"Kisame Hoshigaki!"
Rasa smiled slightly.
"Kisame Hoshigaki, is it? From the look of you, you don't seem very willing to be one of Kirigakure's surrender conditions to Sunagakure."
"When Genji self-destructed just now, he deliberately tried to pull you into the blast range. Was he worried that if you didn't die, you would betray Kirigakure and join Sunagakure?"
Kisame Hoshigaki remained silent.
Rasa continued, "Since you survived this calamity, I'll give you two choices."
"One, like the other Kirigakure shinobi captured by Sunagakure, you wait for Kirigakure to pay ransom for you."
"The other is that Sunagakure can give you a chance to defect."
Kisame Hoshigaki raised his head and looked at Rasa.
"Kazekage-sama, I choose the second."
"Are you certain?"
"I'm certain."
"Good. Then I'll give you that chance."
Rasa said, "I will arrange people to monitor and observe you until your actions earn enough recognition from Sunagakure. Can you accept that?"
"I can."
Kisame Hoshigaki nodded. He found this completely normal.
If Rasa made no arrangements at all and simply trusted him right away, Kisame Hoshigaki would instead find that suspicious.
After all, he was from another village.
And he was from Kirigakure.
Sunagakure and Kirigakure were enemies.
Among the surviving shinobi on both sides, almost all had more or less stained their hands with the blood of the other village.
Kisame Hoshigaki was no exception.
Kisame Hoshigaki knew that Genji's last move had been intentional. If not for his good luck, he might already be dead.
But Kisame Hoshigaki also knew that others might think it was some kind of bitter-flesh scheme.
That he was actually a spy.
"I hope you are sincerely joining Sunagakure. If that is the case, it will be a good thing for both Sunagakure and you."
"We of Sunagakure will never sell out our own people."
"But we will also never forgive a traitor."
Rasa gestured to the side.
Immediately, a Sunagakure shinobi stepped forward and unlocked the chains on Kisame Hoshigaki.
"Maki."
"Teacher."
"From today onward, this person will be a member of your squad."
Maki sized up Kisame Hoshigaki.
"Yes, Teacher."
Kisame Hoshigaki was also sizing up Maki.
He had some understanding of Maki.
After all, Maki was the disciple of Rasa, the strongest Kazekage in history, and also his only disciple.
He did not possess a Kekkei Genkai.
But his Wind Release was quite good.
On the battlefield against Kirigakure, he had defeated many shinobi of the same age, and even opponents older than him.
According to Kirigakure's evaluation, he counted as a genius.
Only, Kirigakure's standard for this kind of genius was relatively low.
He was roughly at the same level as Zabuza Momochi.
A tier below Mei Terumi.
On Konoha's side, Maki would be compared with Kakashi.
One was Rasa's disciple.
The other was Minato Namikaze's disciple.
The two were close in age.
One specialized in Wind Release.
The other specialized in Lightning Release.
But now, Kakashi had obtained Obito Uchiha's Sharingan and had become a Kekkei Genkai shinobi.
Kisame Hoshigaki came to stand beside Maki, half a step behind him.
He looked honest and obedient.
The Kirigakure shinobi scattered and fled.
Some climbed onto ships.
Some dove into the seawater.
Some clung to wooden planks and desperately swam away.
Only after moving far from the coastline, with Sunagakure shinobi no longer pursuing them, did those Kirigakure shinobi finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"What happened?"
"The trade was clearly almost complete. How did something go wrong?"
One Kirigakure shinobi saw the situation clearly.
"It was Genji-sama. He exploded."
"Exploded?"
Everyone froze.
A Kirigakure shinobi recalled the Kaguya Clan rebellion.
"Genji-sama imitated Kaguya Kagami and hid explosive tags on his body, hoping to use that method to blow Rasa to death?"
"But unfortunately, he failed."
"Not only did he fail to injure Rasa, he made Kirigakure's situation even worse."
"There are still several hundred Kirigakure shinobi in Sunagakure's hands. If we want to ransom them back, we'll probably have to pay an even greater price. Genji-sama was impulsive."
"There was no need for this."
"If Rasa is truly enraged, he might even launch another war against Kirigakure regardless of the cost."
For a time, the people could not help feeling resentment toward Genji.
When the news returned to Kirigakure, Yagura fell into a long silence.
"Genji-senpai…"
Yagura sighed.
"You are a hero of the village."
"It is the village that wronged you."
"Kirigakure is too weak."
"If only Kirigakure's strength could be a little greater."
Yagura's mind began spinning wildly.
"There are only a few ways to make Kirigakure stronger."
"One is the emergence of top-level shinobi."
"The other is increasing the number of mid-level shinobi."
"For the former, we can only hope that geniuses are born in the village. But geniuses still need time to grow."
"Unless they are born with enormous chakra."
Yagura suddenly thought of something.
"The Three-Tails died and has yet to revive, but the Six-Tails is still here."
"The current Six-Tails jinchūriki… I remember it's a young boy named Utakata."
"Elder Harusame is responsible for him."
Yagura waved a hand, and an ANBU shinobi walked in.
"Mizukage-sama."
"Have Elder Harusame come here."
"Yes, Mizukage-sama."
Yagura continued thinking.
"As for mid-level shinobi, that is determined by population. The more shinobi there are, the more mid-level shinobi will appear. And the number of shinobi is tied to the economy."
"Only when life is stable and prosperous will people be willing to have children."
"Unless absolutely necessary, Kirigakure cannot go to war."
"But then… what about income?"
Yagura rubbed his forehead.
A shinobi village's income was divided into two main parts.
One was shinobi commissions.
The other was village industry.
Most of the commissions in the Land of Water were taken by Kirigakure.
But it still wasn't enough.
"Obtaining commissions from other countries is not easy."
"Small countries have limited commissions."
"Commissions in great nations must be fought over."
"As for industry… Kirigakure's greatest resource is this sea. There are countless fish and shrimp in the ocean. But transporting these things fresh to diners is not easy."
Yagura felt troubled.
"And Sunagakure…"
"I don't know what they will do next."
"They still have so many Kirigakure shinobi in their hands."
"But if they really open their mouths like lions and make demands that are too excessive, then I can only abandon those people."
"Everything is for the village!"
"All the decisions I make are to make the village better."
Yagura muttered to himself, unsure whether he was trying to convince others—
Or himself.
But very soon, Yagura learned of Sunagakure's move.