"No. I'm heading to the front lines. Right now only Master Bunpuku is holding the fort; I need to go and support him."
Sasuke shook his head, turning down Sayan's invitation.
"Turns out you were right—our gap with Konoha really is too big, and that's with three sides tangled in this mess."
Sasuke had assumed that, though he wasn't as strong as Sayan, dealing with the Land of Rain battlefield would still be child's play. Then Hanzou of the Salamander showed up, coupled with that country's environment, and nearly beat Sasuke into an existential crisis. Without Konoha pinning the enemy down, his line might have collapsed entirely.
Sayan, who knew the original story, felt little at Sasuke's words.
Although the Konoha front hadn't opened yet, the Land of Rain melee had long since become a meat-grinder. Wind, Earth, Fire, and Rain were tearing the country apart: today you hit him, tomorrow he hits that guy, the day after he teams up with someone else to hit you and your buddy—who could survive that schedule?
In Sayan's view, this was the worst time to jump in. Konoha was at its peak; joining the fray now was just asking for trouble.
The smart move was to grow while the others fought—copy the Land of Lightning's playbook.
"Once I succeed as the Third Kazekage I'll end this war fast. Go back to the front and hold the line with Master Bunpuku, then gradually pull our people out. Evacuate the kids first—especially Chiyo's red-haired brat. Dumping your kid at home while you drag your wife to the battlefield—what kind of idiocy is that?"
"Understood."
"And when you act, listen to Master Bunpuku. His experience gives him long sight; it'll help you."
Before Sasuke left, Sayan reminded him once more.
In his dozen years in Sunagakure, Sayan felt his greatest achievement was changing Master Bunpuku's fate.
He freed the monk from the destiny of lifelong imprisonment. The main reason was that Shukaku had been scared witless by Sayan. Since Sayan's fusion required huge amounts of energy, and the greatest Chakra reserve in Sunagakure happened to be the One-Tail, Sayan set his sights on Shukaku. In the past, whenever Bunpuku fell asleep Shukaku would slip out—until Sayan arrived. Each time the beast appeared it was drained dry. In the end Shukaku had no choice but to cooperate with Bunpuku, and after a few rounds Bunpuku became a perfect Jinchuriki.
---
Time flew; today was the day Sayan would succeed as the Third Kazekage.
Above the Kazekage building, Sayan began the succession ceremony flanked by Chiyo and the other elders.
"Hello, my name is Sayan, the Third Kazekage of Sunagakure, and I will lead you all to a prosperous life."
Looking at the crowd below, Sayan declared with full confidence.
Behind him, Chiyo and company wore faces full of black lines.
Which Kage talks like this at his inauguration? Shouldn't it be "march to glory, punch the Iwa, kick Konoha" and so on?
"We really should have picked Sasuke—at least he's reliable."
Chiyo muttered, eyes vacant.
Back in the same conference hall, Sayan sat in the main seat while the elders and Village Jonin filled the rest.
Sayan held an intelligence scroll, and the more he read the darker his expression became. Finally, surging Chakra flared into a pressure wave that left those in front pale; weaker Jonin even collapsed to the floor.
"Calm yourself, Lord Third—please calm down!"
Chiyo and Ebizo exclaimed, cold sweat pouring as they stared at the near-solid torrent of Chakra around Sayan.
"Sorry, I lost my composure."
Sayan forced a smile and passed the scroll to Chiyo and Ebizo.
Chiyo snatched it—anything that enraged Sayan this much had to be critical.
Though she'd braced herself, reading it still ignited fury.
The message was simple: Lord Shamon's defeat had displeased the Daimyo, so he would cut funds and supplies to Sunagakure. Meanwhile, the Nobles cursed the Village's incompetence in public while secretly selling the withheld goods to Konoha and Iwa to line their own pockets.
Soon everyone had read the report; indignation exploded, and the chamber descended into uproar.
"Lord Third, what do we do?"
Chiyo's voice cut through the noise; every eye turned to Sayan.
"What do we do? We do nothing. The front is starving while the rear is feasting. Inform Bunpuku and Sasuke: halt the war and hold rear positions."
Sayan had already planned to quit the war and escape this quagmire. The Daimyo's shove gave him the perfect pretext.
Even if another Village invaded the Land of Wind, Sayan didn't care—losing territory wasn't losing his Village, as long as Sunagakure stood.
"Kazekage-sama, if we do this, the Daimyo will…"
An elder asked, face ashen.
"Hmph. Our Ninja fight at the front while the Daimyo slashes supplies and sells them off. How about you go fight at the front for a couple of days, Elder?"
Sayan's retort left the elder speechless—he'd gained his seat through seniority, not strength like Chiyo or Ebizo.
With no further objections, Sayan finalized the decision.
Next, he would launch his Sunagakure reform. He had copies made of the plan he'd drafted and handed them out.
Soon everyone held a thick folder emblazoned with "Sunagakure First Five-Year Plan." The hall filled with the rustle of turning pages.
"Lord Third, the projects look excellent, but expanding the Ninja Academy, training more Medical Ninja, and building hospitals will cost far more than the Village has."
After reading, Chiyo felt both joy and despair: joy because, if implemented, Sunagakure would be transformed within five years; despair because the Village's coffers were empty.
"I'll handle the funding—don't worry about it. Just execute and build."
Of course Sayan knew the Village's finances. That stingy Daimyo sent a mere hundred million ryo a year, often months late. Look at Konoha—five hundred million minimum, with wartime supplements.
So Sayan would front the money himself: the seven hundred million ryo he'd panned from gold dust with Magnet Release. When the Village had surplus later, they could pay him back.