Rasa's first thought was Danzo. Shimura Danzo. If Danzo agreed to an interview and actually spilled his real thoughts, the damage to Hiruzen would be devastating. The discussion it would spark would be massive.
Too bad Rasa knew Danzo didn't have the balls for it right now.
"Then it's Uchiha Yashiro."
Yashiro had the guts. He was Uchiha, his relationship with Konoha was already toxic, and tying him to the Nine-Tails incident would set the entire ninja world on fire. Rasa figured this one interview alone could pull in one or two thousand points.
The order reached the newspaper office fast.
Saki hesitated for a second. "Interviewing Uchiha Yashiro at a time like this will piss off Konoha hard. Is that really smart? Konoha's still strong—even after the Nine-Tails mess."
If the Kazekage had been anyone else, Saki might have pushed back. But this was Rasa. The man who dragged Sunagakure out of the dirt and turned it into what it was today. Rasa didn't make mistakes.
"Lord Kazekage gave the order. He has his reasons. I just need to follow it. No point overthinking."
A reporter from the Land of Water got the assignment. "Interview Uchiha Yashiro?"
He moved immediately, contacting members of the Uchiha Navigation Group and passing on the request.
Uchiha Yashiro's face twisted into a strange smile.
"They want my opinion on the Nine-Tails rampage and Minato's death? Sunagakure really doesn't give a damn about pissing off Konoha, do they?"
He grinned wider. Anything that hurt Konoha, he was in. The more enemies Konoha made, the better it was for the Uchiha. And he didn't care if Konoha started hating the Uchiha even more—they already hated them down to the bone. What was a little extra spite?
Besides, the Uchiha were a navigation group now. Out on the open sea, if things went bad they could just run. Konoha shinobi couldn't chase them forever. As for the Uchiha still stuck inside Konoha… Yashiro felt nothing for them. They chose the village over their own clan. They weren't his people anymore.
"Still… would be nice if I could steal Uchiha Itachi out of there."
Yashiro's eyes narrowed. That masked man who approached him before had said Itachi had real talent. Yashiro wasn't sure he believed it completely, but it was worth testing. If the kid really was that gifted, pulling him out early and training him right could lead to him awakening Madara's eyes one day. Then the Uchiha could take everything back.
"If we ever return to Konoha, every last one of them will pay. The Sarutobi clan. The Shimura clan. All those bastard higher-ups. And the Hyuga, the Ino-Shika-Cho… every single one."
The interview was arranged quickly.
---
Endless yellow sand stretched in every direction. Two figures faced each other.
One was human.
The other was a massive chameleon—Rasa's newest summoning beast, pulled from the powerful Summoning Beast Card. Besides its invisibility, the creature had solid combat ability. Its eyes covered a huge area, and every part of its body could be used as a weapon.
Right now Rasa was using it as a sparring partner.
"Byakugan Reconnaissance!"
A floating Byakugan wrapped in gold dust hovered high above, giving him perfect vision of the entire area. A pair of sunglasses hid his eyes so no one could tell what he was seeing.
"Come."
At Rasa's command, the chameleon charged, the ground shaking with every step. Sand flew everywhere.
Rasa raised a hand. Gold dust instantly formed into thousands of sharp needles and shot forward. The chameleon dodged with surprising speed, then leapt into the air.
Rasa looked up. More gold dust surged to meet it.
"Flowing Sand Shift!"
He vanished and reappeared beside a sand soldier. The gold dust under the chameleon lost its power and the beast crashed hard into the ground.
"Magnet Release—Gold Dust Binding Chains!"
The sand on the ground instantly formed into heavy chains and wrapped around the chameleon's limbs. At the same time—
"Antlion!"
The ground beneath the beast collapsed into a deep, swirling pit. The flowing sand dragged everything downward with terrifying force. The chameleon had no solid footing. It could only watch as its body sank deeper and deeper.
This was far stronger than ordinary quicksand.
"Stop."
Rasa willed it and the sand froze. The chameleon clawed its way out, breathing hard.
"Extremely effective against large summoning beasts."
Rasa assessed the new technique. "My high-level ninjutsu count is getting ridiculous now. Flowing Sand Shift, Sand Soldier Emergence, Ground Surface Cracking, Arc-Moon Sand Dune, Antlion, Sandification… all from draws. Plus Magnet Release, Byakugan, and two legendary swords."
He touched the Lightning Blade at his side—perfect for control when paired with his other techniques. Samehada hung on his back, its chakra absorption still absurdly strong.
"With this setup, I don't think any normal shinobi can touch me anymore. Even if Jiraiya opens Sage Mode, I can probably take him. Once his sage chakra runs out, he won't stand a chance."
Rasa looked out across the desert.
"Sunagakure has recovered enough. We can't afford to stand still. Standing still just gives everyone else an opening."