"Uchiha Yan, do you realize that detaining a trade caravan that has strong ties with another village is practically an act of provocation?
On top of that, you even sent people into the Land of Wind to provoke Sunagakure's forces. Are you *trying* to start a war between our villages?"
At this point, Rasa had no choice but to take a stand. If he didn't, Sunagakure's reputation would be completely trampled.
"So what?"
Yan replied fearlessly.
"Rasa, do you *dare* declare war on Konoha?
Honestly, I'd love to see for myself just how much Sunagakure has recovered.
Konoha has suffered plenty at your hands before—taking a little payback isn't too much to ask, is it?"
If you don't like it, then declare war. Come on, do it!
I'm waiting for you!
I, Uchiha Yan, stand here representing Konohagakure. If you, Rasa, dare to declare war, then I dare to accept it.
Madman!!!
Using the threat of war as a form of pressure—this kind of tactic often appears in village negotiations.
But this was the first time Rasa had encountered someone like Yan, who was openly provoking him, outright *forcing* him to declare war.
The most outrageous part?
Yan wasn't bluffing—he was *dead serious*.
If Rasa declared war, Yan would accept on Konohagakure's behalf, and then the two villages could settle everything in an all-out battle.
After all, the grudges between their villages had been piling up for years—might as well use war to put an end to them.
How did Konohagakure let a lunatic like this become Hokage's advisor?
Of all the people Tsunade could've chosen, why pick *him* as her right-hand man?
Rasa was cursing nonstop in his head.
His face darkened, but he didn't take the bait. Yan, however, looked a bit disappointed.
"Kazekage, there are some things I originally didn't want to do because there was no need.
But your village seems to be getting more and more out of line.
Do you think Konohagakure's patience means we'll just let you walk all over us?"
"Do you think Konohagakure won't start a war, so you can mess around however you like?"
"Harassing our trade caravans, seizing goods, detaining our merchants—
Nice. Sunagakure really knows how to play the game.
You've made things incredibly annoying for us, and the worst part is, none of it is serious enough for Konohagakure to openly retaliate. Even if we wanted to settle the score, this wouldn't be a good enough excuse."
"And if messing with our caravans wasn't enough, now your people keep sneaking into the Land of Fire.
If they don't get caught, they keep coming back. If they do get caught, they just claim they got lost. Clever."
"These are just small issues—minor conflicts between our villages!!"
Rasa gritted his teeth.
Over some trivial nonsense, Uchiha Yan actually escalated things to *this* level.
The smile on Yan's face disappeared.
He stared at Rasa, his tone full of disdain.
"A toad might not bite, but it sure is disgusting when it clings to your foot.
If Sunagakure has so many problems with Konohagakure, we can just cancel all cooperation between our villages.
Not like working with you brings us any real benefits anyway. To be honest, I don't even care about the little profits we get from it."
"You're desperate to work with Konohagakure, yet you keep playing these petty tricks, constantly trying to mess with us.
Are you people sick in the head? Or do you just have some kind of stray dog instinct—always jumping out to cause trouble for no reason?"
*Boom!!!*
A massive surge of chakra erupted.
Rasa was completely engulfed in the energy. Sand and rubble flew in all directions, and even the ground beneath him cracked into a small crater.
"Uchiha Yan, don't push it too far!!!"
It was true—Rasa didn't want to start a war. Right now, Sunagakure was far too weak.
But Yan had insulted and belittled his village over and over again. This was getting hard to tolerate.
"Oh, so you're allowed to do things, but no one's allowed to call you out on them?"
A deep purple chakra burst out from Yan's body, surging toward Rasa like a tidal wave.
Competing in chakra?
Rasa, you're way out of your league.
Besides your Magnet Release, what else do you have that's worth noticing?
Oh right, a heart as black as coal.
Even Yan had to admit—Rasa's ruthlessness was something to admire.
A man who treated his own wife and son like tools… Among the Five Great Ninja Villages, only Rasa could pull that off.
Others might be cruel, but they wouldn't go that far against their own family.
Damn it, this brat's chakra…
Rasa's heart pounded in shock.
Seeing Rasa's face twisted in frustration—like he had just lost everything—Yan chuckled and shook his head.
"Kazekage, as long as I stand here, I represent Konohagakure.
I'll say it again: all these disgusting tricks—you brought them on yourselves. Konohagakure never started any of this.
Since you dared to play dirty, be ready to lose face. I, Uchiha Yan, don't fear your slander or revenge. If it comes to war, so be it."
"But the problem is… you don't have the guts."
"Or maybe…"
Yan looked Rasa up and down.
"How about we settle this right here? If you win, I'll turn around and leave. After that, you Sunagakure guys can do whatever you want.
But if you lose—crawl back home and make sure your people stay far away from Konohagakure!"
No more talking.
A giant skeletal hand, wrapped in golden flames, came crashing down toward Rasa.
"Damn it!!"
Rasa's pupils shrank. This kid had no sense of honor.
"Boom!!!"
A storm of golden sand surged up to block the attack. The flaming hand slammed into the sand barrier with a deafening crash. Countless grains of gold sand scattered in all directions before quickly flying back to Rasa's side.
The fight had begun.
In the camp, all the Konohagakure ninjas rushed out.
The moment Yan needed them, they were ready to step in.
On the other side, feeling the powerful chakra waves—one of which clearly belonged to their Kazekage—the Sunagakure ninjas couldn't sit still either. They immediately left their camp to provide support.
Yan knocked Rasa back with a punch, and more bones started forming around him.
In no time, the bare skeleton was covered with muscles and armor. A fully formed Susano'o stood tall on the border.
"Rasa!!!"
Standing inside the Susano'o, Yan's voice was cold and sharp.
"Since Sunagakure Village refuses to stop these disgusting little tricks, then we, Konohagakure, will see it through to the end.
And from now on, if any Sunagakure ninja steps into the Land of Fire without proper approval, every single time—I'll come looking for you."
"You can think of it this way—when your village's ninjas mess up, you, as the Kazekage, take the beating. For every mistake, I punch you once."
Magnet Release?
What a joke.
Aside from being somewhat versatile, this Kekkei Genkai was basically useless.
This was just pure bullying!
The golden giant raised both fists and swung at Rasa again and again. Rasa kept reinforcing his Magnet Release defense while commanding a massive amount of gold dust to cover Susano'o.
"Boom!!!!"
But it was pointless—Yan was no Uchiha Madara.
Madara, with all his arrogance, had too much time on his hands, showing off left and right, only to get dragged out of his Susano'o by Gaara's sand.
Yan wouldn't make that kind of dumb mistake.
Showing off was fine, but getting humiliated wasn't.
The more impressive you act, the worse it hurts when you fail.
Take Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Sasuke—these two always showed off, only to get humiliated shortly after.
The crazy thing was, after getting knocked down, they'd start showing off again in no time.
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