The next day, news of the internal strife in Konoha spread throughout the entire ninja world.
Every ninja village had its own interests and its own schemes.
Especially since it was wartime.
Therefore, every village had undercover agents and spies in the other villages.
When something as major as this happened in Konoha, those spies, even at the risk of exposure, scrambled to send the intelligence back to their respective villages as quickly as possible.
Hidden Sand Village.
An intelligence ninja rushed into the Kazekage's office.
"Lord Kazekage! The Konoha forces on the Wind border have withdrawn!"
Immediately after, Ebizo arrived at the Kazekage Building.
A smile he couldn't suppress was plastered across his aged face.
"Lord Kazekage! Konoha is in chaos! The Uchiha clan has launched a rebellion!"
"Heaven truly blesses our Hidden Sand!"
Recently, it wasn't just Rasa who was under pressure; Ebizo felt it heavily too. As an elder of the Sand, the village was always in his heart.
He cared deeply for it.
Even at his advanced age, he still worked tirelessly on the front lines.
After agreeing with Rasa to use rumors as a weapon against Konoha, Ebizo had immediately thrown himself into the task.
He executed everything perfectly.
But Ebizo also knew that while rumors could have an effect, pinning all their hopes on them was naive.
What he hadn't expected was the Sand's incredible luck.
First, a suicide note appeared out of nowhere in the Cloud Village, clearly stating that the author had witnessed Kagami Uchiha being sold out by Tobirama Senju and Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Ebizo didn't care if the note was real or fake; as long as it negatively impacted Konoha, it was good.
Second, Ebizo never imagined Konoha would mishandle the situation so badly that it would lead directly to an Uchiha rebellion.
Ebizo speculated silently.
"Is Hiruzen Sarutobi getting too old? Has his ability declined?"
"Not only did he fail to control the situation, but he let it spiral into the worst possible outcome."
"But for the Sand... this is fantastic."
The moment Ebizo received the news, he had rushed to the Kazekage Building in excitement.
Rasa nodded.
"The intelligence ninja just reported it to me. The Konoha ninja stationed on our border have withdrawn. Now, the only enemy facing the Sand is the Mist."
Watching Ebizo leave, Rasa withdrew his gaze.
The news allowed Rasa to breathe a sigh of relief as well.
For the Sand, the worst and most difficult period had passed.
But Rasa didn't feel the same emotional surge as Ebizo.
Because Rasa knew this wasn't "Heaven blessing the Sand."
It was all his own doing.
A [Forged Suicide Note] and one Dou Uchiha.
Without these two things—relying only on the rumor and Ebizo's staged betrayal of a few Uchiha—it would have been impossible to plunge Konoha into civil war.
"These two items were incredibly effective."
"One E-rank item, one D-rank item. But for me, their practical value was higher than a B-rank ninjutsu scroll. Especially the [One-Day Ninja Trial Card]."
"You could say that without Dou Uchiha's sacrifice, there would be no Uchiha rebellion."
"And Konoha wouldn't have retreated."
Rasa checked his panel.
[Name: Rasa]
[Identity: Fourth Kazekage]
[Ninjutsu: Eye of Sand, etc.]
[Taijutsu: General Taijutsu]
[Genjutsu: None]
[Kekkei Genkai: Magnet Release - Gold Dust]
[Remaining Activation Points: 0]
[Remaining Points: 890]
Seeing the points total, Rasa smiled.
"Overnight, my points skyrocketed by more than 800. It seems the Uchiha rebellion has caused even more people to discuss and believe the rumors about Kagami Uchiha."
"Just a little longer, and I can do another ten-draw."
Soon, under Rasa's orders, the news of Konoha's internal strife, the Uchiha rebellion, and the retreat of the Konoha forces spread throughout the Hidden Sand.
Including the front lines.
This allowed everyone in the Sand to breathe a collective sigh of relief.
The pressure on the village had been immense recently.
Some even feared the village might be wiped out.
"Heaven blesses the Sand!"
"Konoha deserves this chaos! We didn't provoke them, yet they plotted to attack us. Shameless! Now they're reaping what they sowed. Serves them right!"
"The Uchiha are good people!"
The ninja on the front lines felt the weight lift off their shoulders.
Without the fear of a Konoha ambush, their counterattacks against the Mist became fiercer and more decisive.
This caught the Mist ninja off guard.
"What's happening?"
"Why have these Sand ninja suddenly become so much more aggressive?"
Juzo Biwa approached Fuguki Suikazan, looked toward the Land of Fire, and scoffed.
"I knew we shouldn't have expected anything from Konoha."
"If they had acted sooner, the Sand would have fallen by now. We'd have picked it clean. But no, they had to wait for the 'perfect moment'."
"They wanted the Sand to exhaust us as much as possible."
"And now look at them."
Fuguki nodded.
"If they had moved earlier, this would be over. Even with an Uchiha rebellion, handling it would be much easier than it is now. They tried to screw the Mist, but ended up screwing themselves."
As they spoke, Kushimaru Kuriarare walked toward them.
Juzo stood up.
"Kushimaru, you're hurt?"
Fuguki noticed Kushimaru was walking with a slight limp.
Kushimaru's face was dark.
"That Pakura... she got close before I could react. I took a hit from one of her jutsu."
"How bad is it?"
"It's fine. Just need a few days of rest."
Fuguki's expression relaxed.
"That's good."
Fuguki paused, then said, "I have to admit, Pakura is strong. And her jutsu is incredibly lethal. Even a simple touch..."
"Alone, none of us are her match."
"So be extra careful."
Juzo rested his Executioner's Blade on his shoulder.
"Fuguki, shouldn't we find a chance to gang up on her? Four of us together? Kill her off. She's too big of a threat to our forces."
"If we kill Pakura, the Sand won't have any ninja of that caliber left. We can crush them much faster."
Fuguki looked at Juzo.
"I'm already working on a plan."
"I believe the opportunity will present itself very soon."