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Rasa's mind raced.
Before he'd gotten the Sun Disk blueprint, Danzo's peace offer wouldn't have interested him much. Now? Everything had changed.
The Sun Disk would be a game-changer for Sunagakure.
But two things were non-negotiable: massive resources and peace.
In the middle of a war, you could try to build it anyway.
It would just be insanely risky.
War already devoured resources. Pulling that much material away from the front lines would leave the whole village stretched thin and overextended.
Worse, the enemy could hit the construction site directly.
A building doesn't move. It's a sitting duck.
One successful raid and Sunagakure would take a catastrophic loss.
So yeah… Danzo's peace proposal actually tempted him.
Cut the Leaf out of the picture and the Hidden Sand could crush the Hidden Mist fast.
The long-term payoff from building the Sun Disk would dwarf anything they could squeeze out of dragging the war on forever.
Still, he wasn't about to jump at the first offer.
The fact that Danzo and Orochimaru had come crawling to him proved the Leaf needed this deal more than the Sand did.
"Before we talk about any treaty," Rasa cut Danzo off, "there's something I want to settle with you first."
Danzo's stomach dropped.
Rasa continued coldly, "You seduced Elder Shiro-Suna Koichi of my village, sent a team of Leaf assassins into Sunagakure, and created a massive threat to my people. I think we need to square that account."
Danzo had known this was coming. He let out a heavy sigh.
"Kazekage, I admit I was wrong there. I listened to Shiro-Suna Koichi's lies and lent him men. I never expected him to do something so deranged. I apologize."
He paused, then added smoothly, "But the Leaf lost quite a few shinobi in that mess too. From what I understand, you spotted his scheme early and your village suffered no real damage. After that, Shiro-Suna Koichi still tried to drag me back in. You misunderstood, more of my men died at your hands, and I lost an arm. If Minato hadn't shown up when he did, I probably would have died there myself."
Danzo spread his hands. "I'm not holding it against you. It really was my fault for being tricked by that traitor. Why don't we both step back and call it even?"
He'd dumped every bit of blame onto the conveniently dead Shiro-Suna Koichi and come out looking spotless.
Rasa had to give the old fox credit. As expected from a veteran Konoha schemer—lies roll right off his tongue without a single twitch.
But Rasa wasn't going to waste time arguing who seduced who. Shiro-Suna Koichi was dead; there was no proof either way. Falling into that trap was exactly what Danzo wanted.
What Rasa wanted was compensation.
"Danzo, you don't seem to understand. Your Leaf ninjas went on a killing spree inside my village. Sure, you lost a few dozen men, but they brought it on themselves. My Sand Village lost hundreds of shinobi to your assassins."
Danzo's eyes bulged.
This old man already lies shamelessly… but Rasa, you're on another level.
Hundreds of Sand deaths? In your dreams! Where are the bodies? Show me the corpses!
Even Orochimaru's face twitched.
"Our losses were devastating," Rasa continued. "So if the Leaf is truly sincere about peace, you'll compensate Sunagakure before any treaty is signed."
Neither man could call the other's bullshit without exposing their own.
"What exactly do you want?" Danzo asked tightly.
Rasa grinned and went straight for the throat. "I hear the Leaf has collected quite a few powerful ninjutsu over the years, all gathered into one scroll—"
Danzo cut him off instantly. "You want the Sealed Book? Impossible!"
Rasa blinked, feigning surprise. "Oh, so that's what it's called."
Danzo's jaw clenched.
"Fine, if you won't give it, I'll be reasonable," Rasa said. "I'll settle for these materials instead."
He listed off a chunk of the rare metals and resources required for the Sun Disk.
Danzo's eye twitched hard. "Absolutely not. The total value is over a billion ryo—that's like the bounty on dozens of elite jonin! You're pushing too far, Kazekage."
The haggling began in earnest.
Danzo argued the price was outrageous; the Leaf could never accept it.
Rasa countered that the dead Sand shinobi had left behind families and young children who no longer had fathers. How tragic.
They went back and forth until they finally settled on a number both sides could stomach.
Danzo gave Rasa a long, hard look. "Kazekage, we will deliver the goods as quickly as possible. I trust Sunagakure will honor the agreement."
"No problem," Rasa replied.
Danzo worked fast. Before long, a Leaf team arrived carrying the agreed-upon resources.
Rasa didn't know how Danzo had pulled it off, and he didn't care. The important thing was that Sunagakure now had what it needed.
"Since everything's settled," Rasa said calmly, "continue the full-scale offensive!"
With his order, the entire Sand army surged forward.
…At least, that's what he told everyone.
He didn't trust a single word out of Danzo's or the Leaf's mouths.
A real all-out assault would leave their backs completely exposed. If the Leaf decided to stab them in the rear at that moment, the Sand army would be caught between two fires.
So while he did send the observers Danzo had offered, Rasa also deployed a large number of scout teams to keep constant watch on the Leaf forces behind them.
Back at the Hidden Mist camp, Yagura had just received word that reinforcements from the village were on the way. He let out a deep breath of relief.
"With the village's support and the Leaf's aid, we still have a chance to turn this around. Rasa can't stay on the front lines forever. If he can't finish us off quickly, he'll eventually have to return to Sunagakure. Once he's gone, the Mist can regroup and play the long game. This war isn't lost yet."
But at that exact moment, a panicked scout came sprinting up.
"Lord Yagura—bad news! The Sand army has launched a full-scale assault! There are Sand shinobi everywhere!"
Another scout arrived right behind him, face pale.
"Lord Yagura—bad news! All the Leaf ninjas have vanished! They pulled out!"
Yagura's eyes widened in shock.
"What?!"