Today was a beautiful day; the clouds dispersed, revealing a crescent moon, and the bright moonlight poured down, adding a touch of light to the dark Village.
It was already midnight, and most of the villagers and Ninja had already fallen asleep, with only a few still holding their posts.
Rasa walked alone through the street, and seeing the scattered Sand Gold on the ground not far away, he subconsciously thought of his wife, who had died not long ago due to difficult childbirth.
"Karura…"
Rasa murmured, but soon, a hint of hatred emerged in his eyes.
"Ichibi…"
Because the One-Tail Jinchuriki, old monk Bunpuku, had died a while ago, and before a new Jinchuriki was decided, Rasa made an astonishing decision at this time.
He decided to let his newborn son, Gaara, become the next One-Tail Jinchuriki. Of course, this wasn't for some so-called greater good, but because he hated this child.
In Rasa's view, his wife's death was all Gaara's fault. Although it was his own child, he did not treat him well.
Gaara had been born for half a month, but he had never visited him once, only entrusting him to a wet nurse for care and supervision.
When he grew a little older, Rasa planned to hand him over to his trusted subordinate, Yashamaru, for upbringing, which would also make it easier to monitor him.
Just as Rasa was lost in thought, two Shuriken suddenly flew out from the dark alley beside him, heading straight for him!
"Clang!"
Just as they were about to hit, a Sand Gold wall suddenly rose. The Shuriken hit it, producing a crisp metallic clang, and then fell to the ground.
"Who is it?"
Rasa turned his head, narrowed his eyes, and his gaze pierced through the darkness, quickly locking onto a figure.
"Oh, it seems it didn't succeed."
Ren took two steps back. Although his face was covered, Rasa could still hear the mockery in his voice.
"It seems you're not the 'Weakest Kazekage' as rumored."
Ren retreated as he spoke, emphasizing the last few words, making his mockery obvious.
After hearing this, Rasa's originally calm expression instantly darkened. With a wave of his hand, several Shuriken made of Sand Gold flew towards Ren.
"Tsk, why are you getting so agitated? Your title as the Weakest Kazekage is publicly acknowledged."
Ren dodged the incoming Sand Gold Shuriken with several Instantaneous Body Techniques, continuously mocking him.
Hearing this, Rasa immediately lost his composure. A hint of killing intent appeared in his eyes, and then he leaped up, raising a Kunai made of Sand Gold, and charged at Ren.
"Hey, hey, hey, why are you attacking without a word? Shouldn't you, the esteemed Kazekage, let me have three moves?"
Ren had no intention of fighting him. He turned and ran, still chattering.
Rasa no longer spoke, but his speed increased by several points, while Ren showed no sign of stopping, complaining as he ran.
"Kazekage-sama, you're just getting home from overtime. Have you had your late-night snack?"
"Kazekage-sama, do they give you a discount when you spend money in the Village?"
"Kazekage-sama, when you go for a massage with the ladies, will you pay with Sand Gold?"
"…"
With each sentence Ren uttered, Rasa's face grew darker, and his killing intent increased exponentially.
These words, filled with strong mockery, continuously entered his ears, almost making him lose control.
If he hadn't considered that they were still in the Village, he would have already thrown a Sand Gold Funeral.
But...
Looking at the rock wall that appeared in front and the stopped Ren, a cold smile appeared on Rasa's lips, and he said in a chilling voice.
"What, not running anymore?"
As mentioned before, there was only one path into Sunagakure, and it was heavily guarded. No matter where the opponent ran, he would be blocked, unless he could fly!
"Of course, I'm still running."
Ren smiled slightly. Under Rasa's astonished gaze, three pairs of wings grew from his back. He flapped them, immediately taking flight and ascending.
"Don't even think about running!"
Rasa quickly reacted, directly summoning the surrounding Sand Gold to lift himself up, and chased after Ren.
"Oh, Kazekage-sama also has some tricks up his sleeve."
After flying over the rock wall, Ren looked at Rasa, who was catching up behind him, smiled, and then continued flying into the distance. Behind him, Rasa, with a dark expression, decisively controlled the Sand Gold to follow.
As for whether there were traps, he didn't care.
How could he, the esteemed Kazekage, be assassinated in his own Village and have the perpetrator escape? Even if the opponent was prepared, numerous, and powerful,
If he couldn't win, retreating safely would certainly not be a problem, and Rasa considered this possibility to be almost infinitely close to zero.
In the night desert, two figures flew through the air, one after the other. Finally, Ren stopped in front of an oasis, retracted his wings, and landed by the lake.
"What, out of stamina?"
Rasa followed closely, landing and coldly sneering at Ren not far away.
"Fourth Kazekage,"
Ren took out a Scroll from his body, then abruptly unfurled it in the air, pressed his right palm into a circle marked with the character "Twin," and chuckled.
"Dying here shouldn't be too much of an injustice to you, right?"
As white smoke erupted and then dispersed, two fan-shaped weapons appeared in Ren's hands. When Rasa saw the true form of these weapons, his pupils constricted, and he said in a deep voice.
"Twin Swords: Hiramekarei, is that Hoshimi Ren of Konoha Village?!"
"Huh???"
Ren was instantly bewildered. He was completely covered except for his eyes and hands. How did the opponent recognize his identity?
But what he didn't know was that the incident with the Scroll of Summoning Ninja Blades two days ago had caused a huge commotion and couldn't be kept secret. Spies from various Villages had sent the news back on the same day.
Coupled with the intelligence uploaded by Biwa Jūzō and the other two about Ren controlling the Three-Tails, and comparing it with the intelligence from the Village, the attention of the entire Ninja World immediately focused on Konoha again. The name Hoshimi Ren resonated throughout the Ninja World.
The Third Mizukage was sent back to the Village for treatment, while Yagura was appointed Fourth Mizukage in a crisis, hastily pushed into the role. After learning that both the Three-Tails lost last time and the Scroll of Summoning Ninja Blades this time were the work of Hoshimi Ren of Konoha, Yagura directly mobilized another five thousand Kirigakure Ninja in the Village and began a furious assault on the Land of Fire.
Fortunately, Konoha had received the news a step ahead and quickly dispatched three thousand more Ninja from other battlefields as reinforcements, which managed to block the offensive of the Hidden Mist army.
Overall, the cause of all this was Ren, and for the past two days, to avoid the Mist Hidden Tracking Unit, the three of them had mostly been on the road and hadn't gathered much information.
This is why, at present, almost everyone in the Ninja World knows about Hoshimi Ren of Konoha Village, while he himself remains unaware.