By the time Seiki received the official invitation, it was already the next day.
"Haha, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Lord Seiki. To be honest, we were simply too stunned after receiving that intelligence yesterday—it's hard to believe the real truth behind the Third Kazekage's disappearance was like this!"
Rasa's expression turned serious again. "In any case, thank you greatly for your contributions in this matter, Lord Seiki."
The jonin around him also began lavishing praise without hesitation.
"A puppet version of the Third Kazekage couldn't even defeat Lord Seiki—truly amazing!"
"If not for Special Envoy Seiki, Chuura and Lady Pakura might never have returned!"
"We're so envious that Konoha has someone like Lord Seiki as a genius!"
"Even though Red-Sand Sasori is already a rare talent here in Sunagakure, compared to Special Envoy Seiki, he falls far short!"
Seiki naturally understood—the reason they had waited until today to officially invite him was probably because they had spent all yesterday rehearsing what to say.
They must've struggled not to cringe while saying all that out loud!
Thinking about it, Seiki gave an "embarrassed" smile and replied, "You're all overestimating me, Kazekage-sama and seniors. I only did what I could manage."
Just what he could manage... everyone exchanged uneasy glances—given your strength, wasn't there practically nothing in the entire shinobi world beyond his reach?
Rasa remained composed. "Your humility truly makes us feel ashamed, Lord Seiki. By the way, may I ask how yesterday's battle ended?"
Seiki sighed. "I actually had the chance to kill him, but he threatened me using Lady Pakura's safety. By the time I realized his trick, he'd already escaped on top of the Puppet Third Kazekage."
Using the revered body of the Third Kazekage as a mount… once again, everyone felt indignant and grew even more frustrated looking at Seiki.
Both of them were geniuses—so why was there such a huge gap between them?
Rasa took a deep breath and asked further, "I heard from Chuura that yesterday you used an extremely wide-range sensing Sage Art. Would you please help us find Sasori one more time? We'll gather all our forces and kill him together!"
But Seiki frowned deeply. "Putting aside whether Sasori would stay in the desert waiting for us to come after him, the most important question is, Kazekage-sama, have you figured out exactly how you'll deal with him?"
"It's definitely through my Magnet Release!" Rasa declared confidently. "Although I don't know how he managed to kill the Third Kazekage, there's absolutely no mistake that Magnet Release can counter puppets. Even the Puppet Third Kazekage will inevitably be suppressed by me due to having become a puppet himself!"
"But what about his poison?" Seiki countered. "Although his poison has no effect on me, it's deadly to most shinobi. If we push him to desperation, our side could suffer heavy losses."
"Tsk... I..."
Of course, Rasa was just speaking off the cuff—how could someone so composed and calculating ever act recklessly due to momentary impulse?
So after frowning and thinking for a moment, Rasa reluctantly shifted the topic instead. "Since we temporarily cannot deal with Sasori, I'll trouble you, Lord Seiki, to help us keep this secret."
"If the villagers found out that the person who killed Third Kazekage is still alive, there would definitely be panic."
"I just used this exact reasoning to explain to Lord Hokage why your village was unwilling to deploy troops..." Seiki helplessly spread his hands. "So, Kazekage-sama, it seems you spoke a bit too late."
Rasa's expression turned dark. "Didn't I already say we Sand ninja simply have too long of a front line and too weak of strength—we can defend ourselves, but cannot afford counterattacks?"
Seiki immediately shifted blame. "But Lord Hokage didn't believe me! However, when I switched to this explanation, Lord Hokage believed it immediately."
"Then should I send a message to Lord Hokage right now telling him not to spread this information first?"
Everyone's faces looked as if they had swallowed a fly—how could they not understand by now that Seiki had deliberately done this after seeing through their concerns?
They were deeply upset as well. Who would've thought a simple joint mission would expose such a huge scandal within their own Sunagakure? If they didn't know for sure that Seiki had no prior connection with Sasori—and even destroyed so many of the enemy's puppets during battle—they probably would've suspected from the beginning that Seiki had specifically targeted Third Kazekage.
Rasa took a deep breath. "Alright then, straight to the point—who exactly do you want us to keep this secret for?"
Seiki smiled. "Actually, our request has always been singular—simply that Sunagakure sends forth its forces!"
Rasa narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Are you threatening me?"
"Of course not!" Seiki quickly replied. "Given that Sand shinobi have built such an impressive organization in these harsh conditions, they must possess unbreakable spines; naturally unwilling to compromise under mere threats!" He subtly flattered the Sand ninja.
After all, wasn't that exactly what Sunagakure of Unyielding Will stood for?
Hearing Seiki say that, Rasa's expression slightly improved.
"Then what exactly are you implying? We Sand will absolutely never..."
"Don't rush into refusal," Seiki interrupted with a grin. "While you Sand shinobi indeed grew up in such difficult environments, surely no one would turn down better conditions—otherwise Sunagakure wouldn't have attacked Konoha twice before during the Great Ninja World Wars."
At those words reminding them of previous conflicts, gloom clouded every Sand ninja's face.
It was precisely because they lost badly in both those earlier wars that they became increasingly impoverished, hence their hesitation this time.
"So why not try switching targets to someone easier to handle?" Seiki tempted. "Although Land of Earth might not compare to our Land of Fire, compared to Wind country, it should still offer significantly more fertile land, don't you think?"
Some started showing interest—they'd actually considered this possibility themselves previously but abandoned it due to various worries.
Therefore, one jonin asked, "Would you truly give us territory we capture?"
Seiki smiled. "Though I hate sounding impolite, our side genuinely doesn't value Land of Earth's territories very highly."
Making such a promise meant he already obtained authorization from Third beforehand.
It wasn't merely disdain—it was also about hoping Iwagakure and Sunagakure would eventually clash over those very lands.
Compared to hatred, entanglements over interests were far more practical and realistic.
The gathered Sand ninja felt complicated emotions—the fertile lands they secretly coveted were treated by others like worthless trash.
It felt just like tossing a piece of scrap wood from Konoha straight into the trash bin.
Of course, if asked whether they wanted it, their answer would definitely be yes.
So the Sunagakure shinobi pretended to decline like refusing a red envelope, with awkward smiles:
"That's too embarrassing."
"We can't accept that!"
"Why don't we just split the captured land equally?"
As for those small countries sandwiched between the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind, they were completely ignored on purpose.
With the Five Kage wanting to march through your land, who dares refuse?
Rasa still seemed somewhat hesitant. "We benefit if we win the war, but what if we lose?"
All the Sand shinobi were deeply moved by Kazekage's shameless spirit. For Sunagakure, their Kazekage really was giving his all!
Seiki then became serious. "However, I can only give my personal commitment on this matter."
"Personal?" Rasa was shocked. Could it be that Seiki also planned to take side jobs to subsidize the village, just like him?
"Come to think of it, he's supposedly quite wealthy as the inventor of Medical Scrolls. Plus, we have to pay him a huge mission reward this time too! Indeed, money-making for a top-tier medical ninja is faster than robbing people!" Thinking thus, Rasa couldn't help but send out some lewd signals in his eyes.
Seiki had no idea what Rasa was thinking. He continued solemnly, "Ever since that Chunin Exam two years ago, I've been consciously analyzing and simulating the Wood Release [Kekkei Genkai]. Although I haven't succeeded yet, I believe I'm close to a breakthrough."
"If I succeed in developing it, I'll help Sunagakure green the desert!"
At Seiki's outlandish idea, everyone froze in disbelief.
Use Wood Release to green the desert? Was that even feasible?
Yet as soon as this thought appeared in their minds, they immediately rejected it.
It wasn't about whether it might work; it was about whether it was even possible.
Never mind how rare someone with the First Hokage's power to end the Warring States was—even having Wood Release wasn't enough without chakra.
So the Jonin just gave a few polite but empty laughs.
Only Rasa, thinking there was nothing to lose by agreeing, smiled and said, "Then it's settled!"
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