With a thought, Rasa issued an order to the sand soldiers.
The next moment, the sand soldiers raised the long spears in their hands, caught up to the fleeing bandits, and thrust forward.
Rasa drew several shuriken and took aim.
"Wind Release: Shuriken!"
Under the enhancement of Wind Release chakra, the shuriken became faster, sharper, and covered a wider cutting range.
Puchi!
One sand bandit's neck was severed on the spot.
Another was cut cleanly through the waist, his body splitting into two halves.
"Kazekage-sama, spare me!"
"I have value!"
"I'm very valuable!"
"I'm from Kusagakure!"
Rasa's brows furrowed.
"Talk."
The last remaining sand bandit hurriedly said, "Kazekage-sama, I was sent by Kusagakure. They ordered me to do this—disguise myself as a sand bandit and infiltrate the Land of Wind."
"On one hand, I was supposed to investigate Sunagakure's situation."
"On the other hand, I was supposed to rob caravans in the Land of Wind and provide funds for Kusagakure."
Rasa's eyes narrowed slightly.
He knew Kusagakure was bold.
When Sunagakure had been weak, Kusagakure had come to take advantage of the situation before.
A mere minor shinobi village.
They had no idea how much they actually weighed.
Now that Sunagakure had already won a major victory against Kirigakure, Kusagakure still dared to make these petty moves.
To be honest, Rasa was almost impressed.
Not because he thought they were powerful.
But because they truly had no brains.
"Then again, for trash like Kusagakure, even after obtaining the bloodline of the Uzumaki Clan, they still couldn't use it properly. It would be strange if they had brains. No wonder they've been reduced to a battlefield more than once."
"With Sunagakure's current situation, it really isn't suitable for a large-scale war."
"On one hand, Sunagakure's shinobi are already tired."
"Not just physically. More importantly, mentally."
"The war has dragged on for far too long."
"On the other hand, the construction of the Solar Disk requires a tremendous investment of manpower and resources."
"If Sunagakure gets dragged into a large-scale war, it will affect that project."
Inside Sunagakure, quite a few people still did not fully understand the construction of the Solar Disk.
Because they did not know enough.
But with Rasa's prestige now standing at its peak, as long as it was Rasa's order, no one would oppose it.
Rasa was certain that once the Solar Disk was completed, it would bring enormous benefits to Sunagakure.
"Sunagakure cannot fight a large-scale war right now."
"But dealing with a mere Kusagakure doesn't require a large-scale war at all."
As it happened, Kusagakure also had things Rasa was interested in.
The Ryūzetsu Reincarnation Technique.
A special bloodline secret technique that could use one's own life as the price to revive someone who had died not long ago.
Its effect was similar to the One's Own Life Reincarnation that Chiyo had researched.
There were also the Uzumaki members in Kusagakure.
Karin Uzumaki, and Karin Uzumaki's mother.
Among the Uzumaki Clan, their constitutions could be considered special.
They could be called blood packs.
After someone was injured, all they needed to do was bite them once, and they could recover quickly.
Even if the effect was not necessarily better than medicine, it was better than most medical ninjutsu.
Kusagakure's use of the two of them was far too wasteful.
They let all kinds of garbage use them for treatment.
Pure waste.
If they were in Sunagakure, Rasa definitely would not do that.
Instead, he would treat them as important resources and protect them carefully.
At critical moments, they would have great use.
Only at critical moments could their value be maximized.
But even with Kusagakure's wasteful method of use, Karin Uzumaki's mother had still survived for so long before finally being exhausted to death. That alone proved that the two of them were indeed durable.
Durability meant high value.
There was also Hozuki Castle's Fire Release technique. Rasa had some interest in that as well.
It could restrict the chakra inside a shinobi's body and prevent the target from using it. In addition, if the target moved too far away from the caster, it would trigger the Fire Release mechanism, causing flames to erupt.
Burning the target to death from the inside out.
And then there was the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
A legendary Six Paths ninja tool.
It was said to be able to grant any wish.
"The witness is already here. If I make a move against Kusagakure, it will be perfectly reasonable."
"No one can accuse me of anything."
Rasa looked at the sand bandit.
"What's your name?"
"Kusayanagi."
"Very well, Kusayanagi. I can spare your life. But I need you to serve as a witness and explain to the shinobi world how Kusagakure ordered you to invade Sunagakure."
"No problem, Kazekage-sama. I'll absolutely cooperate."
Kusayanagi nodded heavily.
Compared to staying alive, what was Kusagakure worth?
He had never been treated well in Kusagakure to begin with.
Rasa nodded.
A mass of Gold Dust condensed into the shape of a rope, binding Kusayanagi tightly from head to toe.
Then another mass of Gold Dust appeared beneath Rasa's feet.
Carrying him into the sky.
Yata Crow flew over.
Rasa landed with both feet on Yata Crow's back.
The Gold Dust rope bound Kusayanagi like a rice dumpling and threw him onto the back behind him.
Yata Crow flapped its wings and swiftly flew in the direction of the Land of Fire.
One massive ship after another arrived at the port, all loaded with goods. Kirigakure shinobi stood on the decks, fully alert.
These were all reparations Kirigakure was paying to Sunagakure.
If they were lost, the consequences would be extremely serious.
Genji and Kisame Hoshigaki stood on the deck.
Sea wind blew past in waves.
Genji sighed.
Even though he had been willing to sacrifice himself for the village, when this day truly arrived, he still felt some resistance.
Genji did not want to die yet.
There were still many things he wanted to do.
Things for the village.
Strengthening the village's economy. Cultivating talent for the village.
Especially Mei Terumi. Genji had placed great hopes on her.
She had the potential to become Mizukage in the future.
And Genji believed that under his guidance, Mei Terumi would definitely surpass both the Third Mizukage and the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura.
At that time, Kirigakure would rise once again.
"Sunagakure…"
"Do they hate me that much?"
"Because Kirigakure once made similar demands of Sunagakure, I can understand why Sunagakure would do this."
"But what meaning is there in killing an old man like me?"
"And Kisame Hoshigaki too."
Genji glanced at Kisame.
After Rasa had used Hoshigaki Goki to do something like that, Genji knew Kisame's thoughts had definitely changed.
"I'm certain Kisame was requested by Sunagakure."
"Does Sunagakure think Kisame has high potential?"
"Or does the Hoshigaki Clan have some secret?"
A Kirigakure shinobi approached in small steps.
"Genji-sama, it's time to disembark."
Genji came back to himself.
"Kisame, let's go together."
"Yes, Genji-sama."
Not long after—
On an empty stretch of flat land, one side held Sunagakure's shinobi and prisoners, while the other held Kirigakure's shinobi and supplies.
The two sides were about to begin a historic meeting.
War reparations.