"Lord Kazekage, why did we offer such favorable terms? If you ask me, we could have just forced the Land of Rain to surrender through strength."
Walking on the road away from Amegakure, Sasuke spoke indignantly to Sayan.
"Fight, fight, fight—all you know is fighting. Then let me ask you, what do we gain by conquering the Land of Rain?"
In the face of Sasuke's questioning, Sayan replied irritably.
"Well, if we win, we won't have to give the aid supplies, and we can just seize those three mines directly. Besides, Sunagakure is short on resources right now; where are we going to find supplies for them?"
"War costs money! Pensions cost money! You know we're broke at home, yet you still want to fight."
Hearing that Sasuke still dared to talk back, Sayan directly delivered a hard smack to the back of his head.
"Who said we'd use our own supplies? Aren't those nobles preparing to sell a batch of goods to Konoha? Sasuke, take some men and hijack them, then we'll have it."
"Ah, Lord Kazekage, those belong to the nobles after all. If we do this and get caught..."
"So what if we're caught? When the time comes, we'll just say Sunagakure had to scale back its forces due to a lack of war materials, allowing rogue Ninjas to break in. We'll claim the Sand Ninjas were powerless to stop it. If they want us to investigate, we'll ask them for another sum of money."
"Ah, you can even do that?"
"Stop 'ah'-ing and get moving! If those supplies get away, prepare to go dig in the mines yourself."
"Oh, oh, okay, I'm going. Lord Kazekage is indeed Lord Kazekage—so sinis... ah no, I mean, so brilliant."
Seeing Sayan's face turn dark, Sasuke immediately changed his tune and left with the ten Jonin behind him.
Two days later.
In an alleyway in the Land of Rain, Sayan looked at the little girl with blue-purple hair buns lying motionless on the ground and fell into silence.
This... has she already fainted from hunger?
Does this mean I've arrived too early?
After Konan had eaten and drunk her fill, Sayan took her along as well. He couldn't help it; Lord Sayan was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see children starve.
So where exactly is that red-haired brat?
"Stop! Stop right there, you brat! Give me back my fish!"
"Blehh! What's in my hands is mine! Blehh... Ouch!"
Sayan looked at the orange-haired boy who had crashed directly into him and felt it was quite a coincidence.
Ultimately, after Sayan paid for the fish, he took the orange-haired boy along as well. He couldn't help it; Lord Sayan was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see children being bullied.
So where exactly is that red-haired brat?
Now that two of the little ones are here, the last one must be nearby. Surely these three brats couldn't have crossed the entire war-torn Land of Rain to meet up?
Finally, on the afternoon of the next day, Sayan found the home of the last little one. However, he arrived a bit late, as shrill cries were coming from inside.
Sayan hurried forward and saw two Ninjas with Konoha headbands looting the house. A middle-aged man's body lay on the floor—clearly Nagato's father.
At this moment, Nagato was hiding behind his mother, the two of them huddled in a corner, trembling.
After entering, Sayan quickly dealt with the two Konoha Ninjas, saving Nagato and his mother, Momona.
Eventually, with the help of the other two little ones, Nagato and his mother suppressed their grief and buried his father.
Sayan destroyed the bodies of the two Konoha Ninjas. Considering it was getting dark and it wasn't safe to travel with four civilians at night, Sayan had to stay at Nagato's house for the night.
Moreover, they had just buried a family member and were still grieving. Taking them away immediately would seem a bit heartless, so it was necessary to give them some time.
After a simple dinner, The Three Little Ones went to rest early. One had just lost a father, and the other two had been traveling all day; they were all exhausted.
Now, only Sayan and Momona remained in the dining area.
Having just lost her husband, Momona's face was filled with sorrow and uncertainty.
The war was still ongoing, and the household had lost its provider. How could a widow and her child survive in this chaotic Land of Rain? And... if her identity as a member of the Uzumaki Clan were exposed... Thinking of this, Momona could no longer hold back and began to weep silently.
Sayan, who was nearby, noticed this and stepped forward. "Madam Momona."
"I'm sorry, Lord Ninja." Seeing Sayan approach, Momona quickly wiped her tears, a strained smile appearing on her tired face.
Momona was deeply grateful to this Lord Ninja who had appeared with children and saved her and her son.
However, her and Nagato's identities were special and could never be revealed.
"It's fine." Sayan sat down across from Momona, indicating it was no trouble.
Truthfully, he was also quite troubled. He had planned to find Nagato and take him away immediately. If Nagato was home, he'd take the whole family—carrying one in each hand and hanging one on his neck. If he met The Three Little Ones, he'd do the same. With his speed, no one could catch him. But now it was awkward; he couldn't carry four people. If he used Magnet Release, he'd be exposed.
If word spread that the Third Kazekage of Sunagakure was kidnapping children, his reputation would be ruined. Even worse, if Konoha found out that one of the kidnapped people was from the Uzumaki Clan, they might start making trouble.
But there was no choice; he couldn't leave anyone behind. Now that he'd found them, leaving one would be ridiculous.
While Nagato was asleep, he'd talk to his mother. If he convinced her, Nagato would follow. Since she currently felt completely insecure, it would be much easier to persuade her to leave the Land of Rain.
But as soon as Sayan spoke, he was stunned by his own words.
"Madam Momona, you wouldn't want your child to live in this war-torn country forever, would you?"
"????"
Sayan realized that while that was his point, the phrasing sounded incredibly suspicious.
Hearing Sayan's words, Momona's face went from surprised to pale, then to red, and finally, she said in a trembling voice, "I... I understand."
With that, she slowly stood up, placed her hands on her waist, and with trembling fingers, began to untie her sash.
Sayan: "??????"
That night, the rain outside was heavy.
It was very noisy, and very wet.