Rasa caught his breath, anger and helplessness mingling in his heart.
Finding an excuse to wipe out the Black Scorpion and Night Sand clans and reclaim some of the Kazekage's authority would already have been a huge gain.
But then Hoshino had stirred up more trouble, throwing everything that would follow into complete disarray.
The other factions of the Red Sand Clan would never let the matter rest.
If they weren't careful from here on, Sunagakure would surely descend into chaos. It wasn't even impossible that it would fall apart entirely.
If that happened, he would become a sinner in Sunagakure's eyes.
"Hoshino, you were using the One-Tail's power in that state just now, weren't you?"
"I don't know how you did it, but there's no way you can keep it up for long!"
"Still, your strength really did reach Kage Level, so you can have privileges. Giving them a lesson, killing a few people, and making your presence as Sunagakure's rising star known-that's no problem!"
"But you wiped out one of their factions tonight. That will only enrage them completely, and might even spark a civil conflict across all of Sunagakure."
Rasa stared hard at Hoshino, trying to make him understand the gravity of the situation.
But what he hadn't expected was this.
Hoshino still wore that faint smile, seemingly unshaken by the warnings.
He gently patted Hizuki on the shoulder, signaling her to step back, then slowly walked toward Rasa.
"Lord Kazekage, you're right. The Red Sand Clan really isn't comparable to Black Scorpion or Night Sand."
Hoshino's tone was calm, as though he were discussing the most ordinary matter.
"But have you considered that it's precisely because the Red Sand Clan's influence is so vast that the village has fallen into its current predicament?"
Rasa frowned and said coldly, "What do you mean by that?"
Hoshino smiled and continued, "The Red Sand Clan's existence has already seriously hindered the village's development. They've even tied the Kazekage's hands."
"Don't you think a situation like that poses a tremendous hidden danger to the village?"
Hearing this, Rasa fell silent for a moment, a complicated look flashing in his eyes.
Of course he knew how the Red Sand Clan's existence affected the village.
But the Red Sand Clan's influence was deeply rooted. Pull one hair and the whole body moved; the slightest misstep would throw the village into turmoil.
That was why he had never dared to act against the Red Sand Clan lightly.
"Hoshino, I admit you have a point, but this really isn't as simple as you think."
Rasa sighed, a hint of helplessness in his voice.
"Acting rashly will only trigger a civil conflict in the village, and what you did tonight has already made the situation uncontrollable."
Hoshino shook his head. "Lord Kazekage, you're wrong."
"It's precisely because the Red Sand Clan's influence is so vast that we have to act now."
"Otherwise, once their influence expands further, the village's future will be even harder to control."
Rasa's frown deepened.
He stared at Hoshino, trying to read something in his eyes.
But Hoshino's gaze remained calm, and he still wore a faint smile, as though everything were under his control.
"What exactly are you trying to do?" Rasa asked in a low voice.
Hoshino said slowly, "Lord Kazekage, not counting the Tailed Beast, the village now has three Kage Level individuals."
"You're the Kazekage, representing the village's legitimate authority. Grandma Chiyo is my elder, and I'm confident I can keep her neutral!"
"And I, as the third Kage Level individual, am willing to work with you to completely eliminate the Red Sand Clan's influence and reorganize the village's power structure."
Surprise flashed in Rasa's eyes.
He hadn't expected Hoshino's ambitions to be so great.
At the same time, he felt that Hoshino perhaps still didn't understand just how extensive the Red Sand Clan's influence was.
"Hoshino, you want to uproot the Red Sand Clan completely, but do you know how many of the village's ninja and villagers that would involve?"
"Never mind anything else! Tell me, do you know how many Jonin there are in the village altogether?" Rasa asked.
After pondering for a moment, Hoshino answered, "Not counting the ones hidden by various factions, there are about seventy known Jonin in the village."
"That's right!" Rasa nodded. "To be precise, there are seventy-three Jonin on record."
"Fifteen of them belong to the Red Sand Clan. They have roughly five to eight hidden Jonin, bringing their total to over twenty."
"Besides them, there are roughly a dozen civilian Jonin on good terms with the Red Sand Clan. Either they owe the clan a favor, or the clan promoted them outright."
Rasa continued, "And that's just the number of Jonin. As for ninja below Jonin level, the Red Sand Clan can mobilize around a thousand."
"You have to understand, the entire village only has seven thousand ninja!"
"How many people do you think a time-limited Kage Level fighter like you can kill?"
After listening to Rasa, the smile gradually faded from Hoshino's face, and his brow furrowed slightly.
He had indeed known that the Red Sand Clan's influence was vast, but he hadn't expected it to be vast to this extent.
The Red Sand Clan and its allies had nearly thirty Jonin and an army of over a thousand ninja, while the entire village had only seven thousand ninja in total.
That meant the Red Sand Clan controlled nearly a fifth of the village's fighting strength.
They were already fully capable of fighting a civil war.
"Lord Kazekage, you're right. The Red Sand Clan's influence really does far exceed my estimates."
Seeing this, Rasa breathed a small sigh of relief.
He had thought Hoshino would continue stubbornly clinging to his own views, but hadn't expected him to calm down and recognize the gravity of the problem.
"Hoshino, you understand now, don't you?" Rasa's tone held a note of admonition.
"While the matter hasn't blown up yet, and with the human experiments as an excuse, I can still help you mediate. At most, we can end this by giving them some compensation."
"What do you think?"
With that, Rasa looked at Hoshino with hope written all over his face, hoping he would agree.
As for compensation, either the Chakra Crystal technology or the method of using a Tailed Beast's power without side effects would be enough to get both sides to shake hands and make peace.
But what he hadn't expected was that Hoshino's stubbornness would far exceed his expectations.
"I don't think much of it!"
Hoshino shook his head and looked at Rasa with a resolute gaze.
"Yes, I admit the Red Sand Clan's influence really is vast, but of the thousand-plus ninja you mentioned, at least eight hundred are civilian ninja, aren't they?"
"And those Jonin aren't necessarily a solid block either."
Rasa frowned slightly, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes. His hands were crossed, his fingers unconsciously tapping the back of one hand.
Hoshino was indeed right.
Excluding the dozens who had died tonight, the Red Sand Clan still had over ten Jonin and more than a hundred ninja from the clan itself.
If that were the case, he and Hoshino together were enough to wipe them out.
But he couldn't count it that way!
The Red Sand clansmen were spread throughout various departments, and some weren't even in the village. It would be difficult to catch them all in one net.
Especially after tonight, once they received word, they would surely pool the resources at their disposal and retaliate.
When that happened, they would only be harder to deal with.