The next day.
The ninja world was once again in an uproar.
This time, the cause of the uproar was that everyone had received the news that the Fourth Kazekage had attempted to assassinate the daimyō, failed, and was killed by Sunagakure's hero, Pakura.
When this news reached Sunagakure, the jaws of the village's high council nearly dropped to the floor.
They knew what their own Kazekage had been up to; many of them had even played key roles in those schemes.
But assassinating the daimyō? That was something they wouldn't even dare to imagine. They hadn't yet finished leeching off the nobles' wealth—where would they find the time or the madness to actually attack their own daimyō?
And you're telling me it was Pakura who killed Rasa?
Pakura?
Leaving aside the mystery of how this woman had even returned from the dead, the sheer gap in strength between them made it impossible for these high-ranking officials to believe.
If Pakura's strength had truly been that overwhelming, then back when the Fourth Kazekage was chosen, the position would never have gone to Rasa.
Anyone could see at a glance which was more intimidating: Scorch Release or Magnet Release.
Kirigakure, upon receiving the news, also found themselves in a very awkward position.
Especially Yagura. Back then, the Third Mizukage had sent him personally to carry out that very transaction.
But not only did he fail to kill the target, he even lost several jōnin in the process.
In order to ensure his own smooth succession to the position of Fourth Mizukage, Yagura had no choice but to hold his nose and report back to the Third that the mission had been accomplished.
Now that the lie had been exposed, Yagura couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
Fortunately, the Third Mizukage had already passed away several years earlier due to old age and poor health, otherwise, had he learned that his favored young successor had lied to him so brazenly, he might have died on the spot from sheer anger.
...
While the high council of Sunagakure looked at each other in confusion, uncertain of what to do, Pakura, escorted by the daimyō's ceremonial guard, was on her way to Sunagakure, seated in a palanquin reserved only for the nobility.
For reasons unknown, Chiyo and Ebizō—who were supposed to have withdrawn from public life—had also returned, dealing with several of Rasa's most trusted high-ranking officials with thunderous means, and then ordering all Sunagakure shinobi who had invaded noble territories and strongholds to withdraw immediately.
The reforms were abruptly cut off, and the profits they had just gained were handed back over.
Although the Sunagakure shinobi dared not resist, cowed by the legendary siblings' prestige, many of them—having seen firsthand the nobles' extravagant lives—could not help but feel some resentment in their hearts.
They fought to defend those very nobles, yet why could the nobles indulge in luxuries in fertile lands, while they themselves had to strap their lives to their belts and suffer exploitation?
Chiyo couldn't be bothered to explain. She only had one goal: to ensure Sunagakure's continued existence. At the very least, she would not allow the village to be destroyed while she still lived.
The damage caused by Rasa this time was simply too great. Most of the daimyō's summoned ministers had been crushed to death beneath Gold Dust, and their shriveled heads had already been sent back to the village ahead of Pakura. The evidence was undeniable.
As for why Pakura hadn't died, and how she had managed to appear beside the daimyō at precisely the right time—those questions did not matter to Chiyo.
Because the enraged daimyō had already bypassed Sunagakure entirely and issued the order that Pakura would become the Fourth Kazekage.
Yes, the Fourth Kazekage.
Rasa's crimes were so heinous that the daimyō had directly stripped him of the title of Kazekage.
What remained of his body was sent to the daimyō's armory as an exhibit to serve as a warning to future generations of daimyō.
Even his severed head had been ordered to be carefully preserved. After every single shinobi of Sunagakure had seen it, it was to be returned to the daimyō's mansion.
...
"How foolish. They could have quietly devoured from within, yet they chose to openly oppose the daimyō's court."
Inside the prison, Chiyo looked at the imprisoned high-ranking officials of Sunagakure with bitter disappointment.
The officials, on the other hand, wore aggrieved expressions. Easy for the old hag to say—she and her brother had enjoyed the freedom of retirement, but the rest of them still had to live.
And besides, all they had done was plot the deaths of a few nobles with schemes. Who could have guessed that their Kazekage—oh no, their disgraced Kazekage—would be so reckless as to charge straight at the daimyō himself?
Before Chiyo could scold them further for their audacity, an ANBU hurried over to her side.
He whispered an important piece of intelligence into her ear. After hearing it, Chiyo left the prison area at once, not sparing the imprisoned officials another glance, and went to meet a squad of shinobi who had been sent to capture Rasa's family.
"Advisor Chiyo, as per your orders, we surrounded Rasa's home. But neither his three children nor Yashamaru himself could be found. They've all disappeared."
The ninja, who delivered the report, spoke in this manner, but inwardly he felt relieved.
If he had actually captured the former Kazekage's children, knowing the daimyō's temperament, their fate would have been tragic, and his own reputation would have been irreparably tarnished.
That they had escaped on their own spared him a great deal of trouble.
Chiyo thought the same, though she could not reveal such feelings outwardly.
As Sunagakure's last buffer between the village and the daimyō, Chiyo frowned and ordered Yashamaru to be listed as a missing-nin. As for Rasa's three children, she deliberately avoided mentioning them at all.
After finishing with these matters, Ebizō came to Chiyo's side with a troubled expression.
"Sister, I've investigated most of the circumstances. There are many suspicious aspects..."
Before retiring, Ebizō had been the head of Sunagakure's intelligence division, holding authority similar to Danzō in Konoha.
Though he had long since withdrawn from village affairs, many of his former subordinates remained in their positions.
With his return, the intelligence division had cooperated fully, and numerous reports had been compiled before him.
"Rasa did indeed send people to assassinate nobles and occupy strategic strongholds, but he always toed the line carefully. The daimyō, though displeased and preparing to reprimand him with his ministers, would not have been driven to such extremes by that alone."
"So what? The daimyō is in a state of fury now. Besides, Rasa's actions truly did cross the bottom line for a Kage. More importantly..."
Chiyo nearly growled these words:
"Rasa is now nothing but a shriveled head, his brain no longer intact. How do you expect to find evidence of genjutsu on him?"
Pakura's Scorch Release was far too troublesome.
Not only had it evaporated all the water from Rasa's body, but it had also inflicted irreparable damage on his internal organs.
Even though Rasa's head was now on display in Sunagakure, not even Chiyo, the foremost medical-ninjutsu expert of the village, could possibly discover traces of genjutsu within it.
"Even so, Pakura's record is still disturbing..."
Ebizō had never had a good impression of Pakura.
It wasn't that he feared she would seek vengeance on him.
When it had been decided to betray her back then, both he and Chiyo had adopted a neutral stance—neither pushing for it nor opposing it.
No, what Ebizō disliked about her was her personality.
This woman might have been formidable in battle, but her impulsive nature and reckless actions were undeniable.
To entrust someone like that with the position of Kazekage... he could hardly imagine what kind of disaster she might lead Sunagakure into.