Visitors from Sand Village

For this day, Orochimaru had prepared for far too long. Killing the Hokage and destroying Konoha were not to prove how great he was. It was simply to tell everyone—including those old bastards hiding in the shadows—that whatever he, Orochimaru, had lost, he would personally crush to pieces!

The two major Konoha figures who had borne infamy for years were about due to return to their beloved hometown.

Within Sand Village of the Land of Wind, inside the Kazekage Building, Kazekage Rasa had just dismissed the intelligence department jonin who had come to apply for funding, and he could not help feeling a headache coming on.

Rasa looked at the plump kanji-emblazoned hat hanging nearby. This was already the intelligence department's sixth visit to ask him for money this month!

Beside him lay a thick stack of Sand Village financial reports, every sheet a heavy stone weighing on Rasa's heart.

Another quarter covered in red. Rasa felt numb, as though he had aged ten years all at once.

Just then, an Anbu ninja appeared.

Kazekage-sama, a reply from the Daimyo's residence.

The Anbu ninja knelt on one knee, the edge of the scroll he presented stained with Chinese characters.

As Rasa opened the scroll, his pupils contracted sharply. The vermilion seal cutting funding by 30% looked like a fresh bloody wound on the document.

He snapped the scroll shut, the cloth around his sleeves flowing silently.

What suffocated him even more was that the Land of Fire delegation would arrive tomorrow. Those envoys dressed in silk would visit Sand Village's poor as if observing animals, then discuss the shared expenses for the joint Chunin Exams in a condescending tone.

Rasa raised a hand and pressed his throbbing temple. "Bring me the deployment plan for the Cidun forces."

His voice was colder than the desert night wind.

"Also, have the medical corps dilute the saline allocation by another 20%."

When the Anbu ninja hesitated instead of answering at once, the cloth Rasa had cast down suddenly lashed out, smashing spiderweb cracks into the wall.

"Get moving! Do you want the office to be quiet again?"

Rasa pulled a yellowed photograph from the depths of a drawer. In it, the Third Kazekage was smiling as he pointed at an oasis development map.

Now, only a forest of dead poplars remained in that area.

Rasa suddenly understood why every Kazekage throughout history had gone so mad. Though they ruled the weakest of the great nations, though they had never truly won, they had always launched wars without hesitation.

On this land, where even hope weathered into sand, perhaps madness was the only clarity.

Looking back on Sand Village's history since its founding, it seemed the village had never escaped its fate of poverty.

Though the Land of Wind occupied vast territory, nearly all of it was barren desert, making every kind of industry difficult to develop.

This made the Daimyo's residence the poorest among the five great nations, and its appropriations for Sand Village were naturally lower than those of the other great nations. Over time, Sand Village's overall strength naturally became the weakest among the five great villages.

If Sand Village had not produced a Kazekage capable of controlling Sand Gold this year, solving a major financial problem, then after the Third Kazekage disappeared, Sand Village would likely have declined completely. Rasa had also become the busiest Kage in history.

Rasa's parents had died long ago. After becoming Kazekage, he had endless official duties during the day, and whenever he had free time at night, he had to run into the desert and use his abilities to pan for gold.

Even with Rasa working day and night, it was still a drop in the bucket. He could not save the enormous Sand Village or the Land of Wind from its misery.

Not enough. It was nowhere near enough!

The medical department, puppet department, Anbu, Ninja Academy, death benefits, urban maintenance, village construction, sandstorm wall reinforcement projects... Rasa looked at the mountain of funding applications piled on his desk. He was exhausted, suffocated, on the verge of madness. He had finally married a wife, only for her to die while giving birth.

Too much pressure weighed on Rasa. Many times, he had felt the urge to end it all.

A knock sounded at the door, and Rasa put on a stern, imposing expression.

As Kazekage, he could not show his emotions. If ordinary ninja saw his worries and troubles, panic would spread through the village.

"Come in." A Sand Village jonin hurriedly pushed the door open.

"Kazekage-sama, the sealing unit requests assistance!" Rasa grabbed him and demanded through clenched teeth, "What happened?"

"Gaara-sama..."

"H-he accidentally fell asleep."

"Shukaku took the opportunity to emerge and is currently rampaging through the village."

Rasa slammed both hands onto the desk and sprang to his feet, furious.

"That useless thing really is beyond saving, isn't he?"

"Great. Now we have to pay out even more money."

Sand Village's sealing techniques were poor. They could not compare with the Uzumaki Clan's seals possessed by Konoha, nor with those of any other great nation. Sand Village's sealing power was extremely limited. A jinchuriki had to remain conscious at all times, or Shukaku would seize control of his body. Rasa wished he could slap Gaara to death. Not only had that unfilial son caused his wife's death, he kept causing him massive trouble.

He had only gone ten-odd years without sleep, and he could not endure it anymore?

At his age, he should have been striving and working hard. How could he sleep?

Rasa swiftly gathered and locked away the documents, then flashed out of the Kazekage Building to stop the Tailed Beast's rampage.

Checkmate!

"A mere Tailed Beast gets suppressed by me every time. Why do you never learn and always want to come out and make trouble?"

To the southeast of Sand Village, a massive body of sand continued to grow larger, destroying the surrounding buildings.

Shukaku's excited shriek rang out.

"Wahaha! You little bastard, hahahaha! This great lord is finally out!"

Endless golden sand surged into the sky. Rasa stood atop it with his arms crossed.

"Shukaku, what do you think you're doing?"

Shukaku let out a strange cry and tried to charge out of the encirclement, but this was the Sand Village Kazekage's territory.

Before long, the Fourth Kazekage Rasa joined forces with the barrier-class jonin to suppress Shukaku once more and seal him away.

Rasa frowned at the broad swath of ruined village around him and sighed inwardly as the cloth slowly sank into the ground.

This cloth was not real gold. It required multiple extraction processes, and the final yield was not much, so its value was actually limited. It was better used as a weapon.

However, given the current situation, Rasa had no choice but to extract more cloth to repair the village.

"Kazekage-sama, you summoned me?" The elite jonin Baki, his face half-concealed, bowed respectfully. Rasa stood at the edge of a high tower and looked over the dust-filled village. "Baki, we must strike out!"

Baki looked doubtful. "Kazekage-sama, do you intend to agree to Shadow Village's alliance?"

"But they are only a small village. Wouldn't that be too risky?"

Rasa shook his head. "We may not have many ninja, but we possess top-tier combat strength. Baki, you know the current situation. No matter how dangerous it is, we have to try."

Baki bowed deeply. "Everything will follow Kazekage-sama's decision. We will follow you to the death!"

A cool breeze blew past, stirring the Kazekage's robes. Rasa looked up at the sky.

"Take people to the Land of Rice Fields. Discuss the detailed cooperation plan with Orochimaru."

"Yes."

In the Land of Rice Fields, within Shadow Village, Orochimaru found Fei Yun, who was training.

"Fei Yun-kun, Baki, the head of Sand Village's elite jonin guard unit, has come to discuss attacking Konoha."

"Let's go meet him."

Fei Yun put away his chakra and took out a scroll to study.

"The Kazekage himself did not come. Do we really need to personally receive some Baki? Wouldn't that lower our standards, Orochimaru-sama?"

Orochimaru merely smiled indifferently. "They are all our strength anyway. I will lead Shadow Village, and I will also lead Sand Village."

Only then did Fei Yun raise his head. "Oh, right. You're planning to kill the Fourth Kazekage. Selling out your ally is pretty immoral, Orochimaru, but I like it. Hahaha."

Fei Yun was genuinely curious. The circumstances surrounding the Fourth Kazekage's death in his memories had been too suspicious. Although the truth had already come out and the murderer had admitted that Orochimaru and his underlings had done it, it still did not make sense. The Fourth Kazekage was not weak. He had repeatedly suppressed Tailed Beast rampages. Without question, Rasa was a benchmark among Kage, not one of those weak Kage who would die just fighting a Tailed Beast.

So Fei Yun was extremely curious about how Orochimaru had killed the Fourth Kazekage. Could it be that the Fourth Kazekage was simply that weak?

Orochimaru froze when he heard Fei Yun's words. "Fei Yun-kun, you can even know the plans in my heart?"

"We truly are—"

Fei Yun quickly cut off Orochimaru before he could continue. "Put the sword back in its sheath!"

"Stop, stop. What about that level-60 Spiritual Power?"

"Do you think I've just been messing around with you?"

"Didn't you see that old toad can predict the future?"

"Come on. Let's see what's going on."

Baki led two jonin squads behind two Shadow Village ninja as they entered Shadow Village.

"Shadow Village has far too few ninja, doesn't it?"

"Can they really work with us on something this important?"

A Sand Village jonin puppeteer frowned as he spoke. He deliberately raised his voice so the surrounding ninja could hear. Though the people were angry, they were intimidated by the imposing presence of so many Sand Village jonin and did not dare speak.

Baki stepped into Shadow Village's conference room in Sand Village-issued ninja boots, the soles scraping harshly against the floor.

Behind him, eight Sand Village jonin spread out like blades, their forehead protectors glinting coldly in the dim light.

A Shadow Village ninja leading the way forced himself to say, "The plan against Konoha is already underway. Many of our outstanding ninja have gone to the Land of Fire and Konoha."

"Hmph!"

The Sand Village ninja's sneer said everything.

That explanation was far too weak and would only make others look down on them further.

"So this is Shadow Village's way of receiving guests."

Baki tapped the conference table with fingers wrapped in wind blades, and wood chips fell rapidly.

Baki's gaze swept toward the corner, where a trembling Sound Ninja stood.

The tea tray in the other party's hands rattled with the sharp clink of porcelain. Outside the conference room, something heavy suddenly fell.

"S-sorry."

A Sound Ninja hurriedly helped up a companion who had been tripped by the Sand Village puppeteer.

"They cannot even manage basic etiquette?"

"Are people at this level really capable of cooperating with us?"

Before Baki's deputy could finish, the entire conference room suddenly fell into an eerie silence. An overwhelming pressure descended onto everyone's hearts.

Viscous liquid seeped from the ceiling. Dozens of white-scaled giant snakes slithered from the gaps between the beams, their flicking tongues forming a serpent-shaped throne.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Orochimaru's figure emerged from the snakes, pale fingers stroking the skull of a giant serpent.

"It seems the people of Sand Village have quite a few complaints about my children."

The chakra pressure forced the Sand Village group to lean back together. A crack appeared in Baki's forehead protector, and he realized in shock that he had unconsciously formed a defensive hand seal. "Orochimaru-sama..."

The Sound Ninja who had been trembling earlier suddenly stood straight, as if filled with some fanatical energy.

This bizarre change secretly alarmed the Sand Village ninja. They finally remembered that the man before them was a figure whose fame resounded throughout the Shinobi World.

"Enough!"

Baki suppressed the fear in his heart and was about to speak when the office's entire door was suddenly pushed open.

Fei Yun entered with an even more astonishing aura. Every step left a shallow footprint in the concrete floor.

"I heard..." Fei Yun's Three-Tomoe right eye slowly rotated. Wherever his gaze fell, the bodies of the Sand Village ninja stiffened one after another.

"Someone thinks Shadow Village isn't high-class enough?"

"What are you Shadow Village people trying to do?!"

Cries of alarm rang out as Baki's pupils shrank.

"Stay calm, it's only a genjutsu!"

Wind-attribute chakra erupted!

Baki formed a hand seal with two fingers and shouted, "Release!"