Chapter 184: Rasa Is Dead, the One-Tail Has Been Stolen!
The Fourth Kazekage's death brought an unprecedented massive shock to all Sand ninja present at the scene. The previous Third Kazekage had disappeared with whereabouts still unknown. All Sand ninja understood in their hearts that their Third Kazekage would never return. And now they'd lost the Fourth Kazekage, who'd held office for less than two years.
Without the Kazekage's protection and leadership, where would Sunagakure go from here?
A depressing, heavy atmosphere pervaded the battlefield.
Fortunately, advisor elder Chiyo possessed rich experience and was sufficiently seasoned and steady. She maintained the village's combat readiness state without lifting it, gathering and placing all Sand ninja present who knew of the Fourth Kazekage's death under unified control. She issued a gag order, successfully blocking the terrible news of the Fourth Kazekage's death.
Then—
In the advisor elder's office at the Kazekage Building.
Ebizo, who'd remained here presiding over the overall situation, watched his sister Chiyo return in haste with a face like frost. His heart immediately sank. He knew intimately well just how strong-willed his sister's personality was. Chiyo was the type who would smile while swallowing broken teeth into her stomach, absolutely refusing to expose her vulnerable, powerless side to others.
Over the past fifty-plus years, he'd only seen Chiyo display such a serious, grave expression on rare occasions. The most recent time was several years ago when that child Sasori became a missing-nin. Back then, Chiyo's expression had been as terrible as an evil spirit crawling out of hell.
Ebizo stepped forward, looking at Chiyo's awful expression, and asked, "Sister, what happened?"
Chiyo pressed her lips together without answering. Only after returning to the office and closing the door did she speak in a heavy voice. "Rasa is dead. The One-Tail has been stolen."
"Rasa... is dead?"
Ebizo stared dumbfounded.
He truly hadn't known this intelligence. Though he'd remained at the Kazekage Building to preside over the overall situation in the Kazekage's place, Chiyo's information lockdown order had been executed so thoroughly that even Ebizo hadn't received any reports.
Hearing this thunderbolt news at this moment, he simply couldn't maintain an unperturbed mindset. Moreover, not only had the Fourth Kazekage died, but even the One-Tail had been stolen.
But Chiyo would only joke about herself, never about others, never about village matters.
Which meant—
This was real!
Ebizo asked somewhat dazedly, "Sister, what exactly happened?"
Chiyo didn't speak but walked over to sit on the sofa. Leaning back against the soft cushions, her entire body radiated deep exhaustion. Seeing this, Ebizo froze for an instant, then quickly and efficiently brewed a cup of hot tea and handed it over.
Taking the teacup, Chiyo drank two mouthfuls and let out a long breath before speaking. "The invader wore a wooden tiger-head mask. His age should be in the sixteen-to-twenty range. He possesses both Sharingan and Wood Release Kekkei Genkai simultaneously, but I believe he should be an Uchiha."
"Sharingan and Wood Release?"
Ebizo narrowed his eyes. "If I remember correctly, some time ago Konoha issued a wanted notice for a missing-nin called Anonymous who simultaneously possessed Sharingan and Wood Release Kekkei Genkai. Because they hadn't determined this missing-nin's true identity, they called him Anonymous."
"Perhaps it's the same person."
Chiyo continued, "He also mastered a technique for creating replicas of others. He created replicas of Shimura Danzo, Sand ninja Troy, Rasa, and many other people. Even Rasa's gold dust technique could be perfectly replicated."
Ebizo's face showed a horrified expression. "Even Kekkei Genkai can be copied? This is too... too unreasonable, isn't it?"
Chiyo looked exhausted and helpless. "Ebizo, when have things in this world ever been reasonable? Reality requires neither logic nor reason. Especially the Uchiha clan... they're the most unreasonable of all!"
Ebizo found himself momentarily speechless.
After a while, he asked, "Then sister, how did you drive off this invader?"
Chiyo shook her head. "The invader wasn't driven away by us. He left on his own. But I don't think he'd reached his limit. He might not be able to completely destroy our Sunagakure, but simply killing everyone present at the time shouldn't have been difficult for him. He must have chosen to leave due to some other circumstances."
After finishing, she sighed heavily. Their survival was purely fortunate. Otherwise, among all those Sand ninja present at the time, truly not many could have escaped his deadly hands. The Fourth Kazekage's gold dust technique alone was already a terrifying force they couldn't resist, let alone all his other methods.
A moment later—
Chiyo forcefully shook her head again, clearing the distracting thoughts from her mind. Now wasn't the time to investigate why the invader had spared them. The urgent priority was how to handle the aftermath and maintain stability in the village situation.
Her gaze became sharp, staring at her younger brother Ebizo as she spoke gravely. "I've temporarily suppressed the news of Rasa's death, but this can only hold for a while. Sooner or later, the news will spread. Once it does, the village's situation will definitely become very bad."
Ebizo nodded.
This was inevitable. The Kazekage was the village's leader, the object of veneration for these ten thousand Sand ninja. After the Third Kazekage's disappearance, Sunagakure's chaos, disorder, and loss of control had demonstrated the importance of a Kage.
Once news spread that the Fourth Kazekage had been killed by a suspected Konoha missing-nin, public opinion in the village would very likely spiral out of control like in the past. Calls for vengeance for the Fourth Kazekage would inevitably echo over Sunagakure.
Chiyo likewise hadn't forgotten that painful lesson from not long ago. She spoke sternly, "The old events after the Third Kazekage's disappearance absolutely cannot repeat. We cannot let collective mistaken decisions harm us again. So we must determine the Fifth Kazekage candidate as quickly as possible."
Ebizo nodded with a grave expression. His elder sister was right. Last time after the Third Kazekage disappeared, rumors from who-knows-where claimed the Third Kazekage had been assassinated by Konoha ninja. Afterward, many people clamored for revenge for the Third Kazekage, forming extremely powerful public opinion.
At the time, because the Third Kazekage had disappeared, the village's leadership couldn't unify their opinions, failing to control the situation in time. They were ultimately swept along by public opinion and forced to declare war on Konoha, only to be thoroughly defeated by Konoha and severely weakened.
Now the village's vitality hadn't yet recovered. If they went through this again, it wouldn't just be about hurting their vitality—it would truly shake the village's foundation.
So to prevent this terrible situation from occurring, the best approach was to select the Fifth Kazekage as quickly as possible.
The Kazekage was Sunagakure's supreme leader, able to legitimately preside over the overall situation. Even if a hastily appointed Fifth Kazekage lacked sufficient authority, as long as he and sister Chiyo fully supported them, controlling the village's situation should present no problems.
Thinking this far, his gaze involuntarily fell on Chiyo. Actually, when discussing who was most suitable to handle the village's terrible situation at this time, it was undoubtedly his sister.
As the village's most formidable puppet master after founding ancestor Monzaemon, all puppet masters in the village could be considered her juniors. She held extremely deep popular support in the village. Moreover, with experts now scarce in the village, Chiyo was already one of the few remaining top-tier powerhouses.
One could say that from every perspective, Chiyo was the most suitable candidate to succeed as Kazekage.
"Sister, you..."
"I can't."
Before Ebizo could finish, Chiyo, who'd already anticipated what her younger brother would say, decisively interrupted. "I'm not the material for being Kazekage. If this were the past, I might have reluctantly served temporarily, but the current me can't even manage reluctantly."
Her attitude was so resolute, without the slightest room for negotiation.
Ebizo sighed silently but also understood why his sister was unwilling to touch the Kazekage position. This wasn't about insufficient ability or prestige, but rather an obstacle in her own heart she couldn't overcome.
All Sand ninja knew Sasori of the Red Sand became a missing-nin because he researched forbidden techniques, attempting to break through puppet technique's original limitations, using people as materials for creating puppets.
If that were all, it actually wouldn't matter much. The key problem was that Sasori had used his fellow Sunagakure comrades as research materials. After the incident came to light, there truly was no room for compromise. Even though his grandmother was advisor elder Chiyo, he still lost any place to stand in the village.
But having just one grandson who became a missing-nin wouldn't completely extinguish Chiyo's interest in the Kazekage position. The more important reason was that Chiyo had always suspected the missing Third Kazekage might have fallen victim to Sasori's hands. This was the true obstacle in Chiyo's heart she couldn't overcome.
Ebizo pressed his throbbing temples somewhat distressfully and said, "If sister, you have absolutely no interest in the Kazekage position, then those capable of securing the Fifth Kazekage seat don't have much choice left."
"I know."
Chiyo pressed her lips together, her expression grave.
The scarcity of strong individuals in the village wasn't a joke but an extremely tragic fact. The experts Sunagakure could currently field didn't exceed one hand's count. And to succeed to the Kage position, without sufficient strength, one fundamentally couldn't command respect.
Admiring strength was one of ninja's common traits. Ninja from every village were like this, so the Kage was often the village's strongest or one of the top-tier powerhouses.
After pondering several seconds, Chiyo spoke straightforwardly. "Ebizo, I think Pakura is good."
Ebizo frowned. "Pakura? Her strength goes without saying—she's developed her Scorch Release Kekkei Genkai to a very formidable level. It's just that she's somewhat too young, isn't she? She's not even twenty yet. I'm afraid many people will raise objections."
"If we don't choose Pakura, should we choose that lunatic Wamatsu instead?"
Ebizo fell silent.
Wamatsu was from the same clan as Fourth Kazekage Rasa, the same generation as Chiyo and Ebizo, possessing Magnetic Release Kekkei Genkai and having also learned Sand technique. He was one of the village's few top-tier experts.
But this person was an absolute warmonger. Back when the Third Kazekage disappeared, this man had opposed Chiyo and Ebizo, clamoring for revenge for the Third Kazekage, allowing rumors that Konoha had assassinated the Third Kazekage to spread throughout the village.
However, though Wamatsu had aligned with the village's momentum for revenge for the Third Kazekage at the time, the disastrous defeat in the great war against Konoha had also backfired on him, destroying his dream of succeeding to the Fourth Kazekage position. Instead, Rasa had claimed the Fourth Kazekage throne.
In summary—
Chiyo detested Wamatsu, considering the man a complete menace.
She looked at Ebizo and said, "You know what kind of person Wamatsu is too. Letting him serve as Kazekage would bring unprecedented disaster to the village. Though Pakura is young, she's not a battle maniac like Wamatsu. What the village needs right now is precisely a moderate Kage who can soothe pain and let the village slowly recover its vitality."
After listening, Ebizo still frowned. Pakura's insufficient age was ultimately a problem. If no one was qualified to compete with Pakura, it wouldn't be an issue, but the current problem was that Wamatsu absolutely wouldn't let such a rare opportunity pass.
But Chiyo didn't plan to discuss this with Ebizo. "Enough, it's decided. Ebizo, immediately dispatch someone to the northern frontline to summon Pakura back."
Sunagakure didn't mean they'd been safe and sound since the war with Konoha ended. In fact, they and Rock ninja had been continuously fighting over the subordination question of the small country called the Land of Stone sandwiched between the Land of Wind and Land of Earth. Though no intense major battles had erupted, small-scale conflicts between both sides were constant.
And Pakura had been dispatched to the northern frontline precisely because of this to battle Rock ninja. She'd already killed quite a few Rock ninja in combat, establishing distinguished military achievements.
"Summoning Pakura back is possible, but the northern situation..."
"Is now the time to worry about the northern situation? If Rock ninja attack, have them retreat back into Land of Wind territory. As long as Rock ninja don't step into our territory, temporarily don't worry about them. If they press their advantage... I think rather than going to war with Konoha, I'd prefer facing Rock ninja."
Facing Chiyo's resolute gaze, Ebizo sighed helplessly and said in a low voice, "Sister, I'll dispatch someone to the north, but Pakura will need some time to return."
"The village won't descend into chaos in the short term."
Chiyo spoke decisively.
"But such a major matter still requires notifying the others."
As advisor elders, the two siblings held the highest positions currently in Sunagakure since Rasa hadn't appointed a Kazekage assistant before his death. But advisor elders were ultimately just advisor elders. Deciding the future Fifth Kazekage candidate—even without requiring villager elections—still couldn't bypass the village's other leadership.
But Chiyo's attitude was resolute, unwavering as she said, "Once Pakura returns, I'll immediately convene a meeting. Until then, we'll temporarily maintain this combat readiness state!"
Outside the window—
Empty streets, only fully armed Sand ninja patrolling in formation.