The Battle for the Fourth Kazekage

Compared to the Second Shinobi World War, the Third Shinobi World War involved far more factions. All Five Great Shinobi Villages participated, and a multitude of brilliant talents emerged during this era.

Many of the events that occurred after the official start of the Naruto storyline had their roots in the Third Shinobi World War.

For instance, Orochimaru defecting, Obito Uchiha falling into darkness to create a world with Rin, and Sunagakure further declining until it was reduced to a mere lackey of Konohagakure...

The catalyst for the Third Shinobi World War was the assassination of the Third Kazekage, known as the strongest Kazekage in history, by Sasori of the Red Sands.

With Sunagakure left leaderless, the Land of Lightning, which advocated for military expansion, seized the opportunity to strike, launching a powerful invasion into the Land of Wind.

I just transmigrated, and before I've even met my future wife, you're telling me there's going to be a war?

Rasa finally sorted everything out; before he could sit on the throne of the Kazekage, there was one more hurdle to clear.

Hearing Chiyo's words, the "punk-rock" beauty Pakura was slightly stunned and replied, "If a person is gone, of course we go look for them."

The logic was sound.

Chiyo nodded slightly, as this was also her own thought, and she turned to ask Rasa, "You are the student of the Kazekage, what do you think?"

"No, we absolutely must not look!"

Rasa spoke in a low, stern voice and countered Chiyo, "At the very least, we cannot search for him with great fanfare. Elder Chiyo, this must be your idea, but have you considered the worst-case scenario?"

A trace of surprise flickered in Chiyo's heart as she exchanged a glance with Ebizo. How did he know? She felt a much greater sense of approval toward Rasa.

"The Kazekage has gone missing, so of course we have to look for him. Otherwise, what happens to the official business in the village? Are you going to do it?" Pakura said with disdain. She and Rasa had never gotten along; they were similar in age and both genius ninjas—two tigers could not share one mountain.

"Hmph, long hair, short insight." Rasa curled his lip, too disdainful to argue.

Pakura was not a particularly clever woman to begin with; otherwise, in the original plot, she wouldn't have been tricked by the original Rasa into walking straight into a trap in Kirigakure.

"You..."

Long hair, short insight—wasn't that just calling her stupid? Pakura was furious and about to argue with Rasa when she was interrupted by Chiyo.

"No fooling around in the Kazekage's office!"

Chiyo scolded Pakura sharply, then turned to ask Rasa, saying calmly, "State your thoughts. You may say whatever you wish."

Struggling to squeeze out a look of sorrow, Rasa said sadly, "I think, the teacher has most likely already been killed."

Pakura immediately retorted, "Impossible! The Kazekage is the strongest Kazekage in history; how could he be killed?"

"Why is it impossible?" Rasa countered, then continued, "The Kazekage is my teacher. There are some things I shouldn't say, but for the sake of Sunagakure's safety, I must speak now. May I ask the two elders: the teacher is called the strongest Kazekage, but how does he compare to the Third Raikage?"

The two were silent for a moment before Chiyo calmly spat out two words: "Inferior."

Rasa asked again, "Then how does he compare to the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, or Madara Uchiha?"

"Worlds apart."

It wasn't about boosting others' morale and destroying one's own, but the gap in strength was a reality that Chiyo and Ebizo had to admit.

"Exactly. Let's put the Third Raikage aside for a moment. Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were such peerless prodigies who dominated the shinobi world for decades and pacified the chaotic times, yet didn't they both pass away after their battle at the Valley of the End? Even if the teacher is called the strongest Kazekage, to say he has no rivals in the shinobi world and is lonely in his victory is pure self-deception! Being a ninja is a profession of dancing on the edge of a blade; life and death are common occurrences. Even the most powerful ninja can have their life taken by a single shuriken."

Pakura had wanted to continue picking at Rasa's logic—the Kazekage had Magnet Release and couldn't be killed by a shuriken—but she stopped after seeing the grief-stricken expressions of Chiyo and Ebizo.

The Third Kazekage was not a child. If he went missing for three days for no reason, he certainly hadn't run off to Konohagakure to play cards with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Chiyo and Ebizo actually had this suspicion in their hearts, but for a moment, they didn't want to admit it, didn't dare to admit it. The Kazekage going missing in the vicinity of Sunagakure was undoubtedly a catastrophic disaster for the village.

Ask yourself: if even the boss can get taken out on his own turf, how can you make the underlings believe there is a future in continuing to hang out in this organization?

People's hearts would scatter.

The last sliver of hope and the final struggle in the hearts of Chiyo and Ebizo were ruthlessly crushed by Rasa's few words. In the shinobi world, one is not the master of one's own fate, and there will always be many, many accidents.

"Then why can't we go look for the Kazekage? At the very least, if we find the body, we can analyze the wounds to determine who the culprit is," Chiyo asked again, looking a few years older in an instant. The boss was gone; at the very least, they had to avenge him.

Don't look, you won't find him. Your grandson never leaves a body behind when he kills. By now, the Third Kazekage has probably already been pickled in formaldehyde! Of course, Rasa couldn't say such things out loud, so he explained, "In the shinobi world, everyone knows how cruel reality is and how tense the current situation is. A long time has passed since the Second Shinobi World War, and Konohagakure has spent nearly a decade recuperating; their strength has now returned to its peak. Kirigakure, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure—even those that didn't directly participate in the war—are at the height of their power. I can already smell the gunpowder; it only takes a single spark for the flames of war to sweep across the shinobi world. Look at our Sunagakure: over a decade ago, we fought the Land of Rain and Konohagakure simultaneously, suffering massive losses, and we still haven't recovered our vitality. If we were to launch a full-scale search for the teacher with great fanfare, what do you think the result would be?"

Chiyo and Ebizo fell into deep thought, and the "punk-rock" beauty Pakura also realized the severity of the situation.

Konohagakure's top dog, Hiruzen Sarutobi, prefers a passive approach, but he is currently in his prime, and with bad blood between the two villages, it is hard to say that Konohagakure wouldn't make a move.

Even if the Land of Wind is resource-poor and has nothing worth coveting, who doesn't enjoy kicking someone while they're down?

The Land of Lightning champions military expansion, and the ninja of Kumogakure are notoriously overbearing on missions, constantly stirring up trouble; once they learn the Kazekage is gone, they will surely launch a massive invasion.

As for the Land of Earth, Ōnoki of the Two Scales has always acted aggressively; the only reason they wouldn't attack the Land of Wind is if they were plotting for greater gains elsewhere.

Rasa has memories of his past life and knows the consequence of Sunagakure searching frantically for the Third Kazekage: an inevitable invasion by the Land of Lightning.

By working backward from the answer to deduce the logic, he easily persuaded the two elders, Chiyo and Ebizo.

Chiyo had naturally speculated that the Kazekage had been murdered, but she still clung to a shred of hope. That is why she summoned Pakura and Rasa, the two most outstanding ninja of the younger generation, to ask for their opinions.

On one hand, she wanted to delude herself; if both of them supported the search, Sunagakure would commit the entire village's strength to finding the Kazekage.

On the other hand, it was also a test for the two of them; whoever could analyze the situation clearly and persuade her would be the more suitable successor for the position of Kazekage.

Without a doubt, Rasa had already persuaded Chiyo, winning this contest for the Fourth Kazekage in advance!