My Journey as Fourth Kazekage

Land of Wind, Sunagakure.

The frontline shinobi were returning to the village in batches to rest. They had been facing off against Kumogakure's forces in the Land of Rivers for quite some time, but aside from a few minor skirmishes, Kumogakure had not taken any steps to escalate the war.

The shinobi of Sunagakure naturally understood the reason: Kumogakure was afraid. After all, both of Iwagakure's jinchūriki had fallen into Sunagakure's hands. Without Iwagakure's cooperation, Kumogakure didn't dare provoke Sunagakure on their own.

This fact lifted the spirits of Sunagakure's shinobi greatly. Their cheerful smiles upon returning to the village conveyed everything.

At the same time, they had finally found someone who could serve as a true pillar of support in their hearts.

That person was the current Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure, Rasa.

Thanks to him, they no longer felt inferior when facing shinobi from the other four great nations.

Before this, while the upper echelons of Sunagakure loudly clamored for war with the other great nations and to engage in the Fourth Great Ninja War, the lower-ranked shinobi understood all too well that, compared to the other villages, Sunagakure was pitifully weak.

First, in terms of numbers, Sunagakure's shinobi were far fewer than those of the other great villages.

Second, when it came to tailed beasts, Iwagakure and Kumogakure each had two perfect jinchūriki. Konohagakure had the strongest of them all, the Nine-Tails jinchūriki. Kirigakure, though lacking jinchūriki, still had firm control over two tailed beasts. And what did Sunagakure have? Just one, Shukaku's jinchūriki, who was elderly and already had one foot in the grave.

Finally, when it came to top-tier powerhouses, Sunagakure's shinobi had been skeptical of their newly appointed Fourth Kazekage. Not because they thought he was weak, but because the Kage of the other villages had simply been too powerful.

Aside from a few encounters, like that brief clash with Konoha's Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze, and the Legendary Sannin Jiraiya, Rasa had no outstanding combat feats to speak of. So most shinobi didn't know how strong he truly was.

But now things were different. His solo suppression of two jinchūriki had completely changed how the village viewed him.

In fact, a new saying had begun to spread in the village: "The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa-sama, is the strongest Kazekage of all time!"

Some even went as far as to bestow a new title upon him: the "Demi-God of Sunagakure."

To be able to suppress two tailed beasts single-handedly was something only the legendary God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, had ever done. While no one in Sunagakure dared claim their Kazekage had surpassed that legend, they could proudly call him their village's demi-god.

And it wasn't just Sunagakure's self-congratulation. Even across the broader shinobi world, more and more people had begun referring to Rasa by that title.

As for the former bearer of the same moniker, the now-aging Salamander Hanzō, no one cared anymore.

In the Kazekage's office, for the first time in a while, Sunagakure's top officials had all gathered together again.

With the frontlines calm, Chiyo, Ebizō, and Bunpuku had all returned to the village.

However, Bunpuku wasn't present in the office. Upon returning to the village, he had gone directly back to the Dragon's Oasis.

Pakura had also returned to the village, while Michikawa remained stationed at the front lines.

Until the shinobi of Kumogakure had fully retreated, the front still required a general to hold the line. Rasa now felt completely assured about the capabilities of both.

With their mastery of senjutsu chakra, both had reached the pinnacle of Kage-level strength, fully capable of turning the tide of a battlefield alone. So, there was no need to waste manpower by keeping them both at the front. Aside from them, Sēramu, Baki, Honoka, and many of Sunagakure's top officials were present.

The reason for such a large gathering today was that just yesterday, word finally came from Iwagakure.

Iwagakure would be sending an old acquaintance of Sunagakure, Ōnoki's son, Kurotsuchi's father, Kitsuchi, as the envoy to negotiate terms for the ransom of the two jinchūriki and an end to the war.

This news greatly excited Sunagakure's leadership. It was obvious, Sunagakure, now in possession of Iwagakure's two jinchūriki, viewed the current Iwagakure as a plump, juicy piece of meat. Everyone was eagerly discussing how much they could carve out of it.

Rasa, however, was a rational and cautious man.

Combined with his experience from two lifetimes, seeing everyone's greedy excitement made him instinctively recall all the major villains who had met their ends because of their own greed.

Still, he didn't dampen the others' enthusiasm. Seeing that the discussion wasn't going anywhere productive, he simply turned to Sēramu and gave the order:

"Sēramu, gather everyone's opinions and draft a formal strategy for dealing with Iwagakure's envoy."

Sēramu nodded, and the high-level officials tactfully took their leave. Only the two elders, Pakura, Sēramu, and a few others remained.

Once everyone had left, Ebizō asked.

"Does Kazekage-sama think our earlier discussion was inappropriate?"

Rasa nodded.

"Much as I would love to take a big bite out of Iwagakure, the current situation speaks for itself. We can't push them too far."

Pakura asked in confusion.

"Why? With Sunagakure's current strength, aside from Konohagakure, we don't have much to fear, do we?"

It was Ebizō who answered.

"That's true, but only in isolated combat. If Kazekage-sama hadn't pulled a brilliant move and captured their two jinchūriki, stabilizing the situation, Sunagakure would have struggled. Don't forget, Kumogakure also has two jinchūriki, and both the Third Tsuchikage and Third Raikage are exceptionally powerful. Plus, there's Konohagakure lurking in the shadows. Though Kazekage-sama, Pakura, and Michikawa have grown much stronger, it would still be difficult to face such a united force."

"Mhm," Rasa agreed with a nod.

"That's why, for us, the most important thing right now is balance. What Sunagakure needs is time. We need at least ten years of peace and development to reach a point where we no longer fear a combined threat."

With that, he turned again to Sēramu.

"Go ahead and draft the negotiation plan based on our discussion. You'll be in charge of this round of talks."

"Understood. Leave it to me."

Rasa then took out a scroll and placed it on the desk.

"Chiyo-sama, this is for you."

Chiyo blinked in surprise. Baki stepped forward and handed her the scroll. As she opened it, her pupils contracted slightly.

"This is...?"

Rasa didn't explain in detail.

"It's enough that you know, Chiyo-sama."

Chiyo immediately nodded and put the scroll away.

The contents were simple: research notes Orochimaru had given Rasa regarding his work on Wood Release, the Sharingan, and cursed seals, a return gift for Rasa helping him uncover the effects of Kotoamatsukami on himself.

Still, Rasa felt it was time to start pushing Chiyo a bit.

"By the way, Chiyo-sama, I don't mean to rush you, but I've already provided you with quite a few valuable materials, and so far, the results have been minimal. There's likely to be a longer period of peace coming, so I hope you won't slack off..."

Chiyo's expression stiffened. She understood, but still grumbled defiantly:

"You little brat! Do you think developing new jutsu is easy or something?"

Rasa, of course, understood how difficult it was, but it was still his job to apply pressure when needed.

At that moment, Ebizō surprised him with an unexpected announcement.

"Kazekage-sama, that Reverse Summoning technique you asked me and Honoka to develop… it's complete."