Mukaze stood against Tsunade's overwhelming presence.
He remained unwavering.
Persistent.
He maintained the valuable virtue of a Sand Ninja: one cannot be swayed by large breasts nor tempted by stockings.
He argued tirelessly and battled Tsunade back and forth for dozens of rounds.
Finally, he successfully signed a series of agreements and contracts with Tsunade, including the "Konoha Village Electrical Automation Defense System Upgrade," the "Konoha Industrial Park Renovation Contract," the "Sand Ninja Product Manufacturing Agreement," the "Sand and Wood Village Traffic Agreement," and the "Non-Aggression Agreement Between Sand and Konoha."
This was the biggest deal Sand Ninja had secured since their industrial development.
Mukaze returned to the village triumphant, bringing back abundant results.
Upon his return, he immediately convened a high-level meeting.
At the meeting, he beamed with a smile.
"Look, according to the traffic agreement, the road sections within the Fire Country will be funded by Konoha, and we will provide the technical equipment and training. Konoha will be responsible for daily maintenance and protection."
"We'll split the profits from the railroads and highways seventy-thirty."
Kankuro: "We get seventy percent?"
Mukaze rolled his eyes.
Naive child.
"Seventy percent goes to them."
Kankuro: "We only get thirty percent?"
Mukaze: "We're charging for the equipment and technology we provide, okay? Thirty percent of the money earned from the roads and railways is essentially paying for our equipment and technology."
"Don't be ungrateful."
Kankuro was finally satisfied.
Mukaze: "Next, your engineering ninjas will have plenty of work. We also have to help build Konoha's industrial park. The first phase includes a power plant, ironworks, ninja tool factory, and so on."
"We also need to build them an automated electrical defense system. That's a key project too."
Kankuro: "What's the standard?"
Mukaze rolled his eyes again.
Kid, have you been stuck working construction for too long?
You've lost touch with society.
Obviously, it's going to be of a higher level than the first standard of Sand Ninja Village.
Forget about Prism Towers.
We'll set up drone patrols, electronic eyes, automated machine gun turrets, that sort of thing.
And make sure the barrier command system is foolproof.
We can't have anyone coming and going as they please.
Kankuro understood the leadership's intent.
Mukaze then asked, "How's the progress on the highway, railway, and waterway connecting the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers?"
Kankuro: "Halfway done."
Mukaze: "The progress is decent."
Mukaze looked toward Gaara and Sasuke.
Clearly, they had been waiting for quite some time.
They all appeared eager and restless.
Mukaze: "Your squads are all ready, right?"
They all nodded in unison.
"Good, once I've completed one more thing, we will set out."
"But before that, we need to send a formal declaration of war."
Gaara: "I'll do it."
Mukaze wasn't a barbarian.
Before engaging in battle, it's proper to declare war.
Mukaze's declaration was somewhat unconventional.
He had a helicopter carry Gaara to hover over Flower City.
The helicopter's loudspeaker blared loudly.
"People of the Land of Rivers, because your lord, Momojiro, assaulted our Sand Ninja village's envoy without cause, our Kazekage Mukaze has decided to punish him."
"We will march on Flower City in ten days to punish the main culprit, Momojiro. All unrelated civilians, officials, and soldiers who do not resist will have their lives and property protected by the Sand Ninja."
"During this time, we will not occupy an inch of the Land of Rivers."
"Your lives and property will be safe!"
"Only punish the main culprit, Momojiro!"
War is not a game; people die in wars.
So it's important to clarify who the enemy is and who isn't.
Likewise, the people of the Land of Rivers need to understand.
The Land of Rivers is the Land of Rivers.
The lord is the lord.
Ordinary folks shouldn't identify with the noble elite of Flower City.
The target is Momojiro.
Not you.
Don't foolishly throw your lives away.
That's the purpose of the declaration.
The loudspeaker startled the entire city.
Everyone rushed outside.
They stared in awe at the helicopter hovering in the sky.
Inside the city, Momojiro, who had been suckling on his nursemaid, was startled by the loud noise outside.
He was so frightened that he fell out of the nursemaid's arms.
Upon hearing the announcement, he panicked.
He began to wail uncontrollably.
"Wah wah."
"This is bad."
"The Sand Ninja Village is going to attack us!"
He hurriedly hid inside the nursemaid's kimono.
Upon hearing the news, Kurozumi quickly pulled the cowardly lord out.
"My lord, they haven't arrived yet; they won't march for another ten days."
The Sand Ninja had no need to launch a surprise attack on the Land of Rivers.
Only the weak need to use surprise tactics against the strong.
With the Sand Ninja's current strength, they could plainly tell you when they'd strike, and that would be that.
Still, Momojiro was extremely frightened.
"What should I do in ten days?"
Outside, the helicopter's loudspeaker continued to blare.
The helicopter circled around Flower City.
Kurozumi realized that letting it continue would only further demoralize the people.
"Lord Fuma, please repel them."
The confident leader of the Fuma clan, Fuma Santaro, responded, "Leave it to us, my lord."
Fuma Santaro sent an order.
Twenty elite members of the Fuma clan were dispatched.
They climbed to the rooftops of the tallest buildings in Flower City, surrounding the helicopter from all sides.
Twenty large Fuma shurikens, each about two meters in size, were hurled at the helicopter.
The Fuma shurikens were retractable, large cross-shaped throwing weapons with hooks and mechanical components.
The Fuma experts controlled them with the Fuma Shuriken Technique.
They tied high-durability, semi-transparent strings to the shurikens, manipulating the trajectory of the shurikens with their fingers after launching them.
If you didn't have a suitable countermeasure, dealing with these twenty large, mechanically controlled shurikens would be quite troublesome.
The spinning Fuma shurikens, capable of shattering stone walls with a single hit, were controlled by the Fuma experts as they converged on the helicopter from all directions.
The shurikens flexibly adjusted their flight paths midair to avoid being shot down by the enemy.
Unfortunately for them...
They were facing Gaara.
No matter how flashy the attack, it was useless against absolute defense.
Gaara smirked coldly.
With a simple sand shield, he blocked all of the Fuma shurikens.