Rasa was certain of one thing: even the current Mizukage probably couldn't unleash a Takitsubo no Jutsu — Waterfall Basin Technique — of such magnitude under these terrain conditions.
When it came to Senju Haruto… and Konoha…
Rasa's feelings were tangled: admiration, envy… and a deep, biting jealousy.
But no matter how conflicted he was, once he saw Haruto's true strength, he abandoned those foolish notions he'd been holding on to.
Now, all he wanted was for Haruto to keep his word — to grant Sunagakure the gift of forests and waterfalls, permanently, and to finally solve the problem that had plagued their village for generations.
"There's one more thing."
Haruto's gaze locked onto Rasa's, his voice calm but carrying the weight of a new demand.
Right now, Haruto knew perfectly well that the power balance lay entirely in his hands. Whatever conditions he named, Rasa had no room to refuse.
All he could do was comply — quietly, and completely.
"What is it?" Rasa asked reflexively, though his heart gave a sudden, uneasy thump. He feared Haruto might add another unreasonable condition.
"I can't constantly travel back and forth between Konoha and Sunagakure," Haruto said bluntly.
The unspoken meaning was clear: if the waterfall created by Takitsubo no Jutsu ever ran dry, Haruto had no intention of making the trip himself to restore it.
"And what exactly does that mean?"
At this point, Rasa no longer resembled the leader of a great nation's hidden village — he looked more like someone reliant on Konoha's goodwill.
Before, Rasa had simply feared Haruto's overwhelming strength, forcing him to compromise.
Now, he was desperate — utterly dependent on this source of water.
Still, Haruto wasn't trying to make things unnecessarily difficult for him.
"That's why I'll leave behind a clone — to make sure the waterfall never disappears. But in return… my clone isn't going to be just some tool."
"A clone?" Rasa blinked. He didn't care what Haruto meant by "tool," but he did doubt the usefulness of a clone.
As Kazekage, he could create sand clones himself — but no matter how refined, a clone could never match the original.
To make it clearer, Haruto decided to simply show him.
A thick wooden pillar sprouted from Haruto's back, growing at a visible speed into a human form before detaching completely.
In the blink of an eye, the wooden figure fully solidified into an independent, living duplicate.
"Wood Release…"
Rasa studied the clone from head to toe. He'd heard of the Wood Release and the legendary First Hokage — but that had always been just a story, never something he'd seen with his own eyes.
Now, standing before him, he could feel how different this Wood Release clone truly was.
The chakra it possessed… the presence it carried…
It was identical to Haruto's real body.
If he hadn't seen the creation process himself, if both Harutos had appeared in front of him at the same time, he wouldn't have been able to tell which one was the original.
"You're a truly unbelievable shinobi," Rasa sighed, once again shaken by the depths of Haruto's abilities.
Just in this single day, he felt as though he had experienced every kind of miracle a lifetime could hold.
"What did you mean by 'tool'?" Rasa asked after finally calming himself a little.
It wasn't hard to understand Haruto's intent — he planned to leave this Wood Release clone stationed in Sunagakure.
"I want the clone to serve as Sunagakure's Special Advisor," Haruto said.
"What?!"
Rasa's eyes went wide. Even before Haruto had spoken, he had suspected there would be some hidden price.
But Special Advisor to the Kazekage? That was a position with the right to attend Sunagakure's highest-level council meetings and speak on major decisions.
In other words, Haruto wanted to plant a Konoha representative inside Sunagakure — in one of the village's most privileged seats.
The thought was more dangerous than monopolizing the gold dust trade.
"Even if I agreed, the Elders would never accept it!" Rasa shot back, invoking their authority in hopes of forcing Haruto to back down.
But Haruto knew better than that. Since Chiyo and Ebizō had stepped back from politics, Sunagakure's elders no longer wielded the same influence.
By Gaara's era, even a young shinobi like Maki had been able to push through controversial decisions — including making a teenage Jinchūriki the Kazekage.
"It doesn't matter if there's no real power. I just want the title — so no one will try to harm my clone," Haruto said, stepping forward, voice ringing with finality.
Rasa's expression darkened. If he weren't completely outmatched, he would have slapped Haruto right then and there, demanding whether Haruto actually believed his own nonsense.
The truth was obvious: Sunagakure needed Haruto's Wood Release clone far more than the clone needed Sunagakure.
And even if someone did attack the clone, what would happen? At worst, it would disperse — and Sunagakure would lose its precious water source.
"It's settled, then," Haruto said, clapping Rasa on the shoulder as if there had been mutual agreement. He didn't care whether Rasa truly accepted it or not.
"But for your sake, Rasa… it's best if no one else knows about this. Let's keep it between us."
As Haruto spoke, the clone in the distance performed a Transformation Technique, disguising itself as an ordinary Sunagakure shinobi.
"You just want to spy on Sunagakure, don't you?" Rasa said, meeting Haruto's gaze.
"You could put it that way," Haruto replied. "After all, I can't be sure you'll really supply all that gold dust only to Konoha."
Then Haruto's tone shifted, suddenly cutting deeper: "And tell me honestly, Rasa… are you really content letting the daimyō control Sunagakure?"
The question caught Rasa completely off guard.
In every era, the daimyō held immense political authority. The position of Kage itself had been created under their oversight.
"The one who leads all shinobi is the Kage. The one who refines the gold dust and negotiates with other nations is also the Kage, right?"
"But with just a few words, a daimyō can slash a village's funding and send its ninja to war against other nations."
"And when war breaks out, the daimyō — who can't even use jutsu — becomes the top priority to protect."
Haruto paused, his eyes cold. "So why do we tolerate them?"
Rasa's pupils constricted sharply. He had never imagined Haruto would voice something so audacious.
And when he weighed that statement against Haruto's power…
An even more terrifying thought struck him.
"You… you're not thinking of replacing the daimyō, are you?" Rasa's voice trembled.
This time, it wasn't just Haruto's strength that frightened him — it was his ambition.