"Wind Shadow-sama, what are you talking about? I don't understand."
Rasa smiled.
"Acting dumb? No need. My people saw everything. The original na on Konoha's list was Uchiha Shisui, right? You swapped it for Might Guy at the last second."
"All so you could counter my Sunagakure ninja Kisa Hoshigaki with pure taijutsu."
"You know damn well how bad one extra loss is for Sunagakure."
"So here's the deal. Two choices."
"First: do two things for ."
"Second: I go public as the Fourth Kazekage and hold you personally accountable for this."
"Think it over."
Buji's eyes darted back and forth.
He never wanted to do this. But Konoha had cornered him with threats and bribes. Once it ca out, he'd be the one taking the fall—not them.
And now it had co out.
Buji stayed silent for a long ti.
"Wind Shadow-sama… what are the two things?"
He had no choice with Konoha.
He had no choice with Rasa either.
"First: I want two people from Grass Village. Red hair. Female. Your people call them 'blood packs.' The woman and her daughter. Bring them to alive."
"Second: get a copy of Grass Village's Fire Style: Heavenly Prison sealing scroll."
Buji looked uncomfortable.
"Wind Shadow-sama… the Heavenly Prison technique is a secret passed down only in my Kagero clan line."
He didn't even ntion Karin and her mother.
Rasa thought about it and understood. He cared about the Uzumaki pair because of their special bloodline and healing ability. Grass Village had never valued them the sa way. Getting them out probably wasn't that hard for Buji—even if half the village had been saved by biting them at so point.
Still, a tiny village like Grass had the balls to keep provoking Sunagakure. That alone was suspicious.
Buji looked pained, but Rasa wasn't backing down.
"If I go to your village leader and ask for the scroll myself, he'll probably say yes. Especially if I also ntion your little deal with Konoha. What do you think?"
Buji's face went white.
"I understand, Wind Shadow-sama. I'll get both done."
Rasa nodded.
Soon Buji returned with a scroll in hand—the Fire Style: Heavenly Prison technique.
"Wind Shadow-sama, the two won are already packed in a crate with the compensation goods. I made sure it has ventilation holes and left food and water inside."
"Both tasks are complete. Please don't expose what happened. I was forced by Konoha. I'm a victim too."
Before, Buji hadn't exactly been a victim—Konoha had paid him well.
But now that he'd handed over two of Grass Village's most valuable assets and their secret jutsu, he suddenly hated Konoha with a passion.
Two rounds of war reparations plus this compensation had completely drained Grass Village. Actually, they were in debt now. It would take over a decade for them to recover.
The Grass leader watched the three great villages leave, heart full of hatred, but in the end he could only console himself.
"At least it wasn't the worst possible outco."
"My Grass Village is still better off than the Uzumaki clan was."
"At least… Grass Village is still alive."
He let out a heavy sigh.
Onoki sat in his carriage, not thrilled with the share he received, but still satisfied with the overall operation.
"No war. But the profit was bigger than any war."
"Maybe we should do this kind of thing more often?"
The idea excited him.
The return on investnt was insane compared to actual fighting.
"These minor villages play both sides. They take whatever benefits they can get and never commit fully. They want to stay on everyone's good side while grabbing everything."
"It's completely unreasonable."
"We great villages fight and bleed while they sit back and collect. Why should they keep getting more than their fair share?"
Hiruzen was thinking the exact sa thing on his end.
Rasa stood at the bow of the ship.
The giant bull had already delivered the compensation back to Sunagakure and was heading back to the border of the Land of Wind right on schedule.
One ship. Completely packed.
Rasa ran the numbers in his head.
"Sunagakure's own reserves can build one Sun Disk."
"Danzo's compensation plus the Mist's compensation is basically enough for a second one."
"This Grass Village haul should cover about a third of a third disk."
"Less than what we got from the Mist, but we put in way less effort. The cost-benefit ratio is insane."
"Too bad only one minor village has been this bold so far."
In a corner of the hold, a woman sat holding a small child—maybe one or two years old.
The little girl had bright red hair. She didn't understand what was happening, but being with her mother made her happy. She pressed her face to the small window and stared at the endless golden sand dunes sparkling under the sun.
She'd never seen anything like it.
"Mom… where are we going?"
"Sunagakure."
"Sunagakure? What kind of place is that?"
"I don't know."
"Are we ever going ho?"
"I don't know."
The woman didn't expect Sunagakure to be kind. They wanted her for her ability. She just hoped they wouldn't treat her worse than Grass Village had.
She didn't dare hope for anything more.
Rasa had already arranged everything for Karin and her mother. Whether he t them personally didn't matter right now.
He had sothing far more important to handle.
Grass Village was dealt with. The third rumor's points were fully collected.
Ti to plan the fourth rumor.
"With the items I have right now, a fourth rumor aid at Konoha wouldn't do much."
"But if I target the Hidden Mist… that could hit really hard."
"So this fourth rumor should focus on the Mist—specifically the remaining Seven Ninja Swordsn."
"Perfect timing. Fuguki Suikazan and Jinpachi Munashi are still alive. They've returned to the area near the Land of Water and ford their own navigation groups."
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