Looking at his brother-in-law, whose appearance bore a striking resemblance to his deceased wife, Rasa felt a faint stir in his heart, but his expression did not soften in the slightest.
"Mm, you can go back now."
Nodding coldly at him, Rasa shifted his gaze to the three children standing neatly in a row in the hall.
Temari, Kankurō, Gaara.
Because of work, Rasa could only entrust the responsibility of caring for his children to Yashamaru.
"Yes."
Upon hearing this, Yashamaru said nothing more. He quietly untied his apron, then smiled as he bade farewell to the three little ones before leaving Rasa's home.
The three looked timidly at Rasa.
"Eat."
Rasa said nothing else, simply walking first to the dining table.
Even during meals, his mind was occupied with thoughts of how to revitalize the village's economy.
Since their father remained silent, the three little ones naturally didn't dare make a sound, only quietly scooping up rice from their bowls.
"Knock, knock, knock."
The three soft raps at the door broke the silence.
Rasa's head snapped up, his eyes suddenly sharp, fixed intently on the doorway.
There were two ANBU guarding his home to ensure his safety. If there were visitors, the ANBU would have notified him with a signal immediately.
Yet until the knock sounded, he had received no such signal.
"Temari, take your brothers upstairs. No matter what you hear, do not come down."
Rasa spoke in a cold voice.
An enemy?
The shadow of the previous Kazekage's disappearance still loomed over Sunagakure. If not for Sasori's attack on Konoha, they would never have learned that their Kazekage had been betrayed by one of their own.
Though Takeshi had defeated Sasori and reclaimed the puppet of the Third Kazekage, he had not been so generous as to return the body of a Bloodline Limit shinobi to Sunagakure.
That puppet had already been delivered to the medical corps headquarters, in hopes that Tsunade and the others could study the secrets of Magnet Release.
Temari didn't argue. She quickly took each brother by the hand and hurried them upstairs.
"There's no need to be so on guard, Fourth Kazekage-sama."
The person outside seemed to notice Rasa's wariness and spoke up to dispel his doubts.
"I only put your ANBU to sleep for a while, to create a space where we could speak alone."
The voice was familiar. He felt certain he had heard it somewhere before.
In just a moment, Rasa recalled the owner of that voice.
Fujiwara Kōya.
Rasa pushed the door open and saw a youth dressed in ornate clothing.
"Fujiwara Kōya? No… Shimura Takeshi, is it?"
...
"There's no need to be so tense, nor to think of fighting. Surely you don't believe I'd send my real body here just to chat with you?"
Walking leisurely through Rasa's living room with his hands behind his back, Takeshi felt the subtle stirring beneath the floor and gestured for Rasa to relax.
"Of course not. After all, we're allies, Acting Hokage-sama."
Though he said this, Rasa did not lower his guard in the slightest.
"I just didn't expect the Fujiwara family's reach to be so vast, that they would hire you as their stand-in."
In his view, Takeshi wasn't impersonating nobility of his own accord, but rather commissioned by them to act as a double.
After all, in the shinobi world, no one would dare impersonate nobility without authorization.
"The Fujiwara clan? Ah, those useless fools. Yes, they did commission me—but the price was their lives."
Takeshi picked up a framed photo of Rasa and Karura, musing on how a woman with such beauty could have fallen for a man like Rasa, valued only for his political weight.
"What are you talking about?"
Rasa's hand, hidden inside his sleeve, suddenly tensed. Refined gold dust stirred restlessly beneath his feet.
Placing the photo back, Takeshi turned and looked at him, then suddenly burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Don't make that frightening face, Kazekage-sama. Don't tell me you truly had feelings for those swine?"
His bright smile did nothing to ease Rasa's vigilance. Years of battle-honed instinct warned him not to underestimate the youth before him.
Even if this was only a shadow clone, the powerful presence pressing down on him kept Rasa's legs taut with tension.
"We both carry the title of Kage, and we both know that nobility are nothing but shackles on shinobi. Kazekage-sama, I came here today to show you Konoha's results."
Spreading his arms wide, Takeshi attempted to sketch for him a grand vision of the shinobi world.
"The era of nobles trampling atop shinobi will inevitably become a thing of the past. In the future, nobles need only serve as mascots. As for real power..."
He extended his right arm, suddenly clenching his open hand tight. Rasa nearly flinched in reflex.
"It will rest in our hands."
The Land of Wind was not without fertile lands.
But all the fertile territories were occupied by bloated nobles.
The most prosperous region was the Land of Wind's daimyō estate.
Sunagakure had dared to wage war against Konoha, seeking fertile territory, yet they did not dare move against their daimyō to seize land.
Rasa knew well that if he dispatched elite shinobi, they could claim fertile territory within the Land of Wind itself. But the consequences of doing so would be catastrophic.
It might even provoke attacks from the other four great nations.
After all, daimyō across nations were interrelated. If one suffered, others would, to protect their own standing, suppress the rebellion at all costs.
If one village stepped out of line, another could simply be raised up in its place.
But what if all villages stepped out of line?
Takeshi's presence brought a glimmer of dawn to Sunagakure.
Rasa knew why he had come. On its own, Konoha could not tip the balance. Only if all shinobi villages recognized the feasibility of this course could the nobles' rule truly be shaken.
"Once Sunagakure controls all the fertile land in the Land of Wind, that ridiculous policy of raising elite troops can be abandoned forever."
Takeshi's words carried a dangerous allure.
At the same time, he presented many concrete examples to prove the feasibility of his plan.
"What do you want?"
Hiding within a secret chamber in his home to ensure no third party overheard, Rasa wanted to know if Takeshi had other motives.
"Nothing much. Just a Konoha & Sunagakure Joint Defense Treaty."
Takeshi stated his purpose openly.
"Sunagakure must guarantee that the Land of Rivers' interests belong to Konoha, while in turn we acknowledge Sunagakure's interests in the Lands of Rain, Birds, Bears, Rōran, and others."
He produced a treaty he had long prepared.
"Of course, most importantly, if either Sunagakure or Konoha is attacked, the other must immediately take action to face the shared danger."