Chapter 176: The Sand's Surrender
"Alright, let's go contact Konoha!"
After a few seconds of silence, Chiyo lifted her teacup, took a slow sip of hot tea, and sighed.
"At last, the Hidden Sand Village is about to be liberated. I only hope that the Fifth Hokage—Uchiha Yuta—will not disappoint us."
"Hmm..."
Ebizo placed his cup down and nodded solemnly, clearly understanding what Chiyo was implying.
After all—
Once the Hidden Sand Village submits to the Hidden Leaf Village, the two villages become like grasshoppers tied to the same rope. They would share prosperity or ruin together. So the Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Yuta, must not make a mess of things.
Whoosh!!
Just then—
A burst of wind echoed through the room.
The door to the office was flung open abruptly, and before Chiyo and Ebizo could even react, a figure clad in the white Hokage cloak appeared inside—
It was none other than the Fifth Hokage himself, Uchiha Yuta.
"W-What?!"
"The Fifth Hokage... Uchiha Yuta?! Why is he here in the Hidden Sand Village?"
Bang!!
Both Chiyo and Ebizo leapt up in shock, as if they had seen a ghost. Their eyes widened in disbelief.
It was unthinkable.
They had just been discussing him—and suddenly he appeared, right in front of them. It was terrifying.
But recalling their recent conversation, both Chiyo and Ebizo felt a trace of relief. After all, they had decided to submit to the Leaf and seek the support of the Fifth Hokage.
Maybe... they'd gotten lucky.
"A wise decision," Yuta said casually, stretching as if he had just awoken from a nap. "Chiyo, Ebizo—you two know how to judge the situation. Otherwise, this time next year would've been the Hidden Sand Village's memorial day."
Indeed—
After completely subduing the Hidden Mist Village, and sharing a few passionate days with Terumi Mei, the Fifth Mizukage, Yuta finally left the Mist.
Now, he had rushed to the Sand to deal with the One-Tailed Jinchūriki—Gaara, and to complete his sign-in at the Hidden Sand Village.
To his surprise, he overheard Chiyo and Ebizo planning their surrender to Konoha.
In that case, there was no need to hide anymore.
He appeared openly to accept their surrender.
"Did you hear that?"
Chiyo's expression stiffened, but deep inside, she let out a silent breath of relief.
"Fifth Hokage, the Hidden Sand Village is willing to submit to the Hidden Leaf."
"That's right..." Ebizo added bitterly. "Konoha's strength is overwhelming. The only future the Sand has... is by aligning ourselves with you, Lord Hokage."
"Hmm."
Yuta nodded, the corners of his mouth rising with satisfaction.
"In that case, take these—Hero Water, free of any side effects. They're now yours, courtesy of Konoha."
Swish... Swish...
With a casual flick of his wrist, Uchiha Yuta produced more than a dozen small bottles and placed them on the desk.
"H-Hero Water with no side effects?!"
"If this is real, then it's basically divine water!"
The moment their eyes landed on the bottles, Chiyo and Ebizo glanced at each other, stunned. They could see the same disbelief reflected in each other's eyes.
This was an incredible gift.
They had heard of the Hero Water before—its power and its risks. But a version without side effects? It was as if Konoha had handed them a miracle.
"Oh, and one more thing—send Gaara to Konoha as soon as possible."
Yuta's tone was casual, but the meaning behind it was clear.
"With the current strength of the Hidden Sand, you're not capable of protecting my Jinchūriki."
"This..."
Chiyo and Ebizo's expressions faltered slightly, hesitation flashing in their eyes.
"There's an organization in the shadows, hunting down tailed beasts," Yuta continued. "For Gaara's safety, he must remain in Konoha."
Recently—
Based on intelligence gathered by Konoha, it had become clear that a powerful hidden force was moving behind the scenes. The coordinated diplomatic break-off by Iwagakure and Kumogakure confirmed it.
Yuta had long suspected the truth—
After destroying the Akatsuki, he knew that Black Zetsu and Uchiha Obito had one last card to play: the resurrection of Madara Uchiha.
Especially after Nagato's death, the signs were there.
Now, all evidence suggested that Madara had been revived—and he was pulling strings from the shadows, trying to recreate the Ten-Tails and launch a new attack on the Hidden Leaf.
Unfortunately for Madara—
Uchiha Yuta was already ahead of him.
He was walking the very path Madara had envisioned—only better.
He would leave Madara with no way out.
"...Understood."
"...Alright. Gaara will return to Konoha with you."
Both Chiyo and Ebizo were veterans of the shinobi world. After a moment of thought, they nodded in agreement.
To be honest—
They had struggled for a long time over what to do with Gaara.
Because of past trauma, Gaara's psyche was unstable. His power was immense, but so was the risk.
If Konoha wanted to deal with it—
Then let them.
They were more than happy to hand over the problem.
"Excellent."
Swish!!
With a sharp gust of wind, Uchiha Yuta vanished from the office.
Only Chiyo and Ebizo remained—silent and helpless, staring at the empty space where the Fifth Hokage once stood.
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