Agreement Reached

On this day, quite a few ninja arrived in a border town between the Rain Country and the Saudi Federation.

After several days of discussion and nearly ten exchanges of written proposals, Amegakure and the Saudi Federation finally finalized an agreement with Yasunori Sakai’s push.

The main dispute between Amegakure and the Saudi Federation concerned the guard ninja stationed at the border. Neither side trusted the other.

Pakura vaguely suspected that the ninja who had assassinated the Fourth Kazekage was among Amegakure’s ranks, while Amegakure’s ninja were wary of the massive Saudi Federation.

The Saudi Federation now not only had the original Suna-nin troop, but could even command the Star Ninja Force stationed in River County.

In other words, once the barrier was removed, Amegakure would have to face ninja forces from the Saudi Federation on two fronts.

Although Konan claimed she did not fear the Suna-nin, she did not want to casually start a war and let the civilians of the Rain Country suffer.

That was why, when signing the agreement, she wanted to eliminate every possible risk. If the other side truly failed to honor the agreement, then Amegakure would stand on the side of justice.

In the end, under Yasunori Sakai’s persuasion and with both sides wishing to cooperate, Amegakure and the Saudi Federation reached a consensus.

The mountain range along the border between the Rain Country and the Saudi Federation would be jointly developed by both sides. Neither side could station more than fifty people at the border, trade would be opened up, and special roads would be permitted for travel between the two sides, among a series of other agreements.

As for the trade and commerce provisions, Yasunori Sakai handled all the negotiations with Konan.

The Rain Country’s largest steel refining industry was practically brought under the Yasunori Trading Company’s control through this redevelopment agreement.

Through trade, they could gradually take control of the necessities of civilian life in the Rain Country, and then gain influence over the country itself.

Unless Konan and Nagato were utterly cold-blooded, tyrannical leaders, they could not ignore all the civilians within the Rain Country as long as they retained even a trace of softness in their hearts.

On the way back, Pakura wore the Kazekage’s hat and remained silent, still finding it difficult to accept.

Several times during the negotiations, she had wanted to directly ask about the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, but Yasunori Sakai saw it coming and stopped her each time.

"Lord Kazekage, are you still angry?"

Since Yasunori Sakai was an ordinary person and could not travel as quickly as ninja, and the roads through the Rain Country were difficult to traverse, he and Pakura rode in a carriage.

Pakura did not answer immediately. After a moment of silence, she said, "Just call me Pakura. It’s one thing when others call me that, but hearing it from you feels strange."

"All right, Pakura. But in front of outsiders, I should still call you Lord Kazekage."

Yasunori Sakai chuckled softly, then continued asking Pakura, "Pakura, are you upset over the Fourth Kazekage’s death?"

"Of course I am. The previous Kazekage was murdered, and the killer may well have been someone from Amegakure. Isn’t it only natural to use this agreement to make them hand over the murderer?"

Pakura spoke in a low voice. The carriage driver was from the Yasunori Trading Company, and the carriage had excellent soundproofing, making it difficult for the Suna-nin outside to hear their discussion.

Besides, they were not so tactless as to insist on pressing close to eavesdrop on a conversation between the Fifth Kazekage and the Kazekage’s Assistant.

"They won’t. They would rather reject this agreement than hand over the ninja who assassinated the Fourth Hokage. Pakura, I kept trying to persuade you because I wanted to avoid a war."

Yasunori Sakai spoke bluntly to Pakura. "The ninja who assassinated the Fourth Kazekage is in Amegakure, but I must ask you something, Pakura. Are you truly prepared to halt the Federation’s current development, gather the ninja troop, and go to war with Amegakure, forcing them through war to hand over the ninja who killed the Fourth Hokage?

"If you have truly made up your mind, I will persuade the Patriarch to support your decision at the next Federation meeting."

Hearing this, Pakura asked in confusion, "Does Amegakure really have that much resolve? Even Hanzo back then had no choice but to yield when facing the two great ninja villages of Konoha and Sunagakure."

Yasunori Sakai shook his head. "That was then. Amegakure did not participate in the Third Shinobi World War, and its ninja strength developed well. Moreover, its leader is even stronger than Hanzo. Hanzo died at the hands of Pain, Amegakure’s current leader."

"How could that be? Hanzo is dead?" Pakura asked, slightly surprised.

Because Amegakure’s information was extremely closed off, and the great ninja villages did not pay much attention to this small country, they truly knew little about the internal transfer of power in Amegakure.

"He is dead. According to the information I gathered in Amegakure, Hanzo was killed not long after he fought Pain. Pain is very strong, and that is also why I stopped you."

Since the Suna-nin’s intelligence capabilities were so poor, Yasunori Sakai casually said it. Pakura could not possibly send the Suna-nin to investigate it anyway.

"Pakura, compared to those rogue ninja from Amegakure, I think they were merely blades used by someone else. Even without them, under the temptation of the eight hundred million ryo bounty, Kumo-nin, Iwa-nin, and Konoha ‘rogue ninja’ would have attacked the Fourth Hokage.

"We should direct our desire for revenge toward the person wielding the blade, rather than retaliate against a blade anyone can use. Recently, we have focused all our efforts on internal development and seem to have neglected gathering information from outside."

After saying that, Yasunori Sakai took out a piece of intelligence and handed it to Pakura.

"This was told to the Patriarch by an old friend of the Yasunori Family in the Land of Fire. The Land of Wind secretly sent an envoy, hoping to use Daimyo Manor to commission Konoha to cause trouble for the Saudi Federation."

Pakura’s expression changed slightly upon hearing this. She took the intelligence from Yasunori Sakai and, after reading it, immediately felt anger rise in her heart.

Yasunori Sakai smiled and waved a hand, persuading her, "No need to be angry, Pakura. When Daimyo Manor of the Land of Wind made a move against the Yasunori Trading Company’s mineral veins last time, the Patriarch already wanted to deal with that fool. But at the time, he had to consider Sunagakure’s attitude, so he ultimately gave up.

"But now, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind has lost his greatest shield, and we have just signed an agreement with Amegakure. This is the perfect time to retaliate against him.

"And it is also time for Daimyo Manor of the Land of Wind to learn the consequences of casually placing a bounty on the Kazekage. What do you think, Pakura?"

During the conversation, Yasunori Sakai set up a more hateful target for Pakura, slowly shifting her hatred for Akatsuki toward Daimyo Manor of the Land of Wind. He also used the Yasunori Trading Company as a victim to make Pakura empathize with him, strengthening the persuasiveness of his words.

"Pakura, once we return, you can compensate the children left behind by the Fourth Hokage. I think you can take Rasa’s children as your disciples in your capacity as Kazekage. That would compensate Rasa somewhat and soothe the Fourth Hokage’s former subordinates. As for retaliating against Daimyo Manor of the Land of Wind, leave that to me."

Pakura nodded in agreement at Yasunori Sakai’s suggestion. She had gradually been persuaded by him, and since she already relied heavily on him in political matters, she slowly accepted his words.

"You’re right, Sakai. I’ll leave the matter of retaliating against the Daimyo of the Land of Wind to you. When I return, I’ll take Rasa’s three children as my disciples."

After saying that, Pakura hesitated briefly before continuing, "Sakai, if there is anything you need my help with, remember to tell me. Don’t stand on ceremony."

Yasunori Sakai smiled when he heard that and said to Pakura, "All right, I understand. Thank you, Pakura!"

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