Sunagakure.
Rasa was extremely unwilling. The cancellation of the Konoha Crush Plan had filled him with resentment toward Orochimaru.
You were the one who came looking for me, and you were also the one who took the initiative to cancel it. What did you, Orochimaru, take me, Rasa, for?!
Someone you could summon at will and dismiss at will?
But no matter how unwilling Rasa was, it was useless. Hidden Sand had never been as powerful as Konoha. Why had he agreed to Orochimaru's Konoha Crush Plan? Wasn't it because Konoha's growing strength had made Rasa worry about Hidden Sand's development?
Without Orochimaru's involvement, relying on Rasa's strength alone against Konoha would undoubtedly mean killing a thousand enemies while losing twelve hundred of his own. The losses would outweigh the gains, only plunging Hidden Sand into a difficult situation and allowing the other Ninja Villages to swallow it up.
The Ninja World had never been peaceful.
Ninjas were not products of peace, but products of darkness.
Moreover, Naruto Uzumaki, whose strength even surpassed Kage-level, was now in Konoha. Rasa simply could not understand it. A twelve-year-old boy already possessed Kage-level strength, and he was even the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?
Was Konoha truly so blessed by heaven?
Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, Uchiha Madara—these were all powerful figures Konoha had produced, powerful ninjas capable of utterly crushing the Kage of other Ninja Villages.
Even without Naruto's existence, Rasa had already been somewhat afraid to go to war with Konoha.
Now that he knew Naruto existed, he was even less daring. But whenever he thought of Hidden Sand's predicament, Rasa became deeply troubled. For now, he could only hope that his three children could test Naruto Uzumaki's stance.
It was all fucking Orochimaru's fault!
Whenever Rasa thought of Orochimaru, his teeth itched with hatred.