The terrifying wound on the Fourth Raikage, which had seemed so dire at first glance, was quickly healed under the care of the medical-nin.
However, that hideous scar was forever branded onto his flesh, echoing the cross-shaped injury Takeshi had inflicted years ago.
Fortunately, the Fourth Raikage's resilient kidneys were not affected by this wound.
It was, in a way, a blessing in misfortune.
But although his injuries had been healed, news of the Raikage's defeat still had an undeniable impact on the morale of his troops.
They had just completed their assembly. Upon hearing that their own Raikage had been defeated by the White Reaper, they were filled with righteous anger — yet deep down, a seed of fear had been planted.
If even the Raikage could not defeat this opponent, what would happen if they themselves were to encounter him?
And what's more, the commander of the large Konoha force was none other than Sarutobi Hiruzen, whose renown even exceeded that of Takeshi.
The Raikage was well aware of the situation. So when Sarutobi Hiruzen had only just led the main force into the Land of the Moon, Kumogakure's diplomatic letter proposing to reopen negotiations was delivered to Sakumo's desk.
However, even after receiving the letter, Sakumo merely ordered the surprise-attack units to cease their assault. Sarutobi Hiruzen's large force still entered the Land of Lightning as originally planned, taking over the strongholds and fortresses damaged by the surprise attacks.
After all, the other side had merely agreed to negotiate — until there was a result, the two sides were still technically at war.
Seeing Sakumo's actions, the Raikage was furious, but he had to admit that Konoha had changed. He sent high-level officials to meet with Konoha's envoys at the border for negotiations.
...
At the same time, in Sunagakure — Konoha's ally — the leadership was holding an urgent high-level meeting.
Now, with Rasa holding absolute power, all decisions in Sunagakure were made by him alone.
The cause of this could be traced back to the day Konoha had been attacked.
After his battle with Sasori, Sakumo had sent word to Sunagakure, reporting intelligence about what appeared to be the Third Kazekage turned into a human puppet.
When it came to such masterful puppet techniques, the only people Rasa could think of were the three generations of Chiyo's family.
Chiyo was already elderly and had not left the village at the time. Her son had long since passed away. The only one with such skill was the missing Sasori of the Red Sand.
Upon receiving the news, Chiyo's expression had changed instantly. Before long, she and her younger brother Ebizō announced their retirement, handing over all power to Rasa.
Chiyo's departure was one thing, but the plan to select the next One-Tails Jinchūriki was shelved.
Under Chiyo's original plan, Shukaku was to be sealed into her youngest son, Gaara.
But with Chiyo abruptly stepping back, Shukaku remained sealed in the temple in the Land of Wind.
A headache indeed.
Rasa shook his head, pushing the matter of Shukaku aside.
"I've heard that Konoha and Kumogakure are at war again, with Sarutobi Hiruzen personally leading troops. If we were to launch a surprise attack on Kikyo Pass now, could we force Konoha into a surrender under our terms?"
After a moment's thought, Rasa voiced the main topic of this meeting.
Due to the delay in information, Rasa did not yet know that the Raikage had already backed down.
Hearing that their Kazekage was considering attacking Konoha, the high-ranking officials recalled the disastrous Battle of Kikyo Pass.
That war had humiliated Sunagakure just as they were starting to recover. Many mid-level shinobi had died, and their Daimyō had scolded them harshly, cutting the already meager military budget by another ten percent.
Though Sarutobi Hiruzen was not in the village, Hatake Sakumo still was. And without a chosen Jinchūriki, they simply had no ability to fight Konoha.
The room fell into silence.
Seeing their reactions, Rasa knew that this was indeed a tall order. He did not press the point and instead sighed.
If things continued this way, Sunagakure would eventually become Konoha's vassal.
He saw this clearly, yet had no means to change it.
Would he really just allow Konoha to grow unchecked?
But what if — what if Sarutobi Hiruzen were to fall to the Fourth Raikage?
What if Konoha's main force, fighting outside its borders, were ambushed by Kumogakure?
A flicker of hopeful speculation rose in Rasa's mind.
"Gather the troops."
The high-ranking officials were startled.
If the Kazekage gave this order, it meant he was determined to go to war with Konoha.
"Kazekage-sama..." one official began cautiously, intending to dissuade him.
"Gather the troops under the pretense of supporting our ally Konoha. If the situation changes, we'll be ready to respond."
Rasa didn't even look at the man, continuing to issue his command.
"But Konoha's diplomatic letter clearly stated that they don't require Sunagakure's support for this operation..."
Another official voiced his opposition.
"We are allies, not subordinates. We don't have to follow their instructions on every matter!"
Rasa's tone rose a notch.
And so, under his insistence, Sunagakure began mobilization in secret, without informing the Daimyō.
However, the mobilization had barely begun when the Anbu under Rasa brought him an important piece of intelligence.
The Fourth Raikage had caved.
In exchange for Konoha's acknowledgment of Kumogakure's schemes for the Byakugan, he had invited Konoha to reopen negotiations.
The Anbu also reported that the Fourth Raikage appeared to be injured.
"Impossible! That Fourth Raikage was seriously injured by a Konoha shinobi before Sarutobi Hiruzen even reached the battlefield?!"
"Who was it? Who could have done it? Was it Hatake Sakumo?!"
Rasa's first reaction to the news was disbelief.
Among the current Five Kage, aside from the uncertain leadership in Kirigakure, the abilities of the others were not much of a secret.
The Fourth Raikage might not have inherited his father's perfect physique, but in speed he far surpassed him — second only to Konoha's Yellow Flash.
Wait... the Yellow Flash—
But according to intelligence, while Namikaze Minato's speed surpassed that of the Fourth Raikage, he lacked the means to break through his defenses...
"Continue the investigation. I want to know exactly who the Fourth Raikage fought!"
...
Compared to Rasa's disbelief, Ōnoki's reaction was far calmer.
"That Fourth Raikage kid — he didn't inherit his father's full strength after all."
Accepting a cup of hot tea from Kurotsuchi, Ōnoki gently blew away the floating tea leaves, a faintly amused smile on his face.
What fools — to think they could challenge Konoha with the power of a single village. Too young, never having suffered Konoha's crushing blow.
Unbidden, Ōnoki's thoughts drifted to the past.
"I remember back then, I fought alongside my predecessor against Uchiha Madara..."
"Yes, yes — Kurotsuchi's already heard that story plenty of times."
Kurotsuchi shook her head and sighed. She'd lost count of how many times Ōnoki had brought up that old tale.