News spread that Jiraiya had disappeared, then reappeared again.
Rasa immediately understood where that sudden wave of points had come from.
"Most likely, Jiraiya really did disappear."
"The Jiraiya currently in Konoha is the same as Kakashi—a fake. Someone Hiruzen Sarutobi arranged to impersonate him with the Transformation Technique. The real Jiraiya must be somewhere else."
A name surfaced in Rasa's mind.
Mount Myoboku.
For Jiraiya, if there was any place that could make him feel safer than Konoha, it could only be Mount Myoboku.
"In that case, it proves Jiraiya no longer trusts Hiruzen Sarutobi."
"And Hiruzen Sarutobi no longer trusts Jiraiya either."
"But…"
"With Jiraiya disappearing like this, how am I supposed to gain points next?"
Last time, Kakashi had come forward on his own to accept an interview.
But this time, Rasa felt the chance of Jiraiya accepting an interview was not high.
Jiraiya had probably only lost trust in Hiruzen Sarutobi. He had not completely torn apart all pretenses yet.
Otherwise, Jiraiya would have come to Sunagakure of his own initiative.
"In addition, Jiraiya's signature ninjutsu can also be explained away by Konoha using the fact that he is now disabled."
Rasa's gaze shifted toward the forged suicide note he had obtained in the last draw.
[Forged Suicide Note (Konoha Jonin Edition)]
You may fabricate the contents of a suicide note. After using [Forged Suicide Note (Konoha Jonin Edition)], the note will complete itself and later appear randomly under the name of a Konoha jonin.
"Use the forged suicide note…"
After that, Rasa summoned Ebizo.
"Kazekage-sama."
"Ebizo, there is something I need you to do."
Rasa said, "I need your rumor team to spread a message throughout the Land of Fire. Say that according to internal information from Sunagakure, I, the Kazekage, am deeply wary of Jiraiya's strength."
"The reason I was able to defeat Jiraiya was because I received outside help."
"Say that whenever someone asks me about this matter, I fly into a rage out of embarrassment."
Ebizo froze for a moment.
"Kazekage-sama, why would you do this? This will negatively affect your reputation."
Rasa shook his head.
"That bit of reputation is not important. What matters is that according to the information I have received, an obvious crack has already appeared between Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya. I want to make them break completely."
"That way, Konoha's strength will be weakened considerably."
"Those old subordinates of Jiraiya will grow dissatisfied with Konoha."
"At the same time, Mount Myoboku will no longer stand on the same side as Konoha."
"I have a feeling that war between us and Konoha is not far away. At a time like this, weakening Konoha's strength matters more than anything else. For the sake of the village, what does this small sacrifice of mine count for?"
Ebizo was visibly moved.
"Kazekage-sama, I will go at once."
After leaving the Kazekage Building, Ebizo could not help but look back again and again.
"Kazekage-sama truly is great."
"To weaken Konoha, he is willing to sacrifice his own reputation."
"For a ninja standing at the very peak of the shinobi world, very few could do something to this extent."
"Each of them cherishes their own name so dearly."
"Just like Hiruzen Sarutobi of Konoha. He hands all the dirty work over to Danzo."
"During the Third Kazekage's time, matters like this were always handed to me as well."
"Perhaps… under Kazekage-sama's leadership, Sunagakure truly may have a chance to stand at the summit of the shinobi world."
A trace of expectation appeared in Ebizo's eyes.
"If Sunagakure could dominate the shinobi world and unite it…"
"What kind of magnificent achievement would that be?"
"I hope I can live to see that day."
Ebizo moved quickly.
Before Rasa's forged suicide note had even been discovered, Ebizo had already spread the rumor.
For a time, countless people began discussing it.
"Rasa admits his strength is inferior to Jiraiya's?"
"He only defeated Jiraiya because he received some special assistance?"
"And whenever the matter of defeating Jiraiya is mentioned, Rasa flies into a rage?"
Once this rumor spread, people immediately began questioning Rasa's strength.
"If that's the case, then Rasa's title as the strongest person in the shinobi world is somewhat undeserved."
"If he defeated Jiraiya using outside power, that means Rasa's own strength is below Jiraiya's."
"Even if Jiraiya has been crippled, there is still Orochimaru among the Sannin."
"Orochimaru's strength should not be much worse than Jiraiya's. In that case, Rasa most likely isn't Orochimaru's opponent either."
This made many people in Konoha excited.
"I knew Rasa couldn't possibly be the strongest person in the shinobi world. Even if Jiraiya-sama has been crippled, the next in line should still be Orochimaru-sama."
"Rasa is nothing but someone who relied on outside assistance."
But after accepting this idea, they were forced to face a problem.
Namely—what exactly was the outside assistance Rasa received?
Someone remembered the previous rumor.
"There was a rumor before saying that Hokage-sama sold Jiraiya-sama's intelligence to Sunagakure. Could the outside assistance Rasa relied on be referring to that?"
"Other than that, there doesn't seem to be any other possibility."
The people of Konoha immediately stopped feeling happy.
If they admitted Rasa's strength was below Jiraiya's, then they had to admit Hiruzen Sarutobi had sold out Jiraiya.
If they refused to admit Hiruzen Sarutobi had sold out Jiraiya, then they had to admit Rasa's strength was above Jiraiya's.
No matter which option they chose, it was not something the people of Konoha could feel pleased about.
Homura Mitokado walked into the Hokage's office excitedly.
"Hiruzen, good news! Good news!"
"A rumor has spread from Sunagakure's side, and it is greatly unfavorable to Rasa. Rasa's title as the strongest person in the shinobi world is about to collapse."
"That Sunagakure creates rumors every day, and now, a rumor has finally landed on Rasa himself."
"Moreover, this rumor came from Sunagakure. That proves Sunagakure is not an iron plate right now. There must be forces inside dissatisfied with Rasa."
"We can make contact with them and use them to strike Rasa hard."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes lit up when he heard this.
"Truly? What rumor is it?"
Homura Mitokado nodded.
"Of course it's true."
"The rumor says Rasa was never Jiraiya's opponent at all. He only defeated Jiraiya by relying on outside help. Whenever someone mentions this in front of Rasa, he avoids answering, or even flies into a rage out of embarrassment."
"It has already spread throughout the Land of Wind."
"Everyone is saying Rasa's title as the strongest person in the shinobi world is undeserved. The real strongest person in the shinobi world is in our Konoha."
At first, Hiruzen Sarutobi also revealed a smile.
After all, his hatred for Rasa ran extremely deep.
The contents of Ninja World Major Events Weekly had caused Hiruzen Sarutobi tremendous trouble.
But the more he listened, the more Hiruzen Sarutobi felt something was wrong.
This rumor was not only aimed at Rasa.
It was also aimed at him.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression darkened.
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