News of Kumogakure's high-profile preparations for the Chūnin Exams soon reached even the distant Hidden Sand Village, as well as Iwagakure, nestled deep among the mountains.
In Sunagakure, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, and Elder Ebizo received a new visitor—Tsukisuke, an envoy dispatched by Iwagakure.
This envoy showed no hesitation over the fate of his predecessor, who had met an untimely end on these sands. Instead, he calmly continued to convey the Tsuchikage's so-called goodwill.
"The relationship between Konoha and Kumogakure is easing," Tsukisuke said evenly. "They have even reached a peace agreement with the Hidden Mist Village."
"Tell me, Lord Kazekage—can Sunagakure still rely on Konoha to supply cheap food and materials as it did before?"
"Once Konoha fully stabilizes the eastern front and no longer requires Sunagakure as a buffer, their continued investment in you will naturally be seen as an unnecessary burden."
The words were calm, but every sentence pressed down like sand grinding against bone.
Last year's war had left Sunagakure severely weakened, and the pressure this year had not eased in the slightest. Though Iwagakure had been the true instigator of Sunagakure's suffering, Rasa, as Kazekage, still had to sit across from this envoy and endure his provocations.
He offered no rebuttal—only silence.
Although Elder Chiyo had managed to negotiate terms somewhat favorable to Sunagakure last year, they were still far worse than what the village had enjoyed before the conflict.
Allies or not, Sunagakure could not deny a harsh truth: it would benefit them most if Konoha mishandled its relationships with neighboring villages.
Ebizo was the first to break the silence.
"Does Ōnoki truly believe Sunagakure is foolish enough to forget who dragged us into disaster?" he demanded coldly. "The same Iwagakure that caused our suffering now expects us to abandon our current allies?"
Tsukisuke turned calmly toward him.
"It was Sunagakure who first abandoned its understanding with Iwagakure two years ago," he replied. "You killed our envoy."
"Faced with such humiliation, Lord Tsuchikage had no choice but to take necessary action to preserve Iwagakure's dignity."
"If we trace events to their origin, this outcome was born of Sunagakure's own decision."
"If you had stood with Iwagakure then, instead of shortsightedly accepting Konoha's terms, you would not find yourselves in your current predicament."
He paused briefly before continuing, his tone measured.
"Furthermore, according to our intelligence, the man named Mui—backed by Konoha—has effectively taken control of Grass Village. The eastern region has stabilized, and what Konoha intends to do next is hardly difficult to predict."
"At present, the villages facing similar circumstances, whose interests most closely align, are Iwagakure and Sunagakure."
"As for past unpleasantness…" he smiled faintly, "it was nothing more than a passing sandstorm."
Rasa did not respond.
He simply dismissed the envoy.
Only after Tsukisuke had departed did Rasa finally speak.
"According to intelligence from Konoha," he said quietly, "they intend to host a joint Chūnin Exam of their own in September."
Ebizo frowned deeply. "They've already confirmed participation in Kumogakure's exams this year. And now they plan to host another joint exam so soon?"
Rasa's eyes hardened.
"To humiliate us," he said coldly. "They know they will not prevail on Kumogakure's home ground."
"Just as Kumogakure was doomed to lose face during last year's exams in Konoha."
"So now, they intend to reclaim their pride at Sunagakure's expense."
The people of the desert did not cling to pride—they clung to survival. But if Konoha believed face had value, then it was valuable.
And anything of value could be traded.
As for Iwagakure's provocation, Rasa chose patience. Rash action would only deepen Sunagakure's wounds—and Suna had already bled enough.
—
Inside the Hokage Office, Tsunade finished off her bottle of sake and, pleasantly buzzed, retreated to the adjoining lounge for a nap.
She left the office—and the mountain of paperwork—entirely in Roshi's hands.
When Shizune entered with another batch of documents, she found Roshi seated at a secondary desk, already deep in work.
She sighed softly, then offered him an apologetic, slightly awkward smile.
The smile, however, did not stop her from deftly placing yet another neatly stacked pile of documents onto the small space Roshi had just cleared on the desk.
"Um… I'll go wake Lady Tsunade right away," Shizune whispered, then turned and hurried out.
Roshi casually opened the top file.
It was a periodic report from Uchiha Itachi.
Beyond routine patrol summaries and guard rotations, the most noteworthy section concerned Uchiha Enjin.
After being thoroughly put in his place by Roshi, Enjin had remained quiet for a time. Transferred into Itachi's squad, he made no overt moves beyond repeatedly requesting to investigate the Sharingan theft incident.
That silence lasted until the second Hyūga Branch Family squad officially entered the Police Force.
After that, Enjin's attention subtly shifted back toward the Hokage Office.
He began deliberately collecting intelligence on the movements of high-ranking Village officials—information he believed might prove useful to the Uchiha clan. These reports were compiled regularly and submitted to Itachi in his capacity as squad leader.
From there, they naturally reached Tsunade's desk.
Tsunade's response was surprisingly open-minded. She treated the information as nothing more than an additional observation channel within Anbu—a perspective shaped by intent rather than routine.
After all, a guard watching passively and someone actively probing for information rarely saw the same picture.
The next documents detailed the Barrier Team's annual report—maintenance, reinforcement, and optimization of barrier nodes throughout the Village—followed by a briefing compiled by Anbu on the recent movements of major ninja clans.
The focus, unsurprisingly, was on the two most prominent families: the Uchiha and the Hyūga.
Since the Hyūga Branch Family joined the Police Force, friction between the two clans had increased noticeably.
Even Fugaku, fully aware that the arrangement came from the village's upper command, found it difficult to suppress the instinctive resistance and competitiveness among his clan members. What began as tension within the police force was slowly spilling into public spaces.
Meanwhile, the Hyūga clan had recently strengthened security around their compound.
The reason?
Hiashi's wife was nearing childbirth.
…Wait.
Roshi paused.
Hyūga Hanabi was about to be born?
The timing lined up perfectly with Kumogakure's Chūnin Exams—both scheduled for March.
Not that it mattered much. Roshi didn't have close ties with the Hyūga clan, and he certainly wasn't the sort to be invited to celebrate the birth of a clan head's second daughter.
Whether he was in the Village or not, he likely wouldn't be attending.
Compared to tedious budget approvals and material allocation requests, these reports—filled with undercurrents of politics and quiet tension—were far more engaging. Before he realized it, Roshi had become completely absorbed in reading.
That was when Shizune dragged Tsunade back into the office.
"Honestly, Shizune, this is so annoying," Tsunade complained. "I finally get a moment to rest."
"You're being too hard on Roshi, Lady Tsunade," Shizune replied gently.
Roshi glanced at the documents stacked in front of him. Her tone was kind, but her hands had shown no mercy whatsoever.
With Tsunade back, Roshi figured it was time to make his exit. He still needed to prepare for the upcoming trip to Kumogakure.
"Wait."
Before he could speak, Tsunade raised her voice slightly and called toward the doorway.
"Yūgao Uzuki. Gekkō Hayate."
Two ninja entered in response—both wearing standard Anbu attire, but without masks.
One had long purple hair; the other wore a perpetually sickly expression.
"Starting today," Tsunade said, "you'll be under Roshi's command until the Chūnin Exams mission is complete."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
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