How Did Two Trees Grow Here?

"Is that so? Rasa is going to succeed as the Fourth Kazekage?"

Far away on the other side of the border, Pakura looked at the letter sent by a Jonin in her hand. A faint smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of her mouth.

"I never expected that guy to become so strong. Then again... it wouldn't do for Sunagakure to remain without a Kage for so long. Although Rasa looks serious and boring, he... really loves the village."

As she spoke, she lowered her head and looked at the Sand Jonin below.

"The battle here is still ongoing, so I can't withdraw for now. I don't know what Kirigakure is up to, but they keep harassing the border of the Land of Wind, and their attacks seem to have grown much stronger lately. I still can't leave, so tell Rasa... tell the Fourth Kazekage... that I, Pakura, represent the Sand Ninja here in offering him my congratulations!"

With the battle unfinished, how could the commander of the battlefield leave at a time like this?

They probably understood that as well. As for sending her a message at this time... they merely wanted her to know who the next Kazekage would be.

After thinking for a moment, she shook her head, stretched grandly, and revealed her voluptuous figure.

"By the way, tell the Kazekage one more thing... that hundred thousand can be considered my, Pakura's, congratulatory gift."

In any case, judging by the current situation... the village probably wasn't having an easy time during this great war. When the time came, our Kazekage would have enough trouble dealing with the village's blame. There was no need to make things harder for an old classmate.

The village had no idea that its great hero on the battlefield—Rasa—had returned.

He wasn't surprised by that. Even when no villagers came out to welcome him from ten miles away, he didn't feel anything was wrong~

After all, according to the timing, he had returned somewhat early.

Besides, Rasa felt that he wasn't the sort of person who liked showing off. If everyone had that much time... it would be even better if they used it to help him pan for gold. What he wanted now...

Was only to top up!

The war had still had quite a major impact on Sunagakure.

When he and several other Ninja who also needed to return looked at the bleak village before them, their hearts were all filled with emotion.

The village's main focus had shifted to the war, with most of its resources being directed toward the battlefield, so...

The village was now in a severe economic depression. To prevent spies from infiltrating, outsiders were forbidden from entering the village. The villagers were all staying inside their own homes for a reason. Besides... Sunagakure, located in the desert, had never had a good economy to begin with.

But...

Rasa was now filled with confusion, and puzzlement showed in his eyes. The Sand Ninja beside him felt the same way.

After all, anyone who saw the village deserted everywhere, with the only exception being a huge crowd gathered outside his own home, many of them even kneeling in worship, would surely be confused.

Rasa even wondered if the villagers had come to mourn him.

He wasn't dead yet, so why were so many people mourning him? Could it be that some rumor had spread through the village? Or perhaps this was a scheme by another village?!

Otherwise... why were they all eating sand outside his home?

Remembering the hesitant expression of the Ninja guarding the gate when he had first entered the village, Rasa's brows immediately furrowed. Then he heard the people before him shouting all sorts of strange, incomprehensible things~

"It's an auspicious sign! This is an auspicious sign!"

"Could the environment of Sunagakure be recovering?"

"Bullshit! Why aren't trees growing anywhere else, but they're growing here at Lord Rasa's home?"

"Then you tell me, why would two trees suddenly grow in the middle of the great desert?"

"It must be... the heavens' recognition of Lord Rasa, so they've sent down an auspicious sign! Otherwise, why did two trees grow here as soon as Lord Rasa went to war? And... why is Lord Rasa so strong?"

"...You... you're making a lot of sense!"

How could it not make sense?

Now Lord Rasa could punch Grass Ninja and stomp Stone Ninja. I even heard he'd f***ing captured the Raikage of Kumogakure. Anyone who dared say anything bad about Lord Rasa...

Did they want to be treated as a spy?!

Therefore, no one in Sunagakure could say anything bad about Lord Rasa now. No matter who they were... no one could.

"I heard Lord Rasa is coming back? The message that Jonin brought back last time said that Lord Rasa would return to succeed as..."

However, before he could finish speaking...

"Rasa~"

A clear voice carrying a trace of excitement rang out.

"It really is you?! I thought I was seeing things."

"Karura~" Rasa froze for a moment, then smiled as he looked at Karura, who was inexplicably carrying a bucket of water with a few specks of sand on her face. "What are you..."

What are you doing?

"Going to carry water to water the trees. Um..."

Karura quickly jogged up to Rasa. Her eyes curved into crescents as she looked up at him, clearly delighted, seemingly oblivious to the younger brother beside her who had just called her "sister" and had grown much darker.

"I heard you were coming back. I didn't expect you to return so soon."

"Chiyo and the others were urging me rather insistently, and there isn't much happening at the front line right now, so I decided to come back early. It's just..." Rasa glanced at the villagers behind him, who had suddenly frozen for some reason. "What's going on?"

"Oh, you mean this?~ It's just that outside your house..."

However, before she could finish speaking...

"Lord Rasa! It's Lord Rasa, he..."

"He's back!"

The villagers behind them suddenly shouted excitedly. It even seemed as if they wanted to pounce on him. At that moment, Karura also realized what was happening. Rasa had brought victory to the Ninja village—and such a brilliant victory at that. Combined with the two trees that had grown outside his home... the villagers must have begun worshipping him.

She hurriedly shoved the bucket in her hand at the younger brother she had just noticed. He seemed to have gotten a lot darker~

Mm, and a lot sturdier too.

But now wasn't the time to think about such unimportant things. Just as the villagers were about to surround them, she immediately grabbed the still-confused Rasa. "Run first! I'll explain later!"

"???"

Before Rasa could voice his question, Karura grabbed his hand and ran toward the distance.

And at that moment...

Perhaps because of the villagers' voices, Sunagakure, which had been somewhat deserted, suddenly became lively. Many villagers staying inside their sand castles also poked their heads out. When they saw the fleeing figure, they all froze, then shouted loudly, "Lord Rasa!!!"

This scene also made Rasa, who was being led by Karura in a constant scramble, feel that something was wrong. He immediately stopped worrying about the details, took Karura's hand instead, and ran toward... her house.

As for Yashamaru and the other Ninja... they stared blankly at the scene. "So... what exactly happened?"

After saying that, however, they smiled and simply watched Lord Rasa being chased by the villagers.

"Looks like Lord Rasa... has won the recognition of the entire village."

As for Yashamaru... he lowered his head and looked at the bucket in his hands, then raised it to look at his sister, who had abandoned her own younger brother and fled. He sighed and shook his head, but then... he suddenly froze and stared at the area outside Big Brother Rasa's home.

"Why are there two trees here?"