Rasa quickly weighed the situation in his mind.
If he had not obtained the blueprint for the Sun Disc, then he might not have been all that interested in Danzo's proposed peace agreement.
But after obtaining it, his thoughts had changed.
The Sun Disc was extremely important to Sunagakure.
And there were two prerequisites for constructing it.
The first was enough resources.
The second was peace.
Could it still be built during wartime? Technically, yes.
But there would be many risks.
War itself consumed enormous resources. If a massive amount of materials were diverted into building the Sun Disc, then the front lines would begin to run short, pushing all of Sunagakure into dangerous overextension.
And secondly, the enemy could simply attack the Sun Disc during construction.
A structure could not move.
It would become a living target.
Once attacked, Sunagakure would suffer immense losses.
So when Danzo proposed a peace agreement, Rasa was indeed tempted.
Without Konoha interfering, Sunagakure would be able to defeat Kirigakure quickly.
And compared to the returns gained from dragging the war on longer, the benefits the Sun Disc could bring to Sunagakure would be far greater.
Still, he could not simply agree the moment Danzo proposed it.
For Danzo and Orochimaru to come here personally already proved one thing:
It was Konoha that needed something from Sunagakure.
Not the other way around.
"Danzo, before we discuss any of that, there's something I want to settle with you first."
Rasa cut him off.
The moment he heard that, Danzo's heart skipped.
Rasa said,
"You bewitched one of our Sunagakure elders, Shirosha Kouichi, and led Konoha shinobi into Sunagakure itself, creating a massive threat to my village."
"I intend to settle that account properly."
Danzo had long expected Rasa to bring this up.
So he let out a sigh and said,
"Kazekage, in this matter, I truly was in the wrong. I listened to Shirosha Kouichi's deception and lent him men. I never expected him to do something so utterly insane."
"I am deeply sorry."
"However, Konoha also lost many shinobi in that incident. And as far as I know, Kazekage, you discovered Shirosha Kouichi's scheme in time, so Sunagakure suffered no losses."
"After that, Shirosha Kouichi still tried to deceive me, but you misunderstood the situation, Kazekage. Quite a number of Konoha shinobi died by your hand, and I myself even lost an arm."
"If Minato had not arrived in time, I might well have died there too."
"But I bear no grudge toward you, Kazekage. After all, I truly was misled by Shirosha Kouichi."
"So why don't we let this matter end here and each side take a step back?"
Danzo shoved all the responsibility onto Shirosha Kouichi, washing himself clean and spotless.
Rasa inwardly clicked his tongue in admiration.
As expected of one of Konoha's old monsters. He could spew blatant lies without changing expression in the slightest.
But Rasa had no intention of wasting time arguing over who had deceived whom.
Shirosha Kouichi was dead.
Dead men told no tales.
Arguing over that point would only play directly into Danzo's hands.
What Rasa wanted was simple:
Benefits.
"Danzo, you may not know this, but those Konoha shinobi of yours caused utter slaughter inside Sunagakure."
"Konoha lost a few dozen shinobi, yes—but they were asking for it."
"As for Sunagakure, we lost several hundred shinobi in that incident."
Danzo's eyes widened.
—My shamelessness is already considerable, but Rasa, your shamelessness is actually above mine.
—Several hundred Suna shinobi died?
—Did they die in your dreams? Where are the bodies? Show me one!
Even Orochimaru beside him could not help letting his expression stiffen slightly.
"Our losses in Sunagakure were far too great," Rasa continued. "So if Konoha is truly sincere, then before we sign any peace agreement, you'll need to compensate Sunagakure."
Rasa could not directly refute Danzo's attempt to shift blame.
And Danzo could not directly refute Rasa's shameless fabrication either.
"What do you want?"
Rasa opened his mouth like a lion about to swallow the sky.
"I hear that Konoha has accumulated a great many powerful jutsu and gathered them into a certain scroll…"
He had not even finished before Danzo cut him off.
"You want the Scroll of Seals? Impossible!"
Rasa put on an enlightened look.
"So that's what it's called. The Scroll of Seals."
Danzo: "…"
"You don't want to give that, then? What a pity. In that case, I'll take a step back. I want these instead…"
Rasa began listing a portion of the materials needed to build the Sun Disc.
"No. Absolutely not."
As Danzo listened to the quantities Rasa named, the corners of his eyes twitched continuously.
"At that rate, the total value exceeds one billion ryo. That's comparable to the bounty value of dozens of elite jonin. This is outrageous. Kazekage, don't push things too far."
The two of them began haggling back and forth.
Danzo insisted the price was too high and Konoha would never agree.
Rasa replied that those dead Suna shinobi had left behind countless families who needed compensation, that many small children had lost their fathers at a young age, and that it was all too pitiful.
In the end, they arrived at a figure both sides could grudgingly accept.
Danzo gave Rasa a long, deep look.
"Kazekage, we will send the agreed resources as quickly as possible. I hope Sunagakure will honor the agreement."
"No problem."
Danzo worked with astonishing efficiency. Before long, Konoha shinobi arrived and delivered the promised supplies.
Rasa had no idea how Danzo had obtained them, but that didn't matter.
What mattered was that Sunagakure now had those resources.
"In that case… continue the all-out offensive!"
Of course, that was not what happened.
Rasa trusted neither Danzo's words nor Konoha's promises.
If he really launched the entire Suna army forward and completely exposed his back to Konoha, he would be handing Konoha an opportunity. If Konoha chose that moment to attack the Suna forces, then Sunagakure would end up caught between enemies front and rear.
So besides sending Suna shinobi into Konoha's army as Danzo had suggested—
Rasa also dispatched large numbers of scout shinobi to keep watch on the rear.
Meanwhile, within the Kirigakure army, Yagura received word that reinforcements from the village were on their way, and he finally let out a huge breath of relief.
"With reinforcements from the village, plus Konoha's support, there's a real chance to turn the situation around."
"Rasa can't stay on the front lines forever."
"If he fails to crush Kirigakure quickly, then he'll inevitably have to return to Sunagakure."
"And once Rasa goes back, Kirigakure can proceed steadily. This war may not be lost after all."
But at that very moment—
A shinobi rushed over.
"Yagura-sama, bad news! Sunagakure has launched a full-scale assault on us! There are Suna shinobi everywhere!"
Another shinobi rushed over right after him.
"Yagura-sama, bad news! All the Konoha shinobi are gone—they've pulled out!"
Yagura's face changed violently.
"What?!"