The daimyo of the Land of Water was so worried that blisters formed at the corners of his mouth.
He could only watch helplessly as such a massive silver mine sat before him, yet he had no way to mine it. All he could do was watch those shinobi dive into the water and bring out large amounts of silver ore.
Even though he could gain some benefit because of geographical advantage, how could the daimyo of the Land of Water be satisfied with that?
His eyes had turned red with jealousy.
The Kirigakure shinobi became excited.
One after another, they dove into the water.
"Our Kirigakure's rise is within reach."
"We will definitely return to being one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages."
At the same time Rasa received the news about the silver mine, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Onoki, and the Fourth Raikage also received it almost simultaneously.
After all, all of them had sailing groups near the offshore waters of the Land of Water.
For a time, they all developed great interest in this silver mine.
Thus, they had no choice but to face a problem.
During wartime, could they draw out enough manpower to mine the silver?
Especially Konoha.
Konoha was currently fighting Sunagakure and Kumogakure at the same time. Their manpower was already insufficient.
"The war must be paused first."
"Once Kirigakure obtains enough silver ore, it will be a terrible result for every other shinobi village. I believe they can also realize this point."
With this thought in mind, Hiruzen Sarutobi proposed a Four Kage Summit.
Rasa did not refuse.
His war with Konoha existed for two reasons.
On one hand, the rumors he had created had enraged Konoha, and Konoha had taken the initiative to start the war.
On the other hand, Rasa wanted to defeat Konoha and obtain resources.
Just like how he had used the Sun Disk to ambush Iwagakure and exchange captives for enormous resources.
With those resources, he could build new Sun Disks.
He could transform Sunagakure and create more oases.
He could make Sunagakure's environment more suitable for human survival.
But now, an even greater benefit had appeared.
Three days later.
The Land of Rivers.
Hiruzen Sarutobi brought a small team of ANBU shinobi with him.
The shinobi behind the Fourth Raikage were quite distinctive—half white, half black.
The Iwagakure shinobi Onoki brought were all large men.
Three carriage teams sped quickly along the road. Because the location had been hastily decided, they did not choose a complicated town. Instead, they chose an open plain that could be taken in with a single glance.
"Where is Rasa? He still hasn't arrived?"
At this point, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no favorable impression of Rasa whatsoever.
Those rumors had damaged him far too greatly.
His public credibility had fallen sharply.
Even within Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi could very clearly sense gazes filled with distrust and disrespect toward him.
Onoki shook his head.
"I haven't seen him yet."
At the mention of Rasa, Onoki's expression also darkened.
Last time, Iwagakure had suffered enormous losses.
And it had brought follow-up consequences, causing him to become stained by rumors.
The Fourth Raikage looked toward Onoki with an unfriendly expression.
The hatred of his father's death was something the Fourth Raikage did not dare forget day or night.
"Onoki, no wonder you could do something like sacrificing so many shinobi to surround and attack my father back then. You can even abandon your own son. Truly impressive."
The Fourth Raikage could not help mocking Onoki sarcastically.
Onoki glared at him.
"Brat, don't tell me that rumor was made by Kumogakure? To fabricate such a rumor—how utterly shameless and despicable."
The Fourth Raikage snorted coldly.
"I actually wish Kumogakure had done it. Considering what Iwagakure did to Kumogakure, no matter what Kumogakure does to Iwagakure, it would not be excessive."
Onoki sneered.
"You did it, yet you don't dare admit it? With such capacity, you are unfit to be a Kage. Under the leadership of a brat Raikage like you, Kumogakure will inevitably decline."
The two began arguing the moment they disagreed.
In the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped forward to mediate.
"You two, we came here this time to discuss an important matter. Do not become entangled in the past."
"Aside from the silver mine, any other disputes can wait for another time."
"Otherwise, if this negotiation produces no result, Kirigakure will be the only side to benefit. You do not want Kirigakure to become one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages again, do you?"
Only after those words fell did the Fourth Raikage and Onoki stop.
"Rasa is here!"
The three of them looked over.
Before they saw anyone, they first heard a series of heavy movements.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The ground trembled.
It was as though some enormous creature was taking steps.
Soon, the three of them saw it.
A gigantic bull raised its head high, hot breath spraying from its nostrils like two streams of white vapor.
A figure stood steadily atop the bull's back.
Behind him were several Sunagakure shinobi.
Onoki snorted coldly.
"Putting on airs!"
"It's not as though only Sunagakure has large summoned beasts."
Indeed, Sunagakure was not the only village with large summoned beasts.
However, Sunagakure was the only one that could make large summoned beasts so obedient.
Konoha possessed quite a few large summoned beasts.
But whether it was Mount Myoboku's toads, Ryuchi Cave's snakes, Shikkotsu Forest's slugs, or even the Enma clan contracted by Hiruzen Sarutobi, none of them would be willing to serve as ordinary transportation.
This was something the other shinobi villages envied deeply.
Some summoned beasts did not merely demand equality. They even demanded that their status be higher.
For example, Manda.
After being summoned, he often demanded living sacrifices from Orochimaru as snacks.
A mass of gold dust appeared beneath Rasa's feet, carrying him away from the giant bull and into the air. He drifted toward Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others, then slowly descended to the ground.
Hiruzen Sarutobi thought inwardly—
If Konoha's summoned beasts could be this obedient, Konoha's situation would surely be much stronger than it was now.
With Konoha's current condition, facing Sunagakure and Kumogakure at the same time still created tremendous pressure.
Especially after the Hyuga clan's defection.
Without the Hyuga clan's Byakugan, Konoha's army had lost a significant portion of its strategic advantage on the battlefield.
This made Hiruzen Sarutobi hate Rasa even more.
In Hiruzen Sarutobi's view, Sunagakure had contributed greatly to the Hyuga clan's defection.
However, at this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi still forced out a smile.
"Kazekage."
Rasa nodded.
"Let us discuss the matter directly. I have no interest in unnecessary words."
Hiruzen Sarutobi coughed dryly.
"That is only proper."
Then he said, "The appearance of this silver mine is an enormous matter for the entire shinobi world. With the reserves that mine possesses, it will cause a massive shock to the world economy."
"We absolutely cannot allow Kirigakure to monopolize it."
"I believe none of us want Kirigakure to rise again."
"Even less do we want Kirigakure to stand above us."
"Therefore, I propose that the wars between us be paused for the time being."
"We should first draw out manpower to mine the silver."
"This is beneficial to all four of our shinobi villages."
As an ally, Onoki still echoed Hiruzen Sarutobi's words a few times.
"That's right. Mining the silver is the most important matter."
Rasa looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and said faintly,
"A ceasefire is possible. But Konoha must pay war reparations to Sunagakure."