Xin glanced over at Tsunade, who frowned in thought for a moment before giving a small nod. It wasn't a bad deal. Shifting the blame to the Sand Village was perfect timing, especially since they were already at war with Konoha.
And since the Sand Village had been the one to declare war, it made sense for them to take the fall.
With Tsunade's approval, Xin shrugged. "Fine, we can tweak that. Anything else?"
The fact that Konoha wasn't demanding reparations was already a pretty big concession. The Hokage's attitude was clear- he wasn't trying to crush the Rain Village, just avoid pushing them into desperation and rebellion.
"I also want to request some aid from Konoha. The Rain Village is in desperate need of supplies-both food and other essentials. Additionally, I would like permission to pass through the Fire Country's borders to purchase grain from the daimyo's lands."
"We can give you some supplies, but not too much," Xin said flatly.
"And it'll only be food, nothing else. As for buying grain from the Land of Fire's daimyo, that's fine, but you can't send any of your shinobi to do the purchasing."
Providing some supplies was part of the Third Hokage's plan. It wasn't much, just a token gesture to keep things calm. In the end, Rain Village would still have to pay for its own supplies.
As for the checkpoints, Konoha wouldn't block them, but Rain Village's ninja wouldn't be allowed to enter the Land of Fire. Instead, they'd have to issue a request and let Konoha's ninja escort the supplies to Rain Village.
This strategy had multiple benefits for Konoha. Not only did it help maintain control, but it also increased Konoha's income through mission requests.
The Third Hokage was truly a crafty old man. He'd set up this situation perfectly, waiting for Rain Village to fall into the trap.
What's the harm in giving some food? The real money was in the missions and requests.
In a way, this was like slowly digging out the foundation of Rain Village's economy. But did Hanzō have any other options? Not really.
Aside from the Land of Fire, it would be nearly impossible for him to buy enough food from anywhere else. Even if they had the money, other nations wouldn't be eager to sell to them, especially during wartime when food supplies were tightly controlled.
Other countries weren't like the Land of Fire, where they had plentiful harvests year-round. Buying from smaller neighboring nations would only cause tension with the Stone or Sand Villages.
So, all things considered, buying from the Land of Fire was his best option.