Prop up the collapsing edifice; turn back the overwhelming tide.
Rasa shook his head and considered the problem from another angle.
At present.
Konoha and Kumogakure were at war, while Iwagakure and Kumogakure were locked in fierce fighting in the north.
Three great nations had all been dragged into the quagmire of war.
Though Sunagakure was poor and weak, it did have one advantage.
It was so poor that no one would want to attack it!
"Fire, Lightning, and Earth are fighting each other, while Sunagakure stays out of it. This could actually give Sunagakure a relatively peaceful period of development."
Rasa tapped his fingers lightly against the desk, lost in thought.
"But that brat Uchiha Minamoto is only thirteen.
"Once he grows a few years older and his strength reaches its true peak... he might be even more terrifying than Madara Uchiha was back then."
The more Rasa thought about it, the more he felt he needed to do something.
"...Prepare to send a diplomatic mission to Konoha to express Sunagakure's goodwill."
"Yes, Lord Kazekage."
The Sunagakure Anbu ninja beside him bowed slightly, then flickered away.
Rasa picked up an intelligence scroll on Uchiha Minamoto and read it over and over.
"Is there really something especially nourishing about Konoha's land and water?
"What the hell has Sunagakure's endless yellow sand raised?!"
Amegakure.
The Akatsuki base.
The mental space of the Magic Lantern Body Technique.
Several figures slowly took shape atop the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path's ten fingers.
Pain's pale purple Rinnegan slowly swept over everyone present.
"Zetsu, report."
"Heeheehee~"
White Zetsu let out a cheerful laugh.
"Today's intelligence is spectacular. It'll absolutely exceed your wildest imagination."
"Quit keeping us in suspense. Spit it out."
Juzo Biwa spoke impatiently.
"I still have to get back to the