Chiyo's voice was old and rough, barely louder than the wind scraping across desert stone.
It shouldn't have carried over the rising arguments in the room.
But the moment she spoke...
"You are the backbone of this village. I want your judgment."
Every whisper died.
Instantly.
That alone proved how much weight her name still held in Sand Village.
After a brief silence, a broad-shouldered Jonin in his forties cleared his throat.
"Lady Chiyo… with the Third Kazekage missing, we should deploy every available shinobi and sweep the village again. Leave no alley, no tunnel unchecked."
It was the obvious answer. The safe answer. The one most of them were already thinking.
The Kazekage wasn't just a political leader.
He was the keystone holding the entire structure together.
Chiyo gave a small nod.
Then she turned her gaze toward Ethan.
"Rasa. Your thoughts?"
She had been studying every reaction since making the announcement.
Most showed shock, anger, and Fear.
Rasa alone had remained steady.
Too steady.
That was why she chose him first.
Ethan had already prepared himself.
He lifted his head and met her eyes.
"Lady Chiyo… I don't believe that's the right move."
Every head in the room snapped toward him.
He didn't waver.
"You know my sensei's character. The Third Kazekage would never leave the village without notice, especially not with both of his personal guards."
"If that possibility is eliminated… only one remains."
A measured pause.
"He may have been killed."
"And the most likely location… is here. Inside the village."
Chiyo's half-lidded eyes opened fully.
Before she could respond, the broad-shouldered Jonin shot to his feet.
"Rasa, choose your words carefully!" he barked. "The Third Kazekage was the strongest in our history! You're suggesting he was assassinated inside his own village?"
Another Jonin stood.
"He was a battlefield legend! Who could eliminate him and two elite guards without raising an alarm?"
A third joined in.
"And within the village? Without leaving a trace? That's impossible!"
More Jonin rose, anger flashing across their faces.
Even those who remained seated stared at Ethan with open hostility.
The Third Kazekage wasn't just their leader.
He was the symbol that had allowed the Sand Village, long overshadowed by larger nations, to stand tall without apology.
Ethan's statement struck at their pride.
But he stayed calm.
He kept his eyes only on Chiyo.
"Lady Chiyo. You fought in the First and Second Great Ninja Wars."
His voice was steady.
"Answer me honestly. If we compared the Third Kazekage to the strongest Kage the other Great Villages have produced… would he rank among the top five?"
Silence.
Heavy.
Suffocating.
Chiyo did not answer.
She didn't need to.
Her expression said enough.
Sand Village had always struggled with fewer resources, fewer prodigies, and harsher land.
The Third Kazekage was their strongest.
But that was within their own borders.
Compared to the legends of other nations...
He was formidable.
But not invincible.
The Jonin who had shouted first slowly sat down.
One by one, the others followed.
Pride could not rewrite reality.
The tension in the chamber thickened.
Most of them had already reached the same conclusion in private.
They just hadn't dared to say it aloud.
.
.
.
Finally, the broad-shouldered Jonin. Aoki broke the silence, frustration cracking his voice.
"Even if that's true… we still have to find him. No assassin is flawless. There must be evidence somewhere."
Ethan looked at him.
Rasa's memories surfaced.
Aoki is a powerful puppeteer. Straightforward. Blunt. One of the village's strongest assets.
The lack of ceremonial markings on his face said enough.
True strength didn't need decoration.
Ethan shook his head slightly.
"We can mobilize a search. But the moment we do it openly, the other villages will notice."
He let that sink in.
"It's been ten years since the Second Great Ninja War. We all know the current balance."
Aoki exhaled heavily.
Everyone understood.
Sand Village had never fully recovered.
The Leaf and the Cloud were already operating at full capacity again.
If they discovered that the Kazekage was gone...
They wouldn't hesitate.
Not out of hatred.
Not out of rivalry.
Because weakness invites invasion.
That was the shinobi world.
Chiyo's lips trembled as she finally spoke.
The steel in her voice had faded, replaced with something raw.
"Then… Rasa… what do you propose?"
The room stiffened.
For Chiyo to ask that openly meant she was prepared to follow his lead.
No one objected.
Instead, as one, the Jonin turned toward him.
This time not with anger.
With expectation.
Pakura turned fully in her seat as well.
Her sharp eyes shimmered with something new.
Hope.
The calm logic. The refusal to hide from reality. The courage to speak hard truths before veteran Jonin...
It reshaped her image of him.
She had always thought of Rasa as silent and distant.
Now she saw someone perceptive.
Strategic.
Fearless under pressure.
Without realizing it, her heartbeat quickened.
Warmth spread through her chest, unfamiliar and disorienting.
Pakura had devoted her life to missions and training.
She had no experience with softer emotions.
She didn't recognize what was unfolding inside her.
But there was a word for it.
Admiration.
The early stirrings of affection.
Ethan, unaware of the emotional shift beside him, took a quiet breath.
They were listening.
In the original timeline, Sand Village's decision had been predictable.
Panic.
Mobilize every shinobi.
Search relentlessly.
Broadcast vulnerability to the entire continent.
The Cloud Village had deduced the truth almost immediately.
War followed.
The Third Great Ninja War ignited.
Sand Village, still scarred from the last conflict, was crushed again.
Later, desperation would push the future Fourth Kazekage into a decision that would stain the village forever.
Pakura would be sent alone to Mist Village under the guise of diplomacy.
In reality, she would be sacrificed to secure temporary peace.
Executed as part of negotiations.
She would die believing it was an official mission.
And even that sacrifice would not truly save the village.
By the time Naruto Uzumaki became a genin, the Sand Village was still struggling to rebuild.
Ethan refused to let that future repeat.
Not if he could rewrite it.
Not if he had foreknowledge.
Not if he had a system.
He would not allow history to run on autopilot.
Not this time.
---