"Yes, Rasa is indeed with them, and his injuries seem to have already healed!"
The Konoha shinobi nodded and answered honestly.
At that moment, it wasn't just Orochimaru who found it hard to believe. Even Yagami frowned.
After the battle ended yesterday, he had also checked with Kagura Mind's Eye. At the time, Rasa's chakra had felt like a flickering thread, weak enough to vanish at any moment.
So why was it that after only one night, not only had he not died, but he had recovered enough to come here as a peace envoy?
"Bring them in."
After thinking it over, Orochimaru still couldn't make sense of it, so he simply gave the order with a dark expression.
"Yes!"
The Konoha shinobi bowed at once, then turned and left the command post.
Before stepping out, he secretly glanced at the table piled with snacks, his expression turning a little strange.
"Clean this up. The Sand shinobi envoys are here."
Once the shinobi left, Orochimaru looked at the table full of snacks and seemed to get a headache just from the sight of it.
It didn't take long.
By the time everything had been cleaned up, the shinobi who had left returned.
And behind him, Rasa and Pakura followed in silence.
"My lord, the Sand envoys have arrived."
"Let them in."
Orochimaru's hoarse voice came from inside as soon as the words fell.
A moment later, the three of them entered the headquarters one after another.
In an instant, everyone's eyes locked onto Rasa and Pakura.
The weight of those gazes was so heavy it felt almost tangible, pressing down on the two of them until their hearts tightened.
Silence filled the room.
No one spoke.
The entire command post remained completely still.
Orochimaru stared directly at Rasa, his eyes sharp and unreadable.
No matter how he looked at it, he still couldn't understand how Rasa could be sitting here completely unharmed.
"We of Sunagakure... surrender."
As the pressure on his shoulders grew heavier and heavier, Rasa finally broke the silence himself.
Only he knew just how suffocating the atmosphere in this room really was.
"Please, sit."
Seeing Orochimaru seemingly lost in thought, Shinku Yūhi had no choice but to rise first.
The two sides had fought each other on the battlefield for several days now.
Everyone here had reasons to hate the other side.
But since they had come as envoys to negotiate peace, basic courtesy still had to be maintained.
"Thank you."
Rasa and Pakura exchanged a glance, then gave a polite nod instead of making a fuss over it.
Following Shinku Yūhi's gesture, the two of them took seats at the long conference table toward the rear.
But the moment they sat down, the pressure only became worse.
Straight ahead, at the head seat, sat Orochimaru with that gloomy expression of his.
To the left and right were rows of Konoha's jōnin commanders.
On the left side, Shinku Yūhi, Nara Shikaku, and the others sat in order.
On the right side were Yagami, Kushina Uzumaki, and the rest.
The pressure hit them head-on.
Both Rasa and Pakura unconsciously held their breath.
"In this war, Sunagakure has been defeated."
"I came here today because I hope to negotiate peace with Konoha."
…
After taking a deep breath, Rasa spoke in a low, heavy voice.
At this point, both his palms and Pakura's were already damp with sweat.
If it weren't for the village, the two of them would have wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible.
The atmosphere was simply too oppressive.
"Ha ha..."
"Are you sure you can speak for Sunagakure?"
Orochimaru asked with a hoarse chuckle.
By now, he had already set aside his earlier shock over Rasa's condition.
"I am currently the commander of Sunagakure's front lines. Isn't that enough?"
Rasa met Orochimaru's gaze directly and answered slowly.
Even though the atmosphere was crushing and made him deeply uncomfortable, he knew one thing very clearly.
As the one here to negotiate, he could not let his presence weaken too much.
That was the most basic rule of any negotiation, and Rasa understood that well.
"You?"
"The commander of Sunagakure's front lines?"
"Was Chiyo removed from command?"
Rasa's words only deepened Orochimaru's doubts.
The Konoha jōnin present also turned curious, suspicious eyes toward Rasa and Pakura.
Chiyo...?
The moment Orochimaru mentioned her name, something clicked in Yagami's mind.
A flash of understanding crossed his eyes.
He instantly realized why Rasa was still alive and unharmed.
If his guess was right, then this had to be the same forbidden technique Chiyo used in the original story to save Gaara.
"That has nothing to do with the negotiations."
"You only need to know that Rasa has the authority to be here."
Rasa answered evenly, giving no explanation for the doubts in the room.
But from the way he spoke—and from the sorrow that briefly crossed Pakura's face beside him—Yagami became even more certain.
His guess was almost definitely correct.
"Ha ha..."
"You're right. You have no obligation to explain that to us."
"In that case, let's hear what kind of peace Sunagakure is asking for."
Orochimaru gave a hoarse laugh, then leaned back in his chair and casually rested his legs on the table.
This negotiation was, in truth, little more than a formal step in Sunagakure's surrender.
It had nothing to do with the full compensation treaty yet.
That kind of matter would be drafted later by the higher-ups of both villages, then negotiated in detail afterward.
Seeing Orochimaru's careless posture, Rasa and Pakura both frowned.
But they were the defeated side.
No matter how unpleasant it felt, this was not the time for them to say anything.
"In this war, we admit that we were defeated."
After glancing at Orochimaru and the others, Rasa began to speak slowly.
The meaning was simple.
Sunagakure acknowledged its complete defeat and hoped Konoha would withdraw its forces.
After the war, Sunagakure would also provide the appropriate compensation.
As for the exact details of that compensation, both sides would need to negotiate further once the war was officially over.
And so it went on.
Inside the entire command center, only Rasa's voice could be heard, with Pakura adding a few points from time to time.
Although every Konoha shinobi present felt secretly pleased inside, none of them showed it on their faces.
Only after Rasa had finished speaking did Orochimaru, Shinku Yūhi, and the others begin discussing matters in return.
As for Yagami, he never said a single word the entire time.
He simply sat there in silence, listening from the side.
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