Fuguki Suikazan cursed Konoha several times over in his heart.
Then he quickly forced his attention back onto the battlefield and began arranging his tactics.
Elite shinobi would spearhead the assault.
Juzo Biwa, carrying Kubikiribocho, charged straight into the Sunagakure ranks, his attacks wide and savage.
Kushimaru Kuriarare, wielding Nuibari, flickered through the crowd with terrifying speed.
Jinin Akebino held a blade in one hand and a hammer in the other. He looked plain, almost unremarkable—but every strike was lethal.
Fuguki Suikazan stood at a high point, overlooking the battlefield below.
"Nothing grows from Sunagakure's barren land," he said coldly. "Not talent, anyway. At best, they produced one Pakura."
"It's nothing like our Kirigakure. We have talent everywhere."
"A village like Sunagakure disappearing is only natural. Just like all the other ninja villages that were eliminated by history."
"Even without Konoha, your Sunagakure wouldn't have survived."
His expression eased slightly.
But in the next moment, he still could not help glancing toward the direction where Konoha's shinobi were stationed.
"Konoha…"
"I hope you really are having problems."
"If this is all just a ploy to make Kirigakure pay a greater price… if you're only doing this so you can carve up Sunagakure more easily and walk away with the larger share…"
"I will never forgive you."
"You will pay for it."
Under Fuguki Suikazan's orders, more than a dozen intelligence shinobi moved toward the area near Konoha's encampment.
From a distant position, they began keeping watch over Konoha's forces.
The moment anything changed, they would immediately report back to Fuguki Suikazan.
Kurenai Yuhi's father, Shinku Yuhi, noticed Kirigakure's movements.
He understood them.
But that did not mean he liked them.
"Let's just hope nothing happens to the village," Shinku muttered.
"Kumogakure's forces only just withdrew, and now Iwagakure is pressing us even harder. If something goes wrong inside the village at a time like this…"
"Forget dividing up Sunagakure. Konoha's own safety would become the real problem."
Shinku turned his gaze toward the direction of Konoha, concern flickering across his face.
"Still, Hokage-sama didn't order me to bring men back immediately. That means the situation in the village probably hasn't reached the worst stage yet."
"It should still be under control."
His thoughts drifted to the recent rumor involving the Uchiha.
"The Uchiha clan wouldn't really start causing trouble at a time like this over such a vague rumor… would they?"
"That would be far too reckless."
…
"The greater good?"
An Uchiha roared at a more dove-like clansman, fury written all over his face.
We're the ones ignoring the greater good? You think you're some noble saint? Why don't you first look at how Konoha has treated us?"
"Konoha has never treated us like one of its own, so why should we care about the greater good?"
"Whose greater good?"
A large number of Uchiha had gathered together, and most of them wore the same expression—anger and resentment.
And every bit of that resentment was aimed at Konoha.
At Hiruzen Sarutobi.
At Senju Tobirama.
One Uchiha spoke in a grave voice.
"The rumor about Kagami-senpai is most likely true."
"Those Iwagakure shinobi mocked me with it right to my face. They said our Uchiha clan clearly has such great strength, yet in Konoha we get no fair treatment at all—and even then, we still shamelessly cling to the village."
"They asked me—does the Uchiha clan enjoy being humiliated?"
"Iwagakure is our enemy, yes. But even they can see our situation clearly enough to feel indignant on our behalf."
"That alone proves just how inhumanly Konoha has treated the Uchiha."
"When Senju Tobirama took Kagami-senpai as a disciple, do you really think he ever treated him as a true disciple? Six went out, five came back, and the only one left dead in Kumogakure was Kagami-senpai."
Another young man then spoke about his own experience of being betrayed on the battlefield.
The crowd grew even more enraged.
"But we still don't have concrete proof."
That single sentence brought everyone into silence.
Then, at that moment, a young man standing toward the back rose to his feet.
"I recently obtained something."
"It's a suicide note left behind by a Kumogakure shinobi. There's one line in it that says—I personally saw Senju Tobirama and Hiruzen Sarutobi sell out Uchiha Kagami."
As he spoke, he took out the note.
"This note is absolutely not forged. The writing is decades old. The handwriting and the signer both match a real person from Kumogakure."
The others hurried forward.
"It really isn't new. It has to be at least several decades old."
"There would be no point in a Kumogakure shinobi lying about something like this. And it was only mentioned in passing—the rest of the note talks about entirely different things. That means he really did see it back then."
The appearance of evidence gave these Uchiha something they had lacked until now—confidence.
"We can't go on like this."
"If we don't fight back, Konoha will only treat us worse and worse."
"This rumor about Kagami-senpai is an opportunity for us. We have to act."
…
…
The next day—
Early in the morning, Rasa opened his eyes and looked at Pakura beside him.
Pakura sensed the movement and woke as well.
Their eyes met.
Her face turned red instantly. She had clearly remembered what had happened the night before. In a rush, she shut her eyes again and pretended to still be asleep.
Rasa smiled, then bent down and kissed her before finally changing clothes and walking out.
Only after she heard the door close did Pakura open her eyes again, lifting her fingers to lightly touch her lips.
Then a faint ache rose from beneath her, and her brows drew together ever so slightly.
The memories of the previous night surfaced once more.
A trace of shyness appeared on Pakura's face, and it seemed as though even her body had begun to heat up again.
When he reached the courtyard, Rasa looked off to one side.
This residence was his private property.
Past the main gate lay the front courtyard. To the left stood a date palm heavy with fruit. To the right stood another, equally laden, both giving off a faint sweet fragrance.
A few cacti grew here and there over the rockery.
There was also a pavilion, with a stone table and several stools beneath it.
When guests came, they were usually received there.
Passing along the side of the front courtyard led into the inner courtyard.
That area was much more private. Outsiders generally were not allowed to enter.
And it was large.
Rooms lined the east, west, and north sides, wrapping around the courtyard without gaps.
The north wing had three floors. The east and west wings had two each.
In the past, the rooms there had been arranged casually. Most had not even been properly maintained and were simply piled with odds and ends.
But things were different now.
Rasa had already ordered people to clean and reorganize the place.
The east wing belonged to Pakura.
The north wing belonged to Karura.
And as for Rasa—
He could go anywhere.
When he arrived at the Kazekage Building and entered his office, the first thing he did was open the battlefield reports sent back by his intelligence shinobi.
"Kirigakure's fierce offensive came exactly as expected… but what about Konoha?"
Rasa quickly found the section concerning Konoha.
In the next moment, he let out a long breath.
"The plan worked."
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