One of them was a middle-aged man, the head of a small shinobi clan so inconspicuous that he was almost invisible within the meeting hall.
[I really was out of my mind back then. I let the Akayama Clan tempt me into doing those things. If Kazekage-sama ever finds out, my whole clan will probably end up just like the Akayama Clan.
What am I supposed to do?]
The man had no thoughts of launching a coup.
Even the Akayama Clan had failed, and his own clan was much weaker than theirs. There was no chance of success.
Rasa would not even need to act personally. A single ANBU squad could wipe out the clan.
[What if I turn myself in to Kazekage-sama...? No. No, that won't work.
Kazekage-sama would never spare me.
The Akayama Clan is proof enough.
Kazekage-sama hates evil and acts ruthlessly. I betrayed the village before—how could he possibly tolerate me? Confession would just be suicide.]
Even as he thought that, a bitter smile appeared on the man's face.
[But if I don't confess, my clan will be exposed sooner or later.
The day we're discovered will be the day we die.
There's only one way to live—find a chance for the entire clan to flee Sunagakure, flee the Land of Wind, and escape to some remote hidden place.
But when will such a chance come?]
The middle-aged man frowned.
[Waiting won't work. If I wait, all I'll get is clan extermination.
So I'll have to create the chance myself.
Kirigakure is finished—they can't be relied on. Even if I gave them intelligence, they couldn't bring any real pressure to bear on Sunagakure, so they can't create the opening I need.
The minor villages are out of the question.
Kusagakure has become much more obedient since the Akayama Clan's destruction. They fear Kazekage-sama's strength.
Amegakure hasn't made any moves in a long time.
Iwagakure has to face the alliance between Konoha and Kirigakure.
That only leaves Konoha.
Konoha and Kirigakure formed an alliance, so they must have already made preparations to strike Sunagakure. If the intelligence I provide convinces Konoha that the time is right to move, then they definitely will.
And when that happens, it'll be the chance my clan needs to escape Sunagakure.]
His eyes brightened.
Disappointment appeared on Rasa's face.
When he had first heard the man's inner thoughts, he had assumed the man might be on the verge of repentance.
But instead, he had sunk into obsession.
There was not the slightest regret for what he had done.
His fear came only from the possibility of death.
All he cared about was escape.
And to create his chance of escape, he intended to hand over important village intelligence to Konoha.
"Any intelligence that can draw Konoha into action against Sunagakure must be valuable."
"I absolutely cannot allow that to be sent out."
Rasa decided that the moment today's meeting ended, he would move against that clan.
The second clan was far less serious.
An elderly man from a clan roughly comparable to the Akayama Clan in size, though somewhat weaker.
In relation to Sunagakure, they were somewhat like the Aburame Clan in Konoha.
[So that's why Kazekage-sama was so firm about refusing to let that Uchiha woman marry into my clan. He rejected the idea several times. Turns out he wanted her for himself.]
The old man sighed inwardly.
[Kazekage-sama is good in every way, except he's a little too lustful.
Back then, his refusal to sell out Pakura was probably partly because he had already set his sights on her.
And now, counting that Uchiha woman, Kazekage-sama already has three wives.]
Rasa: "..."
So this was how he looked in the old man's eyes?
He had married Pakura for the village.
And his date with Uchiha Hanatsuki had been to set a trap for the Akayama Clan.
"You thinking of me like this really hurts."
"Am I really that kind of man?"
"…Still, just how beautiful is that old man's granddaughter, for him to be this confident?"
Rasa made a mental note to meet her if he got the chance.
The two clans had problems of different scales, but in Rasa's view, both were manageable.
The one who truly struck him as troublesome, however, was the elder.
The head of that small clan intended to betray Sunagakure in order to gain a chance to escape.
But this elder had already betrayed Sunagakure.
Shirasuna Koichi.
A veteran shinobi of Sunagakure, one of the same generation as the Third Kazekage. He had fought in the First Great Ninja War and rendered significant merit in the Second.
One of his sons had died during the Second Great Ninja War.
His youngest daughter and grandson had died during the Third Great Ninja War—in this very war—at the hands of Kirigakure shinobi.
In some ways, his experience resembled Chiyo's.
The one who had most vehemently opposed Rasa's decision to confront Kirigakure head-on had been this very man.
Even after Rasa had already made his decision, Shirasuna Koichi had still argued that Pakura should be handed over in exchange for peace.
Rasa had thought Koichi was merely weak. A coward.
But after hearing his inner thoughts, Rasa realized it was not that simple.
Koichi hated Pakura.
His younger daughter had belonged to the same generation as Pakura, and the two of them had not gotten along.
Their relationship had been bad.
Later, war broke out. Koichi's younger daughter went to the front and happened to serve under Pakura's command.
Not long after, she died.
Koichi came to suspect Pakura and began to hate her.
He had secretly investigated before.
Though he had never found any evidence, he remained deeply suspicious of Pakura.
Not long afterward, Koichi's grandson also went to the front.
He too served under Pakura.
He too died.
That only deepened Koichi's suspicion.
Even without evidence, he had become utterly convinced that Pakura was the one who had killed his daughter and grandson.
That was why he had hated her so bitterly.
That was also the main reason he had been so insistent on handing Pakura over to Kirigakure before.
But after growing close to Pakura, Rasa knew perfectly well that she could never be that kind of person.
Koichi's daughter and grandson had nothing whatsoever to do with Pakura's intentions.
There was no chance she had deliberately caused their deaths.
And yet Koichi insisted on believing it.
After Rasa married Pakura, Koichi concluded that there was no longer any way to bring her down through ordinary means.
So he had secretly colluded with another shinobi village.
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