Chiyo quickly caught up with Pakura's retreating troops. Ebizō saw his sister returning safely, well, not entirely safely, since the Ten White Guardians were gone.
Pakura smiled and said, "Granny Chiyo..." Before she could finish, a figure rushed past her. Pakura took a closer look, it was Ebizō.
Ebizō saw his sister as if seeing light, he hugged her tightly. "Sis, I thought you..." His voice was choked up.
Chiyo glared at him. "Thought what? That I was captured? Or killed?" Though she said this, her hand still patted Ebizō's back.
Then, Chiyo turned to Pakura and nodded at her, forcing a smile. Pakura also nodded in response. After all, they were the defeated army. This battle had essentially wiped out one third of Sunagakure's foundation.
Both of them knew that upon returning, the Third Kazekage would surely be furious. So Chiyo took over command, becoming the leader of these remaining troops.
She wanted to take all the responsibility herself. Ebizō immediately objected. It was clearly his underestimation of the enemy that led to this result, why should his sister bear it?
Chiyo coldly looked at him. "Ebizō, do I spoil you too much? The reason I'm taking responsibility is because someone in the village wants to target your nephew. This is a chance for me to step back and protect our family!"
"Crying at your age, how disgraceful! Besides, having one of us as an elder is enough to know the higher ups' plans. Do you really think it's good for both of us to be in high positions?" Chiyo snorted. Her brother occasionally came up with clever strategies, but his political sensitivity was too low.
This time it was obvious that Rasa had betrayed Chiyo, trying to cut off her lineage. Anyone could see that. But what did the Third Kazekage do in the end?
Just because Rasa shifted the blame onto his brother in law, the Third Kazekage silently accepted it, only sentencing Rasa to one year of house arrest for poor supervision?
Was the Third Kazekage stupid? No. Then why did he do this? It was because he hadn't given up on making Rasa the next Kazekage. He had his own considerations.
There were only four high ranking officials in the village: the Third Kazekage, Bunpuku, Chiyo, and Ebizō. Bunpuku was neutral, the jinchūriki of Sunagakure, hosting Shukaku. With his strength, his voice carried great weight in Sunagakure, but he wasn't part of the elder faction or the commoner faction.
The Third Kazekage rose from humble origins. Logically, he should be part of the commoner faction, but he was smart and never declared which side he was on. He said one thing to one person, another to another.
He supported the elder faction, and also agreed with the commoner faction. But with only four positions of real power, Chiyo and Ebizō occupied two. This left the Kazekage somewhat silent.
In terms of talent, both Rasa and Pakura had kekkei genkai, and Pakura's talent surpassed Rasa's. Over the years, why hadn't the Third Kazekage chosen Pakura? Because she was part of the elder faction!
Though the Third Kazekage never said it outright and did show respect to Chiyo, he supported weakening the elder faction's influence.
"Alright, it's settled! Ebizō, don't make me slap you before I retire!" Chiyo glared at Ebizō. Ebizō opened his mouth, but under Chiyo's gaze, he shrank back.
Central Command Tent
The Third Kazekage slammed the table and pointed at the messenger. "What the hell did you say? A major defeat at the front? Over 4,000 shinobi lost? And the enemy lost less than 2,000?"
He didn't know the messenger was phrasing it kindly. If he said the enemy lost less than 1,000, he might have been impaled by iron sand spikes on the spot.
"Yes, Lord Kazekage. It's not that our troops were incompetent, but the enemy was too cunning. They came up with the strategy of climbing Mount Daigu at night and launching a surprise attack!" The messenger was still pleading for Chiyo and Ebizō.
The Third Kazekage glanced at him, and he immediately shut up. Then the Third Kazekage stood up, took a deep breath, patted his shoulder, and smiled. "Alright, I understand the situation. You may leave."
"Yes!" The messenger saluted and turned to leave, not noticing the murderous intent in the Third Kazekage's eyes. Hmph, even a messenger sided with Chiyo and the others.
The elder faction's reach was too long. He snapped his fingers, and a Suna ANBU appeared in the room, kneeling to receive orders.
"Kill that messenger. Throw his body in front of Chiyo and the others when they return." After saying this, the Third Kazekage resumed his calm demeanor.
"Yes!" The ANBU's eyes flashed with ruthlessness before disappearing.
The Third Kazekage sat in his seat, rhythmically tapping the table with his right hand, a faint smile on his face.
"I hope you'll like this gift, elders." The Third Kazekage murmured, then continued reading military texts. Recalling the strategy the messenger mentioned, a glint flashed in his eyes.
"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant! I thought Konoha was only strong in power, but to have such a cunning strategist, hmph." The Third Kazekage narrowed his eyes. No one knew what he was thinking.
Perhaps the readers assume the Third Kazekage's title of strongest Kazekage comes only from strength, but I believe that's only one aspect. If his political skills weren't sharp, his methods not ruthless, his mind not deep, he would have long become the elders' puppet! (Just my humble opinion.)
Chiyo's group arrived 500 meters from the central command tent. They felt exhausted, especially Ebizō and Pakura, while Chiyo remained composed.
As the wife of the First Kazekage, there was no political maneuver she hadn't seen. With this status, the Third Kazekage couldn't touch her.
The way the Third Kazekage handled Rasa's incident made Chiyo clearly understand his methods. Balancing power was something he excelled at.
As they approached the camp entrance, a corpse was thrown out, its death gruesome. Pakura's face changed. She recognized this person, he was one of Chiyo's subordinates!
Ebizō's face turned grim. Chiyo sighed and ordered the shinobi behind her to collect the body, then said, "Inform the Kazekage that the defeated general, Chiyo, has come to confess her crimes."
The guard at the gate quickly said, "Let me report inside." Then he hurried in.
"Lord Kazekage, Elder Chiyo has arrived!" The guard was the Third Kazekage's trusted subordinate.
The Third Kazekage raised an eyebrow. "Did the elder say anything?" He asked seriously, staring at his subordinate's face with a frown.
"Elder Chiyo's exact words: 'Inform the Kazekage, the defeated general, Chiyo, has come to confess her crimes.'" After the guard finished, the Third Kazekage waved him off and pondered.
Gradually, his lips curved into a smile, though he feigned urgency and rushed to the camp entrance.