"Kazekage-sama, what are you talking about? I don't understand."
Rasa smiled.
"Still pretending? There's no need."
"My people saw your deal with Konoha clearly. The name originally on Konoha's list was Uchiha Shisui, wasn't it? At the last moment, it was changed to Might Guy."
"The purpose was to use taijutsu to restrain Sunagakure's Kisame Hoshigaki."
"That caused Sunagakure one extra loss. You should understand exactly how serious the consequence is."
"Now, I'll give you two choices."
"First, do two things for me."
"Second, I publicly pursue responsibility for this matter as the Kazekage of Sunagakure."
"Think it over yourself."
Mui's eyes flickered.
He had not wanted to do this.
But the other side was Konoha. Under their threats and inducements, he had no choice at all.
Once the matter was exposed, the one who would bear the consequences would definitely be him, not Konoha.
And now, as expected, he had been exposed.
Mui remained silent for a long time.
"Kazekage-sama… may I ask what those two things are?"
When facing Konoha's demands, Mui had no choice.
Now that he was facing Rasa, he still had no choice.
"First, I want two people from Kusagakure. You will bring them to me."
"One is a red-haired woman. She is called a medical pack by the people of Kusagakure. Red hair."
"The other is her daughter."
"Bring both of them before me alive."
"Second, give me a copy of Hozuki Castle's Fire Release: Heavenly Prison scroll."
Mui showed a troubled expression.
"Kazekage-sama, Fire Release: Heavenly Prison is a secret technique of our Hozuki Castle line. It is not passed to outsiders."
As for Karin and her mother, Mui did not even mention them.
Rasa thought about it and found that reasonable.
He valued Karin and her mother because of their special bloodline and abilities.
But Kusagakure had never valued them from beginning to end.
For Mui to bring them out might truly not be difficult.
Even though many of Kusagakure's shinobi had relied on their ability to survive.
But a small shinobi village like Kusagakure daring to provoke Sunagakure repeatedly was already abnormal in itself.
Mui looked troubled, but Rasa had no intention of compromising.
"If I made this request to your village leader, he would probably agree. Especially if he learned that you had made a deal with Konoha. What do you think?"
Mui's expression changed.
"I understand, Kazekage-sama. I will complete both tasks."
Rasa nodded.
Before long, Mui returned to Rasa with a ninjutsu scroll.
Written on it was the Fire Release: Heavenly Prison technique.
"Kazekage-sama, I have already placed those two people inside a box and mixed it with Kusagakure's compensation goods. I deliberately made air holes in the box and placed water and food inside."
"I have completed both tasks, Kazekage-sama. Please do not make that matter public. I was also forced by Konoha. I had no choice but to do what they said."
"Konoha forced me. I am also a victim."
Previously, Mui could not truly be considered a victim. Konoha had given him benefits as well.
But now, after doing the two things Rasa demanded, Mui's hatred for Konoha immediately rose.
Two rounds of reparations and one round of compensation had basically emptied Kusagakure.
No—
More accurately, Kusagakure had already been emptied, and now it had even been burdened with debt.
After this, Kusagakure would not recover its strength for at least a decade.
The leader of Kusagakure watched the three great shinobi villages depart. Hatred boiled inside him, but in the end, he could only comfort himself.
"At least it wasn't the worst outcome."
"Compared to Uzushiogakure, Kusagakure is still a little better."
"At least Kusagakure is still alive."
The leader of Kusagakure let out a heavy sigh.
Onoki sat in his carriage. He was not especially satisfied with the share Iwagakure had received.
But he was satisfied with the gains from this operation as a whole.
"We didn't launch a war, yet the gains were even greater than war."
"Perhaps we can carry out this kind of operation more often in the future."
Onoki was tempted.
Compared to war, this kind of return was far too efficient.
"Those small shinobi villages move between us great villages, playing both sides and taking benefits from whoever gives more. But they still refuse to put in real effort."
"They don't want to offend either side, yet they want benefits from both."
"That is unreasonable."
"We great shinobi villages are strong and fight so intensely. Those small shinobi villages are weak and barely contribute anything. Why should they obtain even more benefits?"
On the other side, Hiruzen Sarutobi had the same thought.
Rasa stood at the bow of the ship.
After transporting the reparations back to Sunagakure, the giant bull had returned once more to the border of the Land of Wind.
The timing was perfect.
A single ship was packed full.
Rasa calculated silently in his heart.
"Sunagakure's own reserves are enough to build one Sun Disc."
"Danzo's compensation plus Kirigakure's compensation is basically enough to build another Sun Disc."
"This time, Kusagakure's compensation should cover about one-third."
"It's less than Kirigakure's compensation, but the effort invested was far smaller. The value is extremely high."
"Unfortunately, there's only one Kusagakure bold enough to act like this for now."
In the corner of the cabin, a figure sat with confusion in her eyes.
She held another small figure in her arms, only one or two years old.
The little girl had red hair. She did not understand what was happening, but as long as she was with her mother, she was happy.
She looked through the window at the scenery outside, her eyes shining brightly.
It was scenery she had never seen before.
Yellow sand stretched across the ground without end.
Golden dunes reflected the sunlight.
"Mother, where are we going?"
"Sunagakure."
"Sunagakure? What kind of place is that?"
"I don't know."
"Then… are we going home?"
"I don't know."
The woman did not believe Sunagakure would be kind.
If they wanted her, it was surely because they valued her ability.
She only hoped that Sunagakure would not treat her worse than Kusagakure had.
As for anything else, she did not dare expect it.
Rasa had already arranged how to deal with Karin and her mother. Whether he met them personally or not did not matter.
Compared to that matter, Rasa now had something more important to do.
Kusagakure's matter had ended.
The points from the third rumor had also been fully obtained.
What Rasa had to consider next was the fourth rumor.
"Based on the items I currently have, if this fourth rumor targets Konoha, it won't be very effective."
"But if it targets Kirigakure, it can produce very good results."
"In that case, the fourth rumor can start from Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen."
"Conveniently, Fuguki Suikazan and Jinpachi Munashi are still alive. They've returned near the Land of Water and created their sailing fleets."