The oppressive, suffocating meeting finally concluded.
Rasa walked alone through the streets of Sunagakure under the twilight. The afterglow stained the village a viscous, murky dark red, yet brought no warmth, only a stark, brutal splendor. Sunagakure resembled a giant bowing in mourning, the afterglow its blood slowly trickling out.
The Land of Wind experienced significant day-night temperature fluctuations, and there were already few pedestrians on the streets.
"Kazekage-sama."
"Kazekage-sama."
Occasionally, hurried villagers or ninja brushed past him, bowing their heads in respect for the Kazekage, their eyes also betraying a hint of the numbness and weariness born from the harsh environment. Rasa, still expressionless, nodded in response to each, walking towards the relatively spacious, yet undeniably humble, Kazekage Residence deep within the village.
His mind still revolved around the plan discussed in the meeting.
"Although I don't know how the Leaf Village's battle in the Land of the Moon is faring, it's most likely still in a stalemate with the Cloud Village. However, launching an offensive against the Leaf Village is still best done as quickly as possible…"
"Currently, the whereabouts of the Leaf Village's Tsunade are unknown. Elder Chiyo's poisons can be incredibly effective; I hope she can formulate potent new poisons…"
"It's a pity that old man Hanzo is in the Land of Rain. We can only settle for launching an offensive against the Land of Fire via the Land of Rivers."
"The flat terrain of the Land of Rivers isn't suitable for large-scale troop movements. Once we enter the Land of Rivers, the Leaf Village will immediately detect us, but this is the only option…"
As he pondered, a tumbleweed rolled past with a soft rustling sound, leaving faint traces on the yellow sand beneath his feet. This broke Rasa's train of thought, and he looked up. The familiar house came into view, appearing exceptionally silent in the twilight. His daughter Temari and son Kankuro were not home. As for the child who became the One-Tail's vessel…
Rasa's gaze flickered with a chilling resolve, and he murmured, "I am the Kazekage first, then a father."
With that, he walked towards his home again, but just as he was less than ten meters from his front door…
"…"
Rasa's steps seemed to falter, then he instantly resumed. His posture remained perfectly normal, even his breathing rate hadn't changed. He kept his gaze fixed on the path ahead, maintaining his usual steady and calm demeanor. But deep within those cold, sharp pupils, an undetectable glint of cold light flashed.
The night seemed to deepen. The sound of sand grains carried by the wind, rubbing together, seemed to take on the sharpness of blades. With his current standing point as the center, the barely perceptible sand around him became an extension of his invisible senses. He could perceive that someone had entered his house—not Temari, not Kankuro, and not Gaara. It was a complete stranger, right inside this very residence.
"I can't even sense their presence…"
Realizing that the intruder was someone extremely skilled at concealing their presence, the muscles beneath Rasa's robes instantly tensed like a fully drawn bowstring.
Who was it? A bounty ninja with a hit on him? Or a ninja sent by another village to assassinate him? Or perhaps, an internal dissident within the village who disagreed with launching the war and wanted to eliminate him, the Kazekage?
Countless possibilities flashed through Rasa's mind like lightning, but his feet maintained their walking rhythm, stepping onto the stone steps one by one.
Click.
The front door slowly pushed inward under Rasa's hand, the hinges emitting a faint creaking groan that was exceptionally clear in the silent entrance hall of the house. The light inside the room was dim. Rasa raised his hand and switched on the lamp.
Entering the entrance hall, his pupils meticulously scanned every corner of the house. He could feel an extremely strong sense of being watched, like a venomous snake lurking beneath the sand, cold and slippery. But he couldn't find the source. Everything seemed normal. There was only the sound of the wind and sand outside the window, and the beating of his own heart in his chest.
Rasa's right hand was hidden in his sleeve, his fingertips subtly moving. Wisps of gold dust quietly seeped out. He slowly walked through the entrance hall to the living room, the overhead light casting his clear shadow onto the floor, forming a distinct human silhouette. This should have been the most ordinary sight.
However, in the very next moment, the shadow, which should have been still, moved. From the flat shadow, it slowly rose, gradually extending a humanoid head…
Zip!
Rasa's right hand, which had been hidden in his wide sleeve, swiftly drew an arc backward. But the short blade condensed from gold dust cut through empty air. A dark shadow instantly leaped from within the shadow, performing a backflip and crouching on the ceiling.
"What… are you?"
Seeing the appearance of the dark shadow, Rasa couldn't help but frown. Its main body was black, as if the shadow itself had peeled off and been given a human form. Its face was completely obscured, revealing only two crimson eyes. However, this 'ghost shadow' was different from usual, as half of its body was painted white, making it appear somewhat eerie.
It was a Shadow Clan Ninja - Ghost Shadow.
"Shadow Jutsu? The Leaf Village's Nara clan… No, that's not right."
Rasa naturally couldn't identify the 'ghost shadow,' only associating its ability to emerge from shadows with the Nara clan. But he quickly dismissed that guess. He had certainly seen the Nara clan's Shadow Jutsu, but it was completely different from this monstrous thing before him. This creature seemed more like a pure tool. A construct without life, existing only to execute a specific command. It had no living presence whatsoever, only coldness and emptiness.
But, it seemed to bear no ill will?
"What are you?" Rasa said in a deep voice, "And who sent you?"
"…"
The 'ghost shadow' was not a creature with actual thoughts, nor did it possess the ability to speak or communicate. Naturally, it could not answer Rasa's questions. It merely scanned Rasa up and down with its crimson eyes, as if confirming something.
"You won't speak?" Rasa's voice hardened.
But just as Rasa was about to make his move, the 'ghost shadow' swiftly reached into its garment and pulled out an item completely at odds with its aura: a letter. Rasa's impending attack immediately halted. He instinctively frowned, looking at the letter.
The 'ghost shadow' showed no intention of expressing anything, nor did it attempt to hand over the letter. It was as if merely ensuring the target "saw" the item it delivered was its sole purpose. Then, under Rasa's astonished gaze, the 'ghost shadow's' solid form slowly sank into the shadow beneath its feet, like an ink painting dissolving in water. The letter, which had not been offered or accepted, lost its support and gently floated down, landing on the floor a step in front of Rasa.
"…"
Feeling the completely vanished sense of being watched, Rasa sensed his surroundings repeatedly, confirming that the entity had truly left. It was as if its sole purpose was to deliver this inexplicable letter to this location. Rasa's brows furrowed deeply, his gaze falling upon the letter as he lowered his tense right hand.
"Hmph, a cowardly, sneaking fellow!"
A disdainful cold snort escaped Rasa's lips, but his body honestly didn't bend to pick it up. Instead, he manipulated his gold dust to cover the letter. Then, as if pulled by invisible threads, the gold dust flipped open the envelope, revealing the paper inside. There was no trap, just a neatly folded piece of paper lying quietly within. The gold dust drew out the paper and unfolded it before Rasa.
The paper bore no closing or signature, only a simple line of text.
"Choose the Land of Rain as your battlefield and launch your offensive against the Leaf Village. Hanzo is now frail and as timid as a mouse, he will not refuse or resist."
For a moment, the living room fell into an even deeper silence. Rasa instinctively narrowed his eyes, his expression unchanged, but a tumultuous storm surged within his heart.
The name "Hanzo" had once made Sunagakure, Konohagakure, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure tremble. It represented a powerful valor that dared to say "no" to multiple great nations simultaneously. That was why he and others had unanimously, as a second choice, decided to launch the first wave of attack against the Land of Fire's border via the Land of Rivers.
But now, this letter claimed that Hanzo was now frail, timid as a mouse, and afraid of death…
Looking at the letter before him, Rasa's gaze flickered, his thoughts racing. Sending troops through the Land of Rain to attack the Leaf Village and the Land of Fire? It was undoubtedly an extremely high-risk path. But what if it was truly as the letter stated? If Hanzo had indeed lost his former ferocity and courage due to old age, becoming hesitant and fearful of death…
Then the Hidden Rain Village, entrenched in the center of the Land of Rain, would become an old tiger that had lost its fangs! This route, passing through the Land of Rain directly behind the Leaf Village, would no longer be a dead end or dangerous path, but possibly a shortcut… one that would surprise everyone! Especially when combined with the pressure exerted by the Cloud Village in the Land of the Moon, it could allow them to act like a secretly poisoned dagger, striking directly at the soft underbelly of the colossal Leaf Village!
Huge risk, huge opportunity!
"So, is it true or false?"
Staring intently at the line of text, Rasa's throat bobbed, his heart pounding fiercely in his chest. An intelligence that precisely grasped Hanzo's current state? Or a carefully woven trap, luring him into a snare?
Undoubtedly, such a secretive individual was not trustworthy and certainly had ulterior motives. However, it did open up a new avenue of thought for Rasa. The Land of Rain, which he had instinctively excluded, re-entered his options.
"Send scouts to the Hidden Rain Village to investigate the situation and confirm the intel's veracity, but…"
Rasa made his decision, then looked at the letter before him, sneering, "No matter who you are, you want to use Sunagakure to kill with a borrowed knife. Do you think I'll let you have your way?"
Regardless of whether this operation succeeded, he would leak the intelligence to Hanzo.
A humanoid creature, half-white and half-black, possessing extremely strong presence-concealing abilities and capable of freely moving underground…
Meanwhile, within the Uchiha clan compound in Konohagakure.
Black Zetsu, who was currently searching among the Uchiha clan members for the reincarnation of Indra's chakra, suddenly felt an inexplicable chill.
"What's going on?"
It vigilantly looked around but found no abnormality. It could only suppress the chill and turn its gaze towards the person in the distance. It could feel that the Uchiha child, barely ten years old, had already awakened his two-tomoe Sharingan. This talent for awakening his eyes with just a slight emotional stimulus was quite similar to Uchiha Madara in his youth.
"Is his name Uchiha Itachi?"
Black Zetsu looked at Uchiha Itachi, who was sitting in the courtyard, and then at the little brat clinging to him and calling him brother. It couldn't help but feel a hint of surprise and astonishment.
Is this even the material for the future fusion of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan already prepared?
Moreover, that little brat named Uchiha Sasuke actually resembled Uchiha Izuna in his youth so much…
That's right!
This Uchiha Itachi was 100% the new reincarnation of Indra's chakra after Uchiha Madara!
"But, why does his birth year not seem to match Madara's time of death?" Black Zetsu harbored some doubt.
But soon, it temporarily dismissed this thought. Regardless, Uchiha Itachi was the most likely candidate for Indra's chakra reincarnation that it had found after searching the entire Uchiha clan.
"Speaking of which, Uchiha Itachi's younger brother's age does match; his birth time is close to Uchiha Madara's death time…" Black Zetsu mused, "But he's too young; even if I wanted to do something, I couldn't."
Given this, whether Uchiha Itachi was the reincarnation or not, he needed to awaken his Mangekyo Sharingan first. At least it was better than doing nothing. Later, once it figured out which of the two was the reincarnation of Indra's chakra, it would just extract the eyes and give them to the right person.