The Sand ninjas fell silent.
As one of the five great ninja villages, their history was frankly a bit humiliating. In every great ninja war, they and their ancestors had charged to the front lines, hoping to seize a piece of fertile land for the Land of Wind, only to be defeated in the end.
Other ninja villages signed peace treaties after the wars ended; the Sand Village alone signed terms of surrender. After so many times, it had become a habit.
Not long ago, they had surrendered unconditionally to Konoha. Surrendering again now didn't seem to be a problem, right? After all, that blond Konoha boy's strength was so great that the entire Sand Village was powerless against him. Surrendering to him wasn't something to be ashamed of... but the problem was those harsh terms. After they died, how could they face their ancestors?
But what about now? They had all seen the pitch-black sphere in Naruto's palm. The first time he used it, it nearly destroyed half of the Sand Village. If he used it again, how many people would be left alive?
Jonin Maki looked up, her face pale, and started to say, "We agr—"
"We can't agree!"
An elderly voice cut Maki off. Following the sound, two elders, disregarding their aged bodies, leaped several times and landed before the crowd of Sand ninja.
An old woman began to scold them, "Someone is about to destroy the Sand Village, yet you're not thinking of desperately protecting your home, but of surrendering?"
"Granny Chiyo... Counselor Ebizo..." Maki's face showed surprise, which quickly turned into a bitter expression. "It can't be helped. Besides, didn't even the First Kazekage surrender to the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, back then?"
"..."
The newly arrived Chiyo was immediately speechless. But that was the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju. Back then, weren't all the great ninja villages beaten into submission? Now, it was just a blond boy from Konoha. How could the situation be the same?
After a moment of silence, Chiyo finally spoke, "Even the God of Shinobi never treated the Sand Village like this..."
"That's why the wars continued," Naruto Uzumaki said, looking at the old woman coolly. "I am the Fifth Hokage of Konoha. I will correct the mistakes he once made."
Granny Chiyo was stunned for a moment, then waved her hand and took out a scroll. "Then you will learn that the Sand Village is not without ninja who will fight to the death!"
She was the wife of the First Kazekage and a founder of the Sand Village. No matter what, she would absolutely not allow her village to fall into ruin.
Naruto raised the pitch-black sphere in his hand and lowered his head. "In that case, won't many innocent people be buried along with you?"
"..."
Chiyo's expression changed. She scanned the many Sand ninjas present, only to see that every face was filled with panic. This was not an ordinary ninja battle. That blond boy possessed the power to destroy the Sand Village entirely.
Under this silent threat, a shuriken suddenly pinned the scroll to the ground, interrupting the summoning jutsu she was about to release.
"Granny Chiyo, Counselor Ebizo." It was Maki who had thrown it. She had an embarrassed look on her face and said softly, "The higher-ups have already decided to surrender and accept all of Konoha's terms. This is our decision... Everything we do is for the future of the Sand Village."
"He came to attack our village!" Chiyo's face was ugly. She staggered back a few steps, leaning against her brother, and looked at Maki in disbelief.
Even if she wanted to resist, she couldn't get the support of the other Sand ninjas. In less than half a day, the Great Spiralling Ring and the Deep Forest Emergence—two jutsu with world-destroying power—had completely crushed their will to fight back.
Chiyo and Ebizo turned and left the way they came. The two elders from the First Kazekage's era were already disappointed with this village. However, when they learned of the terms the Sand had agreed to, their disappointment turned to despair.
If the Sand Village had even one ninja who dared to resist, perhaps Chiyo and Ebizo would not have hesitated to risk their lives to assassinate Naruto.
But there was not a single one. The Sand Village's surrender had already become a habit. Even though some could see the wolfish ambitions in Konoha's terms, they believed that nothing was set in stone. They just needed to endure and wait for things to change.
After all, in the past ninja wars, the Sand Village was almost always the first to be knocked out. And later on, didn't they still take the initiative to start wars again and again?
-----
When the Hokage Guard Platoon and Tenzo's ANBU squad arrived, they saw an unbelievable scene at the village entrance.
A red-haired boy wearing the Kazekage hat was chatting with their Lord Hokage. Behind them stood a group of Sand ninjas, along with women and children who looked entirely out of place.
"Lord Hokage!" The Guard Platoon leader, Raido Namiashi, looked at the scene in surprise and praised softly, "I didn't expect you to have already resolved the dispute between the Sand and Konoha..."
"Yeah." Naruto nodded and casually instructed him, "A few of you, use the Flying Thunder God Formation to send a message back to the village. Have them prepare accommodations for the Sand Village's Lord Kazekage and the villagers..."
"Accommodations?" Raido's eyes widened in surprise.
Naruto pointed to the Fifth Kazekage beside him and said softly, "That's right. The Fifth Kazekage will serve as the bond of friendship between Konoha and the Sand..."
"You don't have to phrase it like that," Gaara interrupted, his voice cold. "We both know very well that I am just a hostage for Konoha to threaten the Sand with."
"...A cap...tive?"
"...Hos...tage?"
The Hokage Guard ninjas looked at them in disbelief, their jaws almost dropping to the floor. "Is this... a joke? This kind of thing..."
"Alright, that's what it is." Naruto smiled cheerfully, ignoring Gaara's darkening face, and turned to speak to Maki behind them. "I remember Lord Kazekage's older sister and brother are still alive. Bring them to Konoha as well."
"...Yes." Maki's face grew even uglier. The Sand Village had few strong ninjas to begin with. Temari and Kankuro were rare talents, and now he had to personally send them to Konoha as hostages.
Gaara looked at Naruto. "I didn't expect you to actually be Konoha's Fifth Hokage."
"Yeah." The blond boy scratched his hair and said softly, "After you come back to Konoha with me, you can also attend the Hokage succession ceremony. This is probably the first time a leader from another village has participated in one, right?"
"..."
Gaara's face was ashen. To be honest, no ninja wasn't curious about the Hokage succession ceremony. However, he was participating as a hostage—as proof of the new Hokage's achievements. Two thirteen-year-old boys rose to power in the same year, and one captured the other to humiliate him. Sooner or later, he would send someone to assassinate Naruto.
Raido's face was even uglier than Maki's and Gaara's. His mind was in chaos. "Lord Hokage, what... what is going on?"
"Mmm..." Naruto slapped his forehead and explained, "Just pretend the Sand Village has once again unconditionally surrendered to Konoha! Anyway, it hasn't even been a few months since the last time they surrendered."
Raido Namiashi: "..."
Gaara: "..."
Maki: "..."
-----
Bonus:
Day 1
Gaara: I want to hire someone to assassinate Naruto. Can you find me an assassin?
Maki: Konoha's defenses are tight. Let me think of a way.
Day 2
Maki: I heard your organization takes jobs. Assassinate the Hokage, are you in?
Kakuzu: Pay me, and I'll do it.
Pain: To heck with him, he doesn't speak for us! We're not taking this job! Naruto is my junior, a dear friend!
Maki: I'll add more money...
Konan: If you add more money, we can consider it...
Itachi: Should this job be assigned to me?
Day 3
Naruto: I heard someone wants to have me assassinated?
Gaara: How could that be? Who could possibly kill you?
Naruto: Bring Maki up here!
Gaara: Crap... This person is unreliable