"But… Elder Chiyo, I understand how you feel, and I know how much you've done for Sunagakure. But this war wasn't something we chose to fight."
Rasa noticed the flashes of regret in Chiyo's eyes. His already pale face broke out in cold sweat.
Did he love Sunagakure?
Yes, but he loved himself more.
To secure his seat as the Fourth Kazekage, he was willing to work with Kirigakure and sacrifice Pakura, one of the village's heroes.
To give the village a Jinchuriki, he sealed Shukaku into his newborn son, Gaara, without hesitation.
He didn't lack the courage to die in battle.
But to bear the responsibility of a Kazekage, swallow mouthfuls of gold dust stacked half as tall as a man to atone for his failure, suffer humiliation in front of his entire village.
And then willingly present himself to the First Kazekage's sealing monument…
Sorry, but he simply did not have that level of enlightenment, at least not yet.
"Eat, Kazekage-sama."
If Chiyo was filled with regret, how could Ebizo not feel hatred?
If Rasa had stepped up and eaten the gold dust willingly, showing the dignity and responsibility of a Kazekage, Ebizo might have felt better.
But seeing him hesitate, dodge, and mumble excuses, Ebizo's anger exploded. He grabbed a handful of gold dust and shoved it straight into Rasa's mouth.
"Urgh, wait, I'm the Fourth Kazekage."
"P…Ptoo. You can't treat me like this."
"Stop. I'm Kazekage."
…
Faced with Ebizo's bitter, hate fueled force feeding, Rasa panicked and struggled in pain.
But after Garp hardened his fist with Armament Haki and struck him, every bone in Rasa's body shattered.
He didn't have the regenerative power of a Sage Body, nor the bodily toughness of the Third Raikage. His so-called struggle amounted only to facial twitching and desperate, pleading eyes.
Every grain of gold dust Ebizo shoved at him, he had no choice but to swallow it all.
"Sealing Jutsu: Lion Roar."
Standing nearby, Chiyo, who had not acted until now, suddenly stepped forward and cast the seal, cutting off Rasa's chakra.
"Chiyo, you, ah…."
He had barely condensed a sliver of Magnet Release chakra, just enough to attempt suicide with the gold dust, when Chiyo sealed it away. Rasa was so furious he nearly cursed aloud.
But the moment he opened his mouth, before he could spew insults, Chiyo grabbed another handful of gold dust and stuffed it in.
"Should we help him?"
"But doing that would betray the efforts of Elder Chiyo and Elder Ebizo."
"We're not afraid of dying. We're living for the future of Sunagakure."
"Like Elder Chiyo said, dying is instant. Living is what hurts."
…
Standing at the edge of the crater left by Garp's fist, Maki, Yashamaru, and the other Suna-nin watched their Kazekage being force fed sand. Their expressions were… complicated.
Many had the impulse to intervene, but before they could step forward, a comrade beside them pulled them back.
Ultimately, Rasa was a new Kazekage with limited prestige.
After a humiliating defeat and his disgraceful behavior, combined with Chiyo and Ebizo's scathing words, most Suna-nin chose to stand aside, and restrain the few who still wanted to help him.
It wasn't fear of death. It was for Sunagakure.
Yes….
Everything was for Sunagakure.
"Damn you all. I ended up like this for you worthless shinobi, and not one of you comes to save me."
"Ahhh… I hate you all."
After eating half a mound of gold dust and still seeing no Suna-nin step forward to help him, Rasa's last trace of hope vanished.
But hatred or not, he had no choice but to eat every grain forced upon him.
Even if he wanted to spit it out, Chiyo and Ebizo would shove it back down his throat.
"I thought Onoki losing his son and the Third Raikage being beaten half to death by uncle Garp was already tragic enough, but this… this is on a whole other level."
Watching the Fourth Kazekage being force fed by his own village elders, Tsunade was utterly stunned, and unexpectedly thrilled.
Through three Shinobi World Wars, members of her Senju clan had been killed by Sunagakure again and again. Even her last remaining family member, Nawaki, died because of them.
The Four Great Villages? She had nothing but hatred for them.
Her shock was directed solely at the brutality and dominance of Garp's methods.
Killing a Kage was already hard.
But making a Kage get force fed gold dust by his own elders? That was unheard of.
Yet Garp did it.
As she watched him smiling calmly beside the crater, admiring the scene of the Kazekage eating sand, Tsunade felt her beautiful eyes flicker with deep admiration, and the faintest hint of affection.
"I finally understand why my clan elders always look so reverent when they talk about Lord Garp."
Shikaku wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
He was merely standing there watching, yet it chilled him to the core.
One could only imagine the despair felt by the shinobi and samurai of that period, or by Rasa, or by Onoki earlier, and even by the Third Raikage.
"No wonder Onoki sent a surrender letter to Konoha the moment he heard his son was dead."
Choza shook his head, sighing.
Onoki didn't just lose hundreds of Iwa-nin, he lost his own son.
"Of the Five Kage… four have already bowed their heads."
Inoichi quietly watched Rasa choking on gold dust, murmuring to himself.
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