'There's still a chance,' Rasa thought, his mind racing. 'I can still transfer Shukaku.'
He scrambled to form the hand seals for the sealing jutsu, but it was just as Minato had said. The seal on Bunpuku's body was already disintegrating, he had missed his chance.
With Bunpuku's death, Shukaku died with him, unable to be transferred in time. Although the tailed beast would be reborn somewhere in the world in a few years, there was no telling where, or how long it would take. For the foreseeable future, Sunagakure would be without its greatest weapon.
The thought sent a wave of panic through him, so sharp it made him want to scream. Without Shukaku, Sunagakure was finished.
"I'm sorry," Rin said softly, withdrawing her hands after a token attempt at medical ninjutsu. "He's already gone."
She was deeply shaken by what the old man had done. He had ensured Rasa couldn't get his hands on Shukaku again. She wondered if it was revenge, but she didn't think he was that childish. From beginning to end, she had seen no anger on Bunpuku's face, only a deep sense of regret and compassion.
'What kind of conviction is that?' she wondered.
"Damn it..." Rasa glared at Takeshi, but the black cat's menacing stare was a swift reminder of his terrifying power, the colossal Sage Art: Gate of the Great God, his mastery of Ice and Water Release, the monstrous transformation, and that incredible strength.
This was not a creature he could afford to provoke. He forced himself to calm down, the anger simmering beneath his skin.
'To be threatened into silence by a cat...' he thought bitterly. 'I must be the most pathetic Kazekage in history.'
"Meow~ You know, this is what happens when you drag your Jinchuriki onto the battlefield," Takeshi said, his tone lacking any sympathy. "He could have lived a few more years otherwise. But what's done is done. Let the dead rest... and you won't have to pay his ransom."
Rasa's gaze was hot enough to melt sand. "Oh, thank you so much for that!"
If he had Uchiha blood, his Sharingan would have awakened with three tomoe by now. The sheer rage felt strong enough to unlock the Mangekyo.
"Meow~ No need to thank me. You're still welcome!" The black cat extended a paw and patted him on the shoulder with mock solemnity, as if comforting a grieving friend.
But if it hadn't been for the cat's interference, Rasa knew he would have had time to complete the transfer. Then again, Minato shared some of the blame. Bunpuku had grabbed his hand as he was breaking the seal, making him hesitate for a crucial moment. Otherwise, he could have released Shukaku and resealed him. When a disaster of this scale occurred, no one was truly innocent.
From a distance, Orochimaru was "busily" coordinating between the Konoha and Suna shinobi, but from the glint in his eyes, it was clear he was enjoying the spectacle.
Just then, Tsunade arrived. She looked pale, and she kept her gaze carefully averted from the carnage of the battlefield. When she saw Bunpuku's body, she sighed.
"My condolences, Kazekage. As you know, tailed beasts are eventually reborn. If Sunagakure requires aid when that time comes, Konoha has many sealing jutsu experts who would be willing to assist."
"I have all of you from Konoha to thank for that, don't I?" Rasa said through gritted teeth, swallowing the blood that seeped from his bitten gums.
What else could he say? He was certain these Konoha bastards had planned this all along, a chain of plots designed solely to leave his village without its tailed beast. It was a vicious strategy to force Sunagakure into dependence. He conveniently chose to forget who had started the war, who had brought a tailed beast to the front lines, and who had refused to surrender, letting the losses pile up.
"Oh, by the way," Tsunade added. "Chiyo is still our guest. When do you plan on retrieving her? It wouldn't do for her to stay with us too long. Her expenses are quite considerable, you see..."
"I know," Rasa said, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "Give me some time to prepare."
War was a gamble. You either won and claimed the spoils, or you lost and went back to prospecting. Money was the easy part, as long as it wasn't a loss of vital resources, the sharp pain in his chest would eventually pass.
However...
"Meow? Ninja tools!" Takeshi chirped.
"Ah, right," Tsunade said, pretending the cat had just reminded her. Her expression seemed a little dazed, and her voice lacked its usual commanding tone. "The main point is the ninja tools. Your unprovoked war has cost us a great deal. We will need compensation for that as well."
At first, Rasa's anger flared again, but then he noticed something was off. Tsunade seemed... afraid.
'How is that possible?' His first instinct was to dismiss it as absurd. She had been on missions since she was a girl and had earned her title as one of the Sannin in the last war. How could someone like that be afraid of a battlefield?
But as he watched her, he realized it might be true. The leg Orochimaru's snake had bitten was still bleeding slightly, and whenever it moved into Tsunade's line of sight, her eyes would dart away.
'What is this?' He keenly sensed something was wrong. Putting it all together, he arrived at a conclusion he could barely believe: the great Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin and a master medical ninja, suffered from hemophobia, the one condition a medic could not afford to have. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he never would have believed something so ironic could be real.
Regret coiled in his gut. 'If only I had known this sooner...'
Still, this was intelligence that could be exploited. In war, information was everything. If Sunagakure had been better informed, Chiyo and Ebizo wouldn't have been captured, and they certainly wouldn't have lost Shukaku. With Suna's surrender, Iwagakure was the only village left fighting Konoha.
'This information... I can sell it to Onoki! It would help recoup some of our losses.'
The only wrench in his plans was the absence of the tailed beast. Bunpuku had no sense of the bigger picture. His suicide brought him peace, but it left the village in chaos. Sunagakure's status as one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages depended on its Jinchuriki. Without one, they would likely face pressure from rising powers like Amegakure and Takigakure.
As he contemplated this, Rasa felt a few more of his hairs turn white.
"Meow~ You don't have to worry so much," Takeshi said, shrinking his Water Prison Jutsu and dipping a paw in to wash it. "Just tell everyone you sealed Shukaku inside yourself. If you don't say anything, and we don't say anything, who's going to know? Unless you have a traitor, of course."
Rasa considered it. It was a good idea, but it was still a mess. How much hush money would it take to shut the greedy mouths of these Konoha shinobi? He wanted to slap himself. If only he had listened to Ebizo and not brought the tailed beast into this fight, his Jinchuriki would still be alive.
After several seconds of thought, he finally relented.
He bowed his head. "I understand. I will come to your camp tomorrow to discuss compensation. As for the tailed beast... I must ask that Konoha keep this matter a secret."
"Rest assured," Tsunade replied, her face growing a shade paler. "We have no desire to continue this fight." After she spoke, she looked up at the sky, as if she couldn't stand to be there a moment longer.
"Then, I will see you tomorrow," Rasa said, bowing deeply.
When you've already lost, dignity is a fleeting luxury. Securing Sunagakure's position was all that mattered now. If bowing could get the compensation waived, he would bow until his back gave out. Unfortunately, it wouldn't.
As he turned to leave, Rasa secretly formed an eye of sand in his palm to look behind him. Sure enough, once he was walking away toward Orochimaru, Tsunade's feigned composure broke completely, and Minato had to help her away from the scene.
'It really is hemophobia,' he thought, a grim smile touching his lips. 'With intel this explosive, how could Onoki not pay a fortune for it?'
A complete plan began to form in his mind. It was well-reasoned, but what he didn't know was that everything he saw was exactly what Tsunade wanted him to see. He didn't see her slip into the woods moments later, snickering to herself, immensely proud of her performance. Only someone with her masterful control of medical ninjutsu could manipulate her own body's reactions so precisely. Anyone else's act would have been unconvincing, but hers was flawless.
--**--**
After Rasa was gone, Obito finally dared to approach. He ran to Rin's side, his eyes wide with admiration. "Rin, you were amazing just now! I didn't even see what happened, and that Suna jonin just went flying."
"Uh... it was nothing, really," Rin said, a slight blush on her cheeks.
'Neko Sage Mode is powerful,' she thought, 'but growing cat ears and a tail is so embarrassing.' Thankfully, Obito didn't seem to have noticed.
"I never knew a medical ninja like Rin could have such strong taijutsu," Guy exclaimed nearby. "This is the power of youth, Kakashi!"
"Idiot," Kakashi muttered, taking a step away from him in disgust.
'That wasn't taijutsu,' he thought. 'That was the Sage Mode that Minato-sensei and Takeshi mentioned. Sensei can't even master it, but Rin already has...'
A strong sense of urgency washed over him. If he didn't work harder, he wouldn't just be eating Takeshi's dust, Rin would surpass him and become a jonin first. That was a pathetic thought for a genius who had graduated at five and made chunin at six. It wasn't that he looked down on Rin, but he couldn't stand being left behind.
'I have to become a Jonin as soon as possible,' Kakashi vowed, clenching his fists.
Rin glanced around. It seemed that besides Kakashi, no one else had noticed her Sage Mode. It wasn't a huge secret, but she was still mortified by how it made her look.
'If I asked Takeshi, he'd probably say the ears and tail are cute,' she mused.
"Rin, can you tell me how you did that?" Obito asked eagerly. "I want to be as strong as you! Maybe you could show me later-"
Before he could finish his sentence, the black cat's tail swung around and smacked him. The blow wasn't hard, just enough to send him tumbling.
"Stupid Takeshi!" Obito shouted as he scrambled up, his face flushed with embarrassment. 'Can't he spare me any dignity in front of her?'
"Meow, Is ninjutsu something you show off for fun?" Takeshi asked, coiling his tail and giving Obito a disdainful look before leaping onto Rin's shoulder.
Rin nodded in agreement. She couldn't imagine using Sage Mode for a performance, especially since she was still getting used to it.
"But Rin, you already learned Super Strength! That's amazing, meow!" Takeshi continued.
"It was okay," she said modestly. "It took me a long time. Tsunade-sama said you mastered it in three days. I'm not nearly as good as you."
"Meow, Of course, of course," the cat agreed shamelessly.
Watching them, Obito felt a pang of despair. It seemed he'd really said the wrong thing, and now even Rin wasn't on his side. 'Still,' he thought, 'what was that I saw for a second? Why did it look like she had... cat ears? No, I must have imagined it.'
Just then, a few Sunagakure shinobi approached cautiously. They bowed deeply to Takeshi, then gestured timidly at the bodies of Bunpuku and Pakura on the ground. They had come to collect their dead.
"Meow, You can take them," Takeshi said. "But if you ever think about moving against Konoha again..."
"We wouldn't dare!" one of them stammered. "We swear, never again."
"Meow! And don't forget the ransom," the black cat added with a wave of his paw, dismissing them to carry the bodies away.
===============
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