Even though the topic had been whispered about for weeks inside Kirigakure, this time it was Rasa—the Kazekage—asking it straight to Chojuro's face during the inauguration. The new Mizukage didn't have to answer. The question alone was enough to set the whole village talking again.
Yagura's supporters were already fading fast. His foundation had never been strong. He only got the hat because the old Mist leadership collapsed. His time in office was short, so he never built real loyalty. All he really had to show for it was putting down the Six-Tails rampage and crushing a couple of navigation groups. That wasn't enough.
The crowd's tone turned ugly.
"Yagura's a traitor to the Hidden Mist!"
"If it wasn't for him, the village wouldn't have fallen this far!"
"The worst Mizukage in history. Hell, the worst Kage period. Nobody's ever screwed up this badly."
Chojuro and the rest of the Mist leadership looked like they'd swallowed glass, but that wasn't Rasa's problem.
The second his points hit four thousand, he spun the wheel. To squeeze every drop of value, he split the draws—thirty consecutive for the small pity, then ten more for the big one on his hundredth pull. Both results popped up almost at the same time.
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained an F-rank item: one tael of gold.]
...
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained a B-rank item: One-Day Truth Card.]
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained a B-rank item: …]
...
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained an A-rank item: Antlion (S-rank ninjutsu).]
...
[Congratulations, Host. You have completed your 100th draw and triggered the pity system, obtaining an S-rank item: 5% Ōtsutsuki Bloodline.]
"New card?"
Rasa checked the details.
[One-Day Truth Card]
[—Six random names appear. Pick one. For the next 24 hours, everything the target says will be the absolute truth.]
Rasa raised an eyebrow. Used at the right moment on the right person, this thing could be lethal.
He moved on to the A-rank reward.
[Antlion]
[—Creates a massive desert sinkhole. The flowing sand constantly pulls downward, dragging anyone trapped inside deeper until they're buried alive.]
"Large-area binding and damage ninjutsu. In the desert it'll hit like a truck—doesn't even cost extra chakra to make the sand."
Finally he claimed the big pity.
"Use."
A familiar surge of power flooded his body. His physique strengthened. His chakra reserves spiked.
"Twenty percent bloodline concentration."
Rasa felt the change roll through him. "Massive boost to my chakra pool. I've got more than any Uzumaki clan member short of the top tier. I'm basically carrying the chakra of a dozen Kakashis now."
The exhibition match finally ended.
"Winner—Mangetsu Hozuki!"
Rasa glanced over. Mangetsu, the Hozuki clan's prodigy. The kid could wield all seven legendary swords perfectly, but his body was too weak. He'd never gotten the chance to shine before he died young. Another fragile genius the Mist had lost—same story as Ringo Rainyuri.
Two days later, Sunagakure's navigation group officially launched. The same day, the Fire, Earth, and Lightning navigation groups formed as well. All four great villages reached separate deals with both Kirigakure and the Land of Water daimyo. No full-scale war broke out, but the competition was already fierce. Still, on that day the age of voyages truly began.
Sails unfurled. Ships cut into the open sea.
"Hoist the sails!"
"Set course!"
"Go! Go! Go!"
People stared out at the endless blue horizon, faces lit with raw excitement.
Back in Sunagakure, Ebizo appeared at the Kazekage Tower.
"Kazekage-sama."
"Ebizo. What's going on?"
Rasa was surprised. Ebizo had been running nonstop lately—he barely slept.
"Kazekage-sama, a few days ago some Leaf ninja slipped in. They were scouting the Sun Disk."
"Did they get inside the inner perimeter?"
"No."
"Shame."
Rasa looked genuinely disappointed. Anyone who crossed that line would've been hit by the Sun Disk's automatic defenses. Very few shinobi survived that.
"Who was it?"
"Minato Namikaze."
Rasa's eyes narrowed. "Minato came himself?"
That was unexpected. Scouting intel didn't need the Yellow Flash in person. Rasa had known other villages would eventually send spies—Sunagakure was too important now to ignore—but he wasn't worried. The Sun Disk was special. Step inside three kilometers without the right mark and you got attacked. Only a handful of people in the village even knew the full details. Any intel the Leaf grabbed would be surface-level at best. The real blueprints stayed with Rasa and Chiyo. Plus, only Sunagakure had enough sunlight to power the thing properly. Cloud and Mist were out of luck on that front.
"I understand. No need to panic yet. But for the second Sun Disk, be extra careful with who you assign. Screen everyone. We can't let foreign spies get close."
Rasa was already thinking about Minato's Flying Thunder God. In a straight fight he wasn't afraid anymore. But if Minato snuck in, grabbed something valuable, and teleported out? That would be a nightmare. Especially if he pre-placed markers the way Rasa pre-placed sand soldiers.
He didn't have to worry long.
"Big news! Huge news!"
"Konoha's in the middle of a Tailed Beast rampage!"
"Casualties are insane. Losses are catastrophic."
"Even Minato Namikaze died during the Nine-Tails attack!"
Rasa froze for a second, then let out a quiet, almost wistful sigh.
"So that night finally came."