling it into the puppet boy's heart.
The puppet boy opened his eyes, glanced around, and his gaze fell on Chiyo's aged face.
"Oh, it's Chiyo. Looks like you don't have many years left to live." He tilted his head, looking somewhat innocent due to his difficulty in maneuvering. "Aren't you going to kill me? These useless things can't stop me."
Chiyo slowly but firmly shook her head. "Scorpion, I won't let you act recklessly. I will watch over you myself, and if I am to die, I will deal with you personally."
"Alright, Sasori of the Red Sands is back to you. Now let's talk about compensation from Konoha." Shinsei interrupted their conversation.
Ebizo nodded. " Lord Shinsei, please follow me."
"Could you please show my classmate around the Sunagakure, Sunagakure?" The negotiations don't need their Genin, even though I'm a Genin myself.
Scorpion, who was walking in front, turned his head 180 degrees, grinned, and said to Shinsei, "Let me go, you'll regret it. Next time, I'll definitely kill you."
Shinsei shrugged indifferently.
If he can catch you once, he can catch you a second time. Rather than letting Sasori of the Red Sands stay in Sunagakure, he would much rather the Akatsuki take him away.
Don't underestimate the combined wisdom of yourself and Tsunade.
The rooms in Sunagakure always have a dark and crude feel, and this meeting room is no exception.
On one side sat 11 elders of Sunagakure, including Chiyo, while on the other side sat only Shinsei and Kurenai Yuhi.
Despite the fact that the other side seemed to have a large and powerful force, Shinsei was completely unconcerned.
Konoha, representing Shinsei, demonstrates that Tsunade is not concerned with any results or progress achieved at the negotiating table.
In terms of political maneuvering, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura of Konoha are more adept, while Shinsei's only and greatest advantage is his personal fighting prowess.
Konoha didn't have any demands regarding funds, and Sunagakure couldn't squeeze much money out of them these days, so they only made a few requests:
Firstly, all missions will be made available, allowing the Land of Wind to issue missions to Konoha, and the Sunagakure must not obstruct this.
Secondly, make copies of all the wind-style Ninjutsu from Sunagakure and send them to Konoha.
Third, hand over all the information regarding the forbidden technique of One's Own Life Reincarnation from Sunagakure;
Fourth, the textbooks for the Sunagakure Ninja Academy should be revised to prohibit the addition of content related to hatred towards Konoha.
As for trade-related policies, that falls under the scope of discussions between the Daimyo of the Land of Fire and the Daimyo of the Land of Wind.
Chiyo's cloudy eyes swept over the elders. She didn't know which one had betrayed the secret of Sunagakure, the forbidden medical technique she had developed, which only a few people knew about.
The elders of Sunagakure slammed their fists on the table, gritted their teeth, and glared, Shinsei.
Shinsei rested his chin on his hands, looking completely nonchalant, which only fueled their anger.
"Then let's have a fight." Shinsei raised his eyes and looked at the menacing crowd opposite him.
The room fell silent instantly. An elder asked in surprise, "What did you say?"
"I say let's fight," Shinsei stood up. "If you beat me, all the previous conditions are null and void, and we can renegotiate. If you can't win, then we'll go with my conditions."
The group exchanged bewildered glances, finally turning their attention to Chiyo.
Chiyo slowly shook her head, about to speak, when the door was suddenly pushed open and a person rushed in—it was Baki.
"I, Baki, accept your challenge." Baki said angrily, glaring at Shinsei.
Shinsei chuckled, feeling both that Baki was overestimating himself and admiring his courage.
After a moment's thought, he said, "How about this? You can send as many people as you want, as long as you defeat me, what I said before still stands."