…
Sunagakure was unnervingly quiet today.
Sweat kept dripping down Baki's face. He didn't dare raise his head to look at the expression of his Kazekage.
He had only just finished berating his subordinates.
Now, it was his turn.
"…So," the Fourth Kazekage's low voice sounded,
"did that old man from Iwagakure go back on his word?"
"It doesn't seem so…"
Baki wiped the sweat from his forehead and replied carefully,
"Judging from the traces left at the scene, Iwagakure also suffered heavy losses. We couldn't recover every body, but their casualties were definitely not light."
"…In other words," Rasa said slowly,
"our transaction was leaked ahead of time—and a third party intervened?"
"That's the most likely explanation."
The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, set down the intelligence report. His thoughts churned for a long moment before he spoke again.
"Do you think Konoha was responsible?"
Baki reviewed the details in his mind, then answered decisively:
"Yes. It was almost certainly Konoha. The Fire Release traces at the scene were extremely obvious. We even found signs of large-scale Fire Release used elsewhere."
The implication was clear.
Across the entire ninja world, Konoha had the greatest number of Fire Release specialists.
Other villages certainly possessed Fire Release users—but Konoha was the most suspicious by far.
"Heh…"
"…And here I thought we were steadfast allies."
Rasa chuckled softly, though he had never truly taken that alliance seriously to begin with.
Allies, after all, existed to be betrayed.
Just like this incident—Konoha wasn't the only village playing dirty behind the scenes.
If Sunagakure had obtained valuable intelligence on Konoha, Rasa would not have hesitated to send men to kill and seize supplies either.
This kind of struggle was always hidden in the shadows.
No village ever condemned such acts openly.
Today I suffer a loss.
Tomorrow, it's your turn.
The ninja world had never known peace—not for a single moment.
Even so, Rasa felt a deep, stabbing pain in his chest.
That sand gold…
He had refined it himself, little by little, from deep underground.
And now—it was all gone.
Sunagakure was already poor.
This loss only made things worse.
"…Send someone to make contact with Orochimaru," Rasa finally said.
"But be cautious."
He fixed Baki with a sharp look.
"Remember—be very careful."
Orochimaru was not someone to underestimate.
In truth, Rasa had never fully committed to cooperating with him. But now, circumstances had left him with no real choice.
"Yes!" Baki replied immediately.
Privately, however, he harbored an unspoken suspicion.
There was also the possibility that Orochimaru himself had orchestrated this incident—crippling Sunagakure economically to force cooperation.
But that possibility seemed less likely.
So Baki kept it to himself.
"Kazekage-sama… Orochimaru doesn't have good intentions…"
"I know," Rasa interrupted. "You may go."
"Yes!"
How could Rasa not understand?
Cooperating with Orochimaru was tantamount to bargaining with a tiger.
But Sunagakure's situation had grown dire.
The Wind Daimyō's funding was shrinking year by year. They lacked the money to train more ninja—or even to accept enough missions.
The Land of Wind itself was barren.
Endless desert offered little in the way of resources. Sunagakure could only survive by trading with other nations.
But trade required money.
And Sunagakure had none.
A vicious cycle—one nearly impossible to break.
This incident was merely the final straw that broke the camel's back.
…
"Hm?"
"What's that supposed to be?"
After returning to Konoha, dusty and travel-worn, Kusunoki Naraku narrowed his eyes and looked up at the Hokage Monument.
"Am I seeing things? Is there… a little brat jumping around up there?"
Who had the nerve to mess around on the Hokage's stone faces?
Then it clicked.
There was only one person who would dare—and could dare—do something like that.
Uzumaki Naruto.
"Oh right… this is Naruto's very first appearance in the series."
Naraku couldn't help but laugh.
Sure enough—
After a burst of chaotic commotion, Umino Iruka appeared.
"UZUMAKI NARUTO!!!"
The roar echoed across the entire village.
"Haah…"
With a helpless sigh, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, turned away from the window and sat down at his desk.
After a moment's thought, he took out two files.
One bore Kusunoki Naraku's photograph.
The other—Hatake Kakashi's.
Tap. Tap. Tap…
Smoke drifted from his pipe as Hiruzen's fingers idly tapped the armrest of his chair.
"Still some time before Naruto graduates…"
"There's no rush—but this needs careful consideration."
He was already thinking about the future.
About who would become Uzumaki Naruto'sJōnin instructor.
Even if Naruto was currently dead last—unable to perform even a proper Clone Jutsu—
He would graduate.
Failure was not an option.
Hiruzen Sarutobi would not allow Naruto to fail.
Konoha would not allow it.
Thus, the real question was:
Who would lead Naruto's team?
Because Naruto was the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, his instructor would, by default, become a Hokage candidate.
Whether through authority or emotion, the Hokage must be able to influence—or control—the jinchūriki.
That was the absolute bottom line.
Across the ninja world, the pattern was clear:
Gaara, son of the Fourth Kazekage, was the One-Tails' jinchūriki.
Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage, was himself the Three-Tails' jinchūriki.
The Fourth Raikage was the sworn brother of Killer B, the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki.
As for Hiruzen?
He frequently appeared before Naruto as a kindly old grandfather—quietly guiding his values and worldview.
There were exceptions, of course.
But in general, every village sought the same thing:
The Kage must keep the jinchūriki firmly within their grasp.
And emotional bonds were the most efficient method of all.
That was why Hiruzen now hesitated.
Who should become Naruto's teacher—and forge that bond?
…
Elsewhere, Naraku had already gone to report in.
Hiruzen had learned the details of the mission earlier from returning ANBU, so Naraku only summarized his rearguard actions.
Originally, they would have returned together.
But the captured chakra metal was too important.
Naraku had ordered the supplies sent back to the village first.
Puff, puff…
Hiruzen smoked his pipe, deep wrinkles creasing into a rare smile.
"Chakra metal is an unexpected windfall."
"With this, the village can forge special ninja tools."
"You did very well on this mission."
In truth, the most important outcome wasn't the loot.
It was the failure of the Sunagakure–Iwagakure transaction.
Iwagakure could endure the loss.
Sunagakure, however—
Hiruzen knew their situation all too well.
This blow would hurt.
Later, if Konoha chose to trade with Sunagakure, they could demand significant concessions.
After all, Sunagakure desperately lacked supplies.
If they wanted resources—they would have to pay dearly.
Perhaps Konoha could even weaken Sunagakure a little more.
Not destroy them.
But weaken them.
An ally like that—
Was one Konoha could truly feel at ease with.