Chapter 269 – The New Fourth Kazekage
The next day, the ninja world was thrown into chaos again.
The reason was simple: word had spread everywhere that the Fourth Kazekage's attempt to assassinate the Daimyo had failed, and he had been killed by Sunagakure's own hero—Pakura.
When this news arrived in Sunagakure, it stunned the village leadership.
They knew exactly what their Kazekage had been doing, and many of these high-ranking officials had played direct roles in his schemes.
But assassinating a Daimyo? That was something none of them would ever dare consider. They hadn't even finished squeezing benefits from the nobles—why would they attack their own Daimyo?
And who killed Rasa?
Pakura?
Regardless of how she'd been resurrected, the difference in strength between the two should have made this impossible.
If Pakura had truly been that powerful, Rasa would never have become the Fourth Kazekage in the first place.
Any ninja could tell which was more dangerous: Scorch Release, or Magnet Release.
Kirigakure was also placed in an awkward situation when they received the news.
Especially Yagura Karatachi—the one the Third Mizukage had sent to carry out this covert deal.
Yet instead of completing the mission, he ended up losing several jōnin.
To smoothly inherit the title of Fourth Mizukage, Yagura was forced to report the "completed" mission to the Third Mizukage at the time… and now that this lie had been exposed, he could only feel embarrassed.
Luckily, the Third Mizukage had already passed away years ago due to age and illness. Otherwise, he might have died of anger on the spot upon learning the young man he admired had fabricated the entire story.
While the Sunagakure leadership stared at one another in shock, Pakura—escorted by the Daimyo's ceremonial guard—was being carried toward Sunagakure in a noble-style palanquin.
Chiyo and Ebizo, who were supposed to be living in seclusion, suddenly returned and quickly executed several of Rasa's closest high-ranking allies. They then ordered all Sand shinobi who had occupied noble territories and checkpoints to retreat immediately.
The reforms were abruptly cut short, and the benefits obtained were handed back.
Although the Sand shinobi did not dare rebel against the authority of these two legendary elders, they still resented the extravagant lifestyles of the nobles.
They were risking their lives to protect these people—so why did the nobles enjoy prosperity and comfort while they faced death and exploitation?
Chiyo didn't bother explaining anything. Her only priority was ensuring Sunagakure didn't collapse—at least not while she still lived.
This time, the damage caused by Rasa was disastrous. Most of the ministers who had accompanied the Daimyo died beneath his gold dust. The shriveled head of the Daimyo's enemy was returned to the village ahead of Pakura and served as undeniable evidence of Rasa's crime.
As for why Pakura survived and could appear next to the Daimyo—that was not something Chiyo bothered with.
The enraged Daimyo bypassed Sunagakure entirely and appointed Pakura as the new Fourth Kazekage.
Yes—the Fourth Kazekage.
Rasa's crimes were so terrible that the Daimyo stripped him of the title immediately.
The remains of the "enemy" were sent to the Daimyo's armory to be displayed as a warning to future rulers.
Even the head was kept under guard by the Daimyo, shown to every Sunagakure shinobi, and then taken back to the Daimyo's residence.
Inside Sunagakure's prison, Chiyo looked at the high-ranking officials with disappointment.
"How foolish! You could have secretly taken advantage of the enemy, but instead you openly opposed the Daimyo himself."
The officials protested, "You were living comfortably in seclusion with your brother. What about us? We need to survive too!"
Besides, all they had done was quietly eliminate a few nobles. How could they have expected their own Kazekage—the so-called "pathetic Kazekage"—to charge in and personally confront the Daimyo?
Before Chiyo could scold them further, an ANBU hurried over to report something to her. After hearing it, she left the prison immediately and met a squad preparing to arrest Rasa's family.
"Advisor Chiyo," Yūra reported, "as you ordered, we have surrounded Rasa's home, but neither his three children nor Yashamaru were found."
He secretly felt relieved.
If he had captured the former Kazekage's children, given the Daimyo's temperament, their fate would certainly have been grim—and his own reputation would have been stained forever.
Their escape spared him from that burden.
Chiyo felt the same, though she didn't show it. As the last buffer between Sunagakure and the Daimyo, she simply frowned and ordered Yashamaru to be listed as a rogue ninja—while pointedly ignoring Rasa's three children.
After she finished handling the matter, Ebizo approached, visibly uneasy.
"Sister… I've looked into the situation. There are many strange things going on."
Before retirement, Ebizo had been Sunagakure's intelligence chief—similar in power to Danzo in Konoha.
Many of his former subordinates still worked in their old positions, so with his return, the entire intelligence network quickly gathered and submitted information to him.
"Rasa did send assassination squads to kill nobles and seize checkpoints," Ebizo said, "but everything he did was still within a controlled limit. Even if the Daimyo summoned ministers to scold him, it should not have pushed him to such an extreme."
"So what?" Chiyo snapped. "The Daimyo is furious, Rasa crossed the line for a village leader—and more importantly…"
Her voice suddenly grew harsh:
"Rasa is now just a dried-up head. His brain is gone. How can we check whether he was under a genjutsu?!"
Pakura's Scorch Release had evaporated Rasa's moisture and destroyed his internal organs.
Even if Rasa's head were displayed in Sunagakure right now, Chiyo—Sunagakure's most skilled medical ninja—could not detect whether he had been manipulated.
Even so, Pakura's record was terrifying…
Ebizo had no fondness for her.
It wasn't because he feared she would seek revenge.
When they had decided to betray her back then, he and Chiyo had silently agreed—not advocating for her, but not stopping it either.
No, Ebizo simply disliked her personality. She was powerful, but reckless—acting first and thinking later.
He could hardly imagine what direction Sunagakure would take under a Kazekage like her.