After finishing the scroll sent by Rasa, the Yondaime Kazekage,
Chiba could not help but sigh inwardly.
Among the Five Great Nations,
there was no shortage of Kage who ruined their own people.
But even among them,
Rasa truly stood out.
Making his own son into a Jinchūriki was nothing unusual.
But relentlessly sending assassins to kill that son…
Forcing the boy's uncle to attempt the assassination…
And even ordering him to whisper, at the moment of death,
that Gaara's mother had always hated him,
What was that, if not deliberately trying to break a Jinchūriki's mind?
Was he afraid Gaara wouldn't lose control?
Rasa's excuse had been that Gaara was a failed Jinchūriki,
and that extreme pressure was necessary to awaken his true potential.
Listen to that,
Did that even sound human?
And if such a Jinchūriki truly snapped after being pushed that far,
who would suffer first?
Sunagakure itself.
And Rasa's recklessness did not stop there.
His alliance with Orochimaru to launch the Konoha Crush could, perhaps, be excused as desperation.
But being casually murdered by Orochimaru midway through the plan,
Showing no political awareness, no contingency, no leverage at all,
That was simply incompetence.
Afterward, Sunagakure's shinobi were sent to die like expendable pawns.
In that war,
Orochimaru achieved his revenge by killing Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Konoha suffered losses, but endured.
Orochimaru lost his arms.
Gaara was defeated.
The Konoha Crush collapsed.
And who paid the highest price?
Sunagakure.
Their Kazekage died.
Their military strength was crippled.
They were forced to beg Konoha for peace,
Once again becoming a subordinate village.
Of course, Rasa was not without merit.
When the Sandaime Kazekage vanished and Kumogakure invaded,
Rasa successfully defended the village.
That achievement earned him the title of Yondaime Kazekage.
But everything that followed?
There was no strategy worth praising.
And Pakura,
She was the clearest example.
To ally with former enemies,
Rasa had been willing to sacrifice one of his own heroes.
Once a village treats its heroes as disposable,
Who would ever fight for it again?
It was nothing short of slaughtering the hen to steal the eggs.
Short-term gains, long-term ruin.
Enemies would despise you.
Your own people would fear you.
Chiba smiled faintly.
He already had his own plans.
Soon enough,
Sunagakure's envoy arrived.
At its head stood Pakura of the Scorch Release,
the Sand Village's legendary heroine.
She appeared aloof at first glance,
but in truth, she was a deeply gentle woman.
Merciless toward enemies,
Yet warm and nurturing toward comrades and disciples.
And yet,
Such an outstanding shinobi
had been betrayed by her own village,
by her own Kazekage.
She led a small escort of Sunagakure shinobi
onto the lands of the Land of Water.
Rasa's orders had been clear:
She was to negotiate peace with Kirigakure.
Naturally, she could not bring a large force,
That would only undermine the sincerity of the mission.
More importantly,
Rasa had assured her that Sunagakure reinforcements
would rendezvous with her upon arrival.
Pakura trusted him.
Soon,
She sensed unfamiliar chakra nearby.
She raised a hand.
Her subordinates halted immediately.
"Is that Kirigakure's welcoming force?" Pakura asked calmly.
One by one, figures emerged from concealment.
They wore Kirigakure uniforms.
They responded correctly to the identification signals.
Of course they did.
Those codes had been provided by Rasa himself.
Pakura relaxed slightly.
"Good."
"We are here to negotiate peace," she said.
"Bringing too many shinobi would only raise suspicion."
"So remain hidden here."
"Unless absolutely necessary, do not reveal yourselves."
The so-called reinforcements nodded in unison.
Pakura turned, preparing to lead her men toward Kirigakure,
And then,
BOOM!!!
The earth exploded.
A chain of explosive tags detonated at once,
the ground shattering as debris and shockwaves tore through the air.
Pakura's expression changed instantly.
But she was a veteran.
She flashed forward with Body Flicker, narrowly escaping the blasts,
Only to be met by a storm of kunai and shuriken from every direction.
Her brows furrowed.
Steel clashed against steel.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of metal rang endlessly.
"What are you doing?!" Pakura shouted as she fought.
There was no answer.
Only intensifying attacks.
"Water Release! Water Dragon Bullet!!!"
Multiple Kirigakure shinobi unleashed their chakra in unison.
Towering water dragons surged forward, roaring toward her.
"Wind Release! Great Breakthrough!!!"
Pakura countered instantly.
A howling gale blasted the water techniques apart,
And in that moment, the truth became unavoidable.
"You're Kirigakure shinobi…"
"You disguised yourselves as Sunagakure reinforcements?!"
No one replied.
But she already had her answer.
And with it came deeper horror.
How did Kirigakure know her landing point?
How did they know she was waiting for reinforcements?
And most terrifying of all,
How did they know the Sunagakure identification codes?
A chilling thought seized her heart.
"Don't tell me…"
And then,
THUD!!!
Pakura dodged another ambush,
Only to feel a blade pierce her from behind.
She froze.
Slowly, she turned her head.
Behind her stood the person she trusted most,
Her most loyal subordinate.
Her eyes filled with disbelief, pain, and sorrow.
"You… you…"
The shinobi clearly hesitated, a trace of reluctance flashing through his eyes,
but in the end, his resolve did not waver.
"I'm sorry, Lady Pakura."
His voice hardened as he spoke the final words:
"This is the Kazekage's order!!!"