Sunagakure's Move

The Fourth Raikage A, was furious when his outlandish plan was rejected by the Cloud ninja's higher-ups before it even began.

Unable to vent her anger, Ai could only increase the amount of training Darui received, especially the time spent sparring with him.

This made the seemingly decadent Darui almost become a useless person.

On the Konoha side, the high-ranking officials were in unison regarding Yichen's actions: to issue a diplomatic condemnation and intensify negative propaganda against Iwagakure.

And that was it. Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tsunade both turned their attention to nurturing the next generation. The inheritors of the Will of Fire, the new sprouts of Konoha, were growing strong, and it was not the right time for external wars.

Meanwhile, in the Land of Wind, in Sunagakure, Rasa also held High-Level Meeting, but Chiyo, as she and Ryosuke had already left Sunagakure.

Rasa has now completely taken control of Sunagakure, Rasa word is practically law at High-Level Meeting. Especially during the time that Grandma Chiyo was away from the village, Rasa even replaced the last remaining advisors who were not entirely obedient to him.

Therefore, the so-called High-Level Meeting of Sunagakure are actually meetings where Rasa issues orders. These Advisor Group members are simply those who know Rasa's decisions earlier than others. They can offer advice to the Lord Kazekage, but they do not have the right to vote on the decisions.

After discussing the impact of the Land of Snow affair with a group of high-ranking officials, Rasa confirmed two points: First, the Iwagakure's takeover of the Land of Snow would inevitably lead to a significant increase in its strength, which was not so good for the Land of Wind.

When Konoha was a superpower, the alliance could barely be maintained, but when Konoha declined, it was also his responsibility as a qualified Kage to suppress other competitors.

Especially given the current delicate situation of the Land of Wind, whose path to the Land of Fire is blocked by the Akatsuki Organization Land of Wind. If Rasa doesn't want to fight the Akatsuki Organization to the death, then he cannot abandon the smaller countries in the north that lead to the Land of Fire. Although the Land of Snow is not between the Land of Wind and Earth, this precedent cannot be set.

Yichen is trying to build the Land of Snow into a model project, serving as an example for other small and medium-sized countries. So Rasa has to sabotage it. Even if he can't stop the Land of Snow from completely siding with Iwa ninja, he has to warn other small and medium-sized countries that there are no benefits to joining forces with Iwagakure.

Another point Rasa confirmed was that Konoha wouldn't interfere, Cloud ninja wouldn't interfere, and Mist ninja certainly wouldn't interfere. To stop Iwa ninja's expansion, Rasa could only rely on himself. However, Rasa also knew that the overall strength of Sunagakure was currently no match for Iwa ninja, so he had to be patient.

Moreover, the two Jinchuriki of Iwa ninja are both in their prime, while the Jinchuriki of Sunagakure is still just a child. And this child is his son. Unless absolutely necessary, he doesn't want to throw his son into the enemy ninja army like a bomb to cause destruction.

At least we have to wait until Ryosuke can unleash his Kage-level Combatant. Rasa secretly warned himself not to act impulsively.

"Baki, what has the Akatsuki Organization been up to lately?" Rasa asked.

Akatsuki Organization was very wary of the Rasa's acceptance of missing-nin from various villages in the Land of Rain, especially after he heard that Sasori of the Red Sands had been spotted in the Land of Rain.

At first Rasa thought it was a good thing that the Akatsuki Organization had severed his connection with the Land of Fire, making things easier for the Land of Wind. However, as the Akatsuki Organization's strength increased at an astonishing rate, Rasa began to feel uneasy.

For some reason, the Akatsuki Organization suddenly expanded to a point where it was no weaker than the Sunagakure. Unlike the Konoha Akatsuki Organization, the Akatsuki had a strong desire for expansion.

Therefore, before deciding whether to take action regarding the Land of Snow incident, Rasa needs to consult with Baki about the Akatsuki Organization's activities.

As a close confidant of Rasa, Baki played the role of reporting intelligence at today's meeting. Baki was not a high-ranking official and did not have the decision-making power that a high-ranking official should have.

However, the Sunagakure's higher-ups currently lack decision-making power, so Baki's position is no lower than that of the advisors.

Furthermore, since Baki was Rasa's most trusted subordinate, Baki's actual status in this conference room was much higher than that of these nominal advisors, who were actually the strategists.

Upon hearing Rasa's question, Baki immediately stepped forward. He bowed to Rasa and then reported, "Lord Kazekage, the Akatsuki Organization's actions are somewhat strange. They previously harbored a large number of missing-nin within the Land of Land of Rain. Intelligence Department analysis suggests they may be planning something big."

"However, the Akatsuki Organization suddenly went quiet during this period. Intelligence ninjas have seen several Akatsuki Organization leaders personally appearing among the civilians in Kazusa and Tsuchiya on more than one occasion. It seems they have shifted their focus to domestic development."

Rasa's eyes lit up. If the Akatsuki Organization to undertake construction, it meant that the threat to him would be much smaller in the short term.

This way, I will have the resources to deal with the Land of Snow incident.

After a moment's hesitation, Rasa said to Pakura, who had remained silent throughout, "Pakura, secretly go to the Land of Snow and see what the Iwa ninja are doing there. Confirm whether the Iwa ninja have any special purpose in taking over the Land of Snow."

"If there is any, do not act; report back. If not, you may act independently. There is only one objective: to show other countries that the Iwa ninja cannot protect them."

"By the way, try not to use Scorch Release, and don't reveal your identities yet. Also, avoid direct confrontation with the Iwa ninja; now is not the time to break the alliance."

"If you're discovered, just say you're visiting our allies. Yichen isn't stupid; he knows it's not the time to go to war with us yet. They won't make things difficult for you."

"Yes." Pakura didn't waste any words and immediately replied after standing up.

In this life, Pakura greatly admires Rasa, believing that only Rasa can lead Sunagakure to true prosperity. At least so far, since Rasa took power, the strength of Sunagakure has indeed greatly improved, and the Land of Wind has reached unprecedented levels of power.

Rasa's predecessor, the Third Generation, known as the strongest Kazekage, allowed a ninja with the potential to reach Kage Level to defect during his reign. In Pakura's view, the Third Kazekage completely disgraced the title of Kazekage. As for the so-called strongest, she scoffed at it.

Therefore, she never questioned Rasa's decisions. She had limited intelligence and only needed to obey orders.

After the meeting, Pakura led ten Anbu Squads, avoiding the Land of Earth border and instead heading directly to the Land of Snow from the west of the Land of Demons, away from the Land of Earth.

If Ikura were to openly patrol the border, Pakura, being on guard, would certainly not be easily discovered. However, after Yichen's reminder, Ikura did not reveal herself but instead conducted reconnaissance in secret, focusing her investigations on the Land of Demons Ikura the Land of Bears.

The former is the only way from the Land of Wind to the Land of Snow, while the latter is the best route for the Land of Wind to attack the Land of Earth.

If Pakura had traveled to the Land of Snow alone and lightly equipped, Ikura certainly wouldn't have been able to find her. However, Pakura brought a considerable number of Anbu) with her.

With so many people acting together, it's hard to hide the traces, especially since Ikura was deliberately keeping an eye on the movements of the Land of Wind.

Therefore, not long after Pakura entered the Land of Demons, Ikura received the news.

This is not Pakura's fault; she never expected that the Iwa ninja would arrange for a Kage-level experts to patrol the border.

Considering that Pakura's Scorch Release was also difficult to deal with, Ikura did not act rashly, but instead contacted Ōnoki in the Land of Snow and Yichen, who was stationed in the village.

Pakura led a group of Anbu, traveling by day and hiding by night, very carefully approaching the capital of the Land of Snow. Even at night, the group did not travel at full speed.

Especially after entering the Land of Snow, considering that the Land of Snow had been openly incorporated into the territory of the Iwa ninja, Pakura and her group became more vigilant and their speed slowed down even more.

By the time Pakura arrived at the capital of the Land of Snow, Yichen had already flown from Iwagakure to the Land of Snow.

As for Ikura, he didn't come to the Land of Snow; he returned to Iwagakure.

Iwagakure cannot afford to be without Kage-level experts for an extended period. Although Han's strength is comparable to Kage Level after gaining the approval of Kokuō, his status is insufficient, and his identity as Jinchuriki makes it difficult for him to gain the trust of most ninjas.

Therefore, when Yichen left Iwagakure, he also sent a message to Ikura, asking him to return to the village.

The main reason Yichen wanted to switch positions with Ikura was due to Pakura's abilities and characteristics.

As a fellow Ninjutsu user, Ikura has little advantage over Pakura, who is Kekkei Genkai ninja and whose fighting methods are more unpredictable.

But Yichen is different. His Porcelain Release completely counters Pakura. Against Pakura, he alone is more effective than Ōnoki and Ikura combined.

Ōnoki understood this, so when he saw Yichen arrive in person, he handed over the task of dealing with Pakura to him and went off to busy himself with the establishment of the branch base.

Yichen first took a tour of the bustling base to learn about the construction progress.

Ōnoki's plan for this branch base was rather conservative; the entire branch was only about one-tenth the size of Iwagakure.

However, though small, it was fully equipped, with all the necessary facilities found in Iwagakure. Ōnoki even set up a secret underground room next to the main branch building, which served as the branch's Anbu headquarters.

After touring the base, Yichen found that Deidara and his two companions, as well as the guards he had assigned to Ōnoki, were all working.

Even his younger sister was busy, but she couldn't find Matsutani Shinya. Yichen a little puzzled; not seeing Matsutani Shinya where was Fat Orange?

Logically speaking, with its Fat Orange body, it should be the most eye-catching thing anywhere.

Yichen One-handed Hand Seals and used his Sensory Ninjutsu.

"Yes, it's definitely not at the base."

Yichen inquired with nearby Anbu and learned that Matsutani Shinya had not been involved in the branch's construction during this period, but had instead stayed at the Rainbow Ice Wall.

Looking at the sky, it was still early, and Pakura shouldn't be causing trouble at this time, so Yichen went directly to the Rainbow Ice Wall a few thousand meters away.