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[Sandstorm Hippo (Hippowdon)]
[Moves: Earthquake, Stealth Rock, Slack Off, Stone Edge!]
[Ability: Sand Stream!]
[Nature: Naughty!]
"Just like I thought. It really is a Sandstorm Hippo."
Rasa considered the new summon for a moment.
"High defense, excellent crowd control, and insane staying power. That Sand Stream ability will turn the battlefield into the perfect environment for Sunagakure shinobi."
"It should perform really well on the front lines."
"The only real weakness is water. I'll have to be careful with that."
"But our current enemy is Konoha, not the Hidden Mist. Konoha has plenty of Water Release users, sure, but nowhere near Mist's level of mastery."
A scorpion puppet appeared on a nearby dune. The moment it spotted Rasa, it rushed straight toward him.
It stopped right in front of him.
Rasa studied the puppet.
The Sandstorm Hippo immediately stepped in front of its master, red eyes locked on the intruder. Just minutes ago it had been glaring at Rasa with pure hostility.
Now that the contract was complete, only absolute loyalty remained.
BOOM!
Without warning, the scorpion puppet exploded. Shrapnel sprayed in every direction.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Several pieces bounced harmlessly off the hippo's armored hide.
When the smoke cleared, the puppet was gone.
In its place sat a sleek metal box.
Click.
The box opened on its own.
Inside was a helmet—elegantly crafted with a mechanical, almost artistic design.
Rasa: "..."
"This Sasori… he's clearly still pissed at me for giving him orders. Deliberately sent a self-destructing puppet. At least the explosion was weaker than a Great Fireball."
"Still, that kind of attitude isn't acceptable."
"Next time I see him, I'll have to remind the guy who the Kazekage actually is."
Rasa took the helmet and headed back to the village.
"Lord Kazekage."
Neji spotted him and immediately stood up, bowing respectfully.
Rasa gave a small nod.
"This is for you. Put it on."
"Yes, Lord Kazekage!"
Without hesitation, Neji slipped the helmet over his head.
Click.
The moment it touched him, the helmet adjusted automatically—sealing perfectly around his head and shoulders. It couldn't be removed by force, yet it felt surprisingly light and didn't restrict his movement or vision at all.
It actually looked pretty badass.
Rasa asked, "How is it?"
Neji answered immediately. "It's perfect, Lord Kazekage. Lightweight, no interference with movement, vision, or hearing. I can barely feel it."
"Good."
Rasa nodded. "From today on, you won't be using your real name anymore. I've given you a code name—Kamaitachi. The sickle weasel that rides the wind and cuts through lightning. I think you'll like it."
Rasa brought Neji straight to Ebizo.
"Lord Kazekage, who's this?"
"This is a child from the Hyuga branch family."
Rasa didn't need to hide anything from Ebizo. As one of the village's top leaders, Ebizo had proven his absolute loyalty and made enormous contributions. If Rasa was the main reason Sunagakure had reached its current strength, then Ebizo was easily top three.
Chiyo was stronger in combat, but in recent years her actual contributions to the village had been outpaced by Ebizo's work.
He had built the rumor network that still hadn't been exposed by a furious Konoha. He was also the one overseeing the Grell Stones—now officially called Devil Fruits in the village. Hundreds of lower-tier fruits had already been processed, and two superior ones were already proving their worth on the battlefield.
Neji's situation was special. He couldn't appear openly, and his Byakugan made him perfect for intelligence work. Handing him to Ebizo was the obvious choice.
"Hyuga branch family?"
Ebizo blinked, then frowned.
"Lord Kazekage… can we trust this child?"
"We can. He's Hizashi's son."
Rasa wasn't relying only on the letter. He had recognized Neji's face from the original timeline. Neji hated both the Hyuga main family and Konoha. With the right guidance from Sunagakure, the chances of him betraying them were almost zero.
Compared to that tiny risk, a pair of Byakugan was worth far more.
"This boy will be your personal disciple. You'll train him yourself. How does that sound?"
Ebizo nodded. "No problem. If you're entrusting him to me, I'll raise him properly and train him with everything I have."
"I'm counting on you."
Rasa turned to leave.
"Lord Kazekage, wait!"
Neji suddenly called out, as if he'd just remembered something.
"Hmm?"
"Lord Kazekage… could you tell me who sent me to Sunagakure?"
Rasa shook his head.
"It's not that I won't tell you. The person never revealed their identity. I don't know who it was either. And I'm pretty sure they don't want you to know."
---
Land of Wind Border
A figure arrived in front of Orochimaru.
"Lord Orochimaru."
Orochimaru looked at the man who had just appeared—Uchiha Fugaku—and raised an eyebrow.
"Uchiha Fugaku… so Hiruzen-sensei sent you."
"Yes."
"Who else did you bring?"
Fugaku answered. "Three members of the Uchiha clan—Uchiha Yakumi, Uchiha Mokuzui, and Uchiha Sekkai."
Orochimaru thought of someone else.
"I heard your clan produced a genius named Uchiha Shisui. He's already earned the title 'Shisui of the Body Flicker' at such a young age. Why didn't you bring him?"
"Lord Orochimaru, Uchiha Shisui does have talent, but he's still too young. His strength isn't ready yet."
In truth, Fugaku had wanted to bring Shisui.
Shisui had refused.
Before Kakashi had spoken to him, Shisui would have jumped at the chance.
But after joining the Akatsuki, everything had changed.
The more intense the fighting on the front lines became, and the worse Konoha's situation grew, the better the opportunity to gather information on the Tailed Beasts.
Shisui still didn't know exactly how the Akatsuki planned to save this broken ninja world.
But he no longer believed there was a better path.
"Where is the Nine-Tails jinchuriki?"
Uchiha Shisui stood on a high cliff, eyes scanning the horizon.