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  “That year, several vilges, besieged Konoha. In the end, they retreated i.”

  “At that moment, I thought: If I could bee a hero of the vilge, I would wihing for Suna.”

  “Now, the opportunity to exge a hero's sacrifice for peace is right before us. I must sider whether this will be the only ce I have in this lifetime.”

  “I believe that Suna will one day achieve dominance. When that day es, please carve my image into the sand, like the Hokage Ro Konoha, as aernal symbol.”

  “Ref the glory of Sunagakure is our inescapable duty!”

  Pakura stood directly opposite the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, her eyes bzing with a holy fire that seemed to melt the shackles binding Suna. Her voice resonated with unwaveriermination.

  She was… the ninja who bore the name of Suna's hero!

  Although her strength didn’t reach the heights of Konoha’s White Fang, her resolve far surpassed that of suicidal ninjas.

  “Pakura, you…”

  Rasa eechless, his heart filled with a mixture of relud guilt. It was likely the kind of guilt that would jolt him awake in the middle of the night, acg him of being inhuman.

  The other elders lowered their heads, uo meet Pakura’s gaze.

  They were the ones who had devised the pn for Pakura to die in exge for Suna's opportunity. Why akura herself proposing it?

  The retionship between Suna and Konoha…

  Once, in search of the missing Third Kazekage, Suna had instigated a war with Konoha, an ihat became the catalyst for the Third Shinobi World War. Even earlier, during the Sed Shinobi World War, Suna had killed Konoha’s high-ranking ander, Kato Dan…

  In the eyes of the Suna elders, the possibility of Pakura returning alive from Konoha ractically zero. Konoha wouldn’t miss su opportunity to vent the accumuted hatred of aire vilge onto a single person.

  “Pakura, have you thought this through?”

  “This journey may be a one-way trip.”

  “The be a one-way trip!”

  Pakura’s voice remained firm, her eyes devoid of any fear of death.

  “Very well.”

  Rasa, who could be so ruthless towards his own children, was not one for seality. He immediately exercised his authority as the Fourth Kazekage.

  “I will dispatch emissaries to secretly iate an agreement with Konoha, with you as the price.”

  “After your death, Pakura… Suna’s emissaries will travel to Konoha to discuss establishing a prehensive ercial partnership and strug trade routes.”

  Pakura sat upright, calmly accepting this reality. A weak vilge had no diplomacy; sometimes, a ninja’s life had to be sacrificed te the gap.

  Knooock-

  Just as Rasa gave the order, a hurried knock echoed from outside.

  “Rep to Kazekage-sama!”

  “Speak.”

  “Kumogakure’s emissary has arrived!”

  “What?!”

  Rasa was taken aback. He quickly regained his posure and ordered, “Find a way to stall him for ten minutes. Bring him here after ten minutes.”

  “Yes!”

  As the messenger ninja departed, an eager discussioed in the meeting room. “The Kumogakure emissary is here at this time? What could be his purpose?”

  “He’s probably here to propose an alliah Suna!”

  “An alliance? Why?”

  “It seems Kumogakure, like us, initially inteo join forces with Kiri against Konoha, freeing up their hands to deal with their rival, Iwagakure.”

  “But now that Kiri and Konoha have formed an alliaheir strength has grown. We must uo dismantle Konoha’s hegemony.”

  “And then there’s Iwa. Needless to say, Iwa is our on enemy, a target that must be eliminated.”

  “Fourth Kazekage, what are your thoughts?”

  Rasa crossed his arms and nodded nonittally.

  The rhetoric was quite impressive, directly addressing the current politidscape of the shinobi world.

  Although Suna had limited iion with Kumogakure, having a on enemy fed an undeniable partnership!

  “An alliah Kumogakure… is acceptable!”

  “Excellent! The’s sign the…”

  Atsui eagerly pulled out a scroll, ready to retrieve the “Kumo-Suna Treaty.”

  “However, there are ditions for an alliah Sunagakure.”

  “ditions… please state them.”

  ditions.

  The elder advisor had also anticipated this. For the grand Kumo Prosperity Sphere pn, some bes to their impoverished Suna brethren table.

  “First, money. During the alliance, Kumogakure must provide Sunagakure with four hundred million ryō in annual military aid, along with a plete set of ninja tools for at least one hundred people, paid quarterly. Otherwise, Suna reserves the right to uniterally termihe alliance.”

  “That… is acceptable!”

  Atsui mentally calcuted the cost of the ninja tools for one hundred people. bined with the cash payment, it didn’t exceed the limit set by the elder advisor, so he readily agreed.

  Seeing the first dition accepted without hesitation, the liberal Suna elders wore expressions of both joy a.

  They had asked for too little.

  Kumogakure was rolling in money.

  “Sed, Kumogakure must help us share the military pressure from Iwagakure. If one side is attacked, the other must send ninja reinforts. Before dealing with Konoha, we must first resolve the Iwa issue.”

  “That’s no problem. Our inal pn was to elimihose Iwa monkeys first anyway,” Atsui assured them, thumping his chest.

  “The final dition… I need Kumogakure to dispatch strong and hardw borers to help Suna build roads!”

  “Laborers?”

  Atsui was taken aback, then recalled the Raikage’s secret instrus: Atsui, find a way to send those southern s rats to Sunagakure.

  What a ce!

  Atsui had long been annoyed by those dark-skinned s dwellers. They caused trouble and were unproductive, creating u in southern Kumogakure.

  Perfect! The Kumo Prosperity Sphere pn took prece. He could use the pn as justification to force the elders to send those s rats to Suna as borers.

  “That’s… also acceptable!”

  “But if I may ask, where does Suna io build these roads?”

  He had to admit, the roads in Suna were atrocious. Even he, aced to Kumogakure’s mountainous terrain, found it difficult, having swallowed a mouthful of sand on his way to the Kazekage Tower.

  “To Konoha.”

  “Oh… to Konoha. Huh? Konoha?!”

  Atsui’s eyes widened in surprise, and he immediately became wary. “Wait, Suna is building roads to Konoha? Why?”

  “Why else would we build roads? To expand ercial and cultural exge with Konoha, of course.”

  “But… you want to do business with Konoha?” Atsui was dumbfounded. “You’re choosing Konoha over Kumogakure? What about our alliance?”

  “Acc to shinobi world regutions, military partners are true allies. Expanding ercial and cultural exge with Konoha is merely a way for Suna to earn funds for military expenses.”

  The Fourth Kazekage expined without batting an eye. “Mere ercial cooperation ot be sidered a true alliance. Our true ally is only Kumogakure!”

  “Konoha won’t realize that every ryō we earn from them will be turned into kunai and shuriken pierg their flesh.”

  Hiss-

  ‘Ruthless Suna!’ Atsui gasped, secretly admiring the vilge’s leadership.

  There was nothing wrong with allying with Suna! They were pnning to leech off Konoha, using the profits to create ons against them… They weren’t holding back at all!

  From this perspective, helping Suna build roads to Konoha wasn’t aiding the enemy; it was secretly draining Konoha’s resources!

  Perhaps this was the “Secret Passage through the Valley of the End” mentioned ihirty-Six Stratagems.”

  Atsui bowed towards Rasa. “Fourth Kazekage, brilliant!”

  Rasa returhe gesture, bowing towards Kumogakure. “Fourth Raikage, formidable!”

  “I accept this on behalf of the Raikage. We will send… at least five hurong and capable borers to you.”

  The liberal elders couldn’t tain themselves, eager to squeeze more out of Kumogakure. “Em, Kumogakure emissary, Suna’s financial situation isn't ideal, and we may not have much to pay the borers. Regarding their wages…”

  “Oh, that’s no problem. Kumogakure has already paid them in advance.”

  “How generous!”

  The liberal elder bowed again, then, suspeg a trick, tentatively asked, “May I inquire about the background of these borers…?”

  “They are refugees who fled to Kumogakure during the Kiri civil war. They’ve been well-fed and taken care of in Kumo, and it’s time for them to tribute.”

  “So, they’re Kiri refugees…”

  The liberal elder murmured, his gaze drifting towards the map of the shinobi world oable, mentally eg Kiri, Kumo, and Suna.

  A triangle!

  A spark of inspiration ignited in his mind. “Besides the ‘Kumo-Suna Treaty,’ how about we sign anreement?”

  “Please eborate.”

  The liberal elder spoke slowly, “Look, Kiri and the Land of Water maintain oppressive policies, and many people want to escape. Kumogakure borders Kiri. How about you specialize in receiving these people for Suna and transp them here as borers?”

  “Suna will hahe public retions. You defley issues onto us.”

  “We will pensate Kumogakure based on the number of Kiri refugees you provide.”

  “How about we tentatively call this trade agreement the ‘Triangur Trade Pact’?”

  Hiss-

  Wasn’t this human traffig?

  No, wait…

  Atsui residered. “Refugees” weren't protected by w in any vilge.

  Runaway ninja were beled as missing-nin, hunted by their vilge or listed on bounty boards. As for ordinary people, except for extreme nations like the Land of Water, there were few restris.

  If refugees from the Land of Water were caught, they faced life impriso, e by nobles, or being “ninja synthesizers” for Kirigakure, serving as first-kill targets for academy students.

  Therefore, even if they were captured by Kumo ao Suna as borers, it wouldn’t matter!

  Perhaps these s rats would even praise them as saviors.

  And vely, Kumogakure’s base in the Land of Hot Water was still operational.

  “That’s… acceptable! Let’s sign the agreement without dey!”

  Soon, two copies of the “Kumo-Suna Treaty” and the “Triangur Trade Pact” were pced oable. Both sides, having achieved their desired outes, sigheir names and affixed their seals with satisfa.

  The alliance was thus formed.

  “Kumogakure emissary, would you like to stay in Suna for a couple of days to exge culture and ninjutsu teiques?”

  “Aha… perhaps aime. I must hurry bad report.”

  A harmonious se of mutual satisfa filled the meeting room.

  Then, discordant footsteps interrupted the pleasantries. “Rep to Kazekage-sama, there’s trouble at the ninja tool shop!”

  The i stemmed from some literate readers who, after reading the third issue of Iki, felt increasingly dissatisfied and decided to cause a se at the ninja tool shop.

  First, they asked the shopkeeper for “ten explosive tags, without a speck of sand on them.” The shopkeeper, after much searg, provided ten such tags.

  Then, they demaen kunai, without a trace of rust.” Although ahe shopkeeper still plied.

  Finally, the literate ninja, still unsatisfied, deliberately provoked the shopkeeper, asking for “ten shuriken, washed seven times with water!”

  The shopkeeper finally snapped. “Are you kidding me? Should I wash them with gold?”

  “You don’t have any? Are y to get me killed on a mission?”

  “What does your mission have to do with me?!”

  Thus, the literate ninja and the shopkeeper engaged in a brawl, causing quite a otion.

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