Konoha & Sunagakure Mutual Defense Treaty

Looking at his brother-in-law, whose appearance was remarkably similar to that of his deceased wife, Rasa felt a pang of emotion, but his expression remained unchanged.

"Okay, you can go back now."

Nodding indifferently to the other party, Rasa turned his gaze to his three children, who were standing in a neat row in the hall.

Temari, Kankuro, Gaara.

Due to work commitments, Rasa had to entrust the task of caring for the child to Yashamaru.

"Yes." Upon hearing this, Yashamaru didn't say much. He silently took off his apron, then smiled and said goodbye to the three little ones before leaving Rasa's house.

The three of them looked at Rasa timidly.

Let's eat.

Rasa didn't say anything more and took the lead in going to the dining table.

Even during mealtimes, Rasa's mind was preoccupied with how to revitalize the village's economy.

Since the other party didn't speak, the three little ones naturally didn't dare to make a sound either, and just silently picked at their rice bowls.

"Knock, knock, knock."

Three soft sounds from the doorway broke the silence.

Rasa suddenly looked up, his eyes becoming exceptionally sharp as he stared intently at the direction of the gate.

Two Anbu guarded his house, Anbu would notify him immediately if any visitors arrived via coded signal.

But he received no notification until the knocking sounded.

"Temari, take your younger brother upstairs, and don't come down no matter what you hear."

Rasa spoke in a cold voice.

Are they enemies?

The shadow of the previous Kazekage's disappearance still lingers over Sunagakure. If it weren't for Sasori's attack on Konoha, they wouldn't even know that their Kazekage was betrayed by one of their own.

Although Kazashiro defeated Sasori and seized the Third Kazekage's puppet, he was not kind enough to return the Kekkei Genkai ninja's remains to Sunagakure.

The puppet has been sent to the Medical Unit headquarters, in the hope that Tsunade and the others can discover the secrets of Magnet Release.

Temari didn't say much, but took one of her two younger brothers by the hand and quickly walked upstairs.

"There's no need for such vigilance, Fourth Kazekage."

The person outside the door seemed to sense Rasa's apprehension and took the initiative to speak, trying to dispel his doubts.

"I'm just putting your Anbu to sleep for a while, to create some space for us to be alone."

The voice sounded familiar; I felt like I'd heard it somewhere before.

In an instant, Rasa realized who the voice belonged to.

Fujiwara Katsuya.

Rasa pushed open the door and saw a richly dressed young man.

"Fujiwara Katsuya, no, Shimura Kazashiro?"

"Don't be so nervous, and don't even think about taking action. I'm not going to send my real body over to chat with you, am I?"

Walking with his hands behind his back in Rasa's living room, Kazashiro sensed something amiss on the ground beneath his feet and gestured for the other person to calm down.

"How could that be? After all, we are allies, Acting Hokage."

Although he said that, Rasa did not relax in the slightest.

"I just didn't expect the Fujiwara Clan to go to such lengths, hiring you as their stand-in."

In his eyes, Kazashiro was not impersonating a nobleman, but was entrusted by the other party to act as a substitute.

After all, in the entire Shinobi World, no ninja would dare to impersonate another without authorization from a noble.

"The Fujiwara Clan? Ah, those good-for-nothings. Indeed, they did entrust me with their services, but the price was their lives."

Kazashiro picked up the photo of Rasa Karura on the table and wondered why someone with such good looks would be attracted to a mysterious and valuable man like Rasa.

What are you talking about?

Rasa's hand, hidden under his sleeve, suddenly twitched, and the refined Gold Dust in the ground beneath his feet stirred restlessly.

Putting the photo back in its place, Kazashiro turned to look at Rasa, chuckled, and quickly burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, don't make such a scary face, Lord Kazekage. Have you really developed feelings for those idiots?"

Kazashiro smile did not make Rasa lower his guard. His combat intuition, honed by years of battle, made him unable to underestimate the young man before him.

Even though the opponent was just a Shadow Clone, Rasa unconsciously tensed his legs under the opponent's powerful aura.

"Both of us bear the name of the Kage, and we both know that nobles will only become a hindrance to ninjas. Lord Kazekage, I have come here today to show you the achievements of Konoha."

Kazashiro opened his arms, attempting to depict the grand chapter of the ninja world for Rasa.

"The era when nobles trampled over ninjas will eventually come to an end. Future nobles will simply need to be their mascots; as for real power..."

Kazashiro stretched out his right arm, and suddenly clenched his open hand, startling Rasa so much that he almost had a stress reaction.

"It will be in our hands."

The Land of Wind is not without fertile land.

However, the fertile land was inhabited entirely by fat, big-eared nobles.

The most prosperous region is Daimyo's Mansion in the Land of Wind.

The Sunagakure dared to wage war against the Konoha, seeking a land of plenty, but dared not challenge the Daimyo or demand a Pure Land.

Although Rasa himself knew that as long as he sent out some elite ninjas, he could create a Pure Land within the Land of Wind, the consequences of doing so would be terrifying.

It might even attract attacks from the ninjas of the other four great nations.

After all, daimyo are all related, and if one side suffers, the other side will do anything to suppress it in order to maintain its own status.

If one hidden village is acting unruly, then just support another one.

But what if all the hidden villages become unruly?

The appearance of Kazashiro brought a glimmer of hope to Sunagakure.

Rasa knew the other party's purpose in seeking him out. Konoha alone could not leverage this opportunity; he had to make all the hidden villages realize the feasibility of this matter in order to fundamentally shake the rule of the nobles.

"Once Sunagakure gains control of all the fertile lands within the Land of Wind, our laughable elite force policy can be completely abandoned."

Kazashiro's words were very persuasive.

He also provided many real-life examples to prove the feasibility of his strategy.

What do you want?

Hiding in a secluded room at home, Rasa, making sure their conversation wouldn't be overheard by a third party, wanted to know if Kazashiro had other motives.

"It's nothing, just a joint defense treaty between Konoha and Sunagakure."

Kazashiro openly stated his purpose.

"Sunagakure must guarantee that the interests of the Land of Rivers belong to Konoha, while we will recognize Sunagakure's interests in the Land of Rain, the Land of Birds, the Land of Bears, and the Country of Roran."

Kazashiro pulled out a treaty he had prepared beforehand. "Of course, more importantly, regardless of whether Sunagakure or Konoha is attacked, the other side must take immediate action to deal with the common danger."