Chapter 248: The Kazekage Is Dead—I Killed Him
In the blink of an eye, three days passed.
Watanabe, pacing in the Kazekage Office's advisor chamber, was growing anxious.
"Still no word from the Third Kazekage?"
His expression was dark—and if one looked closely, there was even a trace of fear in his eyes.
The Sunagakure ANBU standing before him responded,
"No, sir. ANBU has received no reply from the Kazekage."
It had been ten days since the Third Kazekage departed for the daimyō's estate.
By normal timing, he should've arrived five days ago. Even accounting for delays, he should've reached his destination two days ago.
Upon arrival, he was expected to send a message confirming his safety—just in case anything went wrong. This was previously agreed upon.
Yet now, five days after that deadline, there was still no word.
And especially now, with the mysterious clay-style shinobi—rumored to have killed the Third Mizukage—confirmed to be in the Land of Wind...
The timing of the Kazekage's disappearance couldn't be ignored. Watanabe couldn't shake off a chilling thought—one he didn't want to admit.
"Quick—alert all ANBU. Search the route between the village and the daimyō's estate. Spread out from both sides and do not stop until we find the Third Kazekage."
Watanabe's tone hardened. He could no longer afford to wait.
"Yes, sir!"
The ANBU saluted and vanished.
Soon, all ANBU—including those on outside missions—would be mobilized to search for the Kazekage.
"Three days..."
Back at his desk, Watanabe tapped his fingers anxiously, brow tightly furrowed.
He would give the ANBU three days.
If they still couldn't find the Kazekage by then, he would have to officially declare him missing and involve the entire village in the search.
And at that point... damn it!
Why hadn't Nanjirō and the others acted sooner? If they had even wounded Kazekaze, it might've forced him to flee.
But now, the Kazekage was missing—and Kazekaze was alive and well.
If they couldn't find the Kazekage, the village would have no choice but to elect a new one.
And Kazekaze would be the obvious choice.
The only real rival, Sasori—Chiyo's grandson—had also gone missing with the Kazekage.
As for Rasa from the Three Great Clans, he had only just begun to master Magnet Release—he posed no threat to Kazekaze.
"Damn it!"
The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became.
"Am I really going to just sit back and watch that civilian brat become the next Kazekage?"
"No. I won't allow a commoner to rule over the clans."
"Shin Ni!"
Watanabe's face twisted with anger as he summoned his subordinate.
"Sir," Shin Ni entered and bowed.
"What has Kazekaze been doing the past three days? Anything unusual?"
Shin Ni reported,
"He's been meeting with his supporters every evening, sir—up to twenty jōnin have visited him."
"Twenty jōnin?!"
Watanabe's shock was followed by dread.
The number of jōnin is a core measure of a village's strength. Twenty jōnin—many small hidden villages combined couldn't match that.
This meant Kazekaze had amassed serious backing.
And many of those jōnin had followers of their own. The faction behind Kazekaze had become a formidable force.
This couldn't continue.
They had to force Kazekaze out now.
And the Kazekage's disappearance presented the perfect excuse.
They could accuse Kazekaze of conspiring with the clay-style assassin to kill the Kazekage in order to seize power.
If Kazekaze denied it, demand a memory probe.
He would never agree to one—and that refusal would justify action.
The villagers would then believe Kazekaze was behind the deaths of both Nanjirō and the Kazekage.
"Perfect. Why didn't I think of this sooner?"
Watanabe grinned darkly. He knew Chiyo and Ebizō were away, and this would likely plunge the village into chaos—and death.
But what did it matter?
Kazekaze alone couldn't stand against the full force of the Ten Great Clans.
As long as Kazekaze died and the title of Kazekage returned to the clans, it would all be worth it.
But then—
"Also, sir—of those twenty jōnin, five came from three of the Seven Lesser Clans outside the Big Three."
Watanabe's pupils shrank. His mouth opened—but no words came.
"Impossible..."
"Why would they—"
He wanted to say the Ten Clans were united in leading the village. Why would any support a civilian?
Then he realized.
The Kazekage position had always gone to members of the Big Three. Even if Sasori were gone, Rasa was still one of them.
The Seven Lesser Clans had never had a real shot.
They must've long resented this. Or maybe… they wanted their own seat at the top.
So it wasn't surprising that some would back Kazekaze.
"This is bad..."
Even if those clans didn't actively support Kazekaze, they wouldn't help stop him either.
The balance of power had shifted.
Kazekaze's supporters might not outmatch the Ten Clans outright, but an open conflict would be disastrous—for everyone.
Watanabe slumped into his chair, his earlier anger extinguished like a cold douse of water. His plan to corner Kazekaze was now in ruins.
"Just monitor for any updates from the Kazekage or Chiyo," he muttered.
At this point, the only option was to find the Kazekage.
So long as he returned, his authority could suppress Kazekaze for at least ten more years.
And ten years was enough—for anything.
But the first disaster struck almost immediately.
Three days later—
Chiyo and Ebizō returned with two ANBU squads. And they brought a grim report: the Kazekage was likely dead.
Officially, though, Chiyo only reported him missing and called for a village-wide search.
But Watanabe already knew.
He had gathered intel from ANBU who accompanied her.
They had followed the Kazekage's trail and discovered signs of battle at a small oasis.
The scene had been tampered with—but traces of large-scale Magnet Release usage remained.
That meant the Kazekage had fought a powerful enemy.
If it was strong enough to force him to unleash Magnet Release across two kilometers—it had to be the same mysterious Clay Style user Kazekaze had mentioned.
Despite extensive searching, no corpse was found.
That was… both good and bad.
Chiyo's grandson had also gone missing.
Later reports confirmed that the Kazekage had never reached the daimyō's estate.
As all this intel came together, a terrible truth formed in Chiyo's heart.
She refused to accept it.
Instead, upon returning, she immediately organized a full-scale search for the Kazekage and her grandson.
The village buzzed with activity over the missing leader.
And then—
"You don't have to search. Your Third Kazekage is dead. I killed him."
A voice echoed across Sunagakure, amplified through the loudspeakers.
(END CHAPTER)
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