In a small building in Sunagakure, coughs sounded now and then from a dim room.
Then a wheelchair was pushed out. Rasa sat in it, and his wife, Karura, pushed it.
At the Battle of Kikyō Mountain, Matsudaira had cut off both of Rasa's feet and one of his hands. Only one hand remained usable.
He could still use Magnet Release to control Gold Sand, but he was nowhere near as strong as before.
"What's happening out there?" Rasa asked in a low voice.
"Pakura has a good chance of becoming Wind Shadow. The Daimyo and many members of the Elders Council support her."
Rasa clenched his fist. All of it should have been his, but now everything was slipping away from him.
Karura sensed his bitterness. She wrapped her arms around him from behind. "You still have me. And one day, we'll have children."
Her words seemed to give Rasa hope. He gripped her hand tightly with his remaining hand. "Yes. One day, we'll have children.
"Everything I lost today, they'll take back, bit by bit."
In a conference room at the Kazekage Building, several Elders had gathered with Pakura.
One Elder held up two letters. "Both came from Konoha. One says Fugaku Uchiha will attend the Wind Shadow succession ceremony. The other invites Sunagakure to the Chunin Ninja Exams in three months.
"Apparently, Konoha sent invitations to Ninja Villages large and small across the Shinobi World."
The Sunagakure officials all frowned.
"Why would Fugaku Uchiha suddenly want to attend the Wind Shadow succession ceremony?"
"I'd say Konoha wants to make its presence felt. Since the Third Shinobi World War, it's held a position above the other villages. Naturally, it wants to show that off.
"These Chunin Ninja Exams are probably meant to do the same thing."
"Hmph. Konoha