"Sunagakure, Iwagakure, Kirigakure—I'm not letting any of them off the hook."
"The Uchiha and Takechi clans too."
"Anyone who even smells suspicious, I'll make them pay ten times over."
---
Sunagakure.
Rasa stared at the system panel. The points counter was climbing fast. Ebizo's rumor campaign was working.
But the emotion points were coming in slower than he'd expected.
"This doesn't feel right," he muttered. "Danzo's in this rumor. A guy that paranoid should be losing his mind right now."
He glanced back at the Versus Points Exchange Card description.
"Versus… versus…"
A slow grin spread across his face.
"Ah. I get it now."
"Danzo has to know it's me coming after him. Last time I nailed him with that front-page headline about his failed assassination plot, he knew exactly who pulled the trigger. This time the rumors are quiet. He doesn't realize I'm the one stirring the pot."
Rasa made his decision on the spot.
"Third issue of the Ninja World Big Events Weekly. I'm putting something in there that'll make Danzo's blood boil."
---
The Mist Village reparations were still dragging. Too many items on the list, too much red tape. But Pakura was handling it, so Rasa could focus elsewhere.
The Sun Disk.
At his command the entire village snapped into motion. Every available shinobi squad was handed a list and sent out to acquire the rare materials needed for the first Sun Disk.
The rank-and-file had no idea why their Kazekage suddenly wanted this massive project. They didn't understand why Sunagakure was burning through so many resources on what looked like a giant solar collector.
But Rasa's word was law now.
After crushing Kirigakure, his prestige had soared. He wasn't quite Hashirama-level yet, but he was damn close. Most Sand shinobi believed he had single-handedly saved the village from extinction. They obeyed without question.
Chiyo was already hunched over the blueprint in her workshop, eyes gleaming. Even after learning Scorpion was still alive, she hadn't let herself hope. If the boy was alive, why hadn't he come home? So she poured her energy into this new puzzle instead.
"Convert sunlight straight into usable energy?" she murmured. "How the hell does that work?"
"If I could adapt even a fraction of this for puppets… chakra-free movement? Or massive destructive jutsu with almost no cost?"
She was hooked.
---
Rasa chose the construction site himself—right beside the village's small oasis.
The sun was brutal here. Sandstorms constantly tried to swallow the green patch. The war had kept everyone too busy to protect it, and the oasis was shrinking by the day.
His reasoning was simple.
One: the Sun Disk would help defend the only fertile ground they had.
Two: the massive structure would act as a windbreak.
Three: the stored energy could pull water from the air and keep the oasis alive.
He spread a map of the Land of Wind across his desk.
A huge country, mostly desert and barren rock. Real farmland only existed in thin strips near the northern border. North of that was the Land of Rain—constant downpours. East was the Land of Rivers, still water-poor. South was endless sand sea. West was even bigger desert.
Two ways to fix this place.
Option one: steal water from the Land of Rain and irrigate the desert. But that meant dealing with Hanzō and Nagato—neither of whom were exactly friendly. Plus any water brought in would first benefit the Land of Wind daimyo. Rasa still hadn't forgiven that fat bastard for giving almost nothing when the Mist army invaded.
He wasn't about to hand the daimyo free farmland and let the man tighten his grip on Sunagakure.
Option two: pull water from the southern sand sea and desalinate it with Sun Disk energy. No daimyo involvement. No political strings.
That was the move.
He dispatched a scouting team to map the terrain and find the best route.
---
Later that afternoon Rasa walked into the newspaper office.
"Lord Kazekage," Saki greeted him with a bow.
"Saki. You got the headline for the next issue locked in yet?"
"Not yet, sir."
Rasa smiled coldly.
"Then use this one."
He leaned in and spoke quietly. Saki's eyes widened, then he nodded hard.
"Understood. We'll make sure it hits hard."
Rasa turned to leave, already imagining Danzo's face when he read the next edition.
"Time to remind that old snake exactly who's coming for him."