In the inn where the Sunagakure group was staying…
"Baki."
Removing his kage hat, the Fourth Kazekage said, "What exactly required you to see us in person?"
He looked utterly exhausted. Ever since the Konoha Crush plan failed, he had been working day and night—falling into a situation that felt worse than death. If possible, he'd gladly trade places with Baki…
Ebizō was seated across from him, while two jōnin guards—Otokaze and Yura—stood behind him as the Kazekage's escorts.
"It's about what to do with that Third Kazekage puppet we just got," Baki said with utmost seriousness. "While assisting Konoha's Link in fighting Sasori of the Red Sand, I exchanged information with Sasori…"
"Sasori can restore the Third Kazekage's puppet—making it able to refine Iron Sand again."
"?!" x3
Even the usually calm Ebizō showed clear surprise. They all recognized what this meant. If a puppet could once more wield Iron Sand, it could revitalize Sunagakure, restoring the glory of puppet arts.
Baki noticed how Yura, behind them, showed little visible reaction. With a quiet sigh, he went on: "Yura—you must have a way to contact Sasori, right?"
Yes. The "contact method" Sasori gave him was simply a spy's name.
Yura was qualified to move among the Sunagakure upper echelons. Baki had known him for many years. Yet…
It was precisely for that reason that Baki hadn't wanted to pass on intel through Gaara and company. Observing Yura's example, he had trouble trusting any of his fellow villagers.
"Correct. I can contact Lord Sasori at any time," Yura answered frankly. A kunai was now pressing against his throat.
"You scum!" Otokaze said, face twisted in anger.
"I see…" Ebizō nodded, partly understanding why Baki had insisted on meeting the Kazekage. "That must be the Memory-Concealing Manipulative Sand Technique, I presume?"
He wasn't unfamiliar with that jutsu.
The Fourth Kazekage simply raised his hand and said, "Take him to another room." Traitor or not, that could wait. Right now, the Third Kazekage puppet was the higher priority—that was the future of the village.
Otokaze, swallowing his fury, obeyed and took the unresisting Yura away.
Baki, for his part, said nothing about this. He calmly recounted the intelligence in his possession, plus the network he'd established when he was alive. Then he added, "That Konoha shinobi, Link…"
A frown crossed his face. "That kid knows a lot of things he shouldn't. I suspect he has some kind of intelligence-gathering secret technique."
"And about the Pure Land…" Even speaking of that "deathly realm" brought him complex feelings. There was no sense of time there, so Link's constant chatter became the only thing one could feel.
For the dead, it was like someone talking endlessly in your ear. Kind of the opposite of 'pure'…
But thinking about it, Baki realized his village could do nothing about that either. Accepting the situation, he skipped on to, "Temari and Kankurō have both grown quite well. When they return to the village, they could be considered for promotion. Gaara's seal is entirely stable—if we want to extract the Tailed Beast again, we might have to ask Konoha for help."
"They're very close to Link. We should leverage that relationship to strengthen our ties…"
He laid out all the thoughts he'd had while stuck in the Pure Land being "harassed"—details on Link, Gaara's siblings, how Konoha had changed, and so forth. Despite respecting the Kazekage and being willing to die for him, Baki was, in fact, a respected elite jōnin and had every right to propose ideas to the village's leadership.
He spoke like he was leaving his last testament, going on and on before finally stopping, aware that time was short. With a complicated expression, he said:
"I doubt I can help the village much further now. I'm sorry." He'd sacrificed everything for the village. Even now, his regret was that there was nothing left he could offer.
"You did well," the Fourth Kazekage said, rising to his feet and bowing his head.
After a while, Ebizō said quietly, "He's gone now, Lord Kazekage." His face was emotionless, having seen so many people give their all for the village over a long lifetime.
It was precisely due to such sacrifices that Sunagakure, under its harsh conditions, had endured so far.
"All right—let's wrap up these talks," said Ebizō, clutching the scroll containing the sealed Third Kazekage puppet so tightly that veins bulged on the back of his hand. "Then we'll head home and get in touch with Sasori."
…
The following day, the second round of negotiations proceeded as scheduled.
This time, the Fourth Kazekage openly sided with Konoha, making the talks heavily one-sided. By all rights, Amegakure should have gotten something from cooperating, since peacefully settling the Land of Rivers should bring them material gains, too. Why pass up free benefits?
"I stand by my earlier demands," Hanzō stated firmly. "Your great nations have no right to force us—Amegakure—shoulder your burdens. If you won't pay fair compensation in one lump sum, I won't cease taking missions related to the Land of Rivers."
His attitude was so unyielding it seemed almost odd, reminiscent of how he used to prop up the Land of Rain alone with sheer will.
But to Link, something about it was off.
He knew from the manga that at this point in time, Hanzō had already lost his fighting spirit and spent all day holed up in a secret residence, constantly guarded. Why would he suddenly leave his village and country for a summit?
If Amegakure is already destroyed, Link thought silently. He had no intention of exposing or confronting Hanzō. The closed-off, war-torn Land of Rain was a total intelligence black hole. Nobody knew the truth there.
Facing Hanzō's unbending stance, the Third Hokage attempted persuasion but couldn't sway him. The Fourth Kazekage then bluntly threatened to dispatch his ninjas to block any Amegakure missions in the Land of Rivers—and the conference completely collapsed.
Even Chiriku (the monk hosting the meeting) hadn't expected this turn of events. Initially, it seemed like everyone stood to benefit. Now it was shaping up to be Amegakure versus both Sunagakure and Konoha?
Ridiculous.
But before he could even try to mediate, the Fourth Kazekage rose with his guard Otokaze and left, leaving the conference hall in a very awkward state.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 100 Chapters Ahead of Others!