Benevolent Within, Kingly Without

With the internal problems settled, the next thing to discuss was what to do about Roshi.

"Little Luo, you'll soon be Kazekage. From now on, you need to start making decisions—decisions that can affect the village's future.

"Whether those decisions turn out well or badly, as long as you can explain the basic reasoning behind them, we'll support you unconditionally."

Once everyone was seated, Chiyo spoke warmly. Sunagakure might be weak, but it had one virtue: unity.

The two elders were merely the Kazekage's deputies. In the original story, Chiyo had even given her life to use One's Own Life Reincarnation to bring Gaara back.

Before that, the two elders had strongly supported Gaara taking the position of Kazekage, granting him real authority without the slightest reluctance to part with power.

They were leagues above the few high-ranking moles in Konohagakure who held the village back.

"That's right. Whatever you decide, we'll support you."

Ebizo nodded, then continued, "The most pressing matter is deciding what to do with Roshi. Whether you kill him or let him go, the decision is yours."

Rasa lowered his head and pondered. The two elders weren't attached to power, which was good news for him and just as he'd expected.

As for Roshi, that was indeed a little troublesome. Capturing him had offended the Land of Earth, but not beyond repair.

"Are there any other suitable candidates in the village to become a Jinchūriki?" Rasa asked.

"No. Bunpuku has been the only one in decades." Chiyo shook her head. Becoming a Jinchūriki wasn't easy.

I see. In the original story, after Bunpuku died, Sunagakure couldn't find a suitable One-Tail Jinchūriki. After several failed attempts, Rasa's predecessor had no choice but to seal Shukaku inside Gaara before he was born.

Rasa thought it over for a moment, then analyzed the situation. "Killing Roshi isn't out of the question. It would greatly weaken the Land of Earth, but we wouldn't gain anything from it.

"When a Jinchūriki dies, the Tailed Beast revives after some time. Iwagakure might capture him again.

"Besides, we don't have to kill Roshi to weaken Iwagakure. As long as we keep him in custody and tie up Iwagakure, we can achieve the same result.

"Letting him go is out of the question, too. We'd gain nothing, and outsiders would laugh at us, thinking we were afraid of Iwagakure."

"Mm. Then what do you choose?" Chiyo asked, nodding.

Rasa didn't answer. His gaze turned distant as he asked in return, "How are the village's preparations for war coming along?"

Chiyo and Ebizo seemed to understand. Rasa was probably planning to use Roshi to negotiate a deal with Iwagakure and obtain urgently needed supplies.

"We've stationed several squads at key points along the border, and the village has sent out as many shinobi as possible under various pretexts.

"But the supply situation is bleak. With tensions running high, military supplies are in high demand. All the great villages are preparing for war, so they're not easy to buy."

Some villages were preparing to wage wars of aggression, while others were preparing to defend themselves. This was an action that could set everything in motion; no village could afford to stay out of it.

As for Sunagakure, it had ramped up its preparations, moving from its usual state of readiness to a full prewar footing.

Rasa tapped his finger lightly on the table and said calmly, "Ōnoki should be leading his men to the border of the Land of Lightning by now.

"Win or lose, he'll definitely fight the Third Raikage. He has to give his men an explanation, at the very least.

"Keep a close eye on the situation there. Once they've fought and tensions have risen even further,

"spread the news that we've captured the Four-Tails Jinchūriki. I'm sure that will make things even more tense between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth."

Chiyo and Ebizo exchanged glances. They'd thought Rasa was brave and decisive. They hadn't expected another surprise—Little Luo had a truly devious mind.

Ōnoki would have just finished fighting the Raikage, with tensions already high, and then they'd announce that Roshi had been captured and the Land of Earth had lost a powerful combatant.

What would the Land of Lightning think? It would surely take the chance to attack the Land of Earth, or at least launch a probe.

"And then?" Chiyo pressed eagerly, anticipating Rasa's answer. She already had an inkling of what he had in mind: use the opportunity to drive up the price and extort the Land of Earth.

"Then we send word to both the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth. Make a big show of it, and say we want to meet with them to discuss Roshi.

"Prepare a list of the supplies we're short on and make two copies—one for Ōnoki and one for the Raikage.

"If the Land of Lightning accepts our asking price, we'll either kill Roshi or keep him in custody. If they're willing to pay double, we'll bundle Roshi up and send him over.

"As for the Land of Earth, their offer has to be higher than the Land of Lightning's. Otherwise, we won't return Roshi."

"Gasp!"

Chiyo and Ebizo leaned back in unison. Wicked. That was wicked. Rasa was even more devious than they'd imagined.

He was planning not only to extort the Land of Earth, but to use the Land of Lightning as well. With the Land of Lightning watching like a tiger ready to pounce, even if Ōnoki had to tighten his belt, he'd have to accept Sunagakure's terms.

As for Ōnoki flipping the table, abandoning Roshi, and attacking the Land of Wind—so what? If he dared make a move, the Land of Lightning wouldn't pass up the chance to strike while he was vulnerable.

The Land of Earth would then find itself fighting on two fronts.

And there was no chance of the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth joining forces anytime soon. In fact, they wouldn't be able to cooperate for a long time to come.

"Brilliant! Brilliant!"

Chiyo's eyes shone as she praised Rasa's dirty-mindedness. A leader had to be ruthless when dealing with outsiders. Benevolent within, kingly without.

As for offending two great shinobi villages, that wasn't something they needed to worry about. The Shinobi World was all about using one another. You cut me, I cut you.

If they didn't scheme against them, would that stop them from being attacked once the truth about the Third Kazekage's death came out? Of course not. They might act like the best of friends, but given the chance, they'd stab each other in the back.

Instead of placing their hopes for peace in others and praying their enemies were vegetarians who valued benevolence and morality, they were better off seizing every opportunity to grow stronger.

"Only then, with the urgently needed supplies in hand, will our prewar preparations truly be complete.

"With the home-field advantage, even if we face the full force of both the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth, we won't be defeated for quite some time."

Ebizo nodded repeatedly. Sunagakure might be surrounded, but there was no way two great shinobi villages would throw their full strength against it. The only village worthy of that kind of attention was Konohagakure.

As the saying went, one move could set everything in motion. If you took all your men to attack someone else, you had to be prepared for your home to be raided.

"But I still can't help feeling it's a shame."

Chiyo sighed softly and said, "We went to all that trouble to capture the Four-Tails Jinchūriki. Even if we can trade him for supplies we desperately need, it still doesn't feel worth it.

"If Iwagakure gets its Jinchūriki back, it won't lose much strength."

"I have a way to make Iwagakure lose both the wife and the army." Rasa grinned again. When it came to being underhanded, he was a professional.

Some people suspect I'm a lecher. Let me set the record straight here...

That's right. I am a lecher.