Red sand dust

It has been a few days since Maki came to Konoha Village, but there has been little progress in the negotiations.

Although he had contact with some high-level officials of Konoha Village, they were all very secretive about re-entering the alliance, which made Maki, who had a heavy responsibility, deeply worried.

The pressure on Iwagakure Village has always been there, and now it is just a test, but if Sunagakure Village cannot get the support of Konoha Village in time, the test may turn into a full-scale war.

Because it is not uncommon for small conflicts to eventually explode into major wars.

The restraint of the five major ninja villages' combat power is definitely not just talk. Once the balance is imbalanced, a war in the ninja world will be inevitable.

Because expectations for re-alliance were high, Konoha Village did not restrict the actions of Maki and others.

Walking along the bustling streets with sand and sound in the wind.

"so many people!"

Yinfeng sighed, when did Sunagakure Village become so prosperous... No, even half of it would be very gratifying.

The scars of the war are almost gone, and villagers are working feverishly to rebuild the destroyed buildings.

"The enviable recovery ability will make up for the losses in a short time!"

Sunako said to Maki worriedly,

"The bravery of the Suna Ninja is naturally not weaker than that of the Konoha Ninja, but the overall strength of the village lags far behind, and it has a tendency to get bigger and bigger!"

Marki nodded in agreement:

"Most of the damage caused by the Suna Ninja to the Leaf Village was focused on destroying facilities and did not cause much damage!"

Because Gaara failed to transform into a tailed beast, most of the villagers in Konoha calmly retreated to a safe area.

Except for the front-line garrisoned ninja who suffered heavy losses due to the Suna Ninja's sneak attack, the Konoha ninjas who reacted blocked the Suna Ninja's surprise attack from the core areas. Hospitals, ninja schools and other places close to Hokage Rock were not affected by the war at all. spread to.

"see it?"

Ma Ji pointed to the pavilions and pavilions that will soon be restored to their original appearance, the rows of residential buildings, and the tea street where people come and go.

"As long as people are alive, there is hope. Even if the entire Konoha Village is destroyed, they will soon be able to build a new Konoha Village!"

In contrast, Sunagakure Village has not worked hard to consolidate its foundation like Konoha Village.

The entire village is getting poorer and weaker due to the squeeze of quick success and instant gain.

Yinfeng and Sunako's expressions were a little gloomy.

After a great battle, Konoha Village is about to rise from the ashes, but Sunagakure Village is still unable to extricate itself from the dangerous situation. Instead, it is getting deeper and deeper, and can only hope for external forces to tide over the difficulties.

After a long silence, Ma Ji asked in a deep voice:

"Hasn't the Leaf Village's preferred candidate for the Fifth Hokage, the Fifth Generation, been decided yet?"

Sunako replied:

"Jiraiya, one of the three ninjas, is currently in Konoha Village. He should have been the most popular candidate, but..."

"But what?"

"Jiraiya himself was unwilling, but instead recommended Tsunade, who is also one of the Sannin!"

"It really is……"

Yinfeng smiled bitterly and said,

"We can't find anyone suitable to be the Kazekage, but in Konoha Village, there are so many choices for the Fifth Hokage, and I don't know which one to choose... It's so enviable!"

"So, we need to work hard to hold on! If we are ineffective, we will not be able to do it, but at least we have to wait until the next generation of Suna ninja grows up!"

Marky paused as he spoke, and suddenly remembered something,

"What we talked about last time is that they hope to release the visor early. What is the attitude of Konoha Village?"

"It seems...not exclusive!"

Yinfeng thought about it and told Ma Ji about his intention to negotiate in concise and concise words.

"That means we can talk? Very good, Yinfeng, keep testing! We really need this batch of detained Sand Ninja..."

The weak desert lion must not expose itself to the surrounding hyenas, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous.

While a few people were chatting, Shiranui Genma, who had fought against Ma Ji, came over.

Ma Ji stretched out his hand to signal his two subordinates not to act rashly.

"Suna Ninja Maki, the Sandaime's advisor wants to see you!"

"Is there finally a more formal meeting? We can't wait!"

Ma Ji breathed a sigh of relief and ignored the coldness in Shiranui Genma's tone.

"I wonder which consultant it is?"

"We'll know when the time comes!"

After saying that, Shiranui Genma turned around and walked forward.

"Does this mean... that we should go with him? You're not welcome at all!"

Sunako was a little indignant, but Ma Ji was very calm:

"We are asking for something! This little thing is nothing, let's go!"

Following Shiranui Genma to the Hokage's house, Nekaze and Sunako were blocked outside the door. Maki pushed the door open and walked in. Mito Kadeni and Koharu, who had transferred to the dormitory, were sitting upright, waiting for Maki's arrival.

"Representative of Sunagakure Village, Maji, sit down!"

Marky nodded his thanks and found a stool to sit down on.

"Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet me..."

"The village is in dire need and has many affairs..."

Mito Monobu still had an old face and said in an old-fashioned way,

"I won't waste time and ask straight to the point! It's okay to renew the alliance, but what do you want to get and what benefits can our Konoha Village get? It's best to make it clear in advance..."

Ma Ji was overjoyed by what Mito Monobu revealed. As long as he could turn enemies into friends with Konohagakure, everything would be easy to discuss.

"We need combat readiness material support; and return part of the tasks originally belonging to the Kingdom of Wind to Sunagakure Village; in addition, we hope to release the detained Suna ninja as soon as possible..."

“It’s a lot to ask for!”

In particular, the issue of task division is too sensitive, as it is directly related to the survival and development of a ninja village.

"What are you going to give in exchange for these things you're asking for?"

Even though the conditions for the peace talks in Sunagakure Village mentioned by Maki were a bit rude, Mito Kadobu still didn't get angry and just frowned and said,

"The Sunagakure has already been defeated and surrendered, but you still want to gain more benefits than before the war? With all due respect, it is impossible for Sunagakure Village to come up with conditions that satisfy us now!"

"That's true, but if Konoha Village wants to gain a sincere ally, it shouldn't squeeze it beyond its reach. If the last covenant wasn't so harsh on Sunagakure Village, this bloody conflict wouldn't be possible at all. Happened, please consider it carefully!

The Suna Ninja have no intention of becoming enemies of the Leaf Village, and it is already very difficult to deal with the Iwagakure Village. If they really can't survive, they will not take risks..."

"You're brave, Marky..."

If Shimura Danzo was here, he would be impatient by now. Ma Ji's almost threatening words will make the tough "Ninja Darkness" directly close the door to peace talks.

Marki lowered his head slightly and said sincerely:

"We sand ninjas can no longer afford to be misunderstood and misjudge our allies. We might as well express our thoughts clearly and let everyone know what we are thinking!"

Xiaochun, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said:

"We know your bottom line, but Maki, you have to have enough strength to stick to the bottom line. Does Sunagakure Village still have the qualifications to make Konoha look at it differently?"

Allies are also different from allies. Why is Sunagakure Village on an equal footing with Konoha Village, while Kusanagi is just a dispensable vassal?

In other words, it is no longer so certain whether Sunagakure Village, which has declined to the extreme, can still sustain itself as one of the five great ninja villages.

On a hot day, cold sweat broke out on Ma Ji's forehead involuntarily.

Although Sunagakure Village has declined, Sunagakure always feels that it is one of the five great ninja villages, and its due status is still very stable.

But is it really so?

At least the former ally Konoha Village felt that Suna Ninja needed to prove that he still had the strength to be taken seriously by others.

Why couldn't Sunagakure Village choose the Kazekage Godaime?

Being the leader of the village doesn't necessarily mean you will be the Kazekage.

You can close the door and say whatever you want, but it is really not easy to get other ninja villages to recognize the "Kage" as a genuine and valuable one.

If the elected leader cannot convince the public, he will only become a laughing stock in the ninja world.

Just when Maki was nervously thinking of a strategy to refute Koharu's contempt for Sunagakure Village, a homing pigeon flew in from the window and landed on Mito Kado's shoulder.

The two advisors and elders frowned. Mito Monoyan untied the letter from the carrier pigeon's lap and spread it out. After reading it, he handed it to Koharu, who was transferred to bed.

"It's really interesting!"

Mito Menyan thought for a while and then said:

"The captured Suna Ninja will be released one after another within three days! Since we have shown our sincerity, we hope that the Suna Ninja will also take action to reassure us!"

"So, thank you very much. We will never let down the trust of our allies!"

"That's it for today. More specifically, I'll wait for the Fifth Hokage to come and talk to you!"

…

When Maki walked out of the Hokage's house, he met Sunako and Nekaze who came towards them with smiles on their faces.

"Senior Ma Ji, good news, Wen Ya was killed by us on the northern border!"

"Wen Ya? You mean..."

Ma Ji suddenly realized that it was no wonder that the attitude of the Konoha Village consultant suddenly became friendly. It turned out to be the good news from Fuyi, which gave Konoha Village a little more confidence in Suna Ninja.

Although Bunga was well-known, his death was not a big deal in the ninja world. What people were concerned about was that the Suna ninja, who seemed to be on the verge of collapse, still had a fearsome strength.

Sunagakure Village needs Konoha's support, and the powerful Konoha Village doesn't want Sunagakure Village to help contain the Iwa Ninja in the northwest corner!

Although Konoha Village is powerful, Kumogakure Village is not weak either. In order to curb the expansion of the aggressive Kumo Ninja, allies are indeed needed to share some of the pressure.

The alliance between Sunagakure Village and Konoha Village was never due to a deep friendship, but an inevitable exchange of interests.

"This is really good news!"

Marki showed a rare smile of relief,

"I also have a good thing to announce here. Mask and other compatriots will be released. In this way, the pressure on the village should be reduced a lot."

After all, sending genin to the front line is just a temporary measure. Only the elite ninja army who have experienced many battles must come back to support the defense line of the huge Wind Kingdom.