"I'll check the current state of Ninja Kill first. Hold on, Temari." Rasa glanced at his daughter. "By the way, how did that task I gave you go?"
Temari puffed out her chest. "I finished it, Father. They all listen to me now."
"Good work." He ruffled her hair with a rare smile.
The next day he made time to inspect the group. Because of Konoha's famous "Twelve Strong," Rasa had forced a matching squad of twelve under Temari's leadership. Only four actually had real talent: Temari, Kankuro, and the two Uchiha kids—Izumi and Hai—that Sand had quietly taken in. The rest were carefully chosen orphans, but Sunagakure still wasn't a village that produced many prodigies. An era only had so many.
Two of the standouts were his own children. The other two were basically stolen from the Uchiha. He made a mental note to add Karin later. As an Uzumaki, her sensory gifts and healing ability would be huge assets even if her raw combat talent wasn't the strongest.
In his office, Rasa spread out the latest Ninja Kill sales data. The original print run had been tight: five identity cards, eighty item cards, twenty ninja-tool cards, and forty-two ninja cards. Those forty-two were mostly pre-Fourth Kage legends from the Five Great Villages. Anything after the Fourth Kage era stayed out for now—there were only so many slots.
The game had exploded in popularity, so greedy merchants and smaller villages started printing their own bootleg versions with extra characters. Most people still considered the official Sunagakure edition the real one.
"One new ninja card won't be enough, but too many would be pointless. Let's pick the right five."
Minato Namikaze was the obvious first choice. Rasa's real goal was to spark fresh discussion across the entire ninja world. That was why he was updating the game at all.
Yagura could fill the Mizukage slot. One per village felt balanced.
For Sand: Sasori of the Red Sand.
For Rock: old Roshi.
For Cloud: Toroi, the Magnet Release jonin.
All five shared the same profile—three dead, one missing, one who left his village. Every one of them already had a reputation worth talking about. Roshi had been a high-ranking jinchuriki who walked away after clashing with Ōnoki. Yagura's messy history with the Seven Swordsmen was still fresh gossip. Toroi's Magnet Release had gained new respect now that Rasa himself was famous for the same kekkei genkai. Sasori's disappearance still stung Sand's older generation. And Minato? Everyone already knew that name.
Rasa finished the card designs quickly. Chiyo had improved the puppet process and he used better materials this time, so the new cards looked sharper and more premium than the first batch.
Unlike last time, when the backs were plastered with anti-Konoha rumors and the cards were given away for free, these new ones carried only the official Sunagakure crest. No hidden messages. These were meant to be sold—at a low price. If the real version cost the same as the bootlegs, the fakes would die overnight. Rasa wanted full control of Ninja Kill the same way he controlled the Weekly.
He had already started running ads in the newspaper to offset costs. The same rule applied here: break even and keep the game alive. No endless money pit.
Merchants who had been distributing the Weekly swarmed the moment they heard new stock was ready. Profit always brought them running. Rasa made it crystal clear—if any of them tried to sabotage the brand for their own gain, Sand would hunt them to the ends of the earth. Ninja rules didn't care about civilian laws.
"Ninja Kill new edition! New ninja cards just dropped!"
The moment a merchant shouted, crowds flooded the stalls.
"Real Sunagakure print?"
"Damn right."
Eyes lit up.
"Who's on the new cards?"
"Fourth Mizukage Yagura, Magnet Release specialist Toroi, Iwa's elite jonin Roshi, Sand's genius puppeteer Sasori of the Red Sand… and Konoha's original heir, Minato Namikaze!"
The crowd surged forward.
"Give me a set!"
"I need two—no, three!"
"Line up, people! Plenty for everyone!"