Shota and the Suna group left the daimyō's estate as soon as the meeting ended. Rasa gave the order quietly, and everyone moved without delay.
The Kazekage, the elder of diplomacy Mina Sabaku, the five ANBU escorts, and Shota himself walked out of the capital with quick steps.
They did not speak much. Shota stayed close to Rasa, his binding cloth scarf wrapped around his neck as instructed. He kept his eyes sharp, watching every street corner and rooftop for any sign of trouble.
If Iwa wanted to stop the deal, now would have been a good time to attack. But no such attack came.
As they left the city gates and entered the open road toward the Land of Fire, Shota's mind began to wander. He replayed the meeting in his head.
'If Ōnoki knew that we were heading toward their greatest enemy Konoha, he would surely not be this cooperative in the meeting.'
Shota almost smirked under his mask. The Tsuchikage had been grumpy and sharp-tongued the whole time, but he had agreed to everything quickly.
He had handed over the Seven-Tails deal without much argument. If he had known the Suna's entourage next stop was Konoha, he might have changed his tone.
'And if he knew that we were going there to congratulate the new Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, who just months ago slaughtered at least a thousand of Iwa shinobi, he would have literally thrown a particle release at the Kazekage.'
Shota shivered at the thought. The old man hated Konoha with every bone in his body. Minato's name alone would have made him explode.
'Moreover, if I am not wrong, we would be entering an alliance with Konoha in this meeting. I wonder how Iwa and Ōnoki would react knowing that they helped get one of Konoha's newest allies the third strongest tailed beast.'
The idea made Shota want to laugh. Iwa had paid a fortune and had helped Suna get the Seven-Tails to weaken Kumo.
They had used Suna to do it. And now Suna was going to Konoha to make friends. Ōnoki would feel like he had been tricked. He would probably curse Rasa's name for years.
Shota could almost hear the old man shouting, "That sand brat tricked me! I will bury him in rock!"
'But now with the deal signed and agreed upon by all three village leaders, he can't do anything to back out from it. But it would have been fun to see his expression and reaction when he would hear about all of this.'
Shota shook his head. He had to focus. The road to Konoha was long, and trouble could come from anywhere.
He thought about the upcoming Suna-Konoha alliance.
According to Shota, the alliance would benefit Konoha more than Suna.
The major clause would be peace between both great villages. There would be no wars or no border attacks. Konoha never started wars because they did not need to.
The Land of Fire was rich and fertile. They had rivers, forests, and good farmland. They had everything they needed. The Land of Wind was a barren desert. Suna had always started wars to get fertile land from Konoha.
This alliance meant Konoha no longer had to worry about their western border. They would face one less great village in future wars. That was a huge advantage.
Suna would gain some benefits too. Very cheap imports of food and water from the Land of Fire would help the village as well as the country a lot. No more starvation during dry seasons. No more high prices for grain.
Merchants would travel safely. Trade would grow. The economy would become stronger. Being allied with Konoha would also mean Iwa and Kumo would not attack Suna easily. No one would want to fight two great villages at once. The same would be true for other villages attacking Konoha.
Shota thought about the long-term effects.
The alliance would stop many problems before they started. Konoha could focus on other enemies. Suna could rebuild without fear of invasion. The two villages would share information, missions, and resources. It would make both stronger in different ways. Konoha would gain a safe border and a reliable partner in the desert. Suna would gain food and protection from stronger enemies.
But Shota saw the danger too.
'This alliance might lead to the nobles and daimyō of the Land of Wind giving missions to Konoha instead of Suna, like in canon. That forced Suna to attack Konoha in the future and break the alliance. I would have to look for ways to prevent Suna from that too. And the simple way for that would be showcasing good talent in the chūnin exams.'
If Suna's genin performed well in the exams, clients would see the village's strength. They would keep giving missions to Suna.
The daimyō would not need to shift contracts to Konoha. That would keep the money flowing into the village.
The group kept moving.
One of the ANBU sensors suddenly spoke to Rasa.
"We have a few people following us from a distance, Kazekage-sama."
Rasa did not turn his head.
"How much distance? And how many?"
"Two kilometres away. Three shinobi." The Anbu said to the point.
Rasa nodded slowly.
"It must be Kumo. Konoha sensors with their Yamanaka, Hyūga, Aburame are much better than that. They would not have been detected so easily. And they have a much larger range. These are likely from Kumo and trying to see why we helped Iwa."
He paused for a moment.
"Since it's not Konoha or Iwa, we are free to engage with them. It would be better to keep Kumo into dark until we get the tailed beast."
Rasa looked at Shota.
"Raven, can you deal with them alone?"
Shota bowed slightly.
"Yes, sir."
With a nod from the Kazekage, he disappeared in a body flicker.
'It's been a while since I have fought some good shinobi anyway. It's better to get some exercise before arriving at Konoha where Danzo dear is waiting for me. That would be such a drag.'
-----Author Notes---------
Thankyou Lee Douglas, Daniel Munitz and side character for supporting me!
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