The Shinobi World's Vicious Cycle

Flowers bloom on two branches, each telling its own tale.

After slaughtering the Kirigakure forces, Rasa considered his mission complete. He returned to the cave to give Baki a few final instructions.

Once Baki had recovered from his injuries, he used secret signals to locate the remaining Sunagakure ninja in the vicinity. After shadowing them for a distance, Rasa returned to the village alone.

This trip was, for all intents and purposes, a secret mission. Furthermore, the Himura Kenshin persona was still useful to him; he could not afford to expose it just yet.

"That concludes the full report of this mission."

Rasa handed the scroll containing the ninja tools to Chiyo, noting that the difficulty had been simple.

Chiyo and Ebizo took the scroll and examined it. With a complex expression, Chiyo said, "Acquiring so many extra ninja tools is certainly a good thing."

"However, these were bought with the lives of our village's ninja. With a great war looming, losing another dozen men—it is hard to say if this is a blessing or a curse."

"A dozen ninja is indeed a significant loss, and we will settle this debt with Kirigakure sooner or later. But Elder Chiyo, you need not worry. With me here, the village will not suffer any unexpected disasters."

Rasa felt a twinge of heartache; these men would soon be his subordinates. But to achieve greatness, one must maintain a steady state of mind and remain calm in the face of change.

Chiyo recalled the past. In truth, she had watched Rasa grow up. While the young Rasa had been a disciple of the Third Kazekage, he was merely an average genius.

He had been the type to follow the rules, likely reaching Kage-level strength by twenty-five. He had been far less confident back then, preferring to rely on calculations to improve his odds of victory.

This child had been like a son to the late Kazekage, and having experienced the pain of life and death, he had truly grown.

"By the way."

Rasa suddenly remembered something and asked, "Since the village's production capacity for ninja tools is insufficient to supply all our ninja, why not expand our capacity and improve productivity instead of constantly sending money to the Land of Artisans?"

Honestly, having been in the Shinobi World for quite some time, Rasa increasingly felt that Sunagakure, and indeed all the hidden villages, were somewhat deformed. They possessed massive armies, yet still had to take orders from the Daimyo.

Sunagakure, in particular, had the least influence among the Five Great Nations, forced to survive entirely by breathing under the shadow of the Land of Wind's Daimyo.

"I know what you are going to say."

Chiyo sighed softly and explained, "Compared to creation and developing the people's livelihood, plunder is a faster way to obtain benefits."

"After Hashirama Senju pacified the chaotic world and established the hidden village system, the Shinobi World did enjoy a period of peace, allowing everyone to recuperate."

"But human greed is insatiable; the contradictions always existed, merely suppressed. After Hashirama Senju died, the atmosphere of the Shinobi World changed completely."

"Every hidden village readjusted its development direction. Even if you wanted to improve the lives of your people, other villages would not allow it; there were always those waiting to reap the harvest."

"Everyone strove to develop military power, creating a vicious cycle that led to the current situation: preparing war supplies even while starving."

"Others have had designs on the Land of Artisans before. Whoever secured their blacksmithing resources would undoubtedly gain a leading position in military logistics."

"But it is a hot potato—or rather, a poisoned cake. Whoever makes the first move will certainly be targeted by all the other villages."

"Therefore, we have no choice but to keep sending money to the Land of Artisans."

Rasa nodded. The situation of the five great villages was equivalent to the Soviets during the Cold War; they all knew that developing the civilian economy was good, but they also knew they could not afford to do so.

Being poor meant hunger, but being weak meant the destruction of the village. The choice was easy: discard all trivial thoughts, focus on training ninja, and even outsource logistics.

Small nations like the Land of Artisans could serve as buffer zones during peacetime, profiting from all the villages, but they would be the first to perish once war broke out.

Take the Third Shinobi World War from the original plot, for example. Villages without adjacent borders could still fight until their brains were scrambled. Where did they fight? Most of the time, it was within the territory of small buffer nations.

To break this vicious cycle, either everyone had to shake hands and make peace—which was Yahiko's goal—or a peerless powerhouse had to emerge with such overwhelming strength that everyone would understand who truly called the shots in this Shinobi World.

"If there is nothing else, I will take my leave. I feel that after this trip, my strength has reached another critical threshold."

"Go, go. Karura has been hovering around your house for days. I will find you if anything comes up."

Chiyo waved Rasa off. She watched his retreating figure for a long time, unable to snap out of her thoughts. How wonderful it would be if she still had a granddaughter.

Exiting the Kazekage Office, Rasa headed straight home, nodding to every Sunagakure ninja he passed.

Defeating Pakura and holding the status of the Third Kazekage's disciple were very useful. Sunagakure was not like Konohagakure, where a Hokage could produce three or five candidates.

Sunagakure only had two: Pakura and Rasa. Currently, Rasa was leading in every aspect.

As he neared his home, Rasa narrowed his eyes. Karura, Pakura, and his brother-in-law Yashamaru were all loitering in front of his door. Chiyo's intelligence was flawed.

"Brother-in-law, where did you go just now?" Seeing Rasa from afar, Yashamaru cheered and waved.

Once Rasa approached, Yashamaru whispered, "Brother-in-law, that woman Pakura has been intentionally or unintentionally asking about you lately, always hanging around here."

"I suspect she still wants to spy on your new ninjutsu. Be careful; don't let her succeed."

"Hmm."

Rasa nodded and pulled out a few bills, stuffing them into Yashamaru's hand. "Go, buy me a few packs of cigarettes. Keep the change."

Though he didn't understand when Rasa had started smoking, Yashamaru took the money and trotted off to the shop. Sunagakure was far behind Konohagakure, but some daily goods were still available for sale.

Seeing Yashamaru leave, Pakura stepped forward, beating Karura to the punch, and asked in a low voice, "You went on a secret mission—did you encounter any troublesome enemies?"

Rasa glanced at Karura.

Before Karura could defend herself, Pakura rushed to explain, "It wasn't Karura who told me. I just noticed you hadn't left your house in days."

"I thought I'd challenge you one more time, so I snuck into your house under the cover of darkness, but I couldn't find you anywhere."

Points +1+1+1...

Rasa's lips twitched slightly. Sneaking into my house under the cover of darkness—young lady, that's a crime.

Feeling uneasy under the suspicious gazes of Rasa and Karura, Pakura instinctively touched the Iron Butterfly in her hair again.

"How did the mission go?" Karura asked, her voice as gentle as water, breaking the awkward silence.

"It was alright. I ran into a Kirigakure ninja with the Shikotsumyaku and two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, so I just cut them down."

Shikotsumyaku! The Seven Ninja Swordsmen!

Pakura was slightly stunned, but she quickly composed herself. Rasa was no longer the same Rasa as before; it only took him a few seconds to defeat her.

The likes of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were naturally no match for him. He was truly a man worthy of having defeated her!