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While it was highly unlikely that Rasa would do something so utterly brainless—and he probably didn't dare—the possibility lingered.
The Land of Water's daimyo had been attacked in the Land of Wind, losing an arm. The Land of Wind's daimyo wasn't about to gamble with his life.
If he bet right, it'd just be a false alarm.
If he bet wrong, he could lose his life—or at the very least, an arm or leg.
Never underestimate what a crazed person might do.
Clearly, the Land of Water's daimyo didn't dare bet on whether Rasa had truly lost it.
So, he needed a safe place to lie low until he was sure it was safe to return to the Land of Wind.
In ancient times, Danzo's mere glance had scared the Land of Fire's daimyo witless. Now, was Rasa's supposed madness driving the Land of Water's daimyo to flee overnight?
The bizarre thought flitted through Jiraiya's mind.
"Then send two teams to escort the Land of Wind's daimyo to our daimyo's residence. Also, send word back to the village. We don't need to worry about the rest."
Since the Land of Wind's daimyo had requested protection, Jiraiya couldn't ignore it.
Over the years, this daimyo had sent plenty of "warmth" Konoha's way. You had to honor that kind of goodwill.
Two ninja teams were enough for the escort mission. Besides, the route was within the Land of Fire, which was safe for now, before the war flared up. No need to send too many people.
As for the rest, Jiraiya couldn't be bothered.
Notify the village, let them handle it.
How the village would communicate with Sunagakure, he didn't know.
Rasa must be fuming knowing his daimyo packed up and bolted.
Jiraiya couldn't help but chuckle.
The shinobi world's situation was getting more interesting by the day.
In fact, Rasa was close to losing it.
The intelligence from the scene had just been collected, not even sorted yet, when his daimyo up and fled.
By the time it was noticed, he'd already left the Land of Wind and gone to Konoha for help.
Talk about a slap in the face—did it have to sting that much?
Rasa had it rough.
Looking at the scrolls and clutter scattered across the floor, Chiyo sighed, feeling a bit of pity for Rasa.
The Kazekage's seat was no easy throne.
Trouble came in waves—one mess wasn't even cleaned up before the next sparked.
The Land of Wind's daimyo fleeing was practically shouting to the world that Rasa had sent people to assassinate the Land of Water's daimyo.
It was like saying, "I'm scared he'll kill me too, so I packed up and ran. Believe it or not, I do."
"Kazekage-sama, since the daimyo's already in the Land of Fire, let him cool off there for a bit. When I head to Konoha, I'll stop by to meet him. The truth will come out eventually."
"No need—it's already surfacing."
Rasa, face dark, handed Chiyo the scroll from the intelligence department:
"The bodies we found yielded plenty of information. The ones who attacked the Land of Water's daimyo were indeed our patrol teams that didn't return on time. But they were likely controlled by an enemy."
Rasa was clearly desperate.
Chiyo opened the scroll and read it carefully.
"In that case, leave the announcement to you, Kazekage-sama. I'll head to Konoha immediately and visit the daimyo to talk with him in person. If possible, I'll bring Konoha into it. With Konoha's presence, the daimyo's trust in us should improve."
"Mm."
In a foul mood, Rasa didn't say much, just giving a faint nod:
"Then I'll leave the supply matters to you, Advisor Chiyo."
"It's all for the village. These old bones can handle a bit of hustle."
Leaving the Kazekage's office, Chiyo immediately took money and people, heading straight for the Land of Fire.
She needed to act fast, securing enough supplies for the village before the war broke out.
Food, war materials—everything had to be stockpiled in bulk.
Once war erupted, transportation would be a nightmare, and prices would skyrocket. Sunagakure didn't have the funds to play the fool.
Even if the war didn't happen, they could use the supplies slowly.
The catch was getting them in the first place—and whether Konoha would sell.
In this sensitive period, even if the Fire Daimyo wanted to make a profit, it depended on Konoha's approval.
If Konoha refused, the Fire Daimyo would have to hold back, no matter how much they wanted to cash in.
Knock, knock, knock!
The office door was rapped. Before Izumi could step forward, it swung open, and Tsunade strode in with a scroll.
"Hokage-sama."
Izumi quickly stood and saluted.
"Mm, I've got something to discuss with Kazuki. You can head home for the day."
Tsunade waved her hand, dismissing Izumi.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Izumi quietly waved to Kazuki—'See ya, boss'—before slipping out, thoughtfully closing the door behind her.
"Here, from the border camp."
Tsunade plopped onto the desk, tossing the scroll onto Kazuki's papers.
Kazuki opened it, took one look, and burst out laughing:
"Hahaha… Rasa's gotta be losing it. He hasn't even figured out what's going on, and his daimyo's already packed up and fled. Isn't that just indirectly pinning the assassination of the Land of Water's daimyo on Sunagakure?"
Absolute genius.
Talk about a trash teammate—this was it.
With a teammate like that, anyone would get a headache.
Even if the truth came out, shaking off the stigma of assassinating the Land of Water's daimyo would be tough for Sunagakure.
You could say the Land of Wind's daimyo had royally screwed Sunagakure.
Did Rasa have any thoughts of killing his daimyo? Kazuki didn't know. But after this stunt, Kazuki bet Rasa was seriously considering it.
Fairly speaking, if Kazuki were in Rasa's shoes and his daimyo pulled something like this, he'd also entertain thoughts of offing him.
Useless at everything except causing trouble—that's the Land of Wind's daimyo.
When it came to screwing over his own people, he was a pro.
Look at his antics over the years: cutting off Sunagakure's funding, stunting their growth, demanding compensation, outsourcing missions to Konoha, sending "warmth" to Konoha while constantly antagonizing Sunagakure.
Now, when everyone was suspecting Sunagakure, this guy just up and ran, indirectly cementing their guilt in assassinating the Land of Water's daimyo.
At this point, even ten mouths wouldn't be enough for Rasa to explain himself.
It's like yellow mud falling in your pants—not shit, but no one believes you.
"Poor Rasa. Hope he can handle the pressure."
'Man, what a talent... Thank goodness the Land of Fire's daimyo wasn't like that, or Konoha would have a headache too.'