If Nara Shikaku only felt helpless, the Other Ninja Villages were feeling frustrated and infuriated.
Sunagakure.
Grandmother Chiyo and Ebizo were already slamming the table, putting on a posture as if demanding Rasa follow Konoha's lead, forcing him to frantically occupy small nations as well, absolutely refusing to let those small countries get used to Konoha's rule.
They knew very well how powerful 'habit' could be!
If those small nations truly grew accustomed to being ruled by Konoha, it would not be good news for the Land of Wind.
Therefore, it had to be stopped!
The Land of Fire itself occupied the best location in the Ninja World, with favorable weather every year and abundant resources, lacking the various messy problems of Other Ninja Villages. If it annexed such a large number of small countries, it would be a disaster for the Other Ninja Villages.
But, unfortunately...
Compared to Grandmother Chiyo and Ebizo's excitement, Rasa, as the Kazekage, remained very calm.
"Elders, I am sorry!"
"I cannot agree to your proposal; Sunagakure cannot muster that much strength."
"With the conclusion of the Five Kage Summit, almost all of our Village's forces are currently deployed within the Land of Wind to restore stability and production as quickly as possible. Even so, we are still stretched thin."
"Go and seize those small nations?"
"Even if we could occupy some resources, can they compare to the Land of Wind?"
"Although the vast majority of the Land of Wind is desert, the resources it contains are by no means comparable to those small countries."
"Abandon the Land of Wind, the very foundation of Sunagakure, to forcibly seize the resources of those small nations?"
"I will not do such a foolish thing!"
"Especially, do not forget, Elders, that in the late stages of the Third Ninja World War, that bastard Orochimaru wiped out three-quarters of Sunagakure's Ninja forces in a single battle at Kikyo Castle. This was the fundamental reason for Sunagakure's final defeat."
"The Sunagakure of today is—too weak!"
"We simply don't have the spare energy to compete with Konoha, and don't even think about contacting Other Ninja Villages..."
"Because—it's pointless!"
"First of all, the Hidden Mist Village has just undergone a civil war, and even two of their Tailed Beasts are temporarily dead. They have no interest in interfering with the affairs of the Ninja World mainland."
"The Hidden Cloud Village's Fourth Raikage and Eight-Tails Jinchuriki are heavily injured, and the Two-Tails Jinchuriki has been captured. While the situation in Iwagakure is slightly better, it is only marginally so. I don't believe those two Villages have the capacity to join forces with us."
"And don't forget the most important point: during this period, these Ninja Villages are also maintaining the overall stability of their own countries. So, I don't think they have the ability to intervene in this matter."
His words were extremely certain.
After hearing this, Ebizo and Grandmother Chiyo opened their mouths several times but found themselves unable to say a single word.
Because both of them knew very well that what Rasa said was the truth!
But watching Konoha eat the meat while they couldn't even get a finger in made both of them feel extremely displeased.
So, sigh!
With a helpless sigh, the two had no choice but to leave.
Only after they had left did Rasa give a cold smile.
"You two old things. Before, when Sunagakure lacked resources and experts, I barely tolerated your insolence."
"But the situation has changed; the roles of offense and defense have reversed!"
"With the Land of Wind being integrated into Sunagakure, such massive resources being poured into the Village will allow us to train a large number of experts in three to five years."
"When that time comes—it will be time for us to settle the score!"
Rasa's eyes were cold, a flash of killing intent flickering within them.
Just as there were power struggles and internal friction between major factions in Konoha, Other Ninja Villages certainly had them to some extent as well, and Sunagakure was naturally no exception.
Back then, Rasa was able to ascend to the position of Fourth Kazekage because he relied on the support of Chiyo and Ebizo, even going as far as directly setting up Scorch Style Pakura to her death for it.
In the beginning.
Rasa was very grateful to the two. After all, without their assistance, he wouldn't have been able to become the Fourth Kazekage.
But as time passed, now that Rasa had secured his position as Kazekage, he found seeing these two increasingly annoying.
After all, relying on the merit of helping him into power, they usually showed no respect to him as the Kazekage, still maintaining an attitude of lecturing a junior every day. Rasa could barely tolerate it for a short time, but as time went on, he could no longer stand it.
Additionally, both of them had their own factions behind them, and since the resources Sunagakure could obtain were scarce, every time he worked hard to pan for gold in the desert, more than half would be taken by the factions behind these two.
The key point was that Rasa also had his own faction. If all the resources were taken by Chiyo and Ebizo, what would the members of his own faction get?
In the past, he could endure it!
After all, Sunagakure's foundation was too poor, with only a few top-tier experts. Considering the competition with Other Ninja Villages, no matter how frustrated he was, he could only choose to endure.
Now, however, it was different!
With the swallowing of the entire Land of Wind, Sunagakure's resources were no longer an issue. As the number of Sunagakure's experts increased, the importance of Chiyo and Ebizo would naturally decline. When that time came, it would naturally be time to settle the score with them... Sunagakure was just a microcosm!
The Other Ninja Villages were also very angry after learning about Konoha's situation. Especially the Hidden Cloud Village's Fourth Raikage, A, who directly smashed his recently replaced new desk with a single punch, only being talked down by Mabui in the end.
"Raikage-sama, you mustn't get agitated!"
"Our Village is currently in a period of weakness, especially since both you and Killer Bee-sama are heavily injured. It's already quite good that we can stabilize the situation within the Land of Lightning."
"What you should be grateful for now is that Konoha did not invade the Land of Lightning."
"Otherwise..."
Mabui gave a light sigh, not finishing her sentence.
And to this...
The Fourth Raikage's expression became increasingly unsightly, but he still managed to calm down.
Clearly.
He understood his Village's situation and naturally realized that what Mabui said was the truth. Although only five people from the Akatsuki Organization had invaded the Hidden Cloud Village last time, the problem was that the opponent's strength was somewhat excessively powerful.
All five of them possessed the eyes of the legendary Sage, and each person's ability was exaggeratedly terrifying. Even remembering it now caused a bit of lingering fear.
One must know that on that day, it wasn't just himself and Killer Bee who were heavily injured; the Village's ordinary Ninjas suffered even heavier casualties.
His secretary Mabui really wasn't lying. The Hidden Cloud Village was indeed very weak now, barely managing even the stabilization work within the Land of Lightning.
Take action against Konoha?
Thinking of Uchiha Jin himself whom he had seen last time, and the things the other party had done over the past two years, even in the state the Village was in before being attacked by the Akatsuki, to be honest, the Fourth Raikage didn't have much confidence in how to proceed.
As for now, that was even more ridiculous!
So, sigh!
With a helpless sigh, the Fourth Raikage could only sulk in frustration, not breathing a word about attacking Konoha.