"The Akayama Clan rebelled against their superior and attempted to assassinate me, their Kazekage. I have already suppressed them."
"From this day forth, the Akayama name will be stripped from Sunagakure."
"I will assign personnel to thoroughly investigate the clan's rebellion. I will not wrong a single innocent person. But those who sold out the village and raised their hands against their superior... their crimes are unforgivable."
"Those who are guilty will be executed without exception."
Rasa spoke slowly and calmly.
Yet the calmer he was, the more clearly everyone present could feel the murderous chill in the air.
Rasa looked at the crowd once more.
"It's late. Go home and get some rest."
"Tomorrow morning, I will hold a full village assembly. I expect all of you to be there on time."
The crowd answered in unison.
"Yes, Kazekage-sama."
Rasa turned and began to walk away.
Then he stopped suddenly, looked back at Uchiha Hanatsuki, and frowned.
"Hanatsuki, what are you standing there for? We're leaving."
Only then did Hanatsuki come back to herself, hurrying after him.
The crowd gradually dispersed.
But this night was destined to be sleepless.
Especially for Sunagakure's upper echelon.
Tonight, the sky over Sunagakure had changed.
"Since when was Kazekage-sama this strong?"
"So many sand puppets, and none of them weak either—what kind of jutsu was that?"
"Wasn't it said that Kazekage-sama's techniques were all derived from the Third Kazekage-sama? But I don't remember the Third Kazekage-sama ever using anything like that. Don't tell me... Kazekage-sama developed it himself?"
"If that's true, then doesn't that mean Kazekage-sama has already surpassed the Third Kazekage-sama?"
The first thing everyone discussed was Rasa's strength.
And truthfully, the scene earlier had been too shocking.
Three hundred sand puppets forming a siege.
Aerial bombardment from high above.
And then the final, crushing Great Gold Sand Funeral.
"That's right. Strength like that has already surpassed the Third Kazekage-sama. The strongest Kazekage in history is no longer the Third—it is the current Kazekage-sama. And for Sunagakure, that is a blessing."
"Our village has always been weak."
"In resources, in shinobi... even our Kage has always been considered inferior to those of the other villages."
"But now, we finally have a Kazekage whose power is truly formidable. Compared to the Kage of the other four great villages, he no longer falls short at all."
"At the very least, he is no longer the weakest one."
Some began comparing the strength of the various Kage and trying to rank them.
Onoki's name and Hiruzen Sarutobi's came up again and again.
After all, Iwagakure and Konoha were both strong villages now.
And those two were veteran Kage with established records in war.
As for who was strongest, no clear conclusion emerged.
Most leaned toward Onoki because of Dust Release, a Kekkei Tota.
But some argued that Hiruzen Sarutobi's combined ninjutsu was terrifying, and Enma was no weak summon either.
For members of the ninja clans, however, a different concern occupied their minds.
"Did the Akayama Clan really rebel? Were their crimes truly severe enough to warrant this? If Kazekage-sama can wipe out the Akayama Clan in a single night, then... will one of our clans be next?"
As fellow ninja clans, they could not help but feel uneasy.
"I doubt it."
"Why?"
"Because I'm not sure whether the Akayama Clan truly sold out the village—but look at where Kazekage-sama fought them. Not at the Akayama compound, but at an abandoned training ground."
"If you were Kazekage-sama and intended to exterminate the Akayama Clan, would you choose a place like that?"
The young man shook his head.
"No. I'd worry they'd grow suspicious and run before I could act."
The middle-aged man continued, "And even if Kazekage-sama thought the Akayama Clan was foolish enough to come the moment they were told—and even if he had absolute confidence in his own strength—"
"If you were Kazekage-sama, would you really make no preparations at all? Rely only on yourself?"
The younger man shook his head again.
"No. No matter what, I'd still bring some people. As Kazekage, I'd definitely have some loyal shinobi I could trust. And if not shinobi, then at least some explosive tags."
The middle-aged man nodded.
"And that proves one thing."
"It could not have been Kazekage-sama who lured the Akayama Clan there."
"It could only have been that the Akayama Clan sought out Kazekage-sama on their own. Which means the ones who harbored murderous intent first were the Akayama Clan."
"The Akayama Clan tried to kill Kazekage-sama. Kazekage-sama retaliated, revealed his true strength, and destroyed them instead."
"Kazekage-sama was the one in the right."
Hearing that, the young man felt somewhat relieved.
"But why did the Akayama Clan try to kill Kazekage-sama in the first place? And why did Kazekage-sama happen to be there at that time?"
The middle-aged man replied, "I know a thing or two about the Akayama Clan. When Kazekage-sama said they sold out the village... I'd say that's very possible."
"All these years, the village's situation has worsened, and most ninja clans have declined with it. Yet the Akayama Clan alone kept growing stronger and stronger."
"If there wasn't some secret behind that, I'd be shocked."
"So the most likely explanation is that Kazekage-sama discovered their betrayal and obtained solid evidence. The Akayama Clan then decided to kill Kazekage-sama before he could move against them."
"The Akayama Clan betrayed the village first."
"They plotted to murder the Kazekage first."
"So we have no reason to worry."
That was exactly why Rasa had chosen to lure the Akayama Clan out instead of attacking their compound directly.
With the former, anyone who thought a few steps deeper would realize the real problem lay with the Akayama Clan.
With the latter, it would be far too easy for others to draw darker conclusions.
And by choosing the abandoned training ground, he had also greatly reduced the chance of collateral damage.
"As for why Kazekage-sama happened to appear there at that hour... I'd say it was partly for the village, and partly for his own family."
"The Uchiha bloodline is simply too tempting."
Sunagakure's civilians believed Rasa had married Pakura for love.
But the village's upper echelon knew the truth—that Rasa had made that proposal for the sake of the village, and that Pakura had accepted it for the village as well.
So in the middle-aged man's view, it was only natural that Rasa would take interest in Uchiha blood.
The next day—
Dawn came.
The sand mound still stood like a grave.
The smell of blood had faded somewhat.
The Akayama Clan compound had become empty and silent.
The moment the Akayama Clan had fixed its gaze upon Rasa the previous night, the people Ebizo had arranged had likewise turned their eyes upon the Akayama Clan.
Now the village's upper echelon had all gathered in front of the Kazekage Building.
And then, at that moment, a figure appeared beside Rasa—
A figure whose presence surprised them all.
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