Rasa had been living quite comfortably lately.
In every sense of the word, really.
His plan to bring the uncut version of *Ultimate Storm* into the Hidden Leaf Village had gone off without a hitch. Thanks to Sarutobi Suiki's connections and mediation, Rasa was introduced to several Leaf shinobi with close ties to the upper echelons—some from the Koharu clan, some from the Mitokado clan, and even a Senju who had abandoned the family name… plus a particularly money-minded Uchiha.
Rasa found all of them unbearable—their stink of corruption practically oozed out of their pores. They acted nothing like proper shinobi. Instead, they reminded him of decaying nobles, greedy merchants, and power-hungry bureaucrats. Their smiles were fake, their words calculating, and they reeked of the stench of politics.
Still, Rasa hoped there'd be more people like them.
Because these degenerates were *Leaf's* problem—spawned by its abandonment of tradition in favor of greed.
They clung to the great beast that was the Leaf Village, leeching it of strength. If Rasa were from the Leaf, he'd hate them to the bone. But he was from the Hidden Sand, and as the prime successor to the Kazekage title, he saw their corruption as a golden opportunity.
After all, if you paid these people, they *got things done.*
The Leaf initially resisted granting the Sand Village access to the uncensored *Ultimate Storm*, but once the bribes were handed out, all obstacles melted away. The negotiations wrapped up smoothly in just a few days.
Sure, the Sand had to pay a price—but it was temporary. Given the way the Leaf was rotting from the inside, once the next Shinobi World War broke out, that so-called greatest village would crumble like wet paper. Its riches would be devoured by the other shinobi nations.
So any current loss was just a down payment on the future.
With no major responsibilities weighing on him, Rasa had time to enjoy the finer things.
Take "Heaven and Earth," for example—the Leaf's famed pleasure hall. It offered everything: hot baths, foot massages, scalp treatments, ear cleaning… even services Rasa had never heard of in the Land of Wind.
Pure luxury.
A bit pricey, though. Sarutobi Suiki had paid at first, but once Rasa started bribing Leaf officials, he had to foot the bill himself. Luckily, he was there as the Sand's diplomatic envoy, so he could expense everything.
Even then, the funds were drying up.
Rasa had already considered submitting an emergency request for more funds to the Third Kazekage.
At first, he hesitated. But Suiki talked him through it.
"Brother Rasa," Suiki had said, lounging in the hot springs, "I've walked this road. All this—everything I do—is to protect the Leaf. Look at these scars on my body. Every one of them is for the village."
"But what has the Leaf given me in return? Some relocation money, and now I'm scraping by."
"That's when I realized—we're tools of the village, not martyrs. There has to be a line between public duty and private life. Using your own savings for village matters? That's foolish. It breaks the shinobi system. Everything work-related should be reimbursed. That way, we don't burden our families either. Makes sense, right?"
Rasa was shaken. Suiki was a member of the Sarutobi clan—his elder was the Third Hokage himself.
If someone like Suiki had suffered this much, what about him?
The Sand was even poorer than the Leaf. And Rasa, though heir to the Kazekage, wasn't Kazekage *yet*. What if he never became one? Would all his sacrifices be for nothing?
It wasn't that he didn't want to give his all for the Hidden Sand—it's just, he had someone now. His fiancée, Karura. He loved her dearly. If he died, who would take care of her?
The Sand had recently started to prosper, but it still treated the families of fallen shinobi with stinginess. They were barely guaranteed survival, let alone comfort.
Rasa and the Third Kazekage had wanted to change that, but the old guard resisted fiercely:
"This is the will of the First Kazekage!"
"It's tradition! You dare defy our ancestors?"
"If we endured it, why can't you?"
Rasa had nearly unleashed Magnet Release right then and there.
*What do you mean 'we endured it'?* You think the dead can protest?
These old fossils weren't the ones making sacrifices. They were only interested in preserving their power and prestige—not in protecting the next generation.
But even the Kazekage couldn't override them outright. Rasa had learned a bitter truth: the village didn't belong to the Kazekage alone. Even a good policy couldn't be enacted without winning over the elders.
So Suiki's words rang true: *The Sand is the Sand. I am Rasa. Even if I become Kazekage, that doesn't mean I own the village.*
With that, Rasa was convinced. He sent a request for more operational funds and quietly tapped into one of the Sand's hidden emergency caches in the Land of Fire.
As heir to the Kazekage, he knew where those caches were.
It was fine. Once official funds came in, he'd replenish the stash. Even the Third Kazekage would support him—after all, this was for the Sand Village.
That day, Rasa finally understood the true meaning of *for the village*.
With new funds in hand, he resumed his dealings with the Leaf's corrupt bureaucrats. Every day he drank until he was red-faced and visibly exhausted.
When he returned to the Sand's diplomatic quarters, his comrades worried for him.
He seemed to be living in luxury, but they all knew—he was enduring humiliation and hardship for the good of the village.
Thanks to his efforts, the *Ultimate Storm* import was secured. He'd even pried valuable intelligence from the Leaf's noble clans.
The delegation saw him as a martyr. Many offered to take his place.
But Rasa refused. "They only trust me now," he said. "If you go instead, it'll ruin everything."
He made it clear: this was for the Sand. Sacrifice was necessary. He could endure it.
*A shinobi must endure the unbearable.*
His words moved them. Some wept. All of them respected and admired him deeply—ready to give their lives for Rasa-sama.
Rasa felt that weight, too. Suiki had been right: they were shinobi. Public and private matters must be kept separate. Even if your heart is in the right place, sacrifices must be seen, not hidden.
*That* was the true meaning of serving the village.
Rasa's determination only deepened.
And so, while the other shinobi villages floundered in slow negotiations with the Leaf, Rasa forged ahead. The others couldn't let go of their pride, so they clashed with the corrupt officials instead of working with them.
But when the Sand finished its talks and Rasa got in deep with the bureaucrats, the other nations panicked.
They sent spies. They came asking questions.
Soon enough, word got out—Rasa had spent *a lot*, and pulled every trick he could.
The other villages, stunned by the Sand's wealth, realized they'd been fools. If they didn't build relationships like Rasa did, they'd lose out.
So they lowered their pride and began courting the Leaf's corrupt officials too—bringing them to pleasure houses and mimicking Rasa's moves.
Their negotiations sped up.
And when they saw their own funds evaporating, they winced—but they also breathed a sigh of relief.
Because they'd discovered the winning strategy.
In a few short days, they secured *Ultimate Storm* for their villages as well.
From that point on, every delegation agreed to maintain these ties.
With the Leaf's rot running deep, they knew—if war came, these corrupt insiders might become the perfect traitors.