Ebizo continued,
"And honestly, if such a thing were pinned on Senju Tobirama and Hiruzen Sarutobi… it would sound fairly believable."
"Everyone knows Senju Tobirama despised the Uchiha, and Hiruzen Sarutobi has always been the sort who loves credit and glory."
Sunagakure had fought Konoha for many years. Ebizo had never held even the slightest favorable impression of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
After all, his sister Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law had both died at the hands of Konoha shinobi.
Sasori of the Red Sand had sunk into misery over his parents' deaths, and then vanished several years ago without a trace.
They had searched all across the Land of Wind and found nothing.
He was likely already dead.
That string of blows had broken Chiyo's spirit. She had retired outright and gone into seclusion in a corner of the village.
Ebizo's hatred for Konoha ran deep.
"Besides, the Uchiha clan's resentment toward Konoha's higher-ups didn't begin yesterday. With their extreme temperament, if they believe it, they definitely won't let it pass as though nothing happened."
Ebizo had studied the Uchiha quite thoroughly.
"Exactly."
Rasa nodded. That was one of the reasons he had chosen this particular rumor.
"I'll leave this matter to you. Use everything you have. Hold nothing back."
Ebizo nodded heavily.
"Yes, Kazekage-sama."
As Ebizo departed, the sky gradually darkened.
Only after finishing the documents on his desk did Rasa head toward home.
Along the way, villagers greeted him respectfully almost without exception.
"Kazekage-sama!"
"Good evening, Kazekage-sama!"
Some of the children looked at Rasa with open admiration in their eyes.
"So that's Kazekage-sama? He's so cool!"
"One day, I'm going to become Kazekage too! Just like Kazekage-sama, I'll protect Sunagakure!"
…
Rasa found the feeling rather pleasant.
High position.
Power.
Money.
And in a few days, he'd be taking a new wife—beautiful and strong.
The only problem was that Sunagakure's current situation was far too grim.
But it wouldn't stay that way forever.
Rasa glanced at the panel.
[Name: Rasa]
[Identity: Fourth Kazekage]
[Ninjutsu: Eye of Detection, etc.]
[Taijutsu: Basic Taijutsu]
[Genjutsu: None]
[Bloodline Limit: Magnet Release - Gold Dust]
[Remaining Activations: 0]
[Remaining Points: 6]
"Looks like Ebizo has already started moving."
"This is one of the advantages of being Kazekage. I only need to give the order—others will handle the actual work. I don't have to do everything myself."
"And compared to Konoha's Danzo, Sunagakure's Ebizo is far more reliable. He doesn't have so many crooked schemes in his head."
When he arrived home, the residence of the Kazekage was stylistically no different from anyone else's house in Sunagakure.
It was simply larger, with better furnishings, and more luxurious overall.
The moment he stepped into the courtyard, the wind ceased.
"Father!"
A tiny figure came wobbling toward him in a clumsy run.
Rasa smiled and rubbed the child's head.
"Temari, were you naughty today?"
Two-year-old Temari shook her little head so quickly it was almost a blur.
"No! I was very good today. I even helped Mother."
She tilted her face up at him, her whole expression screaming for praise.
"Well, that's wonderful. What a good girl."
Rasa did not hold back his praise at all.
Temari's eyes instantly curved into delighted crescents.
Then another figure walked out from inside, holding a one-year-old boy in her arms.
She had a gentle temperament, sandy-brown hair draped over her shoulders, and wore soft household clothes.
Her face was delicate, though faintly tired.
This… was his wife.
"Karura."
"My husband."
"Put Kankuro down and come to the study on the third floor. I have something to discuss with you."
Karura turned back inside, placed Kankuro in his cradle, and closed the door.
Rasa spent a little while playing with Temari.
Not long after, the two of them made their way to the third floor.
Bang.
Once the doors and windows were shut, the study turned quiet.
Rasa led Karura over to the window.
The elevation here was fairly high, enough to overlook nearly half of Sunagakure.
Among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Sunagakure's environment was by far the harshest—its land the most barren, its resources the most scarce.
Yellow sand stretched everywhere.
Sandstorms rose again and again.
Fine grains drifted constantly through the air.
Years of war had only made Sunagakure's condition even worse.
"My husband… did something happen in the village again?"
Rasa let out a sigh.
"The front lines are going badly. Several ninja villages are eyeing our borders. To break Sunagakure, Kirigakure has even spread a divisive rumor inside our village."
"The damage this rumor can cause is immense."
"It has already thrown the village into endless arguments and shattered morale. Sunagakure's condition has reached a level of crisis worse than ever before. We may already be on the brink of collapse."
"For the sake of the village, I proposed that in three days, I will take Pakura as my second wife."
"It is the only way to quickly dispel the rumor, make my position unmistakably clear to the village, unite everyone again, and restore morale."
At his side, Karura's body swayed faintly.
But she quickly steadied herself and returned to that same gentle expression, reaching out to place her hand in Rasa's.
"My husband… I'm alright. I understand."
"You and Sister Pakura… are both doing this for the village."
"As your wife, I cannot help you with the village's affairs. But I absolutely will not become a burden to you or create more trouble for you."
"And besides… Sister Pakura marrying into the family is not necessarily a bad thing."
Rasa looked at Karura deeply and tightened his grip on her hand, saying nothing.
Karura took the initiative and leaned against him.
They stayed that way for a long time.
Then, at last, a knock sounded outside.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Father! Mother! Why aren't you coming out yet? Kankuro won't behave! He's crying so loudly, it's so annoying! I can't calm him down—can I hit him?"
At the sound of Temari's voice, Karura came back to herself and hurried out.
"Don't go around hitting your little brother whenever you feel like it."
…
…
The Land of Fire.
An Uchiha who had returned from the battlefield was drinking and cursing Konoha's higher-ups, bitterly venting the unfair treatment the Uchiha had suffered within the village.
Then suddenly—
Fragments of conversation about the Uchiha drifted into his ears.
At first he paid them no mind.
But the more he listened, the more he thought…
And the more he thought, the more plausible it seemed.
"I knew there was something wrong with Kagami-senpai's case back then. Hiruzen Sarutobi's version is full of holes."
"If Hiruzen Sarutobi really was the first to volunteer to stay behind, then why did Kagami-senpai still die? After Senju Tobirama died, shouldn't the second person to stay behind have been Hiruzen?"
"Or was he just saying one thing and doing another?"
"No matter what, what they told us definitely wasn't the truth!"
"And Senju Tobirama always hated us Uchiha to the bone. Taking Kagami-senpai as a disciple had to be part of some scheme. That damned evil old Senju bastard!"
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