I just returned to Konoha and found that all my clan members were gone.

"So you just left Anko there?"

After returning to Yugakure, Shikamaru saw that only Ye Lan was there and asked him the reason.

"What can I do? The rules don't say that I can't pay the ransom myself. And it seems like she doesn't plan to return to Konoha and will continue to train in Ryuchi Cave."

Ye Lan rubbed his messy hair. He had just returned and had no time to wash up.

"Brother Ye Lan, you are not soft-hearted, are you? Konoha is our enemy!"

Ino said with an unhappy look on her face.

"But if that's the case, then your fathers are now my enemies too."

Ye Lan said with a smile.

"That's different!"

Ino stomped her feet, unable to argue with Ye Lan, and sulked alone in the corner.

"I'm relying on you guys over at Sunagakure. The negotiation letter has probably reached Gaara's desk. If nothing goes wrong, there will be a reply in two days."

Ye Lan gave Shikamaru a few more details.

After listening to this, Shikamaru asked in confusion, "Are we the only ones going to the negotiation this time?"

"I have some things to do here. I will arrange some soldiers from Yugakure to follow you. Besides, Sasuke is still at the defense line, so it shouldn't be a big deal."

"It doesn't matter if we can't come to an agreement with Sunagakure for the time being, as long as the other party doesn't send troops. After the surrender of Iwagakure, Kumogakure seemed to have received some stimulation, and Killer Bee has successfully become the Fifth Raikage."

Ye Lan threw out a piece of information and Shikamaru was shocked.

The current territory is completely adjacent to the Land of Lightning, which means that Yunyin may launch an attack at any time.

"Moreover, Konoha has really developed some combat vehicles and has formed an alliance with Kumogakure. Our advantage on the battlefield is slowly shrinking. We cannot drag this battle on for too long, or else something bad will happen."

There was one thing Ye Lan didn't say, which was that he was afraid that Nagato wouldn't be able to hold on for too long.

Ye Lan has always had a sense of urgency and has to race against time.

"I understand. I'll convince Gaara."

Shikamaru tightly grasped the chakra knife left by Asuma. During the time he was resting in Yugakure, what he saw and heard was much better than that of Konoha.

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Even if the negotiations fail, it's okay. Sand Village won't cause any big waves."

Ye Lan smiled and patted Shikamaru on the shoulder.

After leaving Shikamaru's residence, Ye Lan returned to his office in Yuyin.

Take a letter out of the drawer.

When Ye Lan told Shikamaru that he had something to do, it was not an excuse. He really had something to do, and it would not be appropriate for anyone else to do it.

There are obvious Kirigakure symbols engraved on this letter, and the exquisite letter represents the extraordinary identity of the sender.

"Mei Terumi, I didn't expect you to be the first one willing to make peace."

When Shikamaru set out for Sunagakure, it was the time for secret negotiations with Kirigakure. After the war in the Land of Earth, the first one to get restless was Kirigakure, which was the farthest away.

The two sides agreed that the place for the conversation would be in the Tea Kingdom. This place was south of the Fire Kingdom and the Rain Kingdom, and not far from the Water Kingdom, so it was acceptable to both sides.

Ye Lan did not expect Mei Terumi's behavior. He knew better than anyone what the Akatsuki organization had done to Kirigakure before. Although the person who mainly implemented the plan had been expelled from Akatsuki by Ye Lan, they were all using the name of Akatsuki.

Konoha might have already told Kirigakure about Obito's identity, but most people couldn't stand such hatred. Mei Terumi must have been under a lot of pressure to contact Kirigakure.

Although it was a private conversation, once Konoha found out, Kirigakure would be in a very embarrassing situation.

"It seems that there are still many people in this world who are not greedy for power..."

Ye Lan took the letter, and a fire came out of his palm, burning the letter to ashes.

...

Sand Village, Kazekage's Office

"I disagree with the people coming from Amegakure. Who knows what they are planning? We are still allies with Konoha. If we meet them now, it would be an act of betrayal!"

"When will Sunagakure have to look at Konoha's face! Even in the battle, there are envoys. Our front line cannot be advanced, so it doesn't matter if we have some negotiations."

After the surrender of the Land of Earth, many people began to become active, especially since they saw that Iwagakure still held a lot of power and the number of diehards in other villages gradually decreased.

"Negotiation! It sounds nice, but it's nothing more than surrender! Do you know what happened to Ōnoki? Lord Kazekage!"

The high-ranking member of the Sunagakure looked at Gaara with some anger and humiliation.

Gaara did not hide the letter from Amegakure when he received it, but instead called all the top leaders of Sunagakure to hear their opinions.

"Ohnoki has it all his own fault! Amegakure clearly promised him that he would be the first speaker of the Land of Earth, but he refused! And before he died, Ohnoki also said that he would not allow anyone from Iwagakure to avenge him!"

The Sunagakure high-level officials who were willing to negotiate were not willing to be outdone.

"You say he's the Speaker, but he's just a puppet!"

"Ha, I'd be willing to be a puppet in charge of the entire Land of Earth!"

This time the quarrel became even more intense, and Gaara had to step in to mediate.

In the end, the group of people couldn't come to a conclusion, so Gaara disbanded the meeting.

Kankuro, Temari, Maki and Ebizo were the only ones left in the room.

"These guys are really going too far. They didn't know how to contact Yuyin at first, but Yuyin's letter directly ignited the fire in their hearts."

Maki was determined to fight to the death, and he was unwilling to sacrifice Gaara no matter what.

The day Gaara was successfully elected as the Kazekage, he decided that he would always stand by Gaara's side.

"But our battle line was slow to advance, and Gaara was injured as a result."

Temari looked at Gaara's bandaged arm. It was obvious that Gaara had suffered some loss in the last fight with Sasuke.

This made her, as an older sister, feel a little distressed, but ordinary ninjas were simply no match for Sasuke.

"Should we discuss this with Konoha? I heard they've also been researching some artillery and stuff."

Kankuro suggested.

"If you rely too much on Konoha, it will be no different from becoming a vassal of Amegakure, except that it sounds better in name only."

Ebizo coughed, attracting everyone's attention.

"Based on some intelligence, we can basically confirm that the agreement signed between Iwagakure and Amegakure is true. The letter from Amegakure at this time clearly shows that our relationship with the daimyo is bad. The originally united confrontation was directly divided into two halves. This method is really impossible to crack."

Maki's expression gradually turned ugly as he listened to Ebizo's analysis. He was not afraid of fighting with others, but he was not good at this kind of roundabout way.

Moreover, he could clearly feel that the attacks of many Sand Village ninjas were becoming more and more perfunctory. Often when the enemy's artillery sounded, the troops would start to retreat even though they had not yet entered the opponent's firing range. Many people did not want to fight anymore.

"So you want us to surrender?"

Although he respected the other side, Maki really did not agree with the path of surrender.

"Things haven't come to that point yet. Anyway, Yuyin's intention has been made clear. There's no harm in waiting and watching, right?"

Ebizo finally looked at Gaara, and it was this teenage boy who really decided everything.

Gaara fumbled with his Kazekage hat and finally said something that surprised everyone else.

"Let's meet. If it can prevent the spread of war, I'm willing to give my role as Wind Shadow to anyone."