Rasa wasn't deliberately seeking to frighten himself.
The peace that currently lingered in Sunagakure was nothing more than a temporary reprieve—an illusion, fleeting at best.
Once the spies from the other ninja villages uncovered Rasa's actions and his motives within Sunagakure, the news would spread quickly across the entire ninja world. The other four great nations would not sit idle. Most notably, Konoha, already seething with animosity toward Sunagakure, would take swift action.
At this moment, Konoha indeed harbored deep-seated resentment toward Sunagakure. However, the source of this hatred was not internal matters, but rather external forces and circumstances.
Sunagakure's recent campaign to seize vast resources had directly targeted the elite aristocracy of seventeen cities. These nobles were closely tied to the Daimyō of the Land of Fire, with many being his relatives or even siblings. The plundering of nearly 90% of their wealth dealt a blow that was far worse than death itself.
Once Sunagakure retreated and its objectives were made clear, Konoha received numerous orders from the Daimyō of the Land of Fire, demanding that no expense be spared in retrieving the stolen treasures.
Konoha was more than willing to comply.
Upon discovering the true scale of Sunagakure's intentions, Konoha realized that it had fallen right into the trap set by the village from the very beginning. Not only had Sunagakure sown division within Konoha through its covert schemes, but it had also triggered attacks from both Kumogakure and Iwagakure.
Despite this, Konoha had little choice but to endure the situation—for now.
The immediate threat posed by Kumogakure and Iwagakure far outweighed the potential danger of Sunagakure in the short term.
Over the past two weeks, Konoha had suffered setbacks on the battlefield.
The pressure of fighting on two fronts had taken its toll on the village.
Konoha's struggle with Kumogakure was particularly harsh. When Kumogakure learned that Orochimaru—a sworn enemy of their village—was leading the frontlines for Konoha, they responded with all their might. Even the Third Raikage himself had stepped onto the battlefield with a singular goal: to defeat Konoha and kill Orochimaru.
In response, the Third Hokage was forced to leave Konoha and head to the frontlines to stabilize the situation. His intervention temporarily eased the pressure on the village.
As for Konoha's conflict with Iwagakure, the situation was equally dire.
Though Iwagakure's offensive was somewhat restrained—avoiding the deployment of their most elite forces—the arrival of two jinchūriki, along with their tailed beasts, placed Konoha's forces in an untenable position. Without Minato's Flying Thunder God technique, the tailed beasts' Tailed Beast Bombs would have likely decimated Konoha's forces.
Despite Jiraiya's considerable strength, he struggled to counter these devastating weapons of war without relying on Sage Mode.
It was also important to note that Iwagakure's two jinchūriki were fully capable of transforming into their tailed beasts.
With great arrogance, they declared that if Konoha wished to defeat them, they would have to send their Nine-Tails jinchūriki. No one else, in their eyes, was worthy of their time.
Adding to Konoha's mounting troubles, Kirigakure's ninjas had been showing up increasingly as mercenaries, ambushing supply convoys in the rear. Their presence stretched Konoha thin, forcing the village to defend itself on multiple fronts, a task that was becoming more and more difficult by the day.
Konoha was no longer the mighty force it once was during the Second Great Ninja War. The internal strife that had plagued the village, including the suicide of Sakumo Hatake and Tsunade's departure, had thrown the village into a precarious period of transition. What Konoha desperately needed now was a breakthrough—a way to regain its strength and resolve.
And it wasn't just Konoha that was in dire need of change. The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, of Iwagakure, shared similar frustrations.
---
Land of Earth, Iwagakure.
Inside the Tsuchikage's office, the diminutive Ōnoki sat, reviewing intelligence gathered by his village's spies about Sunagakure. A sneer crossed his face as he muttered under his breath.
"How naive. That Fourth Kazekage brat from Sunagakure thinks he can stay neutral, watch us tear each other apart, and then swoop in to reap the benefits?"
With that, he summoned the Anbu, handing them a sealed scroll, which he instructed them to deliver to the Third Raikage of Kumogakure on his behalf.
The following day, the Third Raikage received the letter on the frontlines.
When the Kumogakure ninjas learned that the Third Tsuchikage had sent them a message, they were taken aback. Despite both villages waging war against Konoha as a common enemy, there had been no direct contact between the kage-level leaders since the war began.
Curious, the Third Raikage opened the scroll, only to scoff in disdain upon reading it.
This reaction piqued the interest of his son, the future Fourth Raikage, Ay, and Darui.
"Father, what does that old man Ōnoki want?"
The Third Raikage handed the scroll to Darui with a scoff.
"What else? That calculating Ōnoki wants us to put pressure on Sunagakure, forcing them to join us in attacking Konoha."
"Why?"
Ay asked, still struggling to grasp the situation fully.
Seeing the lack of understanding, Darui stepped in to explain.
"The Third Tsuchikage doesn't want Sunagakure to profit from this conflict. According to our intelligence, Sunagakure secured a considerable sum of resources after successfully raiding the Land of Fire. The Fourth Kazekage is now using those funds to bolster his village. Ōnoki doesn't want Sunagakure to become any stronger."
The future Fourth Raikage quickly grasped the situation.
"So, Father, should we go ahead with it?"
"Of course! Why wouldn't we?" the Third Raikage replied. "This works perfectly with our plans to attack Konoha, and there's no downside."
"But what if the Fourth Kazekage refuses?"
Ay asked, concern creeping into his voice. The Third Raikage chuckled in return.
"Don't worry about that. That brat is clever enough to see the benefits. And if he doesn't? Well, I'll use my fists to show him the right choice!"
With that, the Third Raikage's attention shifted to Darui.
"Speaking of which, we could learn a thing or two from that brat's strategy. The Land of Fire is an incredibly rich land, bountiful to the point of excess!"
Darui immediately understood and nodded.
"Understood, Raikage-sama. I'll take care of it."
---
Meanwhile, Rasa remained completely unaware that the tranquility he was enjoying was about to be shattered. Soon, Kumogakure and Iwagakure would join forces to pressure Sunagakure into attacking Konoha.
However, even if Rasa had known about the impending threat, he wouldn't have been concerned—his focus lay elsewhere. He was already on his way to Rōran.
"Dragon Vein Chakra…"
That was his goal this time.
From his earlier experiments, Rasa had gained some insight into his [Kama Seal]. In simple terms, it allowed him to absorb chakra and convert its distinct properties into his own—such as Shukaku's sand-controlling ability and curse marks, or the enhanced vitality derived from the star chakra.
This understanding heightened his anticipation of the power the Dragon Vein Chakra could provide.
After all, the Dragon Vein Chakra was rumored to possess space-time abilities, having once transported Naruto Uzumaki back in time in the original timeline. Space-time abilities were among the highest-tier powers in any world's system, and the ninja world was no exception—whether it was Minato's Flying Thunder God technique or Obito's Kamui.
If Rasa could absorb the Dragon Vein Chakra and gain space-time abilities, his prospects for survival in the ninja world would improve exponentially. At the very least, if he couldn't win a battle, he would still have the means to escape.
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