The end of the first year of the war.
Kikyo Pass.
The main force of Sunagakure and the Konoha army faced off here. Rasa led the army personally, using Magnet Release: Gold Dust to contend with Konoha in the desert.
They held the advantage initially, but Jiraiya, one of Konoha's Sannin, arrived with reinforcements, and the tide of battle turned.
Nobunaga stood in the rear, watching that man slaughter on the battlefield. Gold Dust surged toward the enemy like a tide, only to be pushed back wave after wave.
Jiraiya's hair wove through the battlefield like white snakes, claiming lives with every strike.
The battle raged from dawn until dusk.
In the end, Sunagakure retreated to the border.
That night, Nobunaga walked into Rasa's tent.
Rasa sat there with a map spread out before him.
His Kazekage robes were stained with blood—some his own, some the enemy's—but he sat perfectly straight.
"You saw it," he said.
Nobunaga nodded.
"I did."
Rasa was silent for a moment before saying, "Konoha's foundation is deeper than I thought. Only one of the Sannin came, and we couldn't hold them off."
Nobunaga remained silent.
Rasa looked up at him.
"Tell me, can we win?"
Nobunaga thought for a moment. "I don't know, but we have no way to retreat anymore."
Rasa nodded.
He lowered his head to look at the map and suddenly spoke.
"Temari... how is she?"
Nobunaga said, "In the Village, training every day. I taught her the Wind Release: Rasengan; her combat power is already stronger than an average Jonin."
Rasa was silent for a while.
"What about Kankuro?"
"He's learning Puppet Technique from Chiyo's apprentice. He's doing quite well."
"Gaara..."
Nobunaga paused. "Still training. Shukaku is somewhat unstable, but I can suppress it."
Rasa looked at him.
"Your Sharingan... how much longer can it suppress it?"
Nobunaga didn't speak. After a year of fighting side by side, he felt nothing but genuine respect for Rasa.
This was a man willing to stand up for the people of this poverty-stricken land. Though his spine might not have been made of iron, it was very straight.
This man had also taught him many things.
Rasa waited for a moment, didn't ask further, and simply said, "Get some rest. We have to fight again tomorrow."
Nobunaga stood up and walked out.
At the door, he stopped.
"Rasa," Nobunaga said, not addressing him as Lord Kazekage.
Rasa looked up.
Nobunaga said, "You asked if we could win. I don't know, but I know one thing."
Rasa watched him.
"You will stand at the very front," Nobunaga said. "And so will I."
Rasa was stunned for a moment.
Then he smiled, a very faint smile.
"That's enough."
The second year of the war.
Konoha changed its strategy, and the Sannin were redeployed.
Jiraiya led troops to pin down Kumogakure, Tsunade led troops to pin down Iwagakure, and Orochimaru led the main force to strike directly at Sunagakure.
When the news arrived, Nobunaga was organizing intelligence in the Anbu office.
The door was pushed open, and an Anbu member rushed in.
"Director! Orochimaru is leading an army into the heart of the Land of Wind! Lord Kazekage has already led troops to intercept them!"
Nobunaga stood up.
"Location?"
"The border of the Land of Rivers, thirty li west of Kikyo Pass."
Nobunaga didn't say a word. He grabbed the sword hanging on the wall and walked out.
He ran fast. The wind whipped past his ears, and sand stung his face, but he didn't stop.
He ran for an hour.
By the time he arrived, the battle was over.
Corpses were everywhere—Sunagakure's, Konoha's. The sand was dyed dark with blood, feeling sticky underfoot.
He saw Rasa.
The man was kneeling on the sand, his Kazekage robes soaked in blood. His back was still straight, but he could no longer stand.
Nobunaga ran over and knelt before him.
"Rasa!"
Rasa looked up. His eyes were already beginning to glaze over, but when he saw Nobunaga, he smiled. A very faint smile.
"Nobunaga..."
"Don't talk. I'm taking you back."
Rasa shook his head.
"It's too late."
His voice was very soft, like sand slipping through fingers.
"Orochimaru... set a trap... Jiraiya hadn't left... Minato Namikaze was there too... I fell for it..."
Besieged by the three of them, Rasa naturally couldn't win.
Nobunaga said nothing. He just looked at that face—the face that had stood up in the meeting room and said, "I will succeed."
The face that had said "blood for blood" at the succession ceremony. The face that had just asked, "Can we win?"
"Nobunaga..."
Rasa's voice grew even softer. "My children..."
He didn't finish.
Nobunaga watched as he closed his eyes.
He didn't want to believe that this figure, who had carried so much for so long, would suddenly collapse like this.
He knelt there for a long time.
The wind and sand blew against his face. He didn't dodge.
Then he stood up.
He looked down at the man.
"I will," he said.
Nobunaga turned and walked back.
After a few steps, he stopped and looked back.
Rasa lay there, the sand already beginning to bury him.
Just like the fate of every Suna shinobi.
Coming from the desert, returning to the desert.
Nobunaga stood there, looking in that direction.
Then he turned and continued walking.
On the day the news of Rasa's death reached the Village, everyone stood in the plaza.
No one spoke, no one moved; only the wind and sand blew.
Temari stood there, wearing the coat Nobunaga had given her. Her sandy-blonde hair was blown about by the wind, looking a bit messy.
Kankuro stood beside her, his eyes red, but he didn't cry. He just held the puppet he had just finished, his knuckles turning white from his grip.
Gaara stood at the back, his face pale. The sand at his feet swirled violently, flowing rapidly as if about to spiral out of control.
Nobunaga stepped out from the crowd.
He walked onto the high platform and stood there.
Everyone was looking at him.
Those gazes fell upon him.
Some expectant, some doubting, some fearful, some bewildered.
Exactly like that day in the meeting room, when everyone looked at Rasa.
Exactly the same!
Nobunaga stood there.
He remembered what Rasa had said.
"Only those who fear know what they carry."
He was afraid.
He was scared to death.
His mission wasn't finished yet, but he knew what he had to carry.
"I will succeed him," he said.
Nobunaga's voice wasn't loud, but everyone could hear it.
No one cheered; no one applauded.
There was only silence.
Chiyo stood in the crowd, watching him. Then, she nodded.
The elders glanced at each other and said nothing.
The Anbu lowered their heads.
Temari stood there, looking at Nobunaga's back.
She had watched this back for many years, starting from the first time on the Training Ground when he knelt down to wrap her bandages.
To every time he turned to leave after training. To the year he returned from an S-rank mission and draped his coat over her shoulders.
And now, Nobunaga stood in the position of Kazekage.
Temari suddenly remembered the question she had asked Nobunaga that year.
"Will you always be here?"
Now, she was finally and completely certain.