Land Exchange!
When the scroll was opened, the first words that caught the eyes of Ōnoki and the others were these two.
The message was clear: the lands of Iwagakure and Sunagakure were to be swapped.
The Rock shinobi would be forced to live in the Land of Wind, deep within the desert of endless yellow sand. Meanwhile, the Sand shinobi would take over the fertile and resource-rich Land of Earth—second only to the Land of Fire in terms of prosperity.
This was the condition Gaara had offered.
This was the purpose of the war.
Though Ōnoki had expected bloodshed, seeing the actual terms made his breath catch.
The demand was nothing less than forcing them to surrender everything that mattered—everything except life itself.
Every Rock shinobi present knew well what kind of barren wasteland the Land of Wind truly was. In the previous Ninja War, their direct objective hadn't even been Sunagakure. The war with the Sand had been nothing more than a stepping stone to strike Konoha.
No one cared about that cursed desert back then.
Now, they were being asked to live there.
Relocate the entire village to that godforsaken place where not even birds bother to fly.
Huangtu, Wenya, and the others could hardly imagine the riots that would break out if this news were carried back to Iwagakure.
Unconsciously, Ōnoki bit down on his lip so hard it bled, but he ignored it.
"Lord Tsuchikage…"
All eyes once more turned to him.
Ōnoki drew in a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. Three words left his mouth—words that weighed heavier than mountains:
"We accept."
No one objected. No anger, no protests. Only… relief.
They all understood the truth.
Resistance meant annihilation, their village razed, their people slaughtered.
Better to lose a home than lose their lives.
Still, it wasn't a decision Ōnoki could make alone.
That very night, he summoned every jōnin in his command tent for a collective council. He had already prepared himself—even if they all opposed him, he was ready to bear the burden, as Hiruzen Sarutobi had done during the Third Ninja War.
But to his surprise, when he announced that Iwagakure would surrender to the coalition and relocate to the Land of Wind, the majority accepted without hesitation.
More than seventy percent of the jōnin voiced their agreement immediately.
Of the remaining few, most soon followed.
Only a handful stayed silent, and even fewer opposed.
The outcome was both shocking… and inevitable.
Cloud had already been wiped off the map. No one wanted to share the same fate.
No one wanted to die.
Even falling from a golden palace into a muddy pit—so long as one still breathed, life had value.
And so, with a heart weighed down by countless emotions, Ōnoki signed and sealed the scroll from Gaara, requesting a formal truce.
The next day, as the sun touched the horizon, the agreement was delivered.
Gaara gathered everyone once again. With steady hands, he signed below Ōnoki's bloodstained "Accept" and displayed the scroll before the assembly.
The camp fell silent.
After a long pause, Jinnaruo broke the quiet.
"Lord Kazekage, even if the Rock shinobi have agreed, can we truly rest easy?"
Gaara's gaze darkened. "What do you mean?"
"We've taken their land and forced them into the desert. Their hatred for us will fester. If we leave them be, trouble will come sooner or later."
Jinnaruo's words stirred the camp.
"Lord Kazekage, she's right."
"Even if they surrender, leaving them alive will only invite disaster!"
"Better to do as we did with the Cloud—erase them completely, and be done with it."
Many Sand shinobi raised their voices in support.
Even Pakura and Kankurō found no words to refute.
Gaara fell silent.
Though not as fanatical as Temari, even he admired Aizen to some degree. Yet, the thought of exterminating an entire village simply to prevent future trouble… it left a bitter taste.
Still, Jinnaruo's reasoning was difficult to deny.
After a long silence, Gaara finally said, "If you are all so insistent… we will wait for my teacher to arrive. Let him decide."
The mention of Kenya stilled all objections. His name carried weight that none dared contest.
But in truth, neither Gaara nor Konoha's Kakashi believed Kenya would spare Iwagakure. Not after what he had done to the Cloud.
Three days later, in the coalition camp of the three great villages, tension filled the air.
On either side, shinobi stood stiff and silent as Kenya strode to the center. He accepted the signed scroll from Ōnoki and read it quietly.
Moments passed.
Then, with a calm smile, he lowered the parchment.
"I see no problem."
Gasps rippled through the camp.
"What?!"
"He… agreed?"
"Is he serious?"
Kenya's smile deepened, almost playful.
"Why so surprised? I'm no devil. I don't take pleasure in rivers of blood."