Chapter 264

In Sunagakure, after years of development, the village had gradually healed from the scars of the Third Great Ninja War. As a defeated nation in that war, Sunagakure had been forced to sign a peace agreement with Konoha that included a series of unequal treaties. Given Sunagakure's already scarce resources, those terms had added insult to injury, plunging the village deeper into hardship. Compounded by the disappearance of the Third Kazekage, Rasa, who had taken up the mantle in a time of crisis, found himself utterly overwhelmed. Yet, to pull the village out of its predicament, Rasa had established a long-term alliance with Konoha. On one hand, this was to facilitate better cooperation in paying off their debts; on the other, it was intended to create a mutual defense pact against the other three major ninja villages.