Satoru explained.
"That's the key point. The Land of Lightning lacks food, but we, the Land of Fire, can provide it! We can trade, selling you food at the lowest price. That way, your food shortage problem will be solved."
"And what's the point of all this?" The Third Raikage couldn't understand what Satoru was planning.
If everything was really as the young shinobi said, the Hidden Cloud could indeed temporarily solve its food problem.
"For three things," Satoru began explaining.
"First—profit. We sell you food, and I, Konoha village, and the Land of Fire make money. And you get grain."
The Third Raikage nodded. If there was a reliable source of food at an acceptable price that could supply the Hidden Cloud uninterruptedly, their position in any conflict would become much stronger.
"Second—friendship and alliance," Satoru continued.
"With this trade link, there will be other opportunities for cooperation in the future. The Land of Lightning has many mountains rich in natural resources. We can set up a whole series of joint projects and form an alliance in the future."
The Hidden Cloud leader nodded again. If the Land of Fire and Land of Lightning really signed a long-term agreement, Konoha would have to supply food uninterruptedly. In that case, the Hidden Cloud would have no reason to war with the Leaf. But there was one catch: Konoha could easily control the Hidden Cloud. If supplies stopped, the Cloud would be in a very difficult position.
Satoru, of course, understood the Raikage's concerns and added.
"Lord Ei, from your perspective, you're naturally worried that Konoha might suddenly stop supplies. I've accounted for that. First, we can sign a long-term contract with your Feudal Lord. This agreement can be made public. Plus, you can grow your own food as a precaution against unforeseen circumstances."
"Hm, and what's the third reason?" The Third Raikage wanted to understand Satoru's true motives.
"For myself... and for peace," Satoru replied.
"Once we agree, the Land of Fire and Land of Lightning will become allies. There will be far fewer wars and frictions between us. Plus, my influence will grow significantly, increasing my chances of becoming Hokage."
Only then did the Third Raikage nod heavily.
"Hm, in that case, I believe you. But I still need to think about it."
"You'll have plenty of time to consider. Right now, I'm not in Konoha—I'm in the Land of Fire's capital, with the Feudal Lord. I'll prepare a draft trade agreement and send it to you for review. If you agree, the Feudal Lord will sign it immediately. Then it won't just be cooperation between shinobi villages, but between two great powers. After signing, if anyone breaks the agreement, they'll likely face a powerful retaliation from the other side."
In simpler terms, Satoru was making it clear: think carefully. Either we cooperate, or we don't. But if we do agree, anyone who dares break it won't find a place under the sun.
"Fine, I'll think it over thoroughly," the Third Raikage said. He didn't hold Satoru any longer and simply let him go. In the face of such benefits, the deaths of a few ninja no longer mattered much.
To forget the past, one must move forward relentlessly. The Third Raikage wasn't going to pursue Satoru to the death just because he killed his subordinates. He was the Raikage, and he had to think about the good of the entire Hidden Cloud and even the whole Land of Lightning.
Satoru was much the same. Sometimes he had to consider the Feudal Lord's interests, sometimes Konoha's, and of course, he always thought about himself.
On the way back, Satoru met Tenzō, who was rushing to his aid with other ninja. It touched Satoru a little; he was used to acting alone, and knowing someone valued him and worried about him stirred a slight sense of gratitude.
However, Satoru still scolded them.
"What took you so long?! The Raikage almost finished me off!"
"Raikage?!" Tenzō was shocked. Satoru then told them in detail everything that had happened.
Satoru presented the trade agreement idea to the Feudal Lord. He pondered it, then said,
"Satoru, concluding a trade agreement between the Land of Fire and Land of Lightning is no big deal. But the trade item is food, which requires the utmost seriousness."
"If the Hidden Cloud stockpiles food and then attacks us, won't we lose out?" the Feudal Lord asked.
"If that really happens, we'll just permanently cut off food supplies to them," Satoru replied.
"The Land of Wind's lands are barren—we can supply them too. The Land of Rain suffers endless rains, with countless refugees; we can help them. Things are a bit better in the Hidden Stone Village, but they have needs too," Satoru continued.
"If the Hidden Cloud dares betray us, we'll just trade with their enemies."
"We can supply food to other shinobi villages too—just more to the Hidden Cloud," Satoru added.
"That way, the Hidden Cloud won't dare attack us lightly, and other villages needing our food won't attack either."
"Do we have enough food?" the Land of Fire's ruler asked worriedly.
"Of course! Plenty!" Satoru smiled slightly. A huge number of people had taken up farming, and the autumn harvest exceeded all his expectations. Satoru had been drawing peasants to the fields every day. They not only fed all of Konoha but the entire Land of Fire. If they kept developing lands and farming at this pace, in less than a year the Land of Fire could feed the other great powers too.
Of course, such a bountiful harvest was thanks to Satoru's own efforts.
The money Satoru won in the lottery, he invested almost entirely in food production. He paid special attention to this matter.
The Feudal Lord pondered long, then contacted the Third Hokage.
The Land of Fire's ruler relayed Satoru's words to Hiruzen, who also expressed support.
"Satoru, how fortunate I am to be your teacher. You have no idea what a contribution you've made to Konoha's development..." the Third Hokage thought to himself.
"These food reserves aren't like money. You can't eat money, but you can eat grain. These things can save lives!"
"If Konoha and the Land of Fire have enough food—even surpluses—sell it to the Hidden Cloud. I know this is part of your strategy. Go ahead boldly," the Third Hokage understood his student well.
After that, Satoru immediately set prices and drafted the trade agreement. The food price was set slightly below average. It was a fitting price: too high, and the Hidden Cloud would find it too expensive; too low, and they'd suspect grain quality issues.
"Fine, now we need to arrange a meeting between the Feudal Lords," Tenzō handled organizing the meeting between the Land of Fire's Feudal Lord and the Land of Lightning's Feudal Lord.
This time, the Third Raikage was also present at the meeting. The Third Hokage naturally couldn't come, but Satoru, as his student, represented Konoha village.
The Third Raikage and Land of Lightning's Feudal Lord reviewed the trade agreement. The price suited them fine. The chance to get such quantities of food uninterruptedly... if any other country offered it, the Hidden Cloud wouldn't believe them. Only the Land of Fire, with its most fertile lands, could claim this.
"Thirty years of trade cooperation? Isn't that too long?" The Raikage and Feudal Lord were quite surprised to see the agreement's term.