Because I Love Sunagakure So Deeply

"Clang."

Rasa shut the door behind him, guided the Gold Dust Coffin into the Kazekage Office, then sat down at the desk and recounted his mission.

Elder Chiyo and Ebizo settled to one side, completely satisfied with Rasa. He had been brave and decisive, taking down the Four-Tails Jinchuriki without hesitation. There was no doubt that this would be a shot in the arm for Sunagakure's morale.

A Kage and a ninja were two entirely different things, just like a gang boss and a brawler. The latter didn't need to make decisions; as long as he could fight and follow orders, that was enough.

For a gang boss, decisiveness was the most important quality. Fighting ability came second. Hawk or dove, whether a decision was truly the right one or not, he couldn't afford to be indecisive.

Rasa had defeated Iwagakure's special squad, then decided to strike as soon as he encountered Roshi. That was exactly what the two elders had hoped to see from him.

Sunagakure had been forced to build its village in the desert, but over the years, it had developed a spirit of defiance—a willingness to fight nature and every opposing force without backing down.

So what if it was Iwagakure? Bring it on!

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

As if they wouldn't attack even if he didn't!

Compromise couldn't bring peace. When you were in a gang, you had to stand firm when it mattered!

"That's everything that happened on the mission." Rasa smacked his lips. Talking so much had made him thirsty.

Next, they'd probably discuss what to do with Roshi, Rasa thought.

Chiyo's eyes crinkled with a smile, wrinkles gathering across her face. She poured a glass of water and handed it to Rasa, then asked pointedly, "Rasa, didn't you just say that you and Pakura worked pretty well together?"

Why bring that up?

Rasa didn't understand. He nodded. "Yeah, it was all right. She didn't cause me much trouble."

"Then what do you think of Pakura?" Chiyo asked again, already hatching a little scheme in her mind.

"She has a lot of potential, and there's room for her to get stronger. With a few years of focused training, she could become a Kage Level fighter."

Kekkei Genkai users had a higher floor and a higher ceiling than ordinary ninja. If they followed the usual path, they would most likely become jōnin—a level most ordinary ninja couldn't reach.

"That's not what I mean.

"Looking at her as a woman, from a man's perspective, what do you think of Pakura?" Chiyo asked with a broad smile.

Rasa leaned back in a tactical retreat, narrowing his eyes. He had no idea what Chiyo was getting at.

After a moment's thought, he replied seriously, "She's young, beautiful, and strong. She'd be the dream woman of most normal men.

"But an ordinary man would have a hard time keeping her in check."

"Exactly. An ordinary man would have a hard time keeping her in check."

Chiyo slapped her thigh in agreement, then asked, "Do you think there's a chance for you and Pakura?"

"Probably not. We used to get along so badly."

The relationship between Pakura and the previous Rasa had been worse than bad. Pakura was impulsive, while the previous Rasa was a sneaky schemer. They were never going to see eye to eye.

"There's still a chance. Your relationship has improved because you deliberately tried to smooth things over. And I think Pakura admires you now," Ebizo added.

Ebizo had assumed Rasa was deliberately flirting with Pakura because he was trying to ease tensions between the village's factions and strengthen its unity.

What a promising young man! He wasn't even Kazekage yet, and already he had a Kazekage's sense of responsibility! (Thumbs up)

"Why don't you two just tell me what you want?" Rasa narrowed his eyes.

As expected of the elders. They'd crossed more bridges than I'd walked on roads, and they'd even seen through me flirting with Pakura. Old hands, all right.

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

Rasa leaned back in a tactical retreat. Something was off. Could Karura have asked the two elders to test him?

A steady wife at home and a string of lovers outside—that had been Rasa's original dream. Had Karura seen through him?

Putting on the air of an upstanding man, he said gravely, "Pakura's a good woman, but I have Karura. If I have to choose between them, I'll marry Karura."

"You could marry them both, either at the same time or one after the other," Chiyo ventured.

Damn it, they were going so far as to say that just to test me.

Rasa's expression grew even more serious. He refused again. "One heart, one partner, for a lifetime. Karura and I love each other, and we're about to get married.

"Elder Chiyo, aren't you trying to make me do something wrong?"

Chiyo slammed her palm on the desk and sprang to her feet, exasperated. "If this is wrong, then it's just the same mistake every man in the Shinobi World makes.

"Little Rasa, let me be blunt. You've been chosen as the next Kazekage. You need to think like a Kage."

Rasa recovered his composure. Maybe they weren't testing him after all. Curious, he asked, "What does thinking like a Kage have to do with this?"

Chiyo let out a quiet sigh, hopped down from the desk, clasped her hands behind her back, and paced as she explained, "In the past, the competition between you and Pakura split the village's ninja into two factions.

"Some supported you, and others supported Pakura. It couldn't be helped, since the two of you were close in age and evenly matched.

"Even now, though your strength has grown by leaps and bounds, you've subdued the Four-Tails Jinchuriki and won everyone's approval, there's still a risk.

"No one can avoid making mistakes. Once you become Kazekage, if you make a bad decision and the village suffers for it, the ninja who once supported Pakura will start having doubts again. They'll wonder whether things might have turned out differently if Pakura had become Kazekage instead.

"Tell me, what would you do then?"

Rasa fell silent. His strength would certainly keep growing. If he developed steadily and didn't die young, overpowering the entire Shinobi World would be easy.

But if he were an ordinary Kage Level fighter and ran into this situation, he'd have only three options. First, work hard to do a better job. That was the hardest one.

Second, get rid of the people raising the issue. Anyone with complaints could be sent off to die. Third, take out Pakura. With no rival, no one would be tempted to make trouble.

As for him, he'd most likely choose both the first and second options. If your loyalty wasn't absolute, that meant you weren't loyal at all. As for Pakura, she was a top-notch fighter and easy to fool. Giving her up would be too great a loss.

He'd never pretended to be an upright man. He was just an ordinary guy. Otherwise, he wouldn't have flirted with Pakura.

Seeing Rasa say nothing, Chiyo sighed again and tried to persuade him. "I know you don't like Pakura. You only tried to improve things between you for the sake of the village.

"It sounds selfish, and I know it puts you in a difficult position. But if you're already willing to put up with so much for the village, why not put up with just a little more and marry Pakura?

"I'll talk to Karura and Pakura. This is all for the village, for unity."

How painful must it be to force someone to marry a person he didn't love?

Chiyo had never experienced it herself, but she understood. She'd seen plenty of political marriages like this.

Rasa's inner actor took over. After a moment of anguished struggle, he finally made up his mind. He stood, his heroic spirit soaring, and spoke with heartfelt conviction. "Elder, there's no need to persuade me further.

"The greatest ninja is one who would give his life for the village. For the sake of the village's unity and harmony, for Sunagakure, what does it matter if I sacrifice my own feelings and reputation and earn a reputation as a womanizer?

"But I hope you and Karura understand that I'm not marrying Pakura because she has a pretty face, a curvy figure, and youthful, alluring charm. I'm doing it because I love Sunagakure so deeply!

"For Sunagakure, I, Rasa, am willing to sacrifice myself to the tiger's jaws. I'll never regret it, even if I die a hundred times."

When the time came to talk to Pakura, he'd give her a completely different story. He could just copy a passage from some melodramatic romance.

He was about to take over the mess that was Sunagakure. He'd have to shoulder the burden of feeding and caring for tens of thousands of people. Was it really too much to marry one more woman and reap a few benefits?