Hoshiyomi's two scathing accusations landed squarely, and the way everyone looked at Rasa instantly changed.
The Kumo shinobi had originally hated Hoshiyomi far more than Rasa. But after hearing Hoshiyomi's words, their hostility shifted—they now saw Rasa as the despicable one.
Yes, Hoshiyomi had beaten the Raikage, but it was a fair one-on-one duel, fought openly, man against man. A clean victory.
Rasa, on the other hand, hadn't lifted a finger to help when Hoshiyomi was at a disadvantage against the Raikage. Yet now, when the Raikage was badly injured, he tried to sneak in the finishing blow? That was truly contemptible.
Even the Suna shinobi, though they regretted not finishing the Raikage off, couldn't help but agree after hearing Hoshiyomi. They too began to feel that Rasa had shamed Sunagakure.
Their eyes drifted toward Pakura, standing not far from Hoshiyomi. In contrast, Pakura, who had led them bravely against the Kumo, seemed far nobler than Rasa, who had resorted to cheap tricks.
Surely Lady Pakura would make a better Kazekage…
Noticing all the eyes on him, Rasa felt sick, as if he'd swallowed dung. He desperately wanted to shout at his own people, to ask them what on earth they were thinking.
But he dared not. He knew full well that if he lashed out now, he would only drown in the tidal wave of public outrage.
Grinding his teeth, he snapped at Hoshiyomi instead:
"Then why didn't you just finish the Third Raikage? What—do you enjoy torturing him like this?"
Hoshiyomi looked at him as if he were an idiot. By now, the Kumo shinobi had already dragged the Raikage away for treatment. Hoshiyomi shot back, unflinching:
"I came here to help Sunagakure—does that give you the right to order me around? I fought alongside you as an ally, defeated your enemy, and you still complain?
Compared to you, even the Raikage lying on the ground has more honor.
If Sunagakure is this ungrateful, then fine—the rest of the war is yours to fight."
With that, before Rasa could respond, Hoshiyomi raised his hand. Behind him, the Grass Long Sword, Kusanagi Blade sprang from its sheath, floated before him, and hovered in the air. Hoshiyomi stepped calmly onto the flying blade and soared away—graceful, effortless, leaving not a ripple behind.
The battlefield fell into stunned silence.
He… left. Just like that, Sunagakure's greatest "thigh to cling to" was gone.
When the shock faded, both sides reacted. The Kumo shinobi grinned cruelly. So what if their Raikage was badly wounded? With the demon Hoshiyomi gone, what did they have to fear from these weaklings of the Sunagakure?
Meanwhile, the Suna shinobi swallowed nervously, casting even darker looks at their own Kazekage. They had finally gotten themselves such a powerful ally—only for their leader to drive him away.
How were they supposed to fight the rest of this war now?
Rasa stood there dumbfounded, watching Hoshiyomi's silhouette vanish into the distance. Only then did it hit him—he had just been outplayed, utterly, by Gekko Hoshiyomi.
——
The battle between Sunagakure and Kumogakure dragged on for another full day before it finally ended.
Thanks to Hoshiyomi's interference, neither side could claim victory.
The Sunagakure failed to penetrate Sunagakure's defenses, and their Third Raikage was left gravely wounded. But before retreating, they managed to loot a great deal of strategic resources.
On Sunagakure's side, relying on Rasa and Bunpuku's desperate, death-defying defense, they ultimately managed to block Kumo's offensive. But their casualties were enormous. Bunpuku himself, the jinchūriki, suffered serious injuries.
At his age, the wounds were especially grave. Though Chiyo managed to barely save his life, it was clear to all that Bunpuku would no longer be fit for battle.
And anyone with eyes could see—Sunagakure's jinchūriki did not have much longer to live.
…
In this great battle, three names spread across the entire shinobi world.
The first was Pakura. Her rallying of the Suna shinobi to fight back was widely praised, and within the Sunagakure she was hailed as the second "Flower of Sunagakure," after Chiyo.
The second was Hoshiyomi. News of his duel with the Third Raikage—and how he left the Raikage gravely wounded—swept across the land. Hoshiyomi's strength, already unfathomable, was elevated yet another level by this fight. One thing became almost certain: Hoshiyomi's power had reached the very pinnacle of the shinobi world.
The Four Great Villages, almost unanimously, formed the same consensus: If a mission runs into Hoshiyomi, it may be abandoned on the spot. Even fleeing will not be punished—as long as one is lucky enough to escape with their life.
The third name to rise to fame was Rasa. But unlike the other two, who gained glory and admiration, Rasa received only infamy.
Among the many dead and wounded of Sunagakure, countless believed the second war with Kumogakure could have been avoided. To them, it was Rasa who drove Hoshiyomi away, and it was that blunder that caused the Sunagakure to suffer needless casualties.
Humans are always like this—unwilling to find fault in themselves, quick to blame failure on outside factors. And so, with resentment smoldering, Rasa became the scapegoat.
Gossips spread the story far and wide, and as rumors snowballed, Rasa's reputation collapsed entirely.
Now, throughout the shinobi world, he was mocked as "the most dim-witted Kage of all" or "the most useless Kazekage in history."
Rumors are fiercer than tigers. Faced with such accusations, even if Rasa hadn't meant things that way, he had no choice but to shoulder the blame in silence.
After the war, he admitted that his actions had caused great losses to Sunagakure, declared himself unworthy of his position, and announced that once the Third War ended, he would resign as the Fourth Kazekage, leaving the seat to "someone more capable."
Whether such a capable person would ever appear… who could say?
After the clash between Kumogakure and Sunagakure, the pace of the Third Great Ninja War slowed briefly.
The Kumogakure waited for their Third Raikage to recover. The Sunagakure withdrew into their village to lick their wounds.
Even the most aggressive of them all—Iwagakure—fell quiet for the moment, plotting something unknown.
…
And while three of the Great Villages went silent, the one village that seemed unrelated to this war—Kirigakure—quietly convened a meeting.
Inside the Mizukage's office, the baby-faced Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, could no longer restrain the ambition burning within him to snatch a share of the spoils.
Looking at the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist kneeling before him, Yagura spoke with fiery conviction:
"This war won't end so easily. Iwa and Kumo won't swallow their losses quietly—there will be even fiercer battles to come.
And that will be the moment for Kirigakure to act. As soon as Konoha, Kumo, and Iwa clash again, we'll circle around and launch a direct strike on the Leaf.
After so many years of silence, it's time for Kirigakure to bare its fangs!"