After the [Forged Suicide Note (Kumogakure Genin Edition)] vanished, Rasa rose and walked to the window, looking out over the village beyond.
Nearly half of Sunagakure lay within his field of view.
Everywhere he looked, there was yellow.
Barren. Desolate. Choked with drifting sand.
Even though Sunagakure's walls were already tall enough, sand still blew over them in great quantities—
Falling on rooftops, on passersby, on food…
The people of Sunagakure hated the sand to the bone, yet there was nothing they could do about it.
"Sunagakure truly lacks too many resources."
Rasa shook his head.
Then suddenly, two familiar figures entered his line of sight.
One was Yashamaru.
The other was Baki.
The two were moving quickly through the village at high speed.
After receiving Rasa's orders, both Yashamaru and Baki had worked efficiently. They first prepared the notices, then gathered a squad of speed-specialized shinobi and divided into eight routes to post them throughout all of Sunagakure.
Before long, people began gathering to read them.
"Kazekage-sama is marrying Pakura in two days?"
"That can't be right. Doesn't Kazekage-sama already have a wife? And two children too?"
"What's going on?"
That was when the people Yashamaru and Baki had arranged in advance began explaining things.
"Pakura-sama and Kazekage-sama were actually childhood sweethearts. They had already pledged themselves to each other when they were young, but a misunderstanding kept them apart. Now the misunderstanding has finally been cleared up."
"Kazekage-sama's current wife was moved by the love between them and could not bear to let it end in regret, so she personally sought out Pakura-sama and persuaded her to marry Kazekage-sama."
Hearing this, a middle-aged man seemed to think of something, and his eyes suddenly reddened.
"So this… is love."
A young man frowned.
"But doesn't that mean Kazekage-sama now has two wives at the same time? Isn't that a little inappropriate?"
The middle-aged man glared at him.
"And what is that compared to love? Would you rather Pakura-sama and Kazekage-sama end in regret? Karura-sama is being so understanding and broad-minded—are you saying her goodwill should be wasted?"
"If anyone still wants to ruin such a touching ending to a love story, then they definitely have bad intentions!"
His words quickly drew agreement from many others.
"That's right. Kazekage-sama and Pakura-sama get to be together without regrets, and Karura-sama is so reasonable and generous. This is a model of love. What could be more beautiful?"
"If the three people involved have no objections, what right do others have to object?"
"Some people just can't stand seeing others happy."
Then someone else said,
"Besides, what daimyo doesn't have several wives and concubines? Even plenty of nobles do. So what if Kazekage-sama has two wives? Who exactly does that bother?"
Very quickly, all dissenting voices were drowned out.
Across the entire village, the prevailing attitude toward the matter shifted into respect, blessing, approval, and hope—that Rasa, Karura, and Pakura would live well together and allow love to reach its perfect ending.
Of course, such public opinion did not form naturally.
Nearly all of Sunagakure's upper echelon was quietly at work behind the scenes.
Because, just as Rasa had said—
Everything was for the village.
"There was a rumor going around recently saying Kazekage-sama agreed to sell Pakura-sama to Kirigakure in exchange for peace. Now it's obvious it was all a lie."
"I knew Kazekage-sama couldn't possibly be that foolish. It had to be Kirigakure's scheme!"
"And now it turns out that's exactly what it was."
"But Kirigakure probably never expected that their scheme would instead become a good thing for Kazekage-sama and Pakura-sama. Otherwise, the misunderstanding between them might not have been resolved so quickly."
"Now not only have Kazekage-sama and Pakura-sama reached a perfect romantic ending, but the rumor Kirigakure spread has also collapsed on its own, letting all of us see their shamelessness clearly."
Then suddenly, someone raised a question.
"But why is Kazekage-sama and Pakura-sama's wedding being held so hastily?"
The voices around him gradually died down.
People looked at one another, and the same confusion could be seen in all their eyes.
It really was too rushed.
One was the Kazekage of Sunagakure.
The other was Sunagakure's hero.
The announcement came today, and the wedding would be held two days later.
Why the rush?
Everyone could already imagine that a wedding held in just two days would inevitably be very simple.
Most people felt they could have waited longer, prepared more thoroughly, and then held the ceremony properly.
That would better suit the status of the Kazekage and Sunagakure's hero.
Then a somewhat bitter voice sounded.
"Maybe it's because we're about to fight a decisive battle with Kirigakure. Neither Kazekage-sama nor Pakura-sama knows whether they'll come back alive. They're afraid that if they don't hold it now… there may never be another chance."
"The rush is because they don't want regrets."
At once, the eyes of those listening turned red.
"So Kazekage-sama and Pakura-sama were already prepared for that much… and even then, there are still people in our village thinking about surrendering to Kirigakure. That's unforgivable."
"Kirigakure not only made demands that outrageous, but spread such vicious rumors too. We absolutely cannot surrender to a village like that. We must fight to the end!"
"That's right. At worst, it's death—but there is no way we're surrendering to a village as despicable as Kirigakure."
"Fight to the death!"
On the second floor of a teahouse, two members of Sunagakure's upper echelon sat drinking tea, taking in every word of the discussion below.
One of them could not help glancing in the direction of the Kazekage Building, admiration visible in his eyes.
"As expected of Kazekage-sama. He truly is formidable."
"He deliberately waited until this moment to make his stance on resisting clear, allowing everyone in Sunagakure to see Kirigakure's malice. Their disgust and hatred toward Kirigakure have now reached a peak."
"And he even pinned an additional crime on Kirigakure—using the 'love' between himself and Pakura to make Kirigakure look even more vile in comparison."
"He used that same 'love' to move the hearts of the villagers, make more people commit to resisting to the end, unite the village, and raise morale."
The other nodded in agreement.
"If Kazekage-sama truly intended to resist to the very end, then this was probably the best move possible."
"Unity, popular sentiment, morale… he handled all of it perfectly."
"But on the battlefield, Sunagakure is still at a disadvantage. If that cannot be changed, then no matter how well we do internally, it won't change the outcome of the war."
"And Sunagakure is not facing only Kirigakure."
"The moment we show signs of collapse, they'll all pounce."
"Bit by bit, they'll tear flesh from Sunagakure until there's nothing left."
The man across from him fell silent for a while.
"Then the only thing we can do now… is trust Kazekage-sama."
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