"Kazekage, that price is indeed a bit high."
Minato Namikaze stepped in to mediate.
"High? I don't think so. But if Kirigakure really thinks it's too much, I could offer a discount. What comes afterward, though, I can't promise anything."
"!!"
Everyone frowned at once, sensing the deeper meaning behind Rasa's words.
"What does the Kazekage mean by that?"
"It's simple. Tailed Beasts are immortal. Once the Six Tails revives, whoever captures it gets to keep it."
The Third Raikage's eyes lit up immediately.
"Oh, now that's an interesting idea."
Because that would mean Kumogakure could go after the Six Tails and Five Tails too.
This time, Ōnoki looked even more anxious than Yagura.
"Don't joke around. The allocation of the Tailed Beasts was a system established decades ago at the first Five Kage Summit."
The Third Raikage grinned slyly.
"Oi, Ōnoki, why are you so worked up? That was decades ago. Times have changed."
"You bastard, what did you just say?!"
At that moment, both the Mizukage and the Tsuchikage looked visibly upset, while the Raikage was clearly enjoying the drama. Rasa, on the other hand, remained calm. Seeing the atmosphere grow tense, Minato sighed inwardly. As the host of this summit, he stepped forward again.
"The existing system does serve a purpose. After all, no one can guarantee that their village's Tailed Beast won't run into some kind of accident."
The Raikage's expression darkened immediately.
"Hokage, are you threatening me?"
After all, the Eight Tails in Kumogakure had once gone on a rampage. If it weren't for the Third Raikage's own sacrifice back then to reseal it, it might have ended up just like the Five Tails and Six Tails.
Of course, Minato wasn't afraid of the Raikage's threat.
"No… you misunderstand, Raikage. I'm simply stating facts."
"Hmph."
The Raikage snorted and turned his eyes toward Rasa. He understood perfectly that Minato was using Rasa to pressure him. At present, only Rasa had proven capable of killing a Tailed Beast singlehandedly. The Raikage honestly couldn't guarantee that the two Tailed Beasts in his village wouldn't meet the same fate as those in Iwagakure.
Seeing that, Minato looked to Rasa and continued.
"Kazekage, the price you just proposed really is too high. I think the reason we are all gathered here is to stop the wars. So rather than waste time, why don't you just name a price you can accept?"
"A price I can accept? Hmph."
Rasa showed no intention of backing down.
"Hokage, are you joking? Do you really think the lives of the civilians from Sunagakure who died in this Tailed Beast incident aren't even worth this amount?"
After saying that, Rasa turned to look at the other four Kage.
"If any of you think it's not worth it, I could always take a Tailed Beast on a little stroll through your villages."
That threatening tone from Rasa immediately cast a heavy atmosphere over the meeting room.
Minato realized just how forceful Rasa was but remained undeterred. He turned toward Ōnoki and Yagura.
"Then, Tsuchikage and Mizukage, what price can your villages accept?"
Ōnoki and Yagura exchanged glances. The room fell into silence for a moment, but perhaps realizing there was no avoiding the matter in the end, Yagura spoke up first.
"Thirty percent. Kirigakure is willing to pay thirty percent of the original military funds used to purchase the Six Tails, as compensation for the chaos caused by the Tailed Beast incident in Sunagakure."
"What about Iwagakure?"
Ōnoki's eyes darted quickly.
"If that's the case, Iwagakure is also willing to pay thirty percent. As for our Jinchūriki, we…"
Before Ōnoki could finish, Rasa cut him off.
"There's no room for discussion about the Jinchūriki. The fact I'm not raising the price is already generous enough, Ōnoki. Either you pay the full amount, or just leave the Four Tails with us in Sunagakure."
"You…!!"
Ōnoki was instantly filled with rage. The others looked like spectators at a performance, while he could only see the helplessness under their indifferent gazes.
Minato waited until the atmosphere had settled before turning to Rasa.
"So then, Kazekage, what do you think of the Mizukage's proposal? Can you accept it?"
"What do you think?"
Rasa paused, feigning contemplation.
"To be honest, I'm not satisfied with that price. And I'm sure the others in our village wouldn't agree to it either. But, as the Hokage said, the fact that we are all sitting here means none of us wish for the war to continue. Sunagakure is willing to show some sincerity."
Minato and Yagura's eyes lit up instantly.
"But just thirty percent is still too little, so I do have some additional conditions. As long as Kirigakure is willing to represent the Land of Water and accept them, then I'll agree."
Yagura's expression darkened again, clearly displeased that Rasa specifically referred to the Land of Water rather than just Kirigakure.
"Kazekage, what are your conditions?"
"It's simple. You must have noticed on your way here that our Sunagakure is bustling with activity right now. Many merchants from other countries are doing business here. But unfortunately, merchants from the Land of Water, Land of Fire, Land of Earth, and Land of Lightning are few."
Everyone present immediately understood the implication. Unlike the smaller nations whose merchants now flocked to Sunagakure, the great nations' traders still held deep grudges from the wars and avoided doing business there.
"So my request is quite reasonable. I want the Land of Water to open up and welcome merchants from Sunagakure, under three main terms. First, no unreasonable taxes or fees shall be levied on merchants from Sunagakure. Second, Sunagakure shinobi shall be allowed to operate within the Land of Water to protect their own merchants. Third, the Land of Water shall not obstruct its own merchants from doing business in Sunagakure."
These conditions left Yagura slightly surprised. To be honest, not just Yagura—everyone else present could feel it. Rasa sounded more like a strategist or a merchant than the leader of a shinobi village.
But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. At least he wasn't a warmongering lunatic like Uchiha Madara wielding uncontested power.
Yagura gave the conditions some thought. From his standpoint, aside from the second term—which slightly intruded on Kirigakure's domain—the rest didn't impact the village too much. After a moment, he replied,
"These matters will need to be discussed with the daimyō."
"No problem. There's plenty of time ahead."
That was a good sign. The talks between Sunagakure and Kirigakure had made progress. Now, the next issue was Iwagakure.
All eyes turned to Ōnoki, who looked visibly uncomfortable. He took a deep breath and said,
"As for making amends for the damage caused to Sunagakure, I can take these conditions to our daimyō as well."
"No problem. As long as the Land of Earth agrees to the conditions I proposed, we can let go of the matter concerning the Five Tails."
"What about the Four Tails?"
"Oi, don't get too greedy, Tsuchikage."
At that point, Rasa's gaze turned sharper, his words tinged with subtle intent.
"So that's how it is, Tsuchikage. I've heard you never got along with the Four Tails' Jinchūriki. Could it be that you actually don't intend to bring the Jinchūriki back? If that's the case, I do have a discounted option. I could extract the Tailed Beast and hand it over to you separately. In that case, I wouldn't mind giving you a thirty percent discount."