At the end of Leaf Year 41, the entire Shinobi World had begun to enter winter. Even the once-yellow desert surrounding Sunagakure was starting to be covered in a thin layer of snow.
Yet, just like this bleak winter, all of Sunagakure had fallen into mourning. The news of the Third Kazekage's mysterious disappearance had finally been exposed!
The Third Kazekage had been missing for over half a year. No one knew where he had gone, not even Rasa, his direct disciple. But after so much time had passed, however unwilling they were to admit it, most people already understood that the Third Kazekage had likely met with disaster.
But...
Who could have silently taken out the Third Kazekage?
Konoha's Hokage?
Iwagakure's Tsuchikage?
Kumogakure's Raikage, or perhaps Kirigakure's Mizukage?
And in their minds... Konoha was especially suspicious!
As the most powerful ninja village in the Shinobi World, Konoha had won two consecutive Great Shinobi Wars. Its strength was obvious.
And to kill their Kazekage so silently was definitely not something a single Kage could accomplish. Perhaps...
For Sunagakure's safety, Kazekage had fought the Hokage and the Konoha Sannin alone. Outnumbered and defeated, he had met with an accident.
Now that Kazekage had vanished, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind kept reducing the number of ninja and the village's funding, forcing Sunagakure's military strength to decline. And now that other ninja villages had learned this news...
Sunagakure was in grave danger!
Moreover, because of what had happened to the Third Kazekage, Rasa had suffered a severe emotional blow. He had become muddleheaded and confused, as if he were a completely different person.
And after Chiyo's diagnosis... she suspected that his mind had been injured.
With no leader, no next Kazekage chosen, and Rasa acting foolish... his mind injured...
The village's shinobi had become deeply unsettled, their faces filled with helplessness. They... seemed unable to see Sunagakure's future.
"Rasa, are you feeling better?"
"Sorry for making you worry."
Rasa raised his head and looked at the young woman who had pushed open the door and entered. She had short pale-blonde hair, a gentle smile, indigo eyes, and a casual long dress.
"You really don't have to come every day."
Karura was Rasa's fiancée. The two had planned to marry soon, but because the Third Kazekage—Rasa's teacher—had gone missing, the wedding could only be postponed.
Of course, Rasa agreed with postponing it. After all, he had only arrived in this world not long ago and had not even spent a full month here. It would be good to stay awhile and familiarize himself with his memories first. Especially now... as a broke, single webnovel writer, he had somehow acquired a fiancée.
To be honest, he was somewhat excited. But after the excitement faded... he had no idea how to face this gentle woman.
After all, he was Rasa, but he was also not Rasa.
Ever since he had been found passed out drunk at home last month, Karura had kept coming over whenever she could. She prepared his three meals, cleaned up his house, and comforted him along the way.
But no one knew that his current state was not solely because the Third Kazekage had disappeared.
Fortunately, Chiyo's examination had not revealed that he had become someone else. And he also possessed the memories of that poor bastard Rasa. Otherwise, he would probably have been sent to an operating table or an interrogation room by now.
"I think I'm much better. I'll be fine on my own."
He watched Karura tie on an apron and prepare to make dinner and clean the house.
"Really, I'm not lying to you!"
"Yes, I believe you too." Karura nodded with a smile. Looking at Rasa's serious face, which nevertheless carried helplessness and a trace of... shyness? She sighed inwardly. You never used to make expressions like that.
"Today, I caught a fish in the lake behind the mountain. There are fewer and fewer fish there now, and the water... Ninja have been surveying it for years. The water level has dropped a lot. Some people guess that this place might become a true desert in the future."
Karura turned away from Rasa, her voice still gentle.
"This fish is just right for nourishing your body."
"Thank you."
"You never used to thank me."
"..."
Rasa looked helplessly at Karura, who had suddenly snapped back at him in an unhappy tone.
How had he somehow become the future Fourth Kazekage?
Just look at what the Fourth Kazekage went on to do.
His wife died early, and a series of ridiculous moves nearly drove his own child insane. Although Naruto later pulled him back with a combination of loving punches, there was still the issue of him never remarrying for the rest of his life~
Then, to stop Konoha from developing too quickly and leaving Sunagakure behind, he chose to cooperate with Orochimaru.
Didn't he know Orochimaru was the Third Hokage's disciple?
They pulled off the Konoha Great Collapse, directly laying the foundation for the Konoha 12 to grow stronger. And what was left for Sunagakure?
The Fourth Kazekage died in another accident. The village lacked new blood, the old generation either died or retired, and twelve-year-old children became orphans... The village's military strength plummeted to its lowest point in history.
Just look at how his youngest son directly took office as Kazekage in the end... Sunagakure had long since declined.
Of course, none of that was the point now. The point was... with the Third Kazekage's disappearance, another Great Shinobi War was about to begin.
"Fake liquor really harms people~"
Why did a perfectly good Disciple of the Third Kazekage have to get greedy for a bargain and drink fake liquor?
It wasn't like he was some poor bastard like me, who could only buy a case of cheap liquor online.
Two people who drank fake liquor had crashed right into each other.
As a result, I lived, and your memories became mine too.
With such a beautiful, gentle wife in front of me, why bother?
But...
Sunagakure had nothing. Even eating a fish was difficult. Its income relied solely on ninja taking missions, while the Daimyo of the Land of Wind was gradually reducing investment in the ninja village. Soil erosion was severe. The birth rate was not low, but the death rate was high!
So...
Why had he come here?
Was he a college student sent to support the western desert wasteland?
And he had directly transmigrated here too. Wasn't that leap a little too big?
Before long, Karura finished cooking the fish soup. Along with a simple serving of wild vegetables, that was dinner.
It could be said that life in Sunagakure was truly hard~
Even this fish soup, which had a decent fresh flavor but lacked saltiness, was not something they could eat every day.
"Then, time to eat~"
Come to think of it, Rasa really was hungry. He picked up the fragrant bowl and began eating. Though it was simple, Karura's cooking was quite good—delicious, in fact. Seeing Karura resting her chin on her hand and smiling as she watched him eat, Rasa froze for a moment and stopped. He glanced at the bowl in front of her, hesitated, then served her some vegetables too.
"Why aren't you eating?"
It was kind of embarrassing to have her stare at him like that.
"Mm, I'll eat too~"
After Karura answered and picked up her bowl to eat as well, Rasa stopped paying attention. He continued eating while examining the Golden Finger that had come with him.
A lottery pool?
As long as you put in money, you could draw whatever you wanted from the pool. It could be as small as an apple core or as large as an aircraft carrier.
Of course, as a one-star paying player, he could forget about things like aircraft carriers. More often than not, he got trash like apple cores. If he was lucky... he might get something that increased various attribute points.
He had spent his entire household fortune of one hundred thousand silver liang, gaining two points of vitality, two points of strength, two points of Chakra, and four apple cores.
The drop rate was actually quite low. One draw cost ten thousand, while ten consecutive draws cost one hundred thousand. And that had been his haul from ten consecutive draws.
As for why one hundred thousand silver liang was all his family had... sigh~, Sunagakure was truly poor. Most of the rewards ninja earned from missions were used to maintain and build the village, let alone for someone like him, the Third Kazekage's disciple.
So, in truth, no one's family was particularly wealthy. Otherwise, Rasa would not have been tempted by a bargain and ended up drinking fake liquor.
After eating and drinking his fill, Rasa accepted the plain boiled water Karura poured for him. He sat cross-legged on the tatami and watched Karura begin bustling about again.
Actually... this wasn't bad at all!
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly as he watched Karura's back with a smile. A moment later, he hesitated. "Karura... do you like the former..."
But before he could finish—
With a whoosh.
A ninja wearing Sunagakure attire suddenly appeared in the courtyard outside the hall entrance.
"Lord Rasa, Chiyo requests your presence at a meeting in the Kazekage Tower."
Before you continue