About a week later, under the Land of Water's isolationist policy, no one knew that its former daimyo and nobles had all disappeared. Power over the Land of Water now rested entirely in Yuzuru's hands.
With the implementation of various new laws and systems, the impoverished people of the Land of Water had finally welcomed a new life.
Now, Mei Terumi and Uchiha Hikari had arrived in Sunagakure, bringing Kisame, Zabuza, and several chunin with them.
Although domestic reforms had been fully completed, they still needed to keep up appearances abroad for a while. They would reveal the truth once the economy had recovered and the hardships of everyday life had been completely resolved. After all, if the rest of the shinobi world learned of the Land of Water's current situation, they would probably band together to attack it.
"Advisor Chiyo, I've only come to demand an explanation. After all, it's common knowledge that Sunagakure launched an unprovoked surprise attack on its ally during the Third Shinobi World War."
Mei Terumi and Uchiha Hikari sat in chairs, with Zabuza and Kisame standing behind them respectively as guards.
Neither man said a word, but the Kubikiribōchō and Samehada on their backs were famous.
They were genuine jonin, elite jonin of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, no less.
The fact that Kirigakure could send such a lineup to demand an explanation left the already badly weakened Sand Ninja with a sense of foreboding.
Now that the Third Kazekage was dead and the Fourth Kazekage was still being selected, Chiyo and her younger brother were under tremendous pressure as the Kazekage's advisors.
Looking at the composed Mei Terumi and the Uchiha girl beside her, Chiyo had no idea why the Uchiha had become entangled with Kirigakure, but it clearly wasn't good news.
"We will give you a satisfactory explanation. However, the village has everything to rebuild right now. As you've seen, we Sand Ninja are very poor, and the daimyo has withheld part of our funding. We truly cannot afford such an enormous sum as two hundred million ryo in compensation."
Chiyo, too, wore an expression that said they could figure out what to do about it themselves.
Still, she wasn't wrong. Sunagakure's poverty wasn't solely due to its location in the desert. The conflict between the daimyo and the ninja village was another major reason.
Compared with those of the other great nations, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind really was an oddball.
The Daimyo of the Land of Fire had family ties to Konoha, so there was little to say there. As long as their disagreements weren't too intense, they could be overlooked.
In the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth, the daimyo and ninja villages were firmly bound by shared interests, and their relationships could be described as excellent.
Though the Daimyo of the Land of Water rarely appeared in public, he never interfered in Kirigakure's affairs or caused trouble over funding.
Only the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, who clearly relied on the Sand Ninja to win wars and secure a greater share of the benefits, still squeezed them financially. As a result, every Kazekage had to go out and mine in person. The village always had the fewest ninja, and their strength wasn't particularly high either, leaving them to develop external tools such as poison and puppets.
Mei Terumi wasn't surprised by Chiyo's words.
If you really demanded compensation from a poor place like Sunagakure, all it could give you was a mouthful of sand. Money was even more out of the question. The Sand Ninja valued it above everything else.
"In that case, I'll be frank. We can reduce the compensation, but your village must hand Pakura over for us to deal with. She inflicted heavy losses on Kirigakure during the war. If you're willing to consider this condition, Lord Mizukage has said that we will only require one hundred million ryo in compensation. You can even pay in installments, meaning a portion each year over ten years, with no interest."
At those words, Chiyo and Ebizo immediately exchanged a glance, then slammed the table and rose to their feet.
"Absolutely not! Pakura is our village's war hero. We will never betray her trust."
"Then there's nothing I can do. Prepare the two hundred million ryo in compensation. If you cannot pay, Kirigakure will regard it as Sunagakure deliberately provoking a war."
Mei Terumi's expression turned cold as she spoke.
"Do you even have the strength to wage war anymore?"
Chiyo sneered.
They knew very well how much damage they had inflicted on Kirigakure last time.
"Well, you may not know this, but Lord Mizukage has already gathered quite a few ninja from the bloodline clans. The new Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist have also been selected. We might not have that many genin, but Kirigakure has never lacked jonin."
At those words, the smiles immediately vanished from Chiyo's and Ebizo's faces.
It was common knowledge throughout the shinobi world that Kirigakure had many bloodline clans, but they had always been ruled under the Blood Mist Policy. They hadn't expected Kirigakure to suspend it of its own accord for the sake of dealing with Sunagakure.
"Even so, Pakura's significance to Sunagakure is entirely different."
Chiyo's attitude softened somewhat, but her meaning was still clear: they would have to pay more.
"I know. But Pakura's bloodline ability doesn't seem to be Magnet Release, does it? If I remember correctly, Rasa is the one with Magnet Release, making him better suited to becoming Kazekage. Is Pakura really that important to you? Don't forget, even if we don't make this demand, Konoha might. After all, you tore up the peace treaty you signed with Konoha during the Second Shinobi World War."
Just as Mei Terumi said, Pakura was in danger. Moreover, considering every aspect, Pakura could not become Kazekage. First, she had killed too many enemies, and second, she lacked Magnet Release.
Without Magnet Release, she simply couldn't resolve the village's financial problems.
"Fifty million ryo. Reduce the compensation to fifty million ryo, payable over five years, and we will hand Pakura over for you to deal with. However, we will need some time. We cannot dishearten the rest of the village."
Without wasting any more words, Chiyo directly stated the village's bottom line.
Hearing this, the corners of Mei Terumi's mouth rose a few pixels.
"One Kage-level fighter for one hundred and fifty million ryo. Lady Chiyo, your prices are shadier than the black market's."
"This is all Sunagakure can afford."
Chiyo refused to budge.
"In that case, we need a hostage."
"What do you mean?"
"To prevent Sunagakure from launching another surprise attack as it did when it tore up its peace treaty with Konoha, we need a reliable hostage."
"Since you've chosen Rasa to become Kazekage, I seem to recall that he has a daughter who isn't even a year old yet."
"We will not agree to that demand. There has never been such a precedent."
Chiyo spoke at once.
"Don't be so hasty. Lord Mizukage has said that she won't be harmed. On the contrary, she will still be treated like a princess in the Land of Water. As long as the future Lord Kazekage doesn't start wars on a whim, everything will be fine. But if he tears up the peace treaty, heh."
Mei Terumi chuckled, her meaning self-evident.
"Give us five years. At the very least, that child cannot go now. Once the compensation has been paid, we will send her to the Land of Water. How about that? With the compensation agreement in place, Sunagakure will certainly not start a war during that period, nor will we have the strength to do so."
"Tsk, your village isn't planning to train her as a spy, is it?"
Mei Terumi looked at Chiyo and bluntly exposed her intentions.
"But it doesn't matter. Even if she really is a spy, she will only be allowed to stay in one place. We will provide the best living conditions, but surveillance will be unavoidable."
At those words, Chiyo's little scheme fell apart completely, but she still refused to give up. Even if the girl couldn't become a spy, she had to make sure she knew of the hatred between the two sides.
"Still, we agree. We look forward to seeing how Sunagakure performs."