Hokage's Office
Sarutobi Hiruzen placed the intelligence from Sunagakure that Pakura had handed over on his desk. His old face wrinkled into a grin, eyes filled with growing approval as he looked at Kiyosuke.
He secretly cursed the fact that Asuma was a boy—if only he had been a girl, he could've married this kid.
A son-in-law like this? You'd need a lantern to search for one that good!
He went on a mission to the Land of Water and, as a bonus, brought back intelligence from the Land of Wind. Two birds with one stone!
"Pakura's gone?"
"She has. I asked Kakashi and Tenzo to escort her out of the Land of Fire," Kiyosuke replied.
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded.
Pakura hadn't obtained any valuable intelligence on Konoha—or at least nothing truly important.
Over the past few days, the ANBU had been monitoring her. Other than visiting the hospital, she'd quietly stayed at Kiyosuke's home—cooking, arranging flowers, and occasionally strolling through the village with him.
There wasn't much she could've gathered.
And that was enough.
That old fox Sarutobi Hiruzen had sent Pakura safely back to Sunagakure precisely to spite the Fourth Kazekage.
He didn't doubt Pakura's resolve to assassinate Rasa. After all, only he and Kiyosuke had known of Kiyosuke's whereabouts at the time. There was no chance a third person had leaked it, which ruled out any staged performance.
Sunagakure truly had sent Pakura to Kirigakure as a sacrificial pawn. That meant her hatred toward the village was probably just as real.
Now that they had the intel, there was no need to think further.
What Pakura did afterward had nothing to do with him.
Pakura might not be strong enough to kill the Fourth Kazekage, but she could injure him—and that alone would be enough to seriously damage his reputation in the ninja world.
Sending a village's own ninja to trade with another?
Heh. What an amusing idea.
He shook his head, dismissing the matter from his thoughts.
Just then, Kiyosuke smiled, making Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart skip a beat.
He couldn't help but wonder what kind of mischievous scheme the kid had cooked up now.
Kiyosuke said,
"Hokage-sama, Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage... he's not exactly obedient, is he?"
"Hm?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression sharpened slightly. Calmly puffing on his pipe, he said,
"He's the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure. We're only allied with them—you saying something like that, what exactly are you trying to do?"
"It's nothing," Kiyosuke shook his head, then added as if a sudden idea had struck him,
"Hokage-sama, what if... Pakura became the Fifth Kazekage?"
"What?! Cough cough cough!!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen started coughing uncontrollably, utterly startled by Kiyosuke's bold idea.
Kiyosuke continued,
"Think about it. Pakura is still considered a hero of Sunagakure. Sure, she's officially 'dead' there, but if she goes back and clears her name, she's still a hero.
Aside from Rasa, the only people Sunagakure could put forward are Chiyo and Ebizō—but both have been retired for years.
If Rasa dies... who do you think will become the Fifth Kazekage?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen said,
"That's a dangerous idea."
Though he said that aloud, inwardly he was intrigued.
The relationship between Pakura and Kiyosuke was complicated.
But if she became the Fifth Kazekage...
They could use her connection to Kiyosuke.
And, with the right evidence, they could depose her at any time.
In that case...
He ran through the scenario in his mind and found it highly feasible.
Kiyosuke said,
"As the saying goes, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Replacing Rasa with Pakura has plenty of advantages."
"At the very least, Konoha won't have to worry about Pakura breaking the peace treaty she signed with us."
"What are the chances of success?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked.
"As long as Rasa is killed, over eighty percent."
"The key is killing Rasa."
Sarutobi Hiruzen fell silent for a moment and glanced at Kiyosuke, who was currently warming up.
Fine. As if he hadn't said anything.
Having a tailed-beast-level powerhouse on hand really was reassuring.
He said,
"Keep it clean. Don't leave any evidence linking this back to Konoha."
"Understood!"
Kiyosuke had known this old man couldn't suppress his ambition for long.
Even if age had mellowed him, even if he was more cautious now, he was still the Third Hokage who had led Konoha to its golden era.
He had once been a man of great ambition.
Just offer him enough bait—there was no way he wouldn't be tempted.
Pakura becoming the Fifth Kazekage had far more benefits than Rasa staying as the Fourth.
This idea had come to Kiyosuke on a whim—otherwise, he would've already left with Pakura.
But it wasn't too late.
He went to Konoha Hospital to ask Rin to take care of Haku and Naruto for a while, then set off for Sunagakure.
After half a day, he caught up to Kakashi and Tenzo.
"What are you doing here?" Kakashi asked.
"Change of plans. Hokage-sama gave me a new mission. Sorry for making you come all this way—I'll be escorting Pakura back to Sunagakure myself."
"...Hm?"
Kakashi sensed something was off.
"Back... to Sunagakure?" He glanced at Kiyosuke, then said,
"Got it. Tenzo, we'll stop here. Let's head back—mission's over."
"Yes!"
Tenzo and Kakashi halted.
Kiyosuke nodded at them, then sped ahead to catch up with Pakura.
By a small river, Pakura knelt to take a drink of water.
She sensed someone behind her.
It wasn't the same two who had been following her earlier.
Cautious, she drew a kunai and lunged.
Her wrist was caught mid-strike.
Looking closely, she saw it was Kiyosuke.
He grinned and said,
"Yo, beautiful. Heading to Sunagakure? Let's go together."
Pakura chuckled.
"You're going to Sunagakure? To assassinate the Fourth Kazekage?"
"Of course."
"Are you serious?"
"Couldn't be more serious." Kiyosuke laughed.
"After we kill Rasa, you become Kazekage. Sounds perfect to me."
Pakura fell silent for a moment.
Then asked,
"You're serious?"
"You don't want to leave your homeland, do you? But you do want to kill Rasa. So why not just do it and become Kazekage yourself?"
"Uh... well..."
Something about it felt off...
But strangely, it also made a lot of sense.
"But I—"
"Don't hesitate, Pakura!"
Kiyosuke placed both hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes.
"Think about it. That bastard Rasa was willing to sell out even you—a hero of Sunagakure!"
"What wouldn't he do? Let's be honest—aside from his gold dust technique, what else has he even done as Kazekage?!"
Pakura paused.
Thinking about it...
He had a point.
Rasa's position seemed more like a desperate move by the village to keep the economy afloat.
Sure, his strength was a factor, but...
Sunagakure was poor.
Only Rasa's gold dust allowed them to stay functional and avoid collapse.
Kiyosuke smiled and said,
"Instead of leaving the village in the hands of that irresponsible bastard, why not take the reins yourself? You're the hero of Sunagakure, Pakura. I'll clear the path for you."
"...Okay."
Pakura agreed softly.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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