Sunagakure, banquet hall.
"Seiki, thank you for your hard work. It must be tiring to still be performing surgery this late!" Rasa empathized.
"Tiring? Not at all! As a medical ninja, being able to realize my value is exactly what I've always longed for!" Seiki smiled.
"No wonder they call you the Light of Konoha—your dedication really puts us to shame!" Rasa sighed appreciatively. He could sense that Seiki wasn't just being polite, but truly delighted.
While expressing such admiration, he pointed toward the banquet table and said, "Seiki-san, you've worked so hard today—please eat more to replenish your strength. Otherwise, people might say Sunagakure doesn't know how to treat guests properly."
Seiki nodded, "Then I won't hold back."
As the banquet got underway, a Suna ninja suddenly leaned close to whisper something into Rasa's ear.
After listening, Rasa's expression turned gloomy. "Sigh... So Kankuro failed too?"
Seeing his reaction, the jonin around him quickly offered comfort.
"Lord Kazekage, please don't worry—even without direct awakening, Kankurō still has much higher chances than others to learn Magnet Release later."
"After all, Lord Kazekage is still young—you can simply have another child!"
Noticing Seiki looked puzzled, Rasa voluntarily explained, "I inherited Magnet Release from the previous Kazekage. Unfortunately, there isn't another person in all of Sunagakure capable of mastering it."
"If I were to fall in battle, then Sand Village would face serious trouble once we lose the ability to mine Gold Dust. That's why I've pinned hopes on future generations inheriting this Kekkei Genkai."
This didn't surprise Seiki in the least. Though Rasa's ancestors hadn't possessed Magnet Release, once he had mastered this bloodline trait, the technique would become a recessive gene lying dormant within his bloodline.
This also explained how most Kekkei Genkai bloodlines originated in the ninja world—for example, during The Fourth Great Ninja War, Iwagakure's Lava Release clan and Kumogakure's Storm Release clan.
No wonder Rasa had maintained a pace of fathering one child per year since the war began—with perhaps a longer gap between the last few… Seiki mused inwardly; maybe Rasa's ninja way was indeed a workaholic's path—not only working himself, but dragging his kids into it too.
Judging from everyone else's expressions, if Rasa had been solely indulging in nightly pleasures during wartime, someone probably would've spoken out against him already.
"Sigh... Life has been too tough for us Suna ninjas..."
Here comes the woe-is-me routine… Seiki twitched his eyebrows anxiously, preemptively seizing control of the conversation with his own sigh, "Ah, life's been difficult for Konoha too! Take Elder Danzo—he's devoted his entire life to serving the village diligently, yet remains alone even now. I honestly can't bear watching this anymore!"
Rasa made an expression like he'd swallowed something disagreeable. Who actually talked about having kids with you just now?
It's a metaphor! Can't you get the subtext?
Trying to show how even the village leader saw his kids as tools during tough times, but compared this way, it made him sound like someone living the dream with both sons and daughters, achieving kage status while still young.
"Huh, come to think of it, I really am..." Suddenly realizing, Rasa jolted upright—in comparison to that old bachelor from Konoha who wanted to become Hokage but never succeeded, he did seem more like a winner after all.
However, even though his train of thought was interrupted, Rasa still forced himself to continue. "Yeah, everyone's got it tough! So, would your village be willing to give us a long-term loan?"
"'So'? That transition was way too forced..." Seiki sighed inwardly. They weren't even pretending to be pitiful anymore—they'd gone straight to begging?
Seiki hesitated for a moment before replying, "I don't have the authority to decide that. However, Elder Danzō is very close with the Hokage. The Hokage has always taken a personal interest in Danzō's affairs. If Kazekage could help sort those out, maybe the Hokage would feel generous enough to agree?"
Rasa asked in confusion, "You want me to help sort this out?"
Looking toward Ebizō standing aside, Seiki probed cautiously, "Would your village's elder, Chiyo, be interested in—ahem..."
It was only because Chiyo wasn't around to cause trouble that he dared make such a suggestion.
Now it was Rasa's turn to be stunned speechless. He knew exactly how difficult Chiyo could be. If he actually went to persuade her in person, she wouldn't care one bit that he was the Kazekage.
Although this was just Seiki's own idea, Rasa understood that if he failed to pull it off, the Hokage would have a perfect excuse to politely back out without causing offense.
Ebizō, on the other hand, started seriously contemplating: "It might actually be nice if someone could manage my sister's temperament. Of course, Kazekage, you'd better come prepared with a lot of patience."
Seeing Seiki immediately kick the issue back into his court again, Rasa couldn't help but sigh inwardly. No wonder he was someone favored by the Hokage—he was just as hard to deal with!
Noticing Rasa lost in thought, Seiki continued, "Actually, there's another option."
Though instinctively sensing another headache coming his way, Rasa still asked, "What option?"
"Kazekage," Seiki said earnestly, "another purpose of my visit today is to formally request your combat support. If you agree to send forces, I'm sure the Hokage wouldn't hesitate about approving the loan."
Furrowing his eyebrows tightly, Rasa finally replied with reluctance, "Man, life in Sunagakure's been rough! We already hold the largest territory and longest defensive lines among the Five Great Nations, yet ironically, we're equipped with the fewest shinobi. Frankly speaking, we can't spare any additional forces for offensive operations in your village!"
Ebizō quickly chimed in, "Plus, our most important combat asset—Bunpuku, the One-Tail jinchūriki—is quite elderly now. Not only can he no longer fight, but we constantly have to watch out for potential rampages from the One-Tail itself."
Finally, Rasa reluctantly proposed, "How about this? We'll provide fifty elite shinobi from Sunagakure?"
"Jonin?"
"Chunin!"
Before Seiki could reply, Rasa quickly added with an awkward smile, "By the way, when are the reinforcements from Konoha expected to arrive?"
The surrounding jonin looked at their Kazekage with admiration. The man had truly sacrificed his dignity for the village's growth—no wonder he was willing to swallow his pride and beg.
"Just pretend I never mentioned anything about that," Seiki sighed, switching strategies. "Kazekage, would you consider sending a team with me into the desert to track down this enemy?"
Pausing briefly, Rasa responded cautiously, "But that enemy is extremely powerful. Shouldn't we wait until the poisoned ones wake up and gather some intelligence before going after him?"
Seiki shook his head. "We can't afford to wait. Every additional day risks more comrades being killed!"
Those ninja who had been poisoned and survived were actually lucky. And more had been slain on the spot by the enemy.
Seeing that Rasa was still hesitating, Seiki added, "Don't worry about the poisoning attacks. I've brought enough antidotes this time—more than sufficient to handle the enemy."
Both in his past life and in this new world, people favored compromise and conciliation.
If he directly requested cooperation to eliminate the enemy, Rasa might refuse. But if he advocated sending troops, they would compromise and agree to deal with the enemy.
Although this situation wasn't quite the same as before, considering he'd just rejected Seiki's proposal, Rasa didn't want to make the other feel too embarrassed. Plus, with Seiki—an elite medical ninja—involved, he didn't think anything could go seriously wrong.
So he agreed.
"When do you plan to start the operation?"
"Tomorrow!"
Of course, Seiki needed to act quickly. What if after those Sand Village ninja recovered from the poison and woke up, they revealed the enemy's identity? It would become complicated if Sunagakure prohibited his involvement in their internal affairs.
The decision was made, so Rasa wasted no more time. "Very well, I'll have Pakura lead a team to support your operation."
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