Although some of these ten people were senior jonin,
there were even old ninjas who had fought in the First and Second Ninja World Wars and had served for more than forty years.
Ebizo found it hard to believe that these people were undercover agents.
But out of trust in Rasa and caution,
he nodded carefully:
"Next, I'll send someone to secretly monitor these ten people."
Rasa didn't say much. He simply finished the tea in his cup, then suddenly remembered something and asked:
"How are the preparations for war going?"
As the acting Fourth Kazekage who could take over at any time, Rasa was naturally qualified to ask this.
Ebizo set aside the document in his hand, lowered his voice, and replied:
"We've gathered enough supplies to support two thousand ninjas for thirty days. These supplies have already been sent to the Fire Defense Line and the Lightning Defense Line."
"The village's stockpile has also been tripled. If war really breaks out, prices won't change much for at least a month."
"The amount of training for students in the Ninja Academy has also been tripled."
"I've taught them the necessary basic attack ninjutsu. Normally, they would have had to seek someone out to learn these later."
"Even the students who were originally going to be eliminated and fail to graduate have been retained."
The teacher-student relationship in the Sand Village's academy was not as selfless as in Konoha. It was treated more like official business.
The Sand Village's academy system was far less developed compared to Konoha's more complete education.
Given the poverty of the Sand Village, students could only learn by imitation.
It was called a ninja school, but in truth, it was more like an advanced Boy Scout training camp.
The Sand Village's academy only taught basic literacy and writing,
the principles of chakra and how to refine it,
as well as simple substitution techniques and ninja tool throwing.
If you were lucky enough to be chosen as a Genin after graduation, the rest depended entirely on your own effort.
Because of this, the mortality rate of Genin in the Sand Village was especially high.
But those who survived became the true elites among them—
a harsh survival-of-the-fittest, almost like Gu breeding.
Hearing this, Rasa frowned slowly.
The Sand Village had indeed made preparations, but this was all they had managed.
Supplies for two thousand ninjas for thirty days might sound like a lot,
but if a war broke out,
thousands of Sand Village ninjas would have to be sent to the frontlines.
Considering how long previous wars had lasted,
this amount of supplies was nowhere near enough.
As for the Fourth Ninja World War that would happen more than ten years later—
it ended in only three days.
That was a special case and couldn't be used for comparison.
The village's stored supplies could stabilize prices for only one month,
which was barely better than nothing.
Though Rasa felt uneasy,
he also knew that Chiyo and her brother were not ignorant of war's cruelty.
It was impossible that they had prepared only this little.
Given their personalities and their positions, they wouldn't be careless with such matters.
So he tested Ebizo:
"Logically speaking, we should have been more fully prepared in just two days."
Ebizo noticed Rasa's displeasure. He stayed quiet for a moment before replying:
"Rasa, we also know that this small amount of preparation is of little use. The problem is—our village has no money left!"
After saying this, Ebizo slumped weakly into his chair.
It was hard to tell if his tone was sad or calm:
"Given the Sand Village's current finances, it's already remarkable we could purchase these supplies at all."
"There are only five million Ryō left in the treasury. That may sound like a lot, but tens of thousands of ninjas still need to be paid for their missions."
"Even if we give priority to jonin, the mission rewards for chunin and genin cannot be delayed for long."
"So if we continue buying supplies, it will seriously harm the village's daily operations."
His tone grew helpless:
"You know the Daimyo's attitude toward our village. For years, he's been cutting our funding."
"The number of missions we receive has been shrinking year by year. Many clients prefer Konoha nearby, or even faraway Kumogakure."
The Sand Village was expected to be an obedient tool, working hard,
while the daimyo focused on his own concerns.
Rasa didn't know what the saddest thing in the world was,
but right now, it was knowing that war was near—
and not having the money to prepare.
He had always known the Sand Village was poor,
but experiencing it firsthand now made him truly understand the hardship.
Rasa hesitated, then said:
"I'll go panning for gold later. That should help ease the current situation."
Then he added:
"As for the Daimyo, I'll personally go to the capital of the Land of Wind in a few days."
Ebizo's face brightened at those words.
But before he could reply, Rasa continued, and his expression immediately darkened.
Ebizo took a deep breath and asked carefully:
"Rasa, what method do you plan to use to convince the Daimyo?"
Rasa could see the doubt and fear in the old man's eyes. He waved his hand dismissively:
"Don't worry, he's a well-known man. I won't use extreme measures. I'll just talk to him."
Without giving Ebizo a chance to say more, Rasa stood up and walked out the door.
Ebizo frowned slightly at Rasa's retreating figure, then slowly shook his head.
He still believed that Rasa, who had been a well-behaved child since childhood, would never do anything reckless.
But he was mistaken.
If it were the original Rasa, that would be true.
But this Rasa, who had reincarnated and replaced everything of the original, thought differently.
Walking along the road out of the village,
Rasa returned the greetings of civilians and ninjas while thinking deeply.
Those born and raised in the ninja world naturally held reverence for daimyo and nobles.
Even if the daimyo condemned them and their village to slow death,
they would endure without protest.
It wasn't just the Sand Village—
all five great villages, including Konoha, were the same.
Ninjas revered strength,
yet they bowed to rulers who had no true power, only noble bloodlines.
Rasa didn't fully understand it,
but he knew this was how things worked.
Still, for someone like him who had reincarnated,
things were different.
Directly killing or threatening the Daimyo would be foolish.
But Rasa didn't need any system—he had his own power.
He could arrange for the Daimyo's important guards to die in "accidents,"
then drop hints to ordinary people.
Or he could back one of the Daimyo's neglected sons,
while arranging "accidents" for the others,
until only the neglected heir remained.
He could even orchestrate an "accident" that left the Daimyo paralyzed or unable to rule.
After that, events would fall into place naturally.
Rasa had many such methods.
People in the ninja world valued bloodline and reputation too much,
and never considered true resistance.
The Daimyo of the Land of Fire had even formed the Twelve Guardian Ninjas.
Konoha didn't resist at all—they simply obeyed.
Even the Third Hokage's son, Asuma Sarutobi, joined them.
For years, Asuma was torn between the "two jades," exhausting his spirit.
He wavered between his village and the Daimyo, the nominal ruler.
If even the Hokage's son was like this,
how could ordinary ninjas be any different?
But Rasa didn't care whether the Daimyo's bloodline was noble or unchanged for centuries.
To him, it was only an obstacle.
Then he would simply replace it with a more obedient daimyo.
With these thoughts, Rasa quickly walked out of the Sand Village.
He headed deep into the desert, dozens of miles away, and began refining the golden sand buried there.
By noon, Rasa returned to the village.
He dropped more than a dozen heavy bags of golden sand in front of Ebizo.
Ebizo's eyes widened at the sight of the bulging bags.
But before he could say a word, Rasa had already vanished,
leaving only one sentence behind:
"I have something urgent to do. I have to leave first."
Ebizo turned helplessly toward Chiyo, who had just entered the office, and gave a bitter smile.
Chiyo set down the teacup in her hand and sighed in a complicated tone:
...
...
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