On this day, Sunagakure finally sent an envoy.
What surprised Konoha somewhat was that the person who came was Chiyo, the former master puppeteer of Sunagakure who had been retired for decades.
You know, even the generation of Kakashi and his peers were already quite unfamiliar with the memory of Chiyo.
The last time the name Chiyo was heard was during the Second Great Ninja War, when she clashed with Tsunade.
That battle, the pinnacle clash between poison and Medical Ninjutsu.
Originally, after the defection of Sasori of the Red Sand, Chiyo and her brother Ebizo had already withdrawn from the world.
However, after hearing the entire sequence of events surrounding the [Konoha Crush Plan] and learning that the three children of the Kazekage were being detained by Konoha, these two elders, Chiyo and Ebizo, realized that the matter was extremely serious.
They had no choice but to step in.
After all, with the death of the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, and with Gaara being detained, Sunagakure didn't even have a single Kage-level Ninja left.
Oh, no, Chiyo could still barely reach Kage-level, but due to her age, her Chakra Reserves were a bit low.
In his previous life, when Makoto watched the Chunin Exam arc of the anime and saw the performance of the three Kazekage children, he thought Sunagakure was quite strong.
Turns out it was the weakest among the Five Great Ninja Villages.
The reason they seemed strong was that they had sent out the three strongest members of Sunagakure's new generation.
When they saw the magnificent, still-under-construction palace on the rear mountain of Konoha, the Sunagakure's envoy led by Chiyo was astonished. They whispered among themselves, wondering what was happening.
"Is that... a palace?"
"Built above the Hokage Rock? Are they crazy?"
"This is so disrespectful to the previous Hokages..."
Even though they were from another village, seeing Konoha build such a magnificent palace above the Hokage Rock, they felt it was somewhat inappropriate.
"Mind your own business."
Chiyo said in a deep voice.
"Our top priority now is to find a way to negotiate with Konoha and bring back the Fourth Kazekage's three children. Don't worry about anything else for now."
"Yes."
The envoy members averted their gazes and followed behind Chiyo.
Then, the Sunagakure envoy was led by guards arranged by Tsunade to the Hokage office building.
After a gap of over twenty years, seeing Tsunade, whose appearance had basically not changed compared to back then, Chiyo was also filled with mixed emotions.
Back then, during the Second Great Ninja War, she and Tsunade were mainstays of their respective sides.
She continuously created new poisons to attack Konoha, while Tsunade constantly developed antidotes. The two sides were locked in a stalemate, with Tsunade ultimately winning by a narrow margin.
But more precisely, it was because White Fang of Konoha descended like a divine soldier, killing her son and daughter-in-law, which caused Chiyo's mental state to crumble, leading her to ultimately choose to retire.
"Tsunade-hime."
Chiyo's voice was hoarse and calm.
"Long time no see."
Tsunade nodded without any pleasantries.
Chiyo got straight to the point: "I'm sure you know the purpose of my visit, so let's not waste words. What conditions must Konoha meet to return the three Kazekage children?"
Just then, a pink-haired girl who looked to be about thirteen or fourteen and was quite cute stepped forward from behind Tsunade, handed a document to Chiyo, and said with a smile: "We've already prepared this. Please take a look."
Chiyo took the document and quickly scanned it.
Immediately, her aged face gradually turned livid, and veins bulged on her forehead.
Even though they were in enemy territory, after reading the document, Chiyo couldn't help but slam the document heavily to the ground and roar: "You're going too far!"
SMACK!
The document hit the floor with a crisp sound.
Ebizo, Baki, Yura, and the others standing behind Chiyo all had their expressions changed drastically and tried to dissuade Chiyo.
"Nee-san! Calm down!"
"Chiyo-sama, we're still in Konoha..."
"Don't be impulsive, don't be impulsive..."
Chiyo snorted angrily, flicked her sleeve, and pointed at the document on the ground.
"See for yourselves!"
Ebizo bent down to pick up the document. Baki and Yura also leaned in to look.
Then, they revealed expressions identical to Chiyo's just now.
The contents:
[The Land of Wind becomes a member nation of the Ninja World Government, and Konoha Ninjas will be stationed there.]
[All future Kazekage must pledge allegiance to the Ninja World Government.]
[Gaara, the son of the Fourth Kazekage, along with Temari and Kankuro, will be sent to the Ninja World Government to await the King of the Ninja World's commands at any time.]
[Henceforth, all administrative affairs of Sunagakure Village will be submitted in writing to the Ninja World Government for management.]
"..."
Baki's hand trembled, his voice trembling too.
"How can we possibly accept this?!"
Unable to contain her rage, Chiyo slammed her palm on the table.
"Tsunade-hime! Have you gone mad?!"
Tsunade was very calm watching these people.
She had already 'given up' anyway.
Even she, a Hokage, had to obediently follow that little brat Makoto's commands. Who did the weakest of the Five Great Nations, the Land of Wind, think they were?
Thinking this, Tsunade began to daydream, wondering who she could bum a drink from tonight.
'Maybe I'll find that Kurenai girl? She seemed quite well-off.'
'Speaking of which, the old man's youngest son was quite pitiful, wasn't he? Did he know that his goddess was being ridden by someone else?'
She propped her chin on her hand, her gaze drifting, her thoughts already miles away.
However, just as Baki and Yura, the two Jonin from Sunagakure, were about to lose their temper, Ebizo, who had the best disposition among the envoy, stopped them.
"Don't be impulsive. This is Konoha Village."
Baki gritted his teeth and swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
Ebizo turned to look at Tsunade and asked a key question.
"Tsunade-sama... what is the 'Ninja World Government'?"
Tsunade opened her mouth to answer, but Chika had already stepped forward.
"The Ninja World Government is the supreme authority ruling over the entire Ninja World, led by the King of the World, Nishikawa Makoto-sama."
"The Five Great Ninja Villages will become directly affiliated organs of the Ninja World Government. Smaller villages like Kusagakure, Otogakure, and Amegakure will become member nations, pledging allegiance to the Ninja World Government."
Chika said the most alarming things with the most innocent and carefree expression.
"Should any country dare to start a war on its own, all member nations will unite to attack it."
After listening to Chika's explanation, Chiyo, Ebizo, Baki, and Yura looked at each other, their eyes full of shock and disbelief.
"You... are you saying… even Konoha must obey the orders of the 'Ninja World Government'?"
Ebizo's voice trembled slightly.
"That's correct."
Chika nodded with a smile.
Chiyo looked at Tsunade in disbelief.
"Tsunade-hime! Have you lost your mind?!"
'This legitimate Senju princess could actually agree to something like this?'
'Handing Konoha over to someone else? Giving the village her grandfather had worked so hard to build to some unknown brat who appeared out of nowhere?'
Tsunade continued to feign death.
Chiyo's expression grew even uglier.