"Rasa, you've done well.
Seeing such talent among the younger generation of Sunagakure… this old woman is truly happy."
"But you mustn't grow complacent.
In the near future, the fate of our village may very well rest on your shoulders!"
That was no longer a subtle hint—it was a clear declaration.
If it weren't for the need to maintain the illusion that the Third Kazekage was still alive—
Chiyo might've appointed Rasa as the Fourth Kazekage on the spot.
After saying her piece, Chiyo looked around the room:
"All of you are experienced veterans.
If you have any suggestions, speak freely. Don't be afraid of saying the wrong thing."
The jōnin were more than ready now.
They might have had nothing to contribute earlier—but when it came to war, this was their domain.
Soon, they were speaking up one after another, adding refinements and suggestions.
As for Chiyo's not-so-subtle endorsement of Rasa?
No one questioned it.
Rasa had long been recognized as the most gifted shinobi of his generation.
After today's calm, detailed strategic breakdown, even the most skeptical jōnin had to admit—his leadership was real.
And the few who still had doubts?
They wouldn't dare voice them publicly, not with Chiyo and Ebizō clearly backing him.
Only Aoki, the burly jōnin from earlier, kept his head bowed—hiding the complicated emotions in his eyes.
Rasa's words had indeed convinced him.
But that didn't mean he was ready to accept Rasa as the next Kazekage.
Inside, Aoki brooded:
"Sure, Rasa might be the most talented of the younger generation…"
"But talent alone doesn't make a good Kazekage.
What the village needs now is someone strong enough—not just promising."
That thought sparked a fire inside him.
Among Sunagakure's 100-plus active jōnin, he was easily top-tier.
And at just over forty, he was still in his prime—physically at his peak, no decline yet in sight.
With just a bit of finesse, he could easily take the kazekage position for himself.
Looking over to the figure of Pakura sneakily, greed grew inside him as the man made up his mind
As he mulled things over, Aoki stealthily raised his head and stole a quick glance at Chiyo, then hurriedly lowered it again.
Even though Elder Chiyo had all but explicitly endorsed Rasa as the future Kazekage, Aoki didn't have the guts to openly go against her.
But if he could challenge Rasa under the guise of a sparring match—and defeat him publicly?
Then Rasa wouldn't have the face to accept the title of Kazekage, no matter how qualified he seemed.
At that very moment, Rasa let out a quiet breath of relief in his heart. He knew that his seat as the future Fourth Kazekage was more or less secure now.
Before he could dwell on it, a string of system notifications suddenly popped up in his mind.
Rasa's focus split—part of his attention remained on the room, while the rest read through the notifications:
"Successfully altered canonical plot. +300 Skill Points!"
"Karura's favorability increased by 5. Current Favorability: 21!"
"Karura's favorability increased by 8. Current Favorability: 29!"
"Favorability increased with Chiyo, Ebizō, Kozuki, and others!"
"Total Favorability increased: +80. Gained +80 Skill Points!"
Rasa wasn't surprised about getting Skill Points for altering canon events.
What did surprise him was that he'd only received 300 points for changing such a major plotline.
He'd expected at least a thousand.
But after a moment of thought, he understood.
His actions hadn't prevented the Third Shinobi World War—only mitigated Sunagakure's unpreparedness.
At best, the war would be delayed by a few months, not avoided.
As for Karura's sudden leap in favorability, that was within expectations.
He hadn't had time to watch her during his speech earlier, but Rasa had certainly noticed her burning gaze from the side.
After all, even an ordinary person can sense when someone is staring at them intently from close range—let alone someone like Rasa, who was sitting right next to her.
With Karura now at 29 favorability, Rasa guessed that by the system's metrics, they were considered very close friends.
Just a bit more effort and… well, heh…
As for the others' favorability increases, Rasa gave them only a quick glance before dismissing the screen.
He now turned his attention to the three-interface options hovering before him:
[Host]
[Favorability]
[Exchange]
Rasa lightly tapped on the [Host] panel. Immediately, a personal status screen opened in his mind:
Host Name: Rasa
Biological Age: 23
Combat Power: Civilian
Chakra Attributes: Wind, Fire
Mastered Skills: None
Skill Points: 420
Items: None
The stats were pretty much what he expected—except for one thing:
Wind and Fire chakra attributes.
Rasa blinked in mild surprise.
He hadn't expected his transmigrated Earthling body to have two chakra affinities.
In early Naruto terms, that basically placed him in the upper-mid tier of talent.
As for the 420 Skill Points... he wasn't sure yet whether that was a little or a lot.
AN: Don't worry, Rasa will regain his skill quickly.