"If it succeeds, Konoha reaps the rewards. If anything goes wrong, the Land of Rain and the Akatsuki take all the blame and bear the brunt of the war."
"From the moment I received that secret assassination order, I saw right through Naruto Uzumaki's plan."
The more Sarada spoke, the darker her expression became.
Gaara watched her quietly, his expression unreadable. "So, did you carry out the mission?"
"I did."
Sarada answered honestly, concealing nothing.
"I just killed the first target on the list at the Land of Wind's border."
"I had no choice. I had to do something to satisfy Konoha. Otherwise, they would cut off every resource flowing into the Land of Rain, and the country would collapse overnight."
"Only after carrying out that token assignment did I have a chance to come to Sunagakure and discuss cooperation with you."
A brief silence fell over the office.
Outside the dim Kazekage's Office, windblown sand rustled against the windows.
After hearing Sarada's blunt analysis in full, Gaara froze for a few seconds, then let out an angry laugh.
His icy eyes fixed on the girl before him, his voice thick with displeasure.
"So, to satisfy Konoha and protect your Land of Rain, you went ahead and killed one of my people from Sunagakure?"
His words struck at the heart of the matter, carrying the imposing weight unique to the Kazekage.
Sarada neither defended what she had done nor bowed her head in apology.
She knew she had had no choice in that step, so she simply skipped over the question.
"Lord Kazekage, there's no point dwelling on this one dead man."
"Think carefully about what comes next. Now that I've accepted this first assassination mission, an endless stream of dirty assignments will follow."
"Konoha will compile lists of every