"They wouldn't," Daigan answered firmly.
"Who would believe that?" Chi retorted without mercy. "Girls mature much faster than boys. Temari won't give you the time of day if she doesn't see anything attractive in you."
"Then what should I do?"
"First, you need to figure out what you really think. What is it about Temari that attracts you the most? For a girl, 'like' is more than just a word."
Daigan thought seriously for a moment before smiling. "I don't really get complicated stuff. Me? I just really want to see that fierce look on Temari's face replaced by a blush of gentle shyness!"
"You really are an idiot with weird tastes." Chi couldn't help but burst out laughing. Yome was also amused by Daigan's infatuated attitude, which sounded more like a delusion.
"The gentle shyness of Lady Temari? I'd love to see that too! I support you. Go for it!"
"You two just want to see me make a fool of myself, don't you? Is the trust between people really that fragile?" Daigan rubbed his nose awkwardly. "You're laughing way too hard."
None of the three noticed a small, eight-legged spider puppet hidden in the lining of Chi's clothes, bobbing quietly with her steps, a faint red light blinking on its back.
Not far away, Kankuro reluctantly lowered a listening device. "I told you it had nothing to do with me, but you still didn't believe me! Still, I did hear some interesting things… That friend of yours, Chi, really looks out for you, to agree to such an outrageous spying request."
Across from him sat a red-faced Temari. She slammed her fist down, shattering the expensive listening device. "Mind your own business! From now on, you're forbidden from associating with that idiot."
"Got it. My listening device… aren't you going to pay me back for it?"
***
Sunagakure was situated in a rare strategic location within the Land of Wind. Rock walls hundreds of meters high formed the best natural fortifications, with only a single fissure, several dozen meters wide, on the southeastern side. Following the treacherous mountain terrain, the Suna ninja had turned the entire village into an impregnable fortress.
In this blessed place were more than ten underground springs that supplied water for all of Sunagakure's inhabitants.
In a subterranean palace near the center of the village, Chiyo and Ebizo had not been outside for a long time. The sister and brother, who silently controlled the politics of Sunagakure from behind the scenes, were fishing as usual. A vast network of underground water flowed beneath the village, and one of its tributaries formed a gentle, subterranean river here. In the deep darkness, there lived blind fish that had all but lost their sight. These creatures, different from those on the surface, had become a source of amusement for Chiyo and Ebizo in their leisure time.
At this moment, sitting not far from them was Rasa, who usually concealed his true face beneath a conical hat and mask. With short brown hair, dressed in a black ninja uniform over a mesh undershirt, Rasa lacked his usual air of mystery. He looked like an ordinary middle-aged man in his forties, awaiting the guidance of his elders.
Chiyo said nothing, seemingly completely absorbed in the pleasure of fishing.
Ebizo's eyes were half-closed, his thoughts elsewhere. After a long while, he let out a helpless sigh. "Has it been decided?"
"Yes. We can wait no longer," Rasa said, his deep voice firm and resolute.
"Or is it that you *don't want* to wait any longer?" Ebizo reeled in his empty fishing line and turned to sit face-to-face with Rasa. "Even you—the man who turned the tide on the battlefield against the Kumogakure invasion and became Kazekage shortly after—are no longer young."
A dozen years ago, Sunagakure had been living a nightmare. The Third Kazekage had vanished without a trace, and the village had ended the Third Great Ninja War in disastrous defeat. Iwagakure was still watching them like a tiger, and Kumogakure, sensing an opportunity, had taken advantage of the weakness to invade. Hostile on three fronts, Sunagakure was also engaged in a bitter and protracted conflict with Kirigakure.
With the support of Chiyo and Ebizo, Rasa smoothly became the Fourth Kazekage. He led from the front, rallying the panicked Suna ninja to defeat the Kumo invaders. He handed the decorated Scorch Release user Pakura over to Kirigakure to temporarily resolve their grievances. He signed a treaty of surrender with Konoha in exchange for support, and finally, he focused on dealing with their mortal enemy to the north, Iwagakure.
For every person who criticized Rasa's weakness, there was another who was grateful that Sunagakure finally had a Kazekage who knew when to advance and when to retreat. Whether it was signing a humiliating armistice with Konoha or selling out Pakura for Kirigakure's withdrawal, the precarious village of Sunagakure had survived.
Every time Rasa came to see Chiyo and Ebizo, it signified that Sunagakure was on the verge of a major move.
"Whether we can no longer wait or simply don't want to, the result is the same."
"Have you considered the consequences of failure?"
"Failure?" A look of grim determination crossed Rasa's stoic face. "By that time, I will have already died in battle. Then let the life of the Fourth Kazekage appease Konoha's wrath! If that is not enough, you may add my three children to the price."
Hearing Rasa's reply, Ebizo's eyebrows twitched. "The Kazekage of Sunagakure has never had a good end."
Carrying this faltering village forward was the duty of the Kazekage.
"Let me be the one to uproot the evil seeds I sowed back then."
Sunagakure had not bared its fangs in so long that it was struggling to maintain its status as one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Powerful villages like Takigakure and Amegakure were getting restless, eager to test whether Sunagakure still deserved its title. Even a lapdog village like Kusagakure dared to snarl at Suna ninja.
The desire to change the village's unfavorable situation was a consensus from top to bottom. Waiting for an opportunity, Rasa had desperately squeezed the village's potential from within, hoping to quickly restore its strength and compensate for the losses from the Third Kazekage's disappearance and the defeat in the Third Great Ninja War. His own youngest son, Gaara, had been made a sacrifice, turned into the Jinchuriki of the One-Tail.
The next few years would be the peak of Sunagakure's strength. If they delayed any longer, the valor and spirit of Suna's ninja would wither away.
"Since you have made up your mind, do as you see fit. If you need our cooperation in any way, you have only to ask. After all, you are the Kazekage."
"Thank you for your understanding." Rasa bowed respectfully, just as he had when he first ascended to the seat of the Fourth Kazekage. "Should I not return from this venture, I will leave Sunagakure in your capable hands."
With that, Rasa rose and departed.
A long time later, Chiyo reeled in her fishing line. "I'm tired of this for today. Ebizo, let's go back."
"Alright."
"That Rasa just now… he looked a bit like a Kazekage."
"He always has been the Kazekage. It's just that you still see him as a child who never grew up, sister."
In Chiyo's eyes, what Suna ninja wasn't just a fledgling chick?