One hour later.
Inside a private room at the Konoha Hospital.
Rasa and Tsunade sat on chairs near the bedside.
"Old man, it seems your body is fine. Just rest properly for a month or so, and you'll be back to your old self," Tsunade said with a long sigh of relief after reading the medical chart.
The Third Hokage, wise and weary with age, let a trace of regret flash through his eyes. He sighed deeply.
"Is that so? I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing."
Seeing Hiruzen like this, Tsunade laughed despite herself.
"Of course it's a good thing!"
"You're lucky the injuries missed your vital organs. Otherwise, you'd be preparing to spend the rest of your days in a wheelchair or leaning on a cane!"
Hearing the word "cane," a flicker of sadness crossed Hiruzen's eyes, and he slowly closed them.
"Konoha's losses this time... were too great."
"Danzo, the mastermind, is gone, and Root is nearly annihilated."
At this point, Hiruzen opened his eyes, the grief within them intensifying.
"Minato sacrificed himself."
"Homura and Koharu were also targeted by the Uchiha last night. Although Koharu survived with heavy injuries because her insomnia kept her alert enough to react..."
"Homura was killed in his sleep. He never woke up..."
Rasa, who had been watching quietly from the sidelines, knew it was his turn to speak.
He stood up slowly, his tone sincere and earnest.
"Lord Third, Konoha has suffered a terrible calamity. As your steadfast ally, the Hidden Sand will spare no effort to help you."
"As for the villain who escaped, the Sand will issue an immediate wanted notice and dispatch our aerial units to assist in the search."
Hiruzen's eyes lit up instantly. He forced himself to sit up despite the pain, gratitude evident in his voice.
"Thank you so much, Lord Kazekage!"
"The Hidden Sand is truly Konoha's most steadfast ally since ancient times!"
Rasa chuckled internally. The Five Great Villages hadn't even existed for fifty years. "Ancient times," indeed.
The two exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes.
Then, Rasa spoke softly:
"I wonder... how does Lord Hokage intend to deal with the Uchiha Clan?"
Hearing the name "Uchiha," a surge of malice rose in Hiruzen's heart. A cold sneer touched his lips as his tone turned icy.
"The Uchiha were founding members of this village. Konoha has never treated them poorly."
"Yet they were ungrateful enough to harbor wolfish ambitions, daring to openly assassinate the village leadership."
Hiruzen looked up, staring intently at Rasa.
"Lord Kazekage, let me ask you: If an Elder of the Sand launched a public rebellion and tried to slaughter your core leadership, how would you handle it?"
Rasa's smile remained unchanged as he replied softly:
"That naturally depends on the underlying reason."
"If that Elder rebelled solely for personal gain, then without question, they must all be executed."
"But... if the rebellion was a last resort, forced by decades of systemic discrimination and oppression from the village... then perhaps a different approach is warranted."
Hearing Rasa's words.
The anger in Hiruzen's heart began to dissipate, replaced by a bitter taste spreading through his mouth. His gaze softened slightly.
Indeed. The suppression of the Uchiha had begun quietly under the Second Hokage.
Even after Hiruzen took office.
Under pressure from various factions and his own inherent bias, he hadn't improved his teacher's policies. In fact, he had allowed them to worsen.
These thoughts flashed through Hiruzen's mind before he shook his head helplessly and sighed.
"Even so, they must be punished severely. We cannot let them off lightly."
"Otherwise, what if others follow their example?"
Rasa sat back down slowly, speaking calmly:
"The surviving Uchiha who participated in the siege must, of course, face their punishment."
"However... the ordinary clansmen, and those who took no part in the rebellion... there is no need to pursue them, is there?"
Seeing Rasa drop the pretenses and speak plainly.
A flicker of surprise crossed Hiruzen's eyes. Then, realizing the implication, his heart grew heavy again.
"But the seeds of hatred have already sprouted."
"If we let them go now, those seeds will grow wild and unchecked."
Rasa didn't hide his intentions.
"In that case, why not transplant those seeds of hatred to a different soil?"
Hiruzen frowned.
So the Sand was eyeing the Uchiha population.
But how could he hand over such a massive asset to the Sand?
Even if only civilians and children were moved.
As long as their bloodline and heritage remained intact.
In ten or twenty years, the Uchiha would produce a new batch of geniuses.
Setting aside whether their hatred for Konoha would fade after moving to Suna...
Just from a long-term strategic perspective, Hiruzen could never agree to this.
Konoha and Suna were on good terms now.
But among the Five Great Villages, who hadn't been "close allies" at some point before turning on each other?
However, if he refused the Sand now...
As if reading Hiruzen's thoughts.
Rasa added smoothly:
"Lord Hokage, please don't rush to decide. I haven't yet mentioned the aid the Sand is willing to provide as an ally."
Minutes later.
Hiruzen sat on the bed, silent. His eyes flickered constantly, weighing the pros and cons.
After a long time, he spoke in a muffled, low voice.
"Fine."
Seeing Hiruzen finally agree, Rasa stood up with a smile.
"Hehe. Lord Third, you are truly generous."
"Konoha's aid will arrive tomorrow."
"Now, I'll go meet that young boy."
Hiruzen waved his hand dismissively, lying back down.
"Go."
Rasa walked out of the room, with Tsunade following closely behind. She glanced around before whispering:
"Rasa, did the Sand get the short end of the stick on this one?"
Rasa shook his head gently.
"It's just some fruit, blueprints for the Swift, and material composition data. It's nothing major."
The conditions Rasa offered were simple: supplying Konoha with various fruits at extremely low prices for five years.
This was essentially giving Konoha money in a different form.
Whether Konoha used the fruit to win hearts or resold it at market price for profit...
For Hiruzen, it was a guaranteed win.
And for Rasa, it really wasn't a big deal.
The factories in Suna and Kusa were running at full capacity.
Their products were selling like hotcakes across the market.
Money wasn't an issue.
As for the Swift blueprints and materials?
Even with them, Konoha wouldn't be able to build their own Swifts within a decade.
The technical requirements and material fusion processes alone were unsolvable problems for Konoha right now.
Not to mention that each Swift required dozens of grams of Chakra-conductive metal.
Not everyone had a Chakra metal mine like Rasa.
By the time Konoha solved these problems and built a prototype in ten years.
The Sand's aerial forces would have already upgraded to the fifth or sixth generation.
Trading things that were essentially worthless to him for the Uchiha clan...
It was an incredibly profitable deal.
"Alright. You stay here and keep the Third Hokage company. He lost two old friends last night, after all."
Tsunade nodded slightly, turning with her elegant stride to leave.
Rasa continued down the hall until he reached a specific hospital room. He pushed the door open gently to find a blond-haired boy lying on the bed.
Seeing the boy, a faint smile appeared on Rasa's lips.
Meeting the protagonist of the generation after the next—Boruto Uzumaki from thirty years in the future—was truly a novel experience.
Boruto seemed to sense Rasa's gaze.
He turned slowly, his blue eyes locking with Rasa's.
When he saw the forehead protector Rasa wore.
Boruto's pupils shrank as if realizing something.
Then, he quickly looked away and lay back down.
Seeing Boruto's reaction differ so wildly from his expectations.
Rasa raised an eyebrow. He closed the door, walked to the bedside, pulled up a chair, and sat down familiarly.
"Boy, what is your name?"
Boruto replied calmly:
"Well, Uncle, what's your name?"
" Shouldn't we introduce ourselves first?"
Seeing Boruto's behavior, Rasa chuckled internally.
It seemed witnessing Sasuke's death had caused significant trauma, forcing the boy to mature quickly.
But growing up a few years early wasn't a bad thing.
Rasa extended his hand, smiling.
"Fourth Kazekage of the Hidden Sand, Rasa."
Hearing this, Boruto showed no surprise, as if he had already guessed it.
He extended his hand—still youthful and not fully grown—and shook Rasa's firmly before pulling back quickly.
"Boruto."
Rasa flicked a finger, instantly casting a Soundproof Barrier.
The invisible barrier enveloped the space between him and Boruto like a net.
This ensured their conversation wouldn't be overheard by the Anbu guarding the perimeter or anyone passing by.
At the same time, just to be safe, Rasa glanced around and subtly hypnotized the hidden Anbu nearby.
After securing the area.
Rasa picked up an apple from the table, pulled a pristine white handkerchief from his robe, and began to polish the fruit meticulously.
While taking a bite, he asked:
"Boruto, you don't seem very surprised."
Boruto glanced at Rasa eating the apple with a strange look.
Then, he interlaced his fingers behind his head, lying back comfortably.
"Since I woke up this morning, everyone I've met has been talking about your visit today."
"From their conversations, I could roughly guess what you looked like."
Rasa finished the palm-sized apple efficiently.
He tossed the core accurately into the trash bin, wiped his mouth with the handkerchief, and smiled.
"Is that so? For someone who appeared out of nowhere, you seem quite sharp, Boruto."
Boruto turned his head suddenly, staring straight at Rasa as if trying to find a flaw.
"Uncle, do you know?"
"In the history I know, the Fourth Kazekage is named Rasa, yes. But in this time period, the Third Great Ninja War should still be ongoing."
Rasa put on a confused expression, blinking as he asked in surprise:
"Oh?"
"Listening to you... are you implying you traveled here from the future?"
Boruto stared unblinkingly at Rasa's face, but he couldn't find the reaction he was looking for.
He frowned, his internal speculation wavering, and said somewhat boredly:
"Yes. I came here from thirty years in the future."
"But it seems this so-called 'past' isn't the past of my world. There are too many things here that didn't exist in the history I learned."
Seeing his acting successfully fool Boruto, Rasa snickered inwardly.
Heh. Little brat trying to test me?
Outwardly, Rasa showed a look of keen interest, smiling:
"A visitor from thirty years in the future. I see. That explains everything."
Boruto looked at Rasa strangely. He had expected doubt or shock.
He hadn't expected the man to accept the fact so quickly and show such interest.
Rasa seemed to read Boruto's mind and continued:
"Don't be surprised. Your actions last night were explanation enough."
"Who was the guy you were fighting?"
Half an hour later.
Rasa nodded and stood up.
"In that case, that guy must be eliminated."
"Don't worry. Both Konoha and the Sand will do everything in their power to track him down."
"Once we find him, I will deal with him personally."
Boruto looked at Rasa skeptically.
But remembering the glorious battle records he had heard about this "Uncle," he swallowed his doubts and said:
"When you find him, please take me with you."
Rasa waved his hand, smiling.
"Rest assured!"
Meanwhile.
In the Uchiha Compound.
Shuang Uchiha gently held Mikoto Uchiha in her arms, her voice filled with relief.
"My dear daughter, it's lucky you only returned from your mission this morning. If you had come back a day or two earlier... it would have been a disaster!"
Several hours later, nightfall.
Under the cover of darkness, a large group of civilians carrying bags and luggage quietly walked out of the closed village gates.
After stepping out, they looked back at Konoha with complex expressions before turning resolutely to march forward.
The Konoha ninjas guarding the gate turned a blind eye, acting as if they saw nothing.
A few miles outside the gate, twenty Sea Swifts were lined up neatly.
Using the standard Swifts, which could only carry a dozen people, to transport nearly a thousand Uchiha civilians and their luggage would be too inefficient.
The Sea Swifts, originally designed to transport water, had ten times the capacity of a standard Swift.
Two trips would be enough to move the entire group.
Rasa stood in a tree, silently watching the Uchiha civilians board the planes with mixed emotions.
He sighed softly.
After speaking with Boruto, Rasa had also gone to see Kushina Uzumaki.
However, Kushina had firmly stated her intention to remain in Konoha.
Rasa could only agree to her choice.
Three days later. December 4th, Konoha Year 46.
Rasa's Mansion.
Pakura rushed into the room, speaking urgently:
"My Lord, we found his trace!"
Rasa, who had been teasing Temari with his finger, stopped instantly. His eyes flashed with excitement.
"Good. Where is he?"
For the past three days.
The Sand Village had deployed every single Swift and Sea Swift to scour the Ninja World for Urashiki.
He hadn't expected to find him so quickly.
Pakura glanced at Temari, whose tiny hands were gripping Rasa's finger, and lowered her voice subconsciously.
"In the deep sea, a thousand miles off the coast of the Land of Fire."
Rasa raised an eyebrow, understanding flashing in his eyes.
It seemed that after Karasuki was destroyed by Boruto, Urashiki had set his sights on the Karasuki of this era.
It made sense.
Without that artifact, Urashiki couldn't return to his future.
Rasa carefully extracted his finger from Temari's grip.
An infant's grip strength was surprisingly strong; once they grabbed something, it was like glue.
He handed her to Karura, who was sitting on the bed.
Karura took Temari gently, whispering:
"Be careful."
Rasa stood up and walked toward the door.
"Don't worry!"
For the past three days.
Aside from assembling stockpiled aircraft parts into new planes.
Rasa had spent all his time at home, accompanying his daughter and his women.
Several hours later.
On an island a thousand miles off the coast of the Land of Fire.
Urashiki Ōtsutsuki, still bandaged around his midsection, held a turtle tightly in his hand.
The turtle began to emit a faint, pulsing light around him.
Suddenly, Urashiki looked up slowly.
To his horror, he saw several strange machines hovering silently in the air.
And a man, holding a boy by the hand, leaped straight down from the sky!
Urashiki's pupils shrank violently.
He waved his hand rapidly, summoning several deep purple snakes around him.
The snakes opened their maws in unison, unleashing blinding beams of light into the sky.
"You lingering ghosts!"
Minutes later.
The island, covering over a hundred square kilometers, suddenly began to sink, vanishing beneath the waves forever.