Because I Love Sunagakure Deeply

"Clack."

Closing the door behind him, Rasa manipulated the Gold Dust Coffin, entered the Kazekage Office, sat down at the desk, and began to recount the details of his mission.

Chiyo and Ebizo sat to the side, thoroughly satisfied with Rasa. His bravery and decisiveness in taking down the Four-Tails Jinchuriki was, without a doubt, a shot of adrenaline for the morale of Sunagakure.

A Kage and a ninja, a leader and a soldier, are concepts as different as night and day. The latter does not need to make decisions; as long as they are strong enough to fight, they simply execute orders.

The most important quality for a leader is decisiveness; combat prowess is secondary. Whether one is a hawk or a dove, regardless of whether the decision is truly appropriate, one must never be indecisive.

Rasa's decision to strike after defeating the Iwagakure special ops team and encountering Roshi perfectly matched the expectations the two elders held for him.

Sunagakure was built in the desert out of necessity, but over the years, it had cultivated a spirit that refused to admit defeat, daring to struggle against nature and every hostile power.

So what if it's Iwagakure? Screw them!

What, would taking down Roshi invite an attack from Iwagakure?

As if they wouldn't attack otherwise!

Compromise cannot buy peace. When you're in this business, you have to be hard when the situation demands it!

"That concludes the entire process of this mission." Rasa smacked his lips; talking so much in one breath had made him thirsty.

Next, they should be discussing how to dispose of Roshi, Rasa thought to himself.

Chiyo's eyes crinkled with a smile, her face creasing as she poured a glass of water and handed it to Rasa, hinting, "Rasa, didn't you just say that your coordination with Pakura was quite good?"

Why bring that up?

Rasa, confused, nodded. "Yes, it was fine. She didn't cause me much trouble."

"Then, what do you think of Pakura?" Chiyo asked again, her mind spinning with schemes.

"She has potential. Her strength still has room for growth. If we focus on cultivating her for a few years, she has the possibility of becoming a Kage-level powerhouse."

The floor and ceiling for a ninja with a Kekkei Genkai are both higher than those of an ordinary ninja. If they follow the standard path, they are highly likely to become Jonin, something an ordinary ninja cannot compare to.

"I'm not talking about that.

Looking at her from the perspective of a man viewing a woman, what do you think of Pakura?" Chiyo asked with a sly smile.

Rasa leaned back tactically, his eyes narrowing as he failed to grasp Chiyo's intent.

After a moment of thought, he said solemnly, "Young, beautiful, and powerful. She should be the dream lover of most normal men.

However, it would be very difficult for an ordinary man to keep her in check."

"Exactly, exactly. It would be very difficult for an ordinary man to keep her in check."

Chiyo slapped her thigh in agreement and asked again, "Do you think there is any possibility between you and Pakura?"

"I don't think so. Our relationship in the past was terrible."

The relationship between Pakura and Rasa's predecessor could no longer be described as merely "terrible." Pakura had a brash personality, while his predecessor was a scheming, backstabbing type; they were never meant to be on the same path.

"It is still possible. Hasn't your relationship improved because you deliberately eased the tension? Besides, I can see that Pakura admires you quite a bit now," Ebizo interjected.

Rasa's deliberate attempts to flirt with Pakura were interpreted by Ebizo as an effort to alleviate the friction between the village's internal factions and improve unity.

A promising youth! Even before becoming Kage, he already possessed the mindset of one! (Thumbs up)

"If you two have something to say, just say it directly." Rasa narrowed his eyes.

As expected of the elders, they've eaten more salt than I've walked bridges. They actually saw through my flirting with Pakura. Old veterans, indeed.

Chiyo and Ebizo exchanged a look, lowered their voices, and said, "We want you to marry Pakura."

Rasa leaned back tactically. Something is fishy. Could Karura have asked these two elders to test me?

Keeping the red flag at home while the colorful flags flutter outside—that was Rasa's original dream. Could Karura have seen through it?

Putting on the appearance of a righteous man, he said solemnly, "Pakura is a good girl, but I have Karura. If it comes to a choice, the one I marry will definitely be Karura."

"You can marry both, or marry them one after the other," Chiyo suggested, testing the waters.

Damn it, to test me, they're even saying things like that.

Rasa's expression grew even more serious as he refused again. "One life, one pair. Karura and I are a perfect match, and we are getting married soon. Elder Chiyo, aren't you forcing me to make a mistake?"

Chiyo slammed the table and stood up, furious at his stubbornness. She snapped, "If you call that a mistake, then you are only committing the same mistake every man in the Shinobi World makes.

Little Rasa, let me speak plainly. You are the designated next Kazekage. You must think with the mind of a Kage."

Rasa regained his composure. Perhaps they weren't testing him after all. He asked curiously, "What does the mind of a Kage have to do with this?"

Chiyo let out a long, hollow sigh, hopped off the chair, and paced back and forth with her hands behind her back. "In the past, because of the competitive relationship between you and Pakura, the ninjas in the village were divided into two factions.

Some supported you, others supported Pakura. This was unavoidable, as you are similar in age and strength.

Even if your strength has surged now, and you have suppressed the Four-Tails Jinchuriki and won everyone's recognition, risks still exist.

No one is immune to mistakes. Once you succeed as Kazekage in the future, if you make a wrong decision that causes the village to suffer losses, those who originally supported Pakura will have bad thoughts again: 'If Pakura had been the one to succeed as Kazekage, would the situation be completely different?'

Tell me, what would you do then?"

Rasa remained silent. His strength would undoubtedly continue to grow; as long as he developed steadily and avoided an early death, suppressing the entire Shinobi World would be an easy feat.

However, if he were merely an average Kage-level powerhouse, he would only have three options when faced with such a situation: first, strive to do better, which was the most difficult path.

Second, eliminate the person who raised the problem; whoever had an opinion would be sent to their death. Third, get rid of Pakura; without a competitor, no one would harbor ulterior motives.

As for himself, he would likely choose both one and two. Absolute loyalty was not absolute, which meant it was absolutely disloyal. As for Pakura, she was a top-tier enforcer—easy to manipulate, and the loss would be too great if he discarded her.

He had never been a gentleman, just a common man; otherwise, he wouldn't have flirted with Pakura in the first place.

Seeing Rasa remain silent, Chiyo sighed again and persuaded him, "I know you don't like Pakura, and that you only took the initiative to ease your relationship with her for the sake of Sunagakure."

"It sounds selfish, and it puts you in a difficult position, but since you are already willing to compromise for the village, why not compromise a little more and marry Pakura?"

"I will go and persuade Karura and Pakura. This is all for the sake of the village, for the sake of unity."

Forcing someone to marry another person they did not like—what kind of agony was that?

Chiyo had never experienced it, but she understood, for she had seen plenty of such political marriages.

Rasa channeled his inner method actor, his expression struggling for a moment before he finally made a decision. He stood up, his spirit soaring to the heavens, and declared with deep emotion, "Elder, you need not persuade me any further."

"The greatest of shinobi sacrifice themselves for the village. For the sake of Sunagakure's unity and harmony, for the sake of the village, what does it matter if I sacrifice my personal feelings and reputation, or bear the infamy of being a lecher?"

"But I hope you and Karura understand that I am marrying Pakura not because of her beautiful face, hot figure, youthful charm, or alluring presence, but because my love for Sunagakure runs deep!"

"For Sunagakure, I, Rasa, am willing to feed the tiger with my own body, and I shall not regret it even if I die a hundred times."

When the time came to face Pakura, he would naturally use a different script; he would just copy a segment from some melodramatic romance drama.

He was about to take over the mess that was Sunagakure, shouldering the burden of feeding and housing tens of thousands of people. Was it really so excessive to marry one more girl and reap some benefits?

[Seeking recommendation votes. Currently in PK. Also, I hope everyone doesn't hoard chapters. If recommendation votes and follow-up reads aren't enough, I won't be able to advance. If I can't advance, the book will flop. There's really not much motivation to write a flopped book; I might as well go home and take over the family pig farm.]

Seeking recommendation votes... seeking recommendation votes, begging on my knees...

By the way: in the Hokage arc, besides Karura, I should be taking in two or three more... the total will not exceed six...