Relocating the Battlefield

"These Sand Ninja have gone mad! They've really gone mad!"

"They killed the enemy and even dragged away the corpses. What on earth are they trying to do?"

"Maybe... to obtain information?"

"Bullshit. They even capture Genin. What information could Genin possibly have? And besides... last time I saw them, they even stripped a..."

"Is it really that terrifying?"

"Abusing corpses... tsk, tsk. Who would've thought the Sand Ninja had such peculiar hobbies?"

"Have... have you noticed that the ones getting killed are basically all from our Kusagakure?"

"..."

The scene fell silent for a moment. All the Grass Ninja widened their eyes and looked at one another.

A moment later...

"How dare they, how dare they... This is simply too much!"

The Grass Ninja roared furiously.

"We absolutely have to get revenge and show Sunagakure what we're capable of!"

Meanwhile, elsewhere...

After making a small windfall, Rasa felt considerably more at ease. He was no longer as depressed as he had been over the past few days. Of course... he understood the principle that one could never grow rich by eating alone. If he always let his subordinates fight while taking all the spoils for himself, sooner or later he would discover... that no one was willing to team up with him anymore!

Therefore, after sorting through the day's spoils, Rasa divided everything into ten equal portions. Of those... he would keep nine portions. As for the last one... it belonged to this group of Ninja.

Although each person only received a dozen or so Silver Liang after the split, everyone was still quite happy when they got their money~

As for why he had to take such a large share...

"I only take what belongs to me." Rasa looked at the Sand Ninja before him with an imposing sense of righteousness and said, "As for the rest... it will all be handed over to the village for the construction of the Ninja Village. I, Rasa, guarantee it! I absolutely will not greedily take even the slightest bit of the organization's funds!"

I... Rasa... have never gone back on my word. When I say one, I mean one!

Looking at the lottery interface, where he could now make another eighty-some consecutive draws, his heart filled with emotion. This feeling was great!

Then, seeing the Sand Ninja before him gazing at him with admiration, he coughed twice and shook his head ruefully. "This money has already been collected into my ninja tool pouch. Don't worry... it absolutely won't be lost while it's with me. I, Rasa... swear upon the deceased Third Kazekage!"

Everyone, please believe me. I'm doing all this for Sunagakure!

I'm spending money so that I'll have the ability to protect the village!

In the spring of Konoha Year 43.

For some unknown reason... the war at the border of Kusagakure had begun to ease up again. The Grass Ninja no longer dared to freely issue challenges outside the battlefield's borders.

As for Iwagakure... for some reason, they were instead shouting much more enthusiastically. They even insisted on dragging Kusagakure onto the battlefield with them every time they went out to fight. However, Kusagakure firmly rejected Iwagakure's invitations every time.

According to the news brought back by the Sand Ninja who had gone out to gather information... the Grass Ninja seemed to have fallen out with the Stone Ninja. The relationship between the two sides was no longer as friendly as it had been at the beginning.

Based on the Sand Ninja's description, it seemed to have gone something like this...

I got beaten up. Why didn't you help me? Are you even an ally?!

Kusagakure was expressing its dissatisfaction over getting subjected to the Sand Ninja's relentless attacks every time it went into battle.

And the Stone Ninja...

We don't know anything!

Of course... Rasa did not care how the two sides argued. After all... nothing was more convenient than taking money from the Grass Ninja.

After discovering that this tiny Ninja Village of Kusagakure was actually richer than Sunagakure, despite Sunagakure being one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, the Sand Ninja immediately...

The Sand Ninja were upset!!!

The fact that the First Kazekage had dared to demand money and land directly in front of the Shinobi God showed that... whenever the Sand Ninja encountered someone richer than themselves, they would become extremely unbalanced. This was... the Will of Sand left behind by the First Kazekage!

How could they survive in this desert if they did not have thick skin?!

It was precisely because of this... that during the previous two Great Shinobi Wars, Sunagakure had so gleefully incited Konoha. After all... Konoha had more missions than them, more money than them, more talent than them, and... even greater strength than them!

If we don't attack you, who else should we attack?

Therefore, after seeing that the money earned from chasing and beating the Grass Ninja was actually greater than what they earned from going out on missions, what else was there to say?

They simply chased after them and picked fights!

To earn a little more, Rasa even had... all the Grass Ninja who were lying on the ground but had not yet died carried away first. Then, every night... he would hold auctions directly at the border, selling them to Kusagakure!

It was clear that the Grass Ninja were extremely angry, but... they could do nothing about it.

After all, Iwagakure seemed to be plotting something and had stopped paying any attention to the Grass Ninja. It could be said that... by this point, the alliance between Kusagakure and the Stone Ninja had already fallen apart.

As for the Stone Ninja...

Rasa did not dare treat Iwagakure in such an insulting manner. As one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, Iwagakure was not something that a poor and dilapidated little farming village like Sunagakure could compare with.

After all, the fact that they could send more than ten thousand Ninja to surround the Third Raikage showed just how many Ninja their village had.

Of course, this had not happened yet. Perhaps that number was merely something Kumogakure had exaggerated later on to preserve the Third Raikage's dignity?

In any case... bullying the weak and fearing the strong was currently Sunagakure's guiding principle!

There was no helping it. Their village was poor, they had few people, and they lacked strength. What else could they do?

It could be said...

Kusagakure, which had inexplicably gotten involved in this muddy mess... had truly suffered heavy losses this time!

In the end, no matter how much he hawked his wares at the border, the Grass Ninja no longer paid any attention to the Sand Ninja.

This left Sunagakure without income for nearly half a month, causing the average income to plunge. They were extremely dissatisfied and had nothing better to do than curse at the Grass Ninja...

You came to fight a war without any money?

You've even abandoned the Ninja from your own village. Your Kusagakure isn't anything special, is it?

Come strike it rich in our Sunagakure! Don't be fooled by how poor Sunagakure looks. We have gold everywhere!

Anyway...

The Grass Ninja's faces had been... rather sour lately!!!

It was the end of spring in Konoha Year 43, and summer was about to arrive once again.

There had been less rain this spring than the previous year. The Ninja who had hoped to enjoy a proper bath on a rainy day were somewhat disappointed and could only ask the half-trained medical Ninja, Kanna Uzumaki, to get a little more water so they could wash their faces.

Of course...

Today.

Rasa and most of the Sand Ninja commanders had gathered inside the conference tent. They were looking at a Sand Ninja who had just come from Chiyo's side, leaving them no time to take a bath.

"Lord Rasa!"

The Sand Ninja, covered in dust and sand and looking utterly exhausted, respectfully saluted Rasa.

Now that Lord Rasa had defeated the Grass Ninja and the Stone Ninja, his status was completely different from before.

Fourth Kazekage!

If nothing unexpected happened, Lord Rasa would become the Fourth Kazekage.

Therefore, as Sand Ninja... everyone respected Lord Rasa immensely.

"Hmm!" Rasa nodded. Seeing that the Sand Ninja had immediately notified him instead of resting after arriving, he slightly furrowed his brows and asked, "Does Chiyo have... some order?"

Were they defeated?

Or did Kumogakure deal them a crushing defeat?

However, just as Rasa finished speaking...

The Sand Ninja dropped to one knee, lowered his head, and respectfully said, "Chiyo ordered me to tell Lord Rasa... to finish handing over your work and immediately head to the battlefield against Kumogakure!"