Chapter 170: Second Alias Offline
In the Hidden Sand Village of the Land of Wind, ever since the other three great nations declared war on Konoha, the upper echelons of the village began clamoring to join the fray. The council members and clan heads felt that Konoha posed a severe threat to their sovereignty. To them, this global conflict was the perfect opportunity to tear up their previous alliance treaties, declare war, and carve out a piece of the pie.
But the Third Kazekage disagreed. She forcefully suppressed their mounting demands with an iron fist.
"I will not agree to declare war on Konoha!"
"We are allies. In times like these, remaining strictly neutral is my absolute limit. I will never allow the Hidden Sand Village's army to point their blades at our partners."
Kazushi slammed her hand against the council table, her voice ringing with absolute finality. "Anyone who wants to seize military power and attack Konoha will have to step over my corpse first."
After several grueling meetings, the stalemate remained unbroken. The clan heads of the Hidden Sand could no longer sit still. Shadows lengthened in the village as they scurried off to hold secret discussions with Chiyo.
A suffocating, strange atmosphere enveloped the entire settlement. The air itself felt heavy with unspoken treason.
Even Kakuzu, a man who usually derived immense pleasure from watching assassins fail to kill Kazushi so he could profit from their bounties, began to eye the shifting tides with genuine concern.
"You should be more discreet lately," Kakuzu muttered, his green eyes narrowing beneath his hood. "I can smell the bloodlust. Your subordinates are on the verge of open rebellion."
"Then isn't that just another golden opportunity for you to line your pockets?" Kazushi laughed, her tone light and utterly unbothered.
Kakuzu stared at her calm, indifferent expression. His jaw tightened. "I am telling you this upfront. If you get ambushed and things go south, I will be the first one out the door. Do not expect me to die for you."
"Then remember to run fast so you do not trip and get yourself killed."
Kakuzu scoffed, genuinely baffled by her eerie composure.
The tension in the village was so thick that even little Sasori felt it. Ignoring Chiyo's strict instructions to stay put, the young boy grabbed his favorite snacks and waddled over to Kazushi's office.
"Kazekage-sama," Sasori murmured, holding up a brightly wrapped candy. "If you are unhappy, just eat a candy. It is sweet. Whenever I feel sad, eating the candy you gave me makes everything better."
"Thank you, our little Sasori."
Kazushi plucked the candy from his small palm, popped it into her mouth, and bent down to scoop the boy into her arms.
She used to think the Hidden Sand Village was nothing but a miserable, barren wasteland of endless dunes. But ever since she started playing with Sasori, she finally felt that staying in this desert had its fleeting charms.
Reaching into her robes, she produced a small, tightly bound scroll and slipped it into Sasori's oversized snack pouch.
"This is for you. You can use it when you are a bit older, but you must promise me you will wait until you are exactly six years old before opening it. Otherwise, it will hurt your hands."
"Okay, I will remember," Sasori promised, carefully patting the pouch. He rested his chin on Kazushi's shoulder, his voice dropping to a muffled whisper. "Kazekage-sama... why have you been arguing with Granny so much lately? And Great-Uncle Ebizo... he sighs the moment he walks through the front door."
Hearing him call Chiyo Granny and Ebizo Great-Uncle always gave Kazushi a surreal sense of whiplash. Chiyo was only a few years older than Hiruzen Sarutobi. The rest of their generation was still firmly in their middle-aged prime, yet Chiyo had somehow fast-tracked her way to grandmother status. She had married and given birth early, and her son had faithfully followed the family tradition. He was barely an adult himself, yet he had already produced a grandson.
"Because our philosophies have diverged," Kazushi said softly, gently ruffling the boy's red hair.
"My dream is a future with no more wars. A world where the villagers can live peacefully, without ever worrying about where their next meal or warm coat will come from. But achieving that dream requires accepting certain restrictions and giving up some old rights."
"Your Granny and the elders believe those rights are the very foundation of a ninja nation. That is why we argue. But Sasori, you are still so young. You do not need to burden your mind with these heavy things. You just need to grow up happy."
Ninja world children were terrifyingly precocious. Barely four years old, Sasori was already analyzing the political climate.
His chubby little finger pointed toward a large, unrolled document resting on the Kazekage's desk. "Is it because of this? I have seen Granny sighing while looking at papers just like that one."
The grand ninja world peace plan sat right there in the open. Kazushi smiled and pinched Sasori's small nose.
"Sasori is so smart. You have only been learning to read for a short while, and you can already recognize these documents."
Sasori reached out with both hands and rolled up the heavy scroll. "Kazekage-sama, can I have this?"
"What will you do with it?"
"I might not understand your intentions right now, but I will grow up. When I am big, I can help you."
'That is probably impossible,'Kazushi thought with dry amusement.'By the time you grow up, the grass on my grave will be several feet high.'
Naturally, she kept that morbid truth to herself.
Kazushi let him take the scroll.
"Take it if you wish. But I doubt you will agree with this philosophy when you come of age. Such an advanced concept takes a lifetime to truly understand."
Sasori locked those words away in his heart, silently repeating them. He made a quiet vow to himself. When he grew up, he would stand firmly by Kazekage-sama's side. He would never let her be abandoned by the world.
Days bled into one another. As fresh reports of bloody border skirmishes between the three great nations flooded in, the influential elders of the Hidden Sand finally marched into Kazushi's office for a final confrontation.
This time, their posture was uncharacteristically rigid. Their eyes held a dark, uncompromising resolve.
"Kazekage-sama, we cannot delay this any longer. You must immediately deploy our troops to attack Konoha."
Kazushi had been in the middle of teaching Sasori how to manipulate the joints of a simple wooden puppet centipede. Sensing the sudden drop in temperature and the murderous intent leaking into the room, she calmly signaled for Chiyo's daughter-in-law to take the boy away.
"Kazekage-sama!" Sasori protested weakly.
"It is alright, Sasori. Go back with your mother. Goodbye."
Kazushi gently pinched his soft cheek one last time. This adorable child... she would likely never see him again. And if their paths ever did cross in the future, they would be nothing more than strangers.
The heavy wooden doors clicked shut behind the boy.
Kazushi turned around. The warm, motherly affection vanished from her face, replaced by a mask of absolute, freezing indifference as she stared down the gathered council.
"I have already given my answer. I will not authorize a war. You all know exactly how terrifying Ida Mutzuki's strength is. If she decides to march on the Hidden Sand Village herself, who exactly is going to stop her? Me? Or you?"
"All you are doing is proving that you have completely become Ida Mutzuki's obedient dog! I refuse to acknowledge such a pathetic Kazekage!"
An elder snapped, his patience breaking. He threw his hands forward, his fingers twitching as chakra threads shot out. Several heavily armed puppets burst from the shadows, lunging straight for Kazushi.
The moment he moved, the rest of the elders attacked in unison. Countless wooden monstrosities brandished blades dripping with lethal purple poison, slashing at her from every conceivable angle without a shred of hesitation.
Kazushi did not even blink.
Countless small, razor-sharp wind blades instantly materialized around her body, forming a dense, swirling vortex that deflected the incoming puppet strikes with a deafening clatter of splintering wood and sparking metal.
She raised a single hand. The air pressure in the room plummeted. A massive hurricane of wind blades formed near the ceiling, roaring to life before crashing down upon the treacherous elders like a natural disaster.
"Kazushi, be careful!"
Chiyo suddenly leaped into the fray, summoning her own elite puppets to form a defensive barricade, helping Kazushi block a barrage of poisoned needles.
The office erupted into a chaotic storm of flying debris and explosive tags. Kazushi vaulted backward out of the blast radius, landing smoothly right beside Chiyo.
"It seems they are fully committed to a rebellion today," Kazushi said, her eyes tracking the movements through the dust. "Chiyo, watch your flank, I..."
A sickening, wet tearing sound echoed in her ears.
A sudden, agonizing spike of pain erupted through her chest. Kazushi looked down. A blood-soaked sword tip protruded directly from the center of her sternum, having pierced cleanly through her back.
It was a sword she recognized instantly. She had personally helped Chiyo forge and modify that exact blade using rare Chakra Metal. Now, that very weapon was lodged inside her own body.
If her honed ninja instincts had not screamed at her to shift her weight a fraction of an inch at the last possible second, the blade would have shredded her heart, killing her instantly.
"Chiyo..." Kazushi coughed, a thin trail of blood spilling over her lips. "Even you... you would betray me..."
Kazushi swung her hand backward, unleashing two vicious wind blades that forced Chiyo to abandon the weapon and leap away.
As the sword was violently yanked free, the intense, stinging agony made Kazushi stumble. She staggered backward, her boots slipping on her own blood, until her shoulders hit the ruined wall. She clutched her bleeding chest, her eyes wide with absolute disbelief as she stared at the older woman.
Chiyo stood a few paces away, her hands trembling. Tears spilled freely down her wrinkled cheeks. Her gaze met Kazushi's for a fleeting second before she quickly wrenched her head away, unable to bear the sight.
"I am sorry, Kazushi," Chiyo choked out, her voice cracking under the weight of her treason. "I never once doubted your love for the Land of Wind. But I cannot... I cannot let you drag our home into the abyss."
She clenched her fists, speaking every word with agonizing clarity. "That peace plan is too crazy. It is too terrifying. I do not agree with it, and I cannot allow it to proceed. Even Konoha was besieged by the entire world because of that exact plan. You are the one who is wrong, Kazushi. Not me."
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