With the announcement from Chiyo and Ebizō—who were regarded as the highest-ranking elders in Sunagakure next only to the Third Kazekage—Rasa's appointment as the new Kazekage felt somewhat rushed.
As expected, right after officially declaring the Third Kazekage missing, people had already begun shouting demands that the newly-instated Rasa must locate the missing Third.
Naturally, Rasa readily agreed, promising everyone he would certainly find the Third Kazekage.
Next step was to fabricate evidence implicating Iwagakure ninjas, then officially declare war on Iwagakure according to plan.
Back inside the Kazekage Building.
Rasa sat himself in the seat reserved exclusively for the Kazekage.
The moment he took his seat, he felt completely transformed.
It gave him a sense of total control over everything.
Yet Rasa knew it was just an illusion. As a Kazekage hastily thrust into position, he had a mountain of unresolved problems waiting for him.
After sorting through all matters, Rasa turned to Chiyo and Ebizō seated before him and asked, "Advisors, do you two know who the Third sent as a spy to Konoha?"
Chiyo and Ebizō exchanged glances, then somewhat awkwardly replied, "Actually, we don't. For the spy's safety, we let only the Third himself know the identity. No one else was informed."
Shindai was indeed talented. Having lived within Sunagakure for so many years, he'd only ever interacted with two people: Pakura and the Third Kazekage.
Nobody else knew Shindai, and nobody else recognized him either.
Although the Third Kazekage once showed Chiyo the puppets crafted by Shindai and proudly boasted about them, he never spoke Shindai's name aloud.
In the Third Kazekage's eyes, Shindai had nothing remarkable to offer aside from his puppetry skills. His other abilities were so lacking that the Third couldn't even bring himself to speak his name aloud.
Chiyo asked curiously, "By the way, Fourth, since that spy possesses the Magnet Release kekkei genkai, and is from your and the Third's clan, do you have any idea who it might be?"
Rasa thought for a moment before replying, "Our clan is small. If there had been any clues, I should have realized it already... Wait. I do recall that many years ago, two of my clansmen perished on a mission. They supposedly left behind a child, though I've neither heard of nor seen this person. I'm not even certain if it's real.
All other living clan members are accounted for, and records exist for those who died. No one seems to have disappeared suddenly."
Ebizō sighed, "Our spy has now lost his only contact and is completely cut off. If he can't reestablish communication with the Third for a prolonged period, he may believe he's been abandoned. Under such intense psychological pressure, he might even choose to defect to Konoha. It's happened before."
"Originally, I wanted to use this spy to gather intelligence on Konoha and then sit back, watching the tigers tear each other apart, patiently waiting for the right moment to invade Konoha and seize the resources we desired. Now it's going to be difficult. If I had known earlier, the Third could have told us who the spy was."
Chiyo made a suggestion: "Maybe we can keep an eye on the Magnet Release kekkei genkai bearer from Konoha. That way we could identify the spy as ours, right? Then we could..."
Chiyo hadn't even finished speaking before Ebizō shook his head in rejection. "That won't work, sister. Konoha gave us military supplies specifically for him—they'll surely treat him like a national treasure and hide him away where we can't easily locate or interact with him.
Hiruzen Sarutobi is also a cunning old fox. The Magnet Release kekkei genkai bearer who was originally meant for Iwagakure was taken by a Konoha ninja instead. We didn't blame Konoha at first—it was actually Iwagakure who confronted them first over the incident.
Hiruzen probably has already sensed something was wrong.
Besides, we know absolutely nothing about this spy's current situation, so we cannot trust him either. In other words, this spy has become utterly useless to Sunagakure."
After listening to Ebizō's analysis, Chiyo sighed as well.
Indeed, they knew nothing about this spy sent to Konoha, so naturally they couldn't place any trust in him. What if he'd already been turned by Konoha?
Rasa narrowed his eyes slightly while addressing Chiyo and Ebizō: "Advisors, since we cannot trust this spy anymore and he's no longer useful to Sunagakure, then perhaps we should put him to his fullest use possible."
Both Chiyo and Ebizō frowned simultaneously as they asked together, "What do you mean 'fullest use'?"
Rasa revealed a somewhat sinister smirk: "When we go to war with Iwagakure, weren't we already planning to spread rumors and shift the blame toward Konoha? Since they're just rumors, the more believable they sound, the more people will believe them.
Didn't we find a scroll in the desert outside Sunagakure? Even though it's forged, we could still pretend it's genuine.
The rumor will then go like this—Konoha stole the Magnet Release kekkei genkai bearer that was originally meant for Iwagakure. That Magnet Release ninja was turned by Konoha, using his status as a kinsman of The Third to lure Hiruzen out of the village, where Konoha ninja ambushed and assassinated the Third, later fabricating evidence to frame Iwagakure for the act."
Chiyo and Ebizō furrowed their brows further: "Isn't this going too far?"
After all, that spy was risking his life for the village in enemy territory. Wasn't Rasa being extremely heartless in betraying him like this?
Rasa responded solemnly: "Advisors, this isn't the time to get sentimental. True, this approach might seem cruel and cold-hearted, but it's for the sake of our village. Once people learn that the Third was betrayed by someone from our own village, the resulting hatred and anger will greatly boost the entire village's morale. In times of war, high morale can be a decisive advantage."
"Also... if that undercover agent was truly turned, then he's no longer a ninja from Sunagakure, but a traitor. We have no reason to feel regret over a single traitor."
Chiyo and Ebizō wore strange expressions.
But all this was still just speculation. It hadn't been confirmed whether the undercover agent had actually been turned, right?
The Third Kazekage was known for his strong personality, while this newly appointed Fourth Kazekage Rasa seemed even colder, more ruthless, and full of ambition.
Since Rasa had just taken office, Chiyo and Ebizō couldn't very well refuse his request outright.
Besides, from Sunagakure's perspective, that mysterious undercover agent had indeed become useless. If that were the case, they might as well abandon him.
Everything was for the sake of Sunagakure!
Chiyo and Ebizō nodded in agreement, saying, "Alright, we'll proceed according to the Fourth Kazekage's plan."
A slight smirk tugged at Rasa's lips. From today onward, he would lead Sunagakure with his own hands. He would stop at nothing to bring prosperity and strength to Sunagakure!
Rasa would become an even greater Kazekage than any before him!
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