"Name: Hoshigaki Goki."
"Gender: Male."
"Age: Forty-six."
The next instant—
Rasa felt his body suddenly vanish.
His consciousness was pulled free, moving at terrifying speed. In the blink of an eye, he left Sunagakure behind and arrived at another village.
Countless small islands were linked together, surrounded on all sides by endless seawater.
Then Rasa felt his consciousness plunge sharply downward.
When everything stopped, he had already awakened inside the body of a middle-aged ninja.
Hoshigaki Goki.
At this moment, the Hoshigaki clan was holding an intense family meeting.
Every male member of the Hoshigaki clan had arrived.
Including Hoshigaki Kisame.
Rasa looked Kisame over.
The current Hoshigaki Kisame was still very immature, merely a youth, but his appearance already carried a frightening quality—the kind that could make crying children shut up on the spot.
At the moment, Kisame's mood was clearly not good.
A middle-aged man let out a sigh.
"Is that Rasa sick in the head?"
"What did Kisame do wrong to be targeted by him like this?"
"He's still just a child."
Another person echoed him.
"Exactly. It makes no sense at all."
"Back then, our Kirigakure did go too far against Sunagakure. We made extremely excessive demands, asking Sunagakure to hand over Pakura so Kirigakure could execute her."
"So now that Sunagakure is making a demand like this of Kirigakure, I can understand it."
"An eye for an eye."
"They want Elder Genji dead. They want Akebino Jinin dead. I can understand all of that."
"But what did Kisame do?"
"Why are they fixated on Kisame?"
The middle-aged man turned his gaze toward Hoshigaki Kisame.
"Kisame, did you do anything on the battlefield that might have made Sunagakure hate you? Did you kill someone important to them?"
Hoshigaki Kisame thought back seriously.
He went over everything that had happened on the battlefield. Only after confirming it all did he shake his head.
"No."
"The people I killed were all ordinary Sunagakure ninja."
"I never carried out any important mission either."
"If I had to name something, then back when Elder Genji asked me whether Suikazan Fuguki had done those things, I told him what I had seen Fuguki do."
Someone snorted coldly.
"Then that is very likely the reason."
"Suikazan Fuguki, that beast! He betrayed the village!"
"On the surface, he's just an ordinary missing-nin, but in truth, he may have joined Sunagakure long ago."
"And he still keeps saying he never sold out the village. Shameless."
"If not for him, how could Sunagakure possibly target Kisame?"
"This is the evidence!"
Everyone exchanged looks, all feeling that this deduction was reasonable.
Suikazan Fuguki had clearly resented Hoshigaki Kisame for telling the truth.
That was why he had made Sunagakure include Kisame in their demands.
"That petty villain!"
"Even now, he's still taking revenge on the village!"
"Shameless to the extreme!"
"Damn beast!"
Everyone began cursing Suikazan Fuguki.
Hoshigaki Kisame also felt this possibility was very high. Otherwise, why would Sunagakure target a minor ninja like him?
Someone then said,
"But Fuguki is Fuguki, and Sunagakure is Sunagakure. Are we really going to let Kirigakure sell out its own ninja just for a ceasefire?"
"Elder Genji has contributed greatly to the village. For decades, he has worked diligently and conscientiously."
"It can be said that without Elder Genji, Kirigakure would be far worse off than it is now."
"In terms of contributions to the village, Elder Genji stands only beneath a few Mizukage."
"Akebino Jinin did nothing wrong either."
"As the only surviving member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, his importance to the village goes without saying."
"Without Akebino Jinin, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen may soon become nothing but history."
"In the future, no one may remember them at all."
"To do something like this for the sake of a ceasefire… is that truly right?"
Rasa controlled Hoshigaki Goki and stood up.
Now was the opportunity.
Rasa looked around the room.
Everyone's gaze turned toward him.
"I don't know what Mizukage-sama is thinking, but I believe this is wrong."
Rasa said, "If a ninja village can sell out its own people for a ceasefire, does such a village still have any reason to exist? A village does not protect its people, but instead sells them out?"
"So what if the war continues?"
"At worst, we die. That's all."
"Are we, the people of Kirigakure, afraid of death?"
"I am not."
Rasa looked toward Hoshigaki Kisame.
"Kisame, are you afraid to die?"
Hoshigaki Kisame shook his head.
Rasa continued,
"What is death? Who can avoid it? What I fear more is losing our dignity. From now on, when the rest of the shinobi world mentions Kirigakure, they will mock us."
"They'll say we are a village that sold out our own people just to survive."
"To live like that is worse than death."
"If the village can do something like this, who won't feel uneasy?"
"Who can guarantee they won't become the next one?"
"Is a village like that worthy of loyalty?"
The middle-aged man seated above them looked stern and quickly warned him.
"Goki, lower your voice. You cannot say such things carelessly. The unity of the village is more important than anything. Do you want us to follow in the footsteps of the Kaguya clan? We do not have the Kaguya clan's strength."
"And now, the village will be even harsher toward matters like this."
"These words must never be said outside."
Rasa nodded.
"I know. I'm only dissatisfied."
"The village can casually sell out its ninja, but the ninja must remain absolutely loyal to the village. That is far too unfair."
"When someone has already been sold out by the village, they should no longer be considered a ninja of that village."
"They should have the right to choose again."
"Back then, Sunagakure was in such a difficult position, yet they still did not sell out Pakura in exchange for a ceasefire."
Everyone fell silent.
Even though Sunagakure and Kirigakure were enemies, the people of Kirigakure had no choice but to admit it.
Rasa's strength, his ability, and his quality as the Fourth Kazekage were all above that of Kirigakure's Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi.
"What a pity. We weren't born in Sunagakure."
"Kirigakure truly is inferior to Sunagakure."
"Mizukage-sama is also inferior to the Kazekage."
Rasa raised a question.
"Why must being born in Kirigakure mean we are Kirigakure's people?"
"Wasn't Kirigakure also created by ninja?"
"It has only existed for a few decades. Before ninja villages appeared, who were we ninja loyal to?"
"I think that should be something we choose for ourselves."
The Hoshigaki clan's family meeting ended.
Rasa walked out and began gathering information about Kirigakure's current situation.
For example, how Kirigakure was preparing Sunagakure's reparations.
Whether there were any covert operations targeting Sunagakure.
Before long, Rasa heard a certain piece of news.