- Ryo-nii-san has just cleared the ambush and all traces, so we have a few days to spare," the cousin said, squinting understandingly.
- Your thoughts? - The head of the clan turned to him, obviously wanting to test the heir.
- I see two options, - after a short pause, Shikaku said with a thoughtful expression on his face, - the first - for ordinary ninja of both villages we can make it look like a joint operation to destroy the military power of Kirigakure, especially in the light of the known events, - mentioned the attack of nuke-nin of Mist, - and the recently concluded alliance, practically destroying the possibility of an alliance between Suna and Kiri, while forcing the former to rely more on us, taking the kunochi S-rang to us through diplomatic channels, and grabbing Kazekage and his advisors by the balls with information about the purposeful leaking of Pakura-san, who is popular in the village, as well as the emergence of a threat to the agreement reached with us.
- The common people and ninjas of Suna won't really understand this, as Kirigakure have been spilling a lot of blood to their neighbor since the Second World War, and during it too," I nodded affirmatively, as I had been able to track the general mood of the Sandpeople during the last visit and with the help of spies, "especially now, when in a couple of months after all the points of the agreement with Konoha came into effect, their economic situation and comfort level should have risen to an acceptable level, and the release of this information is just as reliable an option.
In the desert, only two factors affect this - the availability of drinking water and the availability of money to bring in goods, which our Council took into account when drafting the criteria for the terms of the alliance agreement between the villages.
- That's a relatively good option if you ignore some of the nuances," Shenesu nodded and explained more fully in response to our questioning looks, "according to rumors and informant reports, the new Kazekage has a rather nasty temper and a habit of not considering the consequences of his actions if a result is achieved.
- Blackmail will not be an effective method of control," his brother nodded understandingly, accepting the change in input, "the risk of a backstabbing Kazekage will increase, and instead of a reliable ally, we'll have another enemy just waiting for the right moment.
- That's right, this type of man can act according to his desires and beliefs even when it's to the detriment of the village," the older shinobi confirmed with his hands behind his back, stopping and turning to us with a very serious expression on his face, "In the past, it's been to our advantage to keep Suna from getting stronger, but trying to make a peace treaty with Kirigakure behind our back in such a short time is a completely different matter.
- Then, my second option doesn't work either," his brother grudgingly grinned, and without waiting for a question, explained, "to bring Pakura-san back to Suna as the victor of the two swordsmen with a little help from Ryo, without revealing the betrayal, but as a political counterweight to Rasa - it wouldn't be hard to gather a faction of kunoichi of that strength, despite losing the race for the Kage's position, and there's a chance to take his place.
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