At the end of Year 41 of the Hidden Leaf calendar, winter swept across the entire shinobi world. Even the scorching sands of the Hidden Sand Village were now covered in a thin layer of snow.
But just like the cold outside, a deep sadness had settled over the village.
The mysterious disappearance of the Third Kazekage—long rumored—had finally become public knowledge.
He'd been missing for over half a year. No one knew where he went. Not even Rasa, his personal student. As much as people didn't want to admit it, most already understood the truth:
The Third Kazekage was probably dead.
But the question remained—
Who could take down a Kazekage without a trace?
The Hokage of Konoha?
The Tsuchikage of Iwagakure?
The Raikage of Kumogakure?
The Mizukage of Kirigakure?
Among them all, Konoha was the most suspicious.
After all, they were the strongest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. They'd won both previous world wars. That kind of power was enough to scare anyone.
And to eliminate a Kage so quietly? That wasn't something even a Kage could do alone. Maybe...
Maybe the Kazekage had gone alone to fight Konoha's Hokage and the Legendary Sannin—and lost in battle.
And now, with him gone, the Daimyō of the Land of Wind was slashing funding and reducing the number of active shinobi. Sunagakure's strength was falling fast. And now that the other villages knew...
Suna was in serious trouble.
To make things worse, Rasa himself had fallen into a daze after his master's disappearance. He seemed distant and confused, like a different person entirely.
Elder Chiyo had checked him and suspected he'd suffered mental trauma.
No leader. No new Kazekage chosen. Rasa out of it.
The entire village was anxious and helpless. They couldn't see a future for themselves anymore.
"Rasa, feeling any better?"
"…Sorry. I made you worry."
Rasa looked up at the girl who had just walked in. She had short blonde hair, a soft smile, and calm, deep-blue eyes. She wore a long, casual dress.
"You really don't have to come every day, Karura."
Karura—his fiancée.
They were supposed to get married soon, but with the Third Kazekage missing, the ceremony had to be postponed.
Rasa didn't mind. He needed the delay.
After all, he had only just arrived in this world. It hadn't even been a full month yet. He was still adjusting to these unfamiliar memories—especially now, as someone who used to be a broke, single writer who suddenly had a beautiful fiancée.
Honestly, it was exciting.
But after the excitement faded... he had no idea how to face her.
Because he was Rasa... but also not.
Ever since he was found passed out from drinking a month ago, Karura had been stopping by almost every day—cooking, cleaning, and quietly trying to comfort him.
But nobody knew... the Kazekage's disappearance wasn't the only reason for his strange behavior.
Thankfully, Chiyo hadn't noticed he wasn't the real Rasa. And with the original Rasa's memories, he could blend in without raising suspicion. Otherwise, he might've already been thrown into a lab... or an interrogation room.
"I'm feeling much better now. I can handle things on my own."
He looked over at Karura, who was already tying on an apron, getting ready to cook and clean.
"I'm serious. I mean it."
"I believe you~," Karura smiled, gently nodding.
She glanced at him—serious expression, a bit helpless, and maybe… a little shy?
You never used to look at me like that, she thought to herself.
"I caught a fish in the lake behind the mountain today," she said, turning her back to him. "There are fewer and fewer fish these days. The water level keeps dropping. Some ninja have been surveying the area, and a few say this place might become a real desert someday…"
Her tone was still soft and gentle.
"I figured this fish would be good for your recovery."
"Thanks."
"…You never used to say thank you."
"…."
Rasa sighed at her sudden shift in mood.
How did I end up becoming the future Fourth Kazekage...?
Seriously—what did the Fourth Kazekage even do?
His wife died young. He practically traumatized his son. Sure, Naruto eventually beat some sense into him with the power of friendship... but the guy never remarried.
Then he tried to stop Konoha from getting too strong by teaming up with Orochimaru.
Like, seriously?
Did no one remember Orochimaru was the Third Hokage's student?
The guy wrecked Konoha, and in the process, trained the Konoha 12 into elite ninja. And what did Suna get out of it?
Nothing.
The Fourth Kazekage died mysteriously. Most of their strongest ninja were gone. The older generation retired or vanished. A twelve-year-old orphan was pushed into the Kazekage seat.
Sunagakure had been declining ever since.
But all of that was still in the future.
The important thing now... was that the Third Kazekage's disappearance meant another war was coming.
"…Damn. Fake sake really does ruin lives."
What kind of proper ninja drinks cheap knockoff booze?
Then again, he had an excuse. He was broke.
Two fake-drunk idiots crossed paths.
He lived. And now he had Rasa's memories.
Looking at the kind, beautiful girl in front of him, he couldn't help thinking—
Was it really worth it?
The Hidden Sand didn't have much.
Even a single fish was hard to come by. The village's only income came from missions. The Daimyō was slashing their support. The land was drying up. Birth rate was okay, but death rate? Terrible.
So...
Why the hell was he here?
Some twisted isekai version of "college graduate helps build the western region"?
And not just helping—he full-on transmigrated into it. That's one hell of a jump.
Before long, Karura finished making dinner. Just a bowl of fish soup and some boiled greens.
Honestly, life in the Sand was rough.
Even a soup that had decent flavor was a luxury.
"Alright~ dinner's ready."
Rasa was starving. He picked up his bowl and started eating.
Simple, sure—but Karura's cooking was great. He paused when he noticed her watching him, resting her chin in her hand with a soft smile.
He glanced at her untouched bowl, hesitated, then quietly added a bit of food to it.
"…Why aren't you eating?"
"You staring at me like that is kinda awkward."
"I'm eating now~"
Once she picked up her bowl and started eating, Rasa turned his attention back to the one cheat he had brought with him to this world—
The Gacha System.
As long as he spent money, he could roll the gacha and draw items—anything from a useless apple core… to something insane, like an aircraft carrier.
Of course, as a one-star F2P player, an aircraft carrier was just a dream. Most of the time, it was just trash. If he got lucky, maybe a stat boost.
He had dumped all his money—100,000 ryō—into a ten-pull.
The results?
+2 vitality. +2 strength. +2 chakra.
And four apple cores.
Trash.
Each pull cost 10,000. Ten pulls = everything he owned.
Why was that his entire fortune?
Because Suna was broke.
Most of the money earned from missions went straight into maintaining the village. Even the Third Kazekage's student wasn't any better off.
Honestly, nobody was rich. Which was probably how Rasa ended up drinking fake sake in the first place.
After the meal, Karura handed him a cup of warm water. He sat cross-legged on the tatami mat, quietly watching her clean up again.
…Honestly, this isn't so bad.
A small smile crept onto his face as he looked at her back.
After a moment of silence, he hesitated and asked,
"Karura… do you prefer the old me, or—"
Whoosh.
Before he could finish, a Suna shinobi appeared silently in the courtyard.
"Rasa-sama, Elder Chiyo requests your presence at the Kazekage Building."