The endless yellow sand, with grains flying everywhere, resembles a boundless sea of sand.
"Sunagakure is just ahead."
Standing atop a sand dune, Pakura could see the faint outlines of villages and towns in the distant desert.
The village is surrounded by huge sand walls on all sides, blocking the wind and sand. The architectural style of the village is also completely different from that of Konoha.
Uchiha Itachi stood atop the sand dune, overlooking the village.
"What are your plans to do against Rasa?"
Pakura gazed at Uchiha Itachi's slightly immature profile, her delicate brows furrowing slightly, her expression somewhat worried.
Having witnessed Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan and Wood Release firsthand, she had already abandoned her contempt for the boy in front of her, who was only about ten years old.
But after all, it concerns the position of Kazekage, and even more so, the future of the entire Sunagakure.
Pakura had to be cautious.
"After you return to the village, lure Rasa to appear; the rest is up to me."
Uchiha Itachi's voice was quite flat, revealing no emotion whatsoever.
Perhaps because he inherited the mantle of Uchiha Mirai, after receiving Godzilla cells, his style of doing things and even his daily habits became increasingly similar to those of Uchiha Mirai.
There are rumors within the clan that Itachi will become the next Uchiha Mirai.
That's it?
"That's all."
Pakura bit her lip slightly, her expression showing some anger.
"You're not taking this lightly, are you?"
"Sunagakure is one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Even if its foundation is not as strong as Konoha's, the village still has nearly ten thousand ninjas. The Kazekage Rasa, is a powerful ninja who has mastered the Magnet Release bloodline limit. Do you think you can defeat him so easily?"
Itachi's expression remained unchanged. The Sunagakure, nestled beneath the sand dunes, was surrounded by yellow sand on all sides, appearing indistinct and vague, like a creature in a cage.
"Don't worry, just do as I say."
Sunagakure.
Kazekage Room.
Rasa, who was handling official business, frowned and stared at the documents in his hand, lost in thought.
Suddenly the door opened, and a Sand Ninja ANBU entered, kneeling to report.
"Lord Kazekage, Lord Pakura is back."
Pakura???
Rasa looked surprised.
Isn't she in Konoha?
Why are you back at this time?
Meeting room.
The high-ranking Sand Village members at the long table whispered and discussed among themselves as they watched Pakura suddenly appear.
Why is a meeting being held at this particular time?
"Yes, wasn't Pakura sent to Konoha? Could this matter be related to Konoha?"
Rasa took in the behavior of the Sand Village leaders at the long table, glanced at Pakura without showing any emotion, and spoke in a deep voice.
"Pakura, you suddenly returned from Konoha, and upon your return, you immediately convened a high-level meeting under the pretext of obtaining important intelligence. I'm very curious about what kind of important intelligence could make you rush back even if you had to abandon your mission?"
Upon hearing this, the Sand Shinobi at the long table all looked towards Pakura's location, some surprised, some doubtful, some astonished...
Rasa's words undoubtedly put Pakura in a precarious position. If she doesn't provide a reasonable explanation, she will likely face severe punishment.
Pakura remained calm, and facing the gazes of many high-ranking Sand Ninja, he looked around and spoke.
"As you all know, I was sent to Konoha on a special mission. I have been infiltrating Konoha for many days and have gathered a lot of important intelligence."
She paused.
"One of the pieces of intelligence is precisely why I insisted on returning despite orders."
"What intelligence?"
Upon hearing this, many high-ranking members of the Sand Village felt a chill run down their spines, and the conference room suddenly fell silent.
Pakura glanced at them, speaking slowly and deliberately.
"Konoha will launch the Fourth Shinobi World War."
Hiss!
A collective gasp filled the conference room; the Sand Village leaders stared in disbelief and horror.
Even Rasa was shocked.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"Where does Konoha get the audacity? The four villages have formed an alliance. If Konoha starts a war, it will face an attack from all four. How dare they!"
Before he could finish speaking, Pakura chuckled.
"As for alliances, you should know better than me how fragile and superficial they are, like the alliances between two Rasa. The events in Kumogakure are a good example of that, aren't they?"
Rasa's expression became slightly unnatural.
She knew that Pakura was alluding to the capture of the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki from Kumogakure. Kumogakure, like them, had sent an envoy to Konoha, but the envoy was unexpectedly captured in Konoha.
The Fourth Raikage A, angrily sought them out to pressure Konoha, even threatening war.
But in the end, they did not succeed. The Kage of the major ninja villages were all shrewd and eager to see Kumogakure and Konoha clash to the death.
Of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Konoha and Kumogakure have the strongest foundations. Now that these two villages are facing off, their enmity is almost irreconcilable.
They'd be secretly thrilled with such a great opportunity; why would they willingly get involved?
Staying out of it and letting Kumogakure and Konoha fight amongst themselves is clearly more in the interests of these ninja villages.
"Hmph! Even so, Konoha would never dare to start a war. Once war breaks out, the implications will be completely different."
Rasa snorted coldly, showing his disdain for Pakura's words.
The meaning of war is completely different; once war breaks out, it will inevitably affect the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
This has been the case in all three major world wars.
Seeing Rasa's confidence, Pakura said nothing more, only a faint smile appeared on his lips.
"If I'm not mistaken, the intelligence should be arriving back around now."
"What intelligence?"
Rasa frowned slightly, a vague sense of foreboding creeping in.
The meeting room fell silent instantly.
The high-ranking Sand Ninja members around the long table exchanged glances, the eerie silence seeming to extend tentacles, stirring up the unease within them.
Before long, a scout rushed into the room in a panic, his hurried voice breaking the silence.
"Urgent intelligence! Konoha is attacking Kumogakure, Kumogakure danger. Iwagakure has also been drawn into the conflict, and the two sides have already started fighting!"
The deathly silence in the conference room was even greater than last time; a chilling coldness rose from the spines of these Sand Ninja, rushing straight to the back of their heads.
Konoha, has war truly broken out?
"Do you believe me now?"
Pakura sneered, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"Konoha's power has far surpassed that of other villages. Kumogakure and Iwagakure are already engulfed in war, and Sunagakure will likely be next."
No sooner had Pakura finished speaking than a heated discussion erupted in the conference room.
"Konoha harbors wolfish ambitions; how dare he simultaneously fight against the Three Great Shinobi Villages?"
"No! It might be more than that. Kirigakure is located at sea, and its intelligence network is limited. It might also be under Konoha's surveillance."
"Uchiha Mirai! Is his ambition really that big?!"
The smoke of battle seemed to have drifted into the conference room. The high-ranking Sand Ninja officials, who usually held high positions, were cursing and shouting, their previous composure completely gone.
Rasa's eyes flickered, and his hands under the conference table clenched tightly, beads of sweat appearing on them.
Konoha's reputation is too great.
In particular, Uchiha Mirai is considered by many ninjas to be on par with Uchiha Madara in his prime.
Pakura took in their behavior and sneered.
"Now, what's your choice?"