"The Beni-yama clan committed insubordination, plotted rebellion, and attempted to assassinate me, the Kazekage. I have suppressed them."
"From today onward, the Sand Village will strip the Beni-yama clan of their surname."
"I will arrange for specialized personnel to investigate the Beni-yama clan's rebellion. I will not wrong a single innocent person, but those who sold out the village and committed insubordination will not be forgiven."
"Those found guilty will be executed without mercy!"
Rasa spoke slowly and calmly.
But at this moment, the calmer Rasa was, the more intensely everyone could feel the chilling aura of slaughter emanating from him.
Rasa looked at the crowd again.
"It's getting late. Go back and rest early."
"Tomorrow morning, I will convene a village assembly. I hope everyone can arrive on time."
The crowd responded in unison.
"Yes, Lord Kazekage."
Rasa turned and walked toward the exit.
Suddenly, he stopped, looked back at Hazuki Uchiha, and frowned.
"Hazuki, what are you standing there for? Let's go."
Hazuki Uchiha snapped out of her daze and hurriedly followed.
The crowd gradually dispersed.
However, this night was destined to be sleepless, especially for the high-ranking officials of the Sand Village.
Tonight, the sky of the Sand Village had changed.
"When did Lord Kazekage become so strong?"
"So many sand puppets, and their strength wasn't weak either. What kind of ninjutsu is that?"
"Wasn't it said that Lord Kazekage's ninjutsu was adapted from Lord Third? But Lord Third never seemed to have used such a ninjutsu. Could it be that Lord Kazekage developed it himself?"
"In that case, is Lord Kazekage's strength already above Lord Third's?"
The first thing everyone discussed was Rasa's strength.
It had to be said, the scene earlier was simply too shocking.
The siege of three hundred sand puppets.
The high-altitude explosive egg bombardment.
And the final finishing move, Gold Dust Imperial Funeral.
"That's right. Such strength has already surpassed Lord Third. The strongest Kazekage in history is no longer the Third, but the current Lord Kazekage. This is a good thing for our Sand Village."
"Our Sand Village has always been weak and impoverished."
"Resources, ninja... even the Kage was somewhat weaker than those of other ninja villages."
"But now, we finally have a Kazekage with decent strength. Such power is completely on par with the Kages of the other four great ninja villages."
"At least we are no longer the weakest."
Some people began comparing the strengths of the various Kages and ranking them.
The names of Onoki and Hiruzen Sarutobi were mentioned frequently.
After all, the strength of Konoha and the Hidden Rock Village was currently not weak.
Moreover, these two were veteran Kages with verifiable historical records.
Comparing back and forth, there was no consensus on who was the strongest.
The majority supported Onoki because of his Dust Release Kekkei Tota.
But there were also some who felt Hiruzen Sarutobi's combination ninjutsu was formidable, and that the Monkey King Enma was very strong.
For members of the ninja clans, they focused on a different point.
"Did the Beni-yama clan really rebel? Was their crime really severe enough to warrant this? If Lord Kazekage could exterminate the Beni-yama clan tonight, will it be our turn in the future?"
As fellow ninja clans, they couldn't help but worry about this.
"I think that won't happen."
"Why?"
"Whether the Beni-yama clan sold out the village or not, I don't know. But look at the location where Lord Kazekage fought the Beni-yama clan. It wasn't the Beni-yama clan's compound, but an abandoned training ground."
"If you were Lord Kazekage and planned to exterminate the Beni-yama clan, would you choose that place?"
A young man shook his head.
"No, I would worry that the Beni-yama clan members would get suspicious and run away beforehand."
A middle-aged man added, "Even if Lord Kazekage thought the Beni-yama clan members were stupid enough to come upon receiving an order, and even if he had sufficient confidence in his own strength..."
"If you were Lord Kazekage, would you really make no preparations at all? Would you rely entirely on yourself alone?"
The young man shook his head again.
"No. No matter what, I would still find some people. As Kazekage, he must have loyal ninja he can trust. Even if he didn't find ninja, setting up some explosive tags would be good."
The middle-aged man nodded.
"This explains one issue."
"It's impossible that Lord Kazekage made the Beni-yama clan go there. It can only be that the Beni-yama clan went there on their own initiative to find Lord Kazekage. That is to say, the ones who harbored killing intent from the beginning were the Beni-yama clan."
"The Beni-yama clan wanted to kill Lord Kazekage. Lord Kazekage fought back, revealed his true strength, and killed the Beni-yama clan instead."
"Lord Kazekage is the one in the right."
Hearing this, the young man felt slightly relieved.
"But why did the Beni-yama clan want to kill Lord Kazekage? And why was Lord Kazekage there at that time?"
The middle-aged man spoke.
"Regarding the Beni-yama clan, I know a thing or two. When Lord Kazekage said the Beni-yama clan sold out the village, it's actually quite possible."
"These years, the village's situation has been terrible. Most ninja clans have suffered because of the village's situation, but only the Beni-yama clan has been getting better and better."
"To say there are no secrets involved is impossible."
"Therefore, it is highly likely that Lord Kazekage found out about the Beni-yama clan selling out the village, investigated, and obtained solid evidence. The Beni-yama clan then wanted to kill Lord Kazekage before he could act against them."
"The Beni-yama clan sold out the village first."
"They committed insubordination and plotted to murder the Kazekage first."
"Therefore, we don't need to worry."
This was why Rasa had lured the Beni-yama clan out instead of attacking their compound.
In the former case, anyone who thought a few steps ahead would realize the problem lay with the Beni-yama clan.
In the latter case, it would easily make people overthink.
Additionally, choosing an abandoned training ground was also more convenient, as it reduced a lot of collateral damage.
"As for why Lord Kazekage appeared there at that time, it should be for the village, and at the same time, for Lord Kazekage's own family."
"The Uchiha bloodline is too attractive."
The commoners of the Sand Village thought Rasa married Pakura for love.
However, the village higher-ups all knew that Rasa had made that request for the sake of the village, and Pakura had agreed to that request for the sake of the village.
The middle-aged man felt that it was very normal for Rasa to be interested in the Uchiha bloodline.
The next day.
Dawn broke.
The mountain of sand still stood like a tomb.
The scent of blood had dissipated considerably.
The Beni-yama clan compound had become empty.
Last night, while the Beni-yama clan had their eyes on Rasa, the people arranged by Ebizo had their eyes on the Beni-yama clan.
The village higher-ups gathered in front of the Kazekage Building.
Just then, a figure appeared alongside Rasa, surprising them all.