Although Takeshi's words sounded somewhat convincing, everyone present couldn't help but keep second-guessing in their hearts.
With the ninja world in such chaos, could the Chūnin Exams really still be held smoothly?
This time, the Chūnin Exams were originally supposed to be hosted in Sunagakure.
But with Rasa stirring up such a huge mess, Sunagakure clearly no longer had the capacity to manage the exams.
Not to mention, they were still racking their brains over how to resolve the problem caused by Baki.
They had no idea that the one behind the assassination attempt on Takeshi was actually someone else entirely.
Before Sunagakure could even reach a conclusion, Konoha had already sent someone over with a sky-high compensation bill.
At Takeshi's suggestion, they even added many new terms to the treaty that had yet to be signed.
After reading the clauses, Chiyo's wrinkled face twisted instantly, her hand holding the treaty trembling as if she would unleash "Chiyo's Fury" right there on the spot.
"Konoha is pushing us too far! Aren't they afraid we'll turn to Iwagakure instead?!"
Slamming the treaty onto the table, Chiyo felt as if she must have owed Sunagakure something in her past life. Otherwise, why else would she still be worrying about these messes at her age?
And then there was Pakura. As the Kazekage, she had absolutely no intention of handling these matters, spending her days only focused on carrying out the assignments from the daimyō.
When it came to a Kazekage who devoted all her attention to the daimyō's affairs, Chiyo found herself completely helpless.
To be fair, Sunagakure's environment and resources really didn't have much worth boasting about.
Most of the land was covered in yellow sand, and the only so-called scarce resource was placer gold.
As for kekkei genkai, they were pitifully rare.
The main reason they had been able to remain among the Five Great Hidden Villages at all was thanks to the foundation laid down by the Second Kazekage, Shamon.
Even Sunagakure themselves couldn't figure out why, during the Third Great Ninja War, the Third Raikage had marched all the way south from the far north of the ninja world to attack resource-poor Sunagakure.
Now, Iwagakure had also set its sights on them.
...
Tsuchikage's Office.
Ōnoki tapped his finger lightly against the desk as he listened to his subordinates' report on the suppression of the unification movement within the territory.
That band of rebels came fast and left fast.
After presenting the daimyō's mansion with that massive "gift," those traitorous bastards had vanished without a trace.
The crowds of rebels they stirred up were wiped out by the local magistrates, so situations requiring Iwa-nin intervention were rare.
That way, Ōnoki could free up his hands and focus all his attention on Sunagakure, using Rasa's death as the perfect opportunity to devour Sunagakure's interests.
It was also the perfect chance to test the mettle of the new Kazekage.
Ōnoki had never dealt with Pakura before, so he was desperate to know her true character.
At his command, a large number of Iwa-nin crossed the border, brazenly snatching up missions from the smaller nations around the Land of Wind.
If it had been during Rasa's era, Sunagakure would surely have already made a move by now. But the reality the Iwa-nin faced was that Sunagakure did nothing.
Even when Iwa-nin and Suna-nin encountered each other directly, the Suna-nin would deliberately avoid conflict, cowering to the extreme.
What kind of tactic was this?
In all his long years, Ōnoki had never seen anything like it.
"You're too weak, Kazekage!"
After holding it in for several days, Chiyo finally couldn't endure anymore. She stormed into the Kazekage's office in a fury, slamming her hand down on the desk as she looked at Pakura, who was clumsily scribbling out words of praise and glorification.
"What's the matter, Advisor Chiyo?"
Pakura raised her head blankly, unable to understand why Chiyo was so furious.
Hadn't she basically left everything entirely to the advisors, letting them handle all the matters themselves while she only made the final decisions? And even that wasn't enough for them?
"Kazekage-sama, because of your concessions, even the nobles within the Land of Wind no longer want to entrust their missions to us!"
Looking at the portrait of Rasa still hanging behind Pakura, Chiyo clenched her teeth in hatred.
Since the Second Kazekage, every new Kazekage had been worse than the last.
If they weren't smugly overconfident, they were stubborn and wouldn't listen to advice.
And now, one who didn't even bother to handle anything at all.
"Advisor Chiyo, can Sunagakure in its current state really defeat Iwagakure?"
Pakura finally understood the root of Chiyo's anger, but her earnest words were the most infuriating thing of all.
Of course they couldn't win—but at the very least, you had to show some kind of attitude, didn't you?
If the idea was that "since we can't win, we just won't fight," then they might as well all submit to Konoha right now.
Chiyo was so choked by Pakura's sincerity that she couldn't speak, taking a long moment before she could smooth her breath.
"Kazekage-sama, even if we can't win, we must still show some resolve, to suppress Iwagakure's arrogance and stop them from going too far. This would also help raise morale."
Struggling to steady her emotions, Chiyo looked at Pakura, starting to feel that maybe she had sustained a head injury during the battle with Kirigakure.
Wait—could it be that, because she had been betrayed, she was deliberately taking these actions to drag Sunagakure into the grave with her?
A bold suspicion suddenly rose in Chiyo's heart.
If Pakura continued to retreat, then her guess would be confirmed.
Chiyo stared tensely at Pakura, waiting for her response.
"I understand. A tough stance, right?"
Pakura looked calmly back at Chiyo and nodded.
...
That very night, Takeshi, who was enjoying some dango in Konoha with Hikari, received a messenger hawk from Sunagakure.
"What's this supposed to mean—going after Iwagakure?"
Using the Flying Thunder God to bring Uchiha Hikari with him to Sunagakure, Takeshi was very curious why Pakura suddenly wanted to strike at Iwagakure.
That hadn't been part of the plan.
"That old hag Chiyo insisted I show some attitude, so I figured I'd comfort her by taking a few Iwa-nin heads."
Pakura shrugged, awkwardly adjusting the ceremonial robes on her body.
She still wasn't used to fighting while wearing this sort of thing.
"Got it."
Takeshi revealed an expression of sudden understanding.
...
Stationed on the outskirts of the Land of Wind was Gari, leading an elite unit.
They weren't bothering to hide their presence, swaggering openly along the border as a show of force.
Staring at the endless yellow sand of the Land of Wind, Gari's hands itched. He wanted to spar with a strong opponent, but unfortunately, the Suna-nin hadn't given him the chance.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Song Technique!"
Including Gari, his squad had ten people in total. But before the flames appeared, not a single one of them had sensed the enemy's presence.
Four dragon-headed fireballs engulfed two unlucky Iwa-nin who hadn't dodged in time, while the others scattered the instant the attack was launched.
"Where's the enemy?!"
"Six o'clock direction!"
In the darkness of night, the only light source they had was the bodies of their burning comrades.
"Earth Style: Stone Spikes!"
One Iwa-nin attacked in the direction his teammate pointed, while two others guarded his flanks.
"Scorch Style: Overheat Kill."
A scream rang out. The Iwa-nin being protected shrieked as every drop of moisture in his body was drained away, his body collapsing into a withered husk.
The floating fireball in the air seemed to be mocking the Iwa-nin's helplessness.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo