Sunagakure – Office of the Fourth Kazekage
The desert wind howled softly, brushing grains of sand across the windows like dry whispers of forgotten secrets. Inside, Rasa stood with his back to the door, fingers tapping a measured rhythm against the polished wood of his desk. The golden light of dusk filtered through sheer curtains, casting his silhouette in wavering amber.
"Enter," he said, his voice low and without emotion.
The door slid open. Chiyo and Bunpuku entered in single file. Chiyo's face had aged since she had marched off to war—battle-weariness deep in the wrinkles at her eyes. Bunpuku, bowed with fatigue and guilt, clasped his hands in prayer.
"Kazekage-sama…" Chiyo began to speak, but Rasa turned to face them, expression unreadable.
"Spare me the explanations. I've read the report." His voice held a calm that was almost unnatural. "Chiyo-sama, you've done all that was expected. Bunpuku-daisō, the rampage of Shukaku was not your fault."
Chiyo blinked, caught off guard. She had braced for fury. Instead, Rasa's composure held like stone. It unsettled her.
"The blame is mine," Rasa said, approaching Bunpuku. He rested a hand lightly on the monk's shoulder. "I misjudged Konoha's strength. Particularly that kunoichi. Our intelligence had no record of her."
"I lacked the strength to suppress the beast," Bunpuku murmured, bowing deeply. "I have failed the village."
"You are too humble." Rasa helped him stand. "Go rest. The medical corps awaits."
Once the doors closed, Rasa's mask cracked.
He turned sharply and punched the wall. The sand-based structure of his tower crumbled in a puff of dust, coating him in gritty residue—and fueling his anger even further.
"Useless! All of you are useless!"
He swept scrolls from the desk onto the floor, tea splashing over the fine rug. His pupils shrank to slits, chakra leaking like a roiling storm. Gold sand pooled at his feet.
"That old hag Chiyo… leading the elite puppet squads—and humiliated by a mere child! And Bunpuku—granted the might of a Tailed Beast—can't last ten minutes?"
Outside, the joyful laughter of villagers drifted in. Rasa strode to the window and watched children playing tag with wooden puppet toys, mimicking ninja battles.
"Sunagakure's future…" he murmured, clenching the window frame until his fingers turned white. It must not fall into the hands of these incompetents.
He pivoted and rang the desk bell sharply. An instant later, an Anbu operative knelt in the doorway.
"Inform the Council of Elders: emergency meeting tomorrow." His voice was cold as ice. "Also—double the surveillance on Bunpuku. I want his every move tracked."
The Anbu bowed and left. Rasa moved to the wall map and traced his finger along the border of the Land of Rivers and Land of Fire.
"Konoha…" His finger lingered over the Land of Fire. "Since conventional warfare has failed… don't blame me for using unconventional methods."
He picked up a brush and wrote a few lines on a scroll. Once sealed, he handed it to a second ANBU who had materialized in the shadows.
"Deliver this to the Amegakure. Personally, to Hanzo."
When silence returned, Rasa stood by the window, watching the desert horizon turn blood-red in the setting sun. His shadow stretched long and flickered across the portraits of past Kazekage lining the walls.
"Sensei…" he whispered. "The dream you couldn't finish—I will make it real. Sunagakure does not need weak leadership. Nor a Jinchūriki they cannot control."
As night fell, light in the Kazekage Tower burned bright into the late hours.
---
Konoha Village – inside the Hokage's office.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stood by the window. Smoke from his pipe curled in lazy loops, drifting in sunlight. Before him lay the battle report, still wet with ink.
"Sunagakure strikes harder than anticipated," he muttered, eyes pausing on a single name: Hanabuchi Rin.
"She's stepping into the light... far faster than expected."
A knock sounded.
"Enter."
Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane entered, grave expressions set into their aging faces.
"Hiruzen," said Koharu, laying a scroll on the desk. "Kumogakure has escalated. The Raikage sent the AB brothers. Minato may not be enough."
"And Iwagakure shows strange movements," added Homura. "We suspect Ohnoki may lead personally."
Hiruzen inhaled slowly, the smoke wrapping around his thoughts. In its haze, he saw Konoha shinobi fighting across four battlefronts—bloodied and burning.
"Deploy Nara Shikaku to support Minato in the Kumo front." he decided. "Jiraiya returns to the Iwa front. And Orochimaru remains with the Suna front."
Koharu frowned. "But... is that really enough?
Hiruzen tapped the report. "With Orochimaru there, and elite jōnin like Hyūga Hiashi, they should hold. After Shukaku's outbreak... Bunpuku is unlikely to reappear soon."
Koharu raised a brow. "What if Rasa personally intervenes—Chiyo, Ebizō, those veteran puppeteers..."
Hiruzen interjected. "That is precisely why Jiraiya must face Ohnoki. Only his Sage Arts can counter Dust Release. As for Suna... I trust Orochimaru can manage."
The advisors exchanged silent looks.
That night, Konoha's messenger shinobi spread the Hokage's orders across all fronts.
---
Sunagakure — Council Chamber.
The Elders gathered as the Kazekage summoned. Rasa stood at the sand table, trailing a finger along the Fire Country's border.
Chiyo sat beside him, expression dark and cautious.
"Direct assault bleeds us dry," Rasa spoke suddenly."We must shift strategy."
Chiyo narrowed her eyes. "Kazekage-sama... You are not suggesting..."
"Yes." Rasa withdrew a sealed letter bearing Amegakure's emblem. "Hanzo has agreed to a meeting."
The chamber erupted into outrage. One elder slammed a fist into the table. "Hanzo of Rain? Since when did Sunagakure need to partner with such a minor nation?"
Rasa's eyes glinted dangerously. Golden sand stirred. In a blink, a spear of it halted just short of the elder's throat. Rasa's glare silenced them.
"Three months ago, our merchant convoy in the Land of Grass was attacked—thirty of our shinobi perished.
And you thought it was bandits?"
He cast photographs across the table. Bodies burned and disfigured by tags and Water Release. Chiyo's withered fingers trembled as she picked them up.
"It was Rain-nin…" Ebizō's voice was low. "Hanzo is warning us? How dare he?"
Rasa chuckled coldly. "That's why we must make him understand: Sunagakure is no one to provoke."
Rasa circled three towns on the border.
"If Amegakure joins us in seizing three border towns in the Land of Fire..."
Ebizō's eyes widened as realization dawned. If Amegakure dares to conspire with Sunagakure against the Fire border, they'd bind Konoha's attention—and perhaps incur Konoha's wrath themselves. Whether Amegakure aligns permanently or is left to face Konoha alone, the gamble favors Sunagakure—one move, two gains
"But how do you persuade Hanzo?" the elder asked.
Rasa smiled, though there was no warmth in it.
"Elder Ebizō. You will meet him. Three days from now. A forgotten shrine at the edge of Amegakure's border. Bring a token of our sincerity."
Under the moon's cold light, the chamber emptied.
Rasa stood alone, staring at the shifting sands. Gold particles rose from his palm, forming a crude map of the shinobi world.
"Soon... they will all learn the weight of Sunagakure's silence."
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