Killer Bee had severely underestimated how much his presence really mattered to Sunagakure.
Or maybe…
Maybe he was just playing the fool—acting clueless to throw them off, aiming to rescue his big brother at the lowest possible cost.
But after Rasa showed his iron will—and dropped that one line—the Cloud side finally realized…
They no longer had the upper hand.
And so, the two sides plunged into a brutal negotiation. No one wanted to budge.
Rasa knew full well Killer Bee would never abandon his brother, and the Cloud knew that the Sand desperately wanted this war to be over.
Because if things dragged on, the ones who'd lose the most would definitely be Sunagakure.
As for the negotiation itself—well, the Sand side was at least civil. They used words, rhetoric, maybe some spittle, but all within the lines of diplomacy.
Cloud, though? Different story.
Their bare-chested brutes looked like they were about to flex out of their vests and throw down for a one-on-one. If Killer Bee hadn't stepped in to stop them, the whole thing probably would've ended in a fistfight.
Rasa had no idea how Chiyo's surprise assault was going, but he doubted such a small force could completely wipe out the Cloud's logistics unit. At most, they might burn a few supplies or poison their food.
If she managed to kill them, great. If not, at least it'd keep them sick in bed for a while.
As for Killer Bee's claims of "heavy losses" in their logistics unit?
Rasa didn't even dignify it. In negotiations, exaggeration was standard—Bee would probably say the world was ending if even one guy had a stomachache.
So in the end, the only thing that mattered was how he played this.
Time ticked by. The negotiation table—already wobbly—eventually collapsed from all the pounding. Tension mounted. Cloud ninja were gritting their teeth and clenching fists. Some were ready to give up the talk and just throw hands.
On the Sand's side, puppets had already been summoned, ready to attack at the first sign of trouble.
No one was in a good mood. If either side had a choice, they would've just said screw it and fought it out.
But they couldn't.
Not unless the Fourth Raikage himself miraculously burst out of his container, struck a heroic pose, and shouted, "FIRE! FIRE ON ME, DAMN IT!"
Barring that, no one wanted to be the one blamed for killing the son of the Third Raikage.
So negotiations dragged on until, finally…
Sunagakure won.
Because they had the Fourth Raikage as hostage.
The Final Terms:
Kumogakure would immediately withdraw its forces and publicly declare their defeat. A non-aggression treaty with Sunagakure would be signed.
As the war was unprovoked and initiated by the Cloud, they would compensate Sunagakure for their losses.
Initially, the Cloud flat-out refused to pay a single coin. In past wars, even if they'd lost, Konoha had never made them pay reparations—sometimes they even gave Kumogakure money in the name of peace!
Why should Sand get special treatment?
Who did they think they were—Konoha?
Did they want peace or not?!
But with the Fourth Raikage literally in Rasa's hands…
There was no room for arguments.
You refuse? Fine. I'll kill him.
Honestly, if Rasa had captured Killer Bee instead, it might not have worked as well.
But when Rasa once again laid the unconscious Fourth Raikage on the proverbial chopping block and asked, "Alive or dead—your choice," the Cloud had no choice but to bite their tongues and agree.
That was the Third Raikage's only son.
They could only grit their teeth and sign.
The exact amount would be negotiated post-war, by a team of assigned representatives.
And as for the Raikage himself—he would be returned after the peace agreement had been fulfilled.
That, of course, didn't sit well with the Cloud.
Either return him now, or this was war again. Kumogakure was not a village that broke its promises!
Rasa just smiled.
Then calmly held up the Raikage again like a trump card.
Kumo had no leg to stand on.
Back near the end of the Third Shinobi World War, after the Fourth Hokage passed… you lot were the ones who tried to snatch the Byakugan Princess (Hinata) under the guise of a peace treaty.
These musclebound brutes might look all brawn and no brain, but deep down?
They were sneaky bastards.
So Rasa stared them down, expression calm.
"You agree... or this time tomorrow, you'll be lighting incense at his funeral."
That made the Cloud ninja erupt in rage.
Even Killer Bee dropped the act, ditching his grin and slipping into his Tailed Beast Cloak. He looked ready to wreck the tent.
He'd had enough of the threats, enough of them waving his big brother around like a hostage.
But—
Rasa's eyes turned cold.
Change back. Right now. Or you won't have a brother left to rescue.
And once again, Killer Bee deflated immediately.
After all… the man who raised him, who taught him taijutsu, ninjutsu, took him on survival trips, grilled barbecue for him and watched sunsets together—that man was his big brother.
Raikage or not, he was the one person Bee truly respected.
So he let it go. Took a deep breath. And just as he was about to launch into a freestyle rap to vent his frustration…
Rasa shut him down again.
No rapping allowed.
At last, the negotiations came to a close. Both sides signed the agreements.
Once the Cloud withdrew, once the official statement of surrender was made, and once reparations were paid—
Then they'd get their Raikage back.
Until then?
Absolutely not.
Because if they returned him now and the Cloud doubled back for a sneak attack?
Sunagakure wouldn't survive.
Rasa didn't have infinite resources to keep protecting the village.
So the Cloud left the way they came—faces grim, eyes burning.
Rasa, at least, promised he'd treat the Raikage with respect. That he'd receive care befitting his status.
But, well… the Evil Containment Wave wasn't exactly designed for creature comforts. You couldn't lift the lid or break the container without breaking the seal.
So Rasa made a silent promise to himself:
"I'll try to let him out once the treaty's done… If it doesn't work, well, I did my best. The Cloud won't blame me for that… probably."
Smiling, Rasa looked over the signed treaty and casually tossed it behind him—into Mōmu's eager hands.
It was just a piece of paper. The real prize was still sealed in that basin.
After all, when it came to Sunagakure's track record of "honoring treaties," let's just say… they had enough broken agreements to fill volumes—starting from the First Kazekage all the way down to him, the Fourth.
So yeah. Treaties? Meh.
Now all that was left… was waiting for Chiyo and the rest of the assault squad to return.
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin