Lord Ye Cang, Won't You Be the Kazekage!

Another day passed, and the night grew late.

Byakuya chewed on a Military Ration Pill to restore his chakra, silently formulating a new strategy.

He could not afford a single wrong step.

Every move had to land exactly where it needed to.

Otherwise, one mistake would lead to a chain of failures, and the potential benefits he could secure would be drastically diminished.

"Attempting to subdue the Azure-Black Serpent as a Summoning Beast has two advantages: it provides an extra trump card against Pakura, who possesses Kage-level strength, along with my new Storm Release ninjutsu, the Flying Thunder God Technique, and a new summon."

"Furthermore, I can determine if the Azure-Black Serpent originates from Ryūchi Cave; if it does, I've hit the jackpot."

"However, the power of the Azure-Black Serpent is not to be underestimated. To subdue it and sign a Summoning Contract, I must exert one hundred percent of my strength without holding anything back."

"This brings up a new problem: if I fail, I will have to stay far away from Pakura to recover my body and chakra, wasting precious time."

"The remaining choice is to wait for Pakura to appear and use a Shadow Clone to make contact. Pakura will definitely force my true body to appear for negotiations, but with the Flying Thunder God Technique, I am not afraid of her turning hostile."

"There is another option: continue ambushing Sunagakure ninjas, but that would increase Pakura's hatred toward me. After all, at this moment, she is extremely loyal to Sunagakure. This strategy is actually the worst possible move."

Byakuya sighed.

He felt helpless that the power he possessed was far too weak.

Whether it was his chakra, his ninjutsu, or his influence within Konoha.

In this rotten ninja world, even Kage-level strength does not guarantee survival.

"It really is difficult."

"No, wait. I could also persuade Pakura to help me subdue the Azure-Black Serpent."

"What could I use to sway her?"

Byakuya closed his eyes, sorting through the intelligence provided by the Root Organization once more.

"I know that in the future, Sunagakure will betray Pakura—who rendered great service in resisting the Kirigakure offensive—in order to make peace with Kirigakure."

"I also know that Rasa became the Fourth Kazekage. Although Rasa didn't have much screen time in the original story, as the father of Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage, he holds great influence in Sunagakure. Heh, after all, with Sunagakure's strength severely depleted, the Rasa faction holds the real power."

Regardless of whether Gaara hates his father or not.

The result is that the Fifth Kazekage is his son, and his other son, Kankuro, and daughter, Temari, both hold significant power.

It was the third day by the time Pakura received the intelligence.

She looked travel-worn, her expression deeply exhausted.

To retaliate against the Iwagakure of the Land of Earth, Sunagakure had stirred up conflict at the border, assassinating several Iwagakure ninjas. Although none were particularly formidable, it was enough to temporarily appease the boiling rage within the village.

"Lord Pakura, what should we do next?"

"What about the intelligence from Konoha?"

"Uh, this subordinate does not know."

Pakura leaned against a tree, chewing on a Military Ration Pill, and said vaguely, "Let me rest for a while and think about it."

"Yes."

It was that Konoha ninja wearing the Shuten-dōji Mask again!

Pakura had felt immense regret after he escaped from her grasp last time, and sure enough, it had brought trouble to Sunagakure.

After a while.

A Sunagakure ninja arrived before Pakura using the Body Flicker Technique, knelt, and handed over a scroll: "Lord Pakura, this is the latest intelligence from the village."

She broke the seal.

Within the Root Organization led by Konoha's high-ranking official Shimura Danzō, there was a young ninja with the codename Shuten-dōji.

His identity was extremely mysterious; the spies Sunagakure had planted in Konoha could not uncover any information regarding Shuten-dōji's true identity.

All that was known was that he had risen to prominence recently and was highly valued by Shimura Danzō.

Pakura sneered: "Ever since San-Dan-Kun died, the quality of our spies in Konoha has been abysmal. The only reason you were able to obtain this intelligence is because Shimura Danzō wanted you to know it."

"Wearing a Shuten-dōji Mask and using the codename Shuten-dōji? How lazy. He couldn't even be bothered to come up with a decent codename."

The rest of the intelligence consisted of rumors from Konoha, all of which were difficult to verify.

Ever since the Third Kazekage went missing, Sunagakure's strength had been in constant decline. Even in this state, the village was still embroiled in internal power struggles. If not for the surprise attack by the Iwagakure ninjas led by Kitsuchi, the Rasa faction and their rivals would likely have fought to the death.

She had originally thought that only a small group opposed Rasa, but when she returned to the village to report the cause of San-Dan-Kun's death, she was shocked to realize the reality was otherwise. The opposition occupied nearly half of the high-ranking positions, not to mention the countless others among the middle and lower-ranking ninjas.

The situation had devolved to the point where everyone suspected everyone else.

Even the way Rasa looked at her was filled with suspicion.

"What are you suspicious of? Are you suspicious that I'm vying for your position as Kazekage?"

"The opposition wants to nominate the venerable Elder Chiyo. Once she stabilizes Sunagakure, Rasa would then succeed as the next Kazekage."

"But Rasa is impatient to become Kazekage. That desperate look in his eyes suggests he would push Sunagakure into the abyss if it meant he could become the Fourth Kazekage."

"Heh, the Iwagakure invasion might actually be a good thing after all."

The one who repelled the Iwagakure Ninja was the One-Tail Jinchuriki, Shukaku.

Pakura did not know the Jinchuriki's real name, and neither did many others in the village; they simply called the old man who was nearing the end of his life Shukaku, after the name of the beast.

"Teacher."

Pakura composed herself and smiled. "Oh, it's Maki. What's wrong?"

Maki was very young, and she had cried and begged Pakura to bring her to the Land of Rivers for field experience.

"These are rice balls I made. Teacher, please don't eat those awful Military Ration Pills anymore!"

She stood on her tiptoes and handed two rice balls to Pakura.

Pakura looked into Maki's eager eyes, took the rice balls, and took a bite. "Maki's rice balls are truly delicious."

Since Sunagakure was located in the desert, rice was certainly not their staple food.

They had only acquired the rice after arriving in the Land of Rivers, "purchasing" it from the local civilians.

With her other hand, Pakura stroked Maki's small head, imagining what kind of life Maki would have in a future era of peace.

Perhaps Sunagakure would have already conquered a vast territory in the Land of Fire, and everyone in the village would be able to eat rice balls.

Maki had great talent and would likely become a Jonin. By then, would she be guarding the new territories, or serving as a Kazekage guard in Sunagakure?

"Teacher, actually, actually..."

Maki said in a very, very soft voice, "Actually, everyone hopes that you will become the Kazekage."

"Me? Why?" Pakura was stunned.

"Because everyone understands that only you truly love peace and cherish Sunagakure. Lord Rasa is full of fighting spirit and is single-mindedly focused on achieving great things, while Elder Chiyo is filled with hatred for the Hidden Leaf Village. As long as she can take revenge on the Hidden Leaf, she wouldn't blink an eye at sacrificing anyone."

Pakura immediately asked with a stern expression, "Who told you to relay these words to me?"

"Teacher, I, I... these are my own true feelings."

The teacher had suddenly become so serious that Maki was on the verge of tears; in her memory, the teacher had always had a very gentle temper.

Pakura crouched down in front of Maki.

She finished one rice ball and carefully placed the remaining one back into Maki's hands.

The lives of the civilians in Sunagakure were too bitter, so bitter that everyone had forgotten they were even suffering.

The desert had nothing but sand, endless sand. When the wind picked up, the sand would cover the sky and earth, as if it intended to bury the entire world.

"Child, do not lie to your teacher. Tell me, who told you to say these things?"

"It, it was... everyone told me to memorize them and say them to you, Teacher," Maki sobbed, tears streaming down her face.

Pakura felt a stifling weight in her chest as she looked around.

The gazes of every Sunagakure Ninja in the camp were fixed upon her.

"Lady Pakura, you personally repelled the Cloud Ninja and Iwagakure invasions, quelled the rebellions in the Land of Wind, and even went out to kill Iwagakure Ninja at the border. Your contributions are no less than Rasa's. How can you stand by and do nothing while Rasa covers up your achievements?"

"That's right, Lady Pakura! Even if the Hidden Leaf's heartland is empty, it is still the renowned Hidden Leaf Village! Everyone has heard of the reputation of Namikaze Minato! Are we really their match?"

"We just want peace, Lady Pakura. Please lead us to peace! I don't want to die, and they don't want to die either."

The gazes of these Sunagakure Ninja felt like the sand at high noon in the desert, pelting her densely with a scorching heat and heavy expectations, while simultaneously acting like invisible ropes that coiled around her limbs and bones, binding Pakura until she could barely breathe.