You Old Codger, You're Quite the Blackhearted One~

Konoha, early autumn of Year 44.

Kumogakure announced its defeat and began withdrawing the Ninja stationed on the battlefield near Sunagakure, instead committing more Ninja to the battlefields near Iwagakure and Konoha.

Yet the Fourth Raikage, who had already been appointed by his father as his successor, had become a laughingstock among the various Ninja villages.

To be captured by the enemy as a Kage and not commit suicide was simply a disgrace to an entire village~

Of course... the Third Raikage had merely stepped behind the scenes and had not officially abdicated yet. The Daimyo of the Land of Lightning had not issued an announcement about the Raikage succession either, so his son was not yet the true Raikage.

Therefore, the impact was not nearly as great as it would have been if he had been the actual Raikage.

But no matter what... if another Ninja village had found itself in this situation, they would probably have already begun discussing replacing their Kage. However... Kumogakure would absolutely never do such a thing!

The Third Raikage was the Fourth Raikage's father. On top of that, B, who had already been chosen as the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki—Killer B—and the deep bond between him and his elder brother meant that forcibly replacing the Kage would obviously affect the village's harmony and stability...

It would definitely cause chaos!

With Kumogakure's withdrawal from the battlefield near Sunagakure, Kumogakure began expanding the war on the side of Konoha and Iwagakure. At the same time, perhaps to recover its reputation after losing to Sunagakure, the Fourth Raikage A was temporarily appointed commander of the forces fighting Konoha. As for the Third Raikage... he was still going head-to-head with that old Third Tsuchikage.

Kirigakure continued intensifying its attacks on Konohagakure, and regarding the battlefield near Sunagakure... it seemed to have started taking things seriously as well, constantly increasing the intensity of its harassment.

Although most of the Ninja villages had no idea what scheme Kirigakure, across the sea, was plotting, they still had to fight it!

As for Konoha... with the war expanding and three powerful enemies attacking it at once, the pressure on the village continued to mount. Especially since those three villages had declared war on Konoha as if they had gone mad for no reason whatsoever. One had to know that these three great villages were not poor wretches like Sunagakure~

So... the pressure of the war was self-evident.

It could be said that in the battle between Sunagakure and Kumogakure, the war had not only failed to subside in the slightest but had instead... grown even more intense.

The war in the Shinobi World... had expanded once again!

Konoha, mid-autumn of Year 44.

The cool autumn air still could not dispel the heat of the Land of Wind, where the battlefield lay.

The increasingly dire situation on Pakura's side forced Chiyo to send a group of Ninja to support her.

As an elite Jonin of Sunagakure, she was a capable female Ninja who possessed Scorch Release!

She had not disgraced herself as the hope of Sunagakure's younger generation. Relying on her Scorch Release and strength several times smaller than Kirigakure's, she had forcibly halted Kirigakure's advance. At the same time... she had single-handedly killed dozens of Kirigakure Ninja, and her reputation had even briefly caught up with Lord Rasa, who had also driven back Kumogakure and established an illustrious record of achievement. Of course, with the village's two trees...

It was probably still difficult for her to surpass Rasa's reputation.

The village's two trees had now... become one of Sunagakure's scenic attractions, and the place was bustling every day.

Rasa felt that he might need to find another place to build a house. If things continued like this, his private residence would probably become a public venue.

Of course, none of that was what troubled him most right now. What troubled him most was...

Chiyo had returned.

And she had brought back eighty million Silver Liang in compensation from Kumogakure.

Only...

"This is far too little!"

Rasa stared speechlessly at Chiyo before him.

"We've lost more than eighty million Silver Liang in this war alone, haven't we~"

You old fool, have you lost your mind?!

Even if they tied up a certain someone and sold him on the black market, selling him three times would bring in ten million Silver Liang more than this.

"Didn't I tell you to fleece them mercilessly?"

However...

"It's already quite a lot." Chiyo shook her head with a sigh, took a sip of hot tea, and said helplessly, "I don't even know whether Sunagakure's annual income reaches eighty million Silver Liang!"

"Our village is pretty poor, then~"

"As the last among the Five Great Ninja Villages, although we Sand Ninja refuse to admit it, that is how everyone else sees us. And reputation represents the strength of each Ninja village, how many people are willing to commission work from Sunagakure, and it also represents... Silver Liang!" Chiyo set down her teacup, a trace of sorrow and helplessness on her face, and sighed. "Yet no matter how much we boast, losing two wars in a row has clearly demonstrated the strength of Sunagakure's Ninja..."

That was also why the Daimyo's Office had reduced its funding for Sunagakure year after year, until now... it practically treated Sunagakure as if it did not exist.

Saying this, she raised her head to look at Rasa, a relieved smile on her face.

"So, after driving back Kumogakure this time... this old woman hopes the number of commissions coming to the village will increase a little~"

"Perhaps!"

Rasa did not care about commissions or anything like that.

An S-rank mission meant risking one's life to investigate state secrets, join a war at another country's request, assassinate important figures, steal confidential documents, and so on. Even such high-risk missions paid only a million Silver Liang or more.

Not only were they dangerous, but they also took a long time—ten days to half a month at the least, a year or even several years at the most.

He might as well honestly go pan for gold!

Of course... as the man who would soon succeed as the Fourth Kazekage, he definitely could not say such unambitious things in front of the village elders~

A Ninja who did not carry out missions... could he still be called a Ninja?

Only...

"What does our village's income have to do with extorting Kumogakure?"

Could the postwar compensation be divided according to each village's economic circumstances?

With this little money... how was he supposed to embezzle public funds for a hundred consecutive lottery draws?

"This..." Chiyo froze, then sighed helplessly, shook her head, and said, "It's all for the sake of peace!"

"...Kumogakure has become overbearing? They refused our conditions and are preparing to kill us?"

That shouldn't be~

The Third Raikage's son and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki's elder brother were in their hands. If anyone dared to act recklessly, they could simply bring him out and pin him to the chopping block. Surely that would make them afraid to act rashly.

However, Rasa could never have imagined... that when Chiyo opened her mouth, the reason would be so laughable.

"Ten years of peace!" Chiyo looked at Rasa and said with a serious expression, "Kumogakure has agreed not to attack Sunagakure for ten years." Saying this, she sighed helplessly again. "Ten years of peace... is extremely important to Sunagakure's recovery and development right now. It's more important than anything!"

"..."

Rasa stared silently at Chiyo, who looked somewhat aged and helpless, unsure what to say... After all, no agreement could be as reliable as one's own fists.

Sunagakure spent every day either tearing up contracts or on its way to tearing up contracts.

Besides... Chiyo, did you really forget the shamelessness and audacity passed down to us by the First Kazekage?

Back then, when facing the two cheats from the Senju Clan, the First Kazekage had still dared to do nothing while demanding that they cede land and hand over money. Yet now that it was your turn... you had won the war and still did not dare make any demands.

And this so-called ten years of peace... after the Third Shinobi World War, the Shinobi World would enter an era of peace on the surface and underhanded schemes in the shadows, lasting until the Fourth Great Ninja War arrived. There was... no need for them to have anyone guarantee anything~

But seeing the delight and exhaustion on Chiyo's face, he did not know how to speak.

As veteran Ninja who had lived through war, peace was more important to them than anything else. Especially now that Sunagakure was in a disadvantaged position, perhaps... they only wanted to secure a period of peaceful and stable development for Sunagakure~

Even if it would not be of any use!

He shook his head and said nothing more.

Eighty million Silver Liang... although it was not much of a loss when it came to the lottery, for the entire Ninja village... it was a massive loss~

Of course... compared to a certain village that, for the sake of so-called peace, had secretly attacked its own meritorious hero, they had only lost some money.

It just hurt a little!

However, just as Rasa's expression suddenly became so sorrowful for some inexplicable reason, Chiyo set down the teacup in her hand and once again looked at Rasa with the approving gaze of an elder. "Prepare yourself! I returned from the battlefield this time specifically to hold your succession ceremony as the Fourth Kazekage!"

"Really? It's finally ready?"

"It was ready long ago. It's just that the Third Hokage wasn't here, and no one in the village was qualified to conduct your succession ceremony, so this old woman had to come back personally. Oh~ right, that girl Kana has also returned."

"???"

Why do I have a bad feeling about this?

"Don't look at me. When I returned, I specifically went to your house. As a result, your doorstep is now... and then I ran into that girl Karura."

"..."

Rasa's heart jolted, and he stared speechlessly at the smiling Chiyo before him.

You old codger... you're truly wicked!