"Why is Sunagakure deliberately provoking the Leaf?"
Faced with Konan's question, Sasori stayed silent for a moment.
"I don't know. I don't understand Rasa. We've barely crossed paths. None of this makes sense to me either."
Sasori had no intention of sharing more with Konan.
For one thing, he genuinely didn't know much. He had already left Sunagakure before Rasa became Kazekage. Everything that had changed in the village was Rasa's doing. The only thing Sasori knew about was the Sun Disk — and even then, he only knew the name and what it looked like. He had no idea what it actually did.
Second, Sasori had noticed how differently the Akatsuki treated him compared to Kakashi. His strength was greater than Kakashi's. He could contribute more. Yet the organization clearly favored Kakashi far more. That left a bitter taste in his mouth.
If it weren't for the Akatsuki's overwhelming power — and Rasa's personal request — Sasori would have already walked away.
Konan nodded.
"Fine. Then I'm giving you a mission. Go find out why Sunagakure is targeting the Leaf."
"Understood."
Two days later.
Sunagakure. Kazekage Tower.
Rasa looked at the newspaper shinobi standing in front of him with a strange expression.
"Kakashi Hatake?"
"Yes, Lord Kazekage."
The shinobi continued, "Kakashi Hatake contacted one of our people. He wants one of our reporters to meet him near the Land of Rain. He wants to talk about the Leaf. Should we accept, Lord Kazekage?"
Rasa's eyebrow rose.
"Of course. Why wouldn't we?"
Kakashi's sudden appearance only confirmed what Rasa had already suspected.
The Kakashi walking around Konoha was 100% a fake — someone Hiruzen had ordered to use Transformation Technique.
The Leaf had shown a clear weakness.
And now the real Kakashi was stepping forward on his own.
Rasa wasn't about to let this opportunity slip away.
"Once Kakashi's interview runs in the Ninja World Big Events Weekly, public opinion against the Leaf is going to explode."
"It'll give me an enormous amount of points."
A glint of anticipation appeared in Rasa's eyes.
"And Hiruzen Sarutobi's reputation is going to take another massive hit."
The newspaper shinobi left Sunagakure and headed quickly toward the Land of Rain. He moved quietly — no one noticed, and no one cared.
Because at that exact moment, Sunagakure had something far more eye-catching happening.
The Mechanism Sand Boat public test.
Red Mountain Lieg and several puppet masters had worked at incredible speed and already produced twenty Sand Boats.
Rasa had deliberately invited the merchants who regularly traded with Sunagakure, along with several nobles from the Land of Wind, to come witness the demonstration.
Out in the endless desert, twenty sleek Sand Boats stood lined up in perfect formation.
The crowd gathered near the village wall.
"So that's the Mechanism Sand Boat?"
"A ship that can sail through the desert?"
"It looks pretty impressive… but how fast is it? What powers it? Will it actually help with transport across the dunes?"
A Sunagakure shinobi answered proudly.
"This is our village's creation. If it was only as good as the old transport methods, why would we show it off?"
"The Sand Boat is a revolutionary improvement for desert travel."
"Once you try it, you'll never want to go back to the old ways."
The visiting merchants' eyes lit up slightly at the praise, but they remained cautious. Without experiencing it themselves, they weren't going to believe the hype. That was just how merchants operated.
People chatted excitedly about the boats' appearance and performance… until Rasa arrived.
"Lord Kazekage!"
Everyone turned toward him.
Rasa hovered in the air, supported by a platform of gold sand.
He looked down at the crowd.
"Welcome, everyone, to Sunagakure. Today we're holding a public test for the Mechanism Sand Boats. These twenty vessels are for you to try personally."
"You can form twenty teams. One team per boat."
"Each boat will have a Sunagakure shinobi onboard to assist you with operation."
"After you experience it for yourselves, you can decide whether or not to purchase."
As soon as Rasa finished speaking, the crowd quickly split into groups — nobles with nobles, merchants with merchants. The smaller traders who had no one to team up with were left scattered.
There was no helping it. Only twenty boats existed. Rasa couldn't accommodate everyone.
The moment Sunagakure announced they had created something that could revolutionize desert transport, interest had been enormous. With the village's credibility now rock-solid, many people had come running.
Twenty teams boarded the twenty Sand Boats. Those left behind watched with obvious envy.
Onboard, Sunagakure shinobi began explaining the controls.
"This is the steering wheel. Turn it to change direction."
"There are three ways to power the boat."
"Human power."
"Ninja chakra."
"And the energy core provided by Sunagakure."
The passengers immediately started testing.
Some used human power — over a dozen people sat at the drive seats and pedaled hard.
Others placed their hands on the chakra transfer module.
"It's fast!"
"This speed is excellent!"
"The conversion efficiency is high too. Way better than the old transport tools. With the same human effort we're getting more than double the speed."
"Chakra consumption is a bit high, but once we hit top speed the efficiency improves. With enough shinobi we could reach the Land of Wind capital in a single day."
But the biggest surprise was the energy core.
It wasn't a ninja, yet it contained far more chakra than any single person.
"This energy core is specially made by Sunagakure. One full charge can take you from Sunagakure to the capital and back with energy to spare. No range anxiety at all."
The crowd's eyes shone even brighter.
"I'll take it!"
"This one's mine!"
"I want two!"
"I'll buy ten!"
...
While Sunagakure buzzed with excitement, the atmosphere in Konoha was far more subdued.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood with his head tilted back, staring at the massive stone faces carved into the mountain wall. He frowned.
"I don't know why… but I have a bad feeling."