Chapter 87: Rasa and Gaara
Worthy of being Sunagakure ninjas.
The Suna ninjas deeply embodied the spirit of their higher-ups; surrender was always so swift.
Looking at the successive Kazekages and Sunagakure's high command, they would seize opportunities for profit to start wars, and if they couldn't win, they'd quickly kneel and surrender.
Uehara Naraka obtained the intelligence he wanted and, satisfied, waved his hand at them, "Quickly pass the message to your Lord Kazekage. Withdraw your personnel as soon as possible."
After speaking, Uehara Naraka added, "Otherwise, when we exterminate the wandering ninjas in the Land of Rain, we will treat all other ninjas still active in the Land of Rain as spies and eliminate them!"
"..."
The several Suna ninjas glanced at each other.
Soon, they warily watched Uehara Naraka, slowly backing away step by step. Once they were at a distance, they quickly fled far away.
Uehara Naraka didn't care about their escape.
The neighboring Land of Wind's Sunagakure was up to some mischief. Besides the ordinary ninjas Uehara expelled, a large number of ANBU were also lurking in the Land of Rain.
He still had plenty to do!
In the following time, Uehara Naraka was very diligent.
Beside a small river.
A Suna ANBU ninja extended his palm, caught an eagle descending from the sky, and carefully removed a scroll of intelligence from its talon.
When this ANBU member saw the contents of the intelligence, his face couldn't help changing drastically, "Lord Kazekage has sent orders for us to leave the Land of Rain immediately."
"Are you kidding?"
His comrade instantly looked displeased, "Lord Kazekage can't always be so fickle with his orders! We only infiltrated the Land of Rain a few days ago!"
"Yeah!"
Another Suna ninja also spoke discontentedly, "The village always calls for war against the Land of Rain, but every time it's given up halfway..."
"This can't be helped, right!"
The Suna ANBU captain sighed and explained gravely, "Perhaps it's that Shimura Danzō from Konoha causing trouble again. For the past few years, whenever we make any move against the Land of Rain, Konoha slows our pace."
After speaking, this ANBU captain fiercely slammed his fist into a nearby tree, "Those bastards from Konoha just want to prevent Sunagakure's rise!"
Ever since Sunagakure was defeated in the Third Great Ninja War, it reached an alliance treaty with Konoha, in reality becoming Konoha's vassal ally.
Sunagakure, under each generation of Kazekage, had almost always been Konoha's vassal ally, because they always lost in wars.
Making the Kazekages willingly accept defeat was absolutely impossible.
Especially the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, who could also be called a leader of great talent and bold vision. Relying on his Magnet Release Gold Dust technique, he grasped real power in the village and began making continuous small moves.
Not long ago, news of the destruction of Konoha's Uchiha clan spread, meaning Konoha's strength had significantly declined; it was their weakest moment.
Fourth Kazekage Rasa wanted to seize this opportunity to grab a piece of fertile land that could bring benefits to Sunagakure.
Of course, asking Rasa to proactively attack Konoha and seize Land of Fire territory—he definitely wouldn't dare do that. What if Konoha retaliated and slapped them down again?
Rasa set his sights on the Land of Rain.
Although Hiruzen Sarutobi was not too satisfied with this, he certainly couldn't voice his opinion. After all, alliances between major powers often relied on betraying the interests of smaller nations, didn't they?
However, Rasa's successive moves against the Land of Rain were forced to be abandoned either due to the strength of Amegakure's (Village Hidden in the Rain) leader, Hanzō of the Salamander, or because of Shimura Danzō's opposition.
Now, Rasa finally seized the opportunity of Konoha being severely weakened, planning to be assertive with the Land of Rain, but Amegakure's attitude seemed even tougher than theirs!
"Amegakure has dispatched a kid with formidable combat power, who is rampantly expelling our Sunagakure's ordinary ninjas. Perhaps he is also the one intercepting and killing our ANBU everywhere. Of eleven ANBU squads, only three can currently be contacted..."
The border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rain.
At Sunagakure's forward command post, Rasa's confidant, Jonin Baki, was diligently reporting the news he received, and also reported his handling method, "I have already sent people to order all other ANBU squads to temporarily withdraw..."
"A kid?"
Hearing Baki's report, Rasa himself, instead of getting angry, laughed in exasperation, "Has the strength of the ninjas in the village declined to this extent? I haven't reduced your financial support in the slightest!"
"Lord Kazekage..."
Baki lowered his head, trembling with fear, not daring to look at Rasa.
Sunagakure's ninja training always adopted elite education, yet now they had submitted an ugly report card.
Several Jonin captains who entered the Land of Rain on missions were killed, ordinary ninjas all expelled; of eleven infiltrated ANBU squads, perhaps only three remained now...
"A bunch of trash..."
After cursing, Rasa sighed, "Forget it, then withdraw them all first! I'll go see for myself what kind of genius ninja Amegakure has actually produced!"
"Lord Kazekage, this is not a particularly rational action."
Baki frowned and persuaded gravely, "Your safety is more important than any action in the village. I do not advise Lord Kazekage to actively take risks..."
"What danger can a mere kid pose?"
Rasa waved his hand. He knew his own village's situation; ever since being severely weakened by Konoha during the Great Ninja War, they really couldn't pick out many powerful ninjas.
Precisely for this reason, to encourage the village's ninjas to improve, Rasa had lowered the Jonin promotion standards several times. He had almost always been supporting some Special Jonin with training funds equivalent to Jonin treatment.
Rasa glanced back at Baki and suddenly said, "Help me bring Gaara over. Coincidentally, I want to see if our ultimate weapon is qualified..."
"..."
After being silent for a second, a look of horror and unease appeared on Baki's face. He gave Rasa a deep look and nodded at him.
Gaara was Sunagakure's One-Tail Jinchūriki.
All along, due to Gaara's unstable emotions, casualties often occurred within Sunagakure because of the One-Tail's rampages, causing the village's attitude towards the Jinchūriki to become increasingly resentful.
Precisely for this reason, Gaara, a child who should have entered the Ninja Academy, could now only be personally taught ninjutsu by Rasa.
Last year, when Gaara, in a fit of rage, killed the Chunin Yashamaru who had cared for him since childhood, he surprisingly began to be able to control the One-Tail.
However, Baki knew a part of the truth.
At least Jonin Baki knew that Yashamaru, who tried to assassinate Gaara, and the subsequent Suna ANBU, were all sent by Rasa.
Now, Sunagakure's One-Tail Jinchūriki had finally become completely bloodthirsty, violent, and cruel, like a wild beast constantly in a hunting state.
Even when Baki saw Gaara's eyes, he couldn't believe those were the eyes an eight-year-old child should have.
Gaara looked as if he could kill at any moment.
And he seemed not to care at all who he was actually killing.
In these events shaping the Jinchūriki, what Jonin Baki feared most was not the power of the One-Tail, but the relationship between Gaara and Rasa.
The two of them were father and son.
"Gaara, Lord Kazekage wants to see you..."
Jonin Baki walked to a simple training ground, looking at the lonely, red-haired little boy sitting there, a sight that made one's heart soften somewhat.
However, Gaara didn't need sympathy.
"I understand."
Gaara slowly stood up. The yellow sand on the ground gradually began to gather, forming a sand gourd behind his back.
The yellow sand on the ground gradually dispersed, but a smell of blood wafted out.
Baki looked down at a crimson bloodstain on the training ground and couldn't help asking, "Did someone try to assassinate you again? You're not injured, kid, are you?"
"Are you worried about me releasing that monster after I get injured?"
Gaara slowly raised his head and chuckled, "Hahahahaha... In this village, how could anyone possibly hurt me!"
(End of Chapter)
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