"But the Cloud Ninja are also smart. They understand Konoha's fear of them, so why don't they take it a step further?"
"Do you know, Rasa?"
Ebizo asked Rasa, awaiting his answer.
"Even the Cloud Ninja are afraid of Konoha."
Rasa thought for a moment and then answered.
Ebizo nodded in satisfaction.
"Indeed, they are wary of each other's strength, so neither dares to act rashly."
"You know I know you're wary of me, and I know you know I know—this is a tacit understanding and compromise between us!"
"This is the wisdom of the First Kage! Whether it was distributing the Tailed Beast or holding the Five Kage Summit, they kept the Five Great Shinobi Villages under one umbrella."
"The Five Great Shinobi Villages far surpass other countries, but no one can surpass the Five Great Shinobi Villages. We check and balance each other, maintaining relative peace for our country."
"This is the current state of Cloud Ninja and Konoha!"
After Ebizo finished speaking, he looked at the silent Rasa.
"But the situation is different for us Sand Ninja and Rock Ninja!"
"With various troubles plaguing our country, we have no choice but to turn our attention to other ninja villages!"
At this point, Ebizo turned to look at Rasa and suddenly laughed.
"Therefore, the Cloud Ninja took advantage of this to get a large sum of money from our two ninja villages, making us their pawns to test Konoha!"
"This!"
Rasa looked up, his face filled with shock. Wasn't the loan from the Golden Consortium something he'd worked incredibly hard to secure? How could this be?
"It seems this is quite sudden news for you?"
Ebizo looked at Rasa, not pleased with his expression.
But that's the truth!
"With both major ninja villages facing problems and forced to seek opportunities elsewhere, even the Cloud Ninja should be wary of our allegiance!"
"We are, after all, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages! A ninja village capable of inflicting devastating damage upon them!"
"Therefore, to ensure that we are standing with the Cloud Ninja, and not joining forces with Konoha to exploit the Cloud Ninja, the Cloud Ninja has no choice but to do this!"
Rasa followed Ebizo's words, and Ebizo nodded heavily in reply.
"That's exactly right!"
"When the alliance was concluded, we responded positively, which resulted in far more ninja casualties than the Cloud Ninja, but it was all worthwhile; it was all necessary to maintain balance and stability!"
Ebizo was speaking, Rasa Teuchi.
He asked indignantly.
"Haven't you thought about doing anything?"
"Are you just going to use the lives of our fellow village ninjas to achieve a balance? Or is it a trade?"
"That's utterly pathetic!"
Rasa didn't want to hear or think about what Ebizo had said anymore.
This was utterly absurd to him!
He'd listened to Ebizo for so long, and now his situation was almost identical to Pakura's!
They've been steadily undermining the foundation of the Sand Ninja!
He can't accept it!
"Elder, if you are trying to indoctrinate me with your ideas, then please stop!"
Rasa glared at Ebizo, her tone very impatient.
"This isn't me trying to indoctrinate you, Rasa; this is a reality we, Sand Ninja, have to face!"
Ebizo up, his eyes, which had become slightly cloudy, now gleamed with an unusual sharpness.
His gaze even made Rasa want to look away.
"Of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, only two have a single Tailed Beast. Konoha's Nine-Tails ensures that Konoha remains at the top of the ninja world, while our Sand Ninja's One-Tail can only ensure our safety in the desert we inhabit!"
"The One-Tail can only guarantee our status as one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages right now."
"The One-Tail isn't weak; what's weak is our Sealing Jutsu! Our Sealing Jutsu can't even unleash the power of Jinchūriki!"
As he spoke, Ebizo reached out and grabbed Rasa's wrist, his expression earnest.
"Rasa, you will be the Fourth Kazekage in the future. You should accept this fact!"
"We, the Sand Ninja, are poor and weak!"
Rasa looked at Ebizo and didn't know what to do for a moment, but a strange emotion welled up in her heart.
"Elder, I'm only twenty years old now. I have plenty of time to change all of this!"
Rasa gently comforted Ebizo.
As the possessor of the Magnet Release Bloodline, he had the confidence to say those words, given his ability to control gold dust.
He was able to mine placer gold, which supplemented the village's finances.
In martial arts, he excels in both offense and defense, standing at the pinnacle of the Kage Level.
He was confident that as long as he was there, Sand Village would enjoy peace and stability for the next forty years!
"Good boy, good boy!"
"We're entrusting that village to you from now on!"
Hearing Rasa's words, Ebizo became even more agitated. He grasped Rasa's wrist and spoke tremblingly.
"Good!"
Rasa was bewildered by Ebizo's performance and nodded heavily in agreement.
Little did he know, his tragic fate as a gold miner had only just begun!
Ebizo breathed a slight sigh of relief upon seeing Rasa's appearance; thankfully, she had stabilized.
He admired Rasa's passion, but remained pessimistic about the future of the Sand Ninja.
Keep in mind that they haven't even found the force that plotted to kill the Third Kazekage and dragged the Sand Village step by step into the abyss of war.
They haven't even made a move yet!
Faced with those hidden forces, can the young Rasa truly change things?
Based on his bloodline being identical to that of the Third Kazekage, who was hailed as the strongest Kazekage?
Ebizo sighed deeply, already having made up his mind.
Uchiha Clan Compound.
"My brother-in-law has already left, I should go too!"
Uchiha Makoto looked at Uchiha Mikoto and gave her some words of advice with concern.
"If there's any danger, remember to use the Transcription Seal. I'll be back as soon as possible!"
"Okay, okay, I know."
Uchiha Mikoto was somewhat exasperated; how many times had she said this already!
"You've placed more than one Transcription Seal on us, and you're all so strong, plus you're on the front lines. My safety in Konoha is absolutely guaranteed!"
Upon hearing this, Uchiha Makoto nodded and said nothing more.
To prevent the melodramatic plots from happening in novels, he made all the necessary preparations, and he also imprinted his own Flying Thunder God Mark on Uchiha Mikoto and her son.
"Then I'm leaving!"
"Um."
Uchiha Mikoto nodded, then picked up Uchiha Itachi's chubby little hand from her arms and waved it.
"Come on, Itachi, say goodbye to your uncle!"
Uchiha Makoto watched this scene, sighed softly, and turned to leave with Sanjie and a few others.
Destination: The Sand Ninja Front!