"The Suna shinobi have gone insane! Completely insane!"
"They're killing enemies and then dragging the bodies off. What the hell are they trying to do?"
"Maybe… they're gathering intel?"
"Intel my ass. They're even capturing Genin. What intel could a Genin possibly have? And last time—someone saw them strip one!"
"That's… seriously messed up."
"Mutilating corpses… Tch. Who would've thought Suna shinobi were into that kind of thing?"
"Have you noticed? Almost everyone they've taken out... were from our side."
The group of Grass shinobi fell silent. Eyes widened. Tension built.
And then—
"They've gone too far! This is a direct insult to Grass!"
The fury finally boiled over.
"We'll make them pay! Sunagakure will learn not to trample on us!"
Meanwhile…
Rasa, having pocketed another tidy sum from the spoils of war, felt surprisingly at ease. The frustration of the past few days had faded. Still, he wasn't stupid. Hogging all the profits would only drive his subordinates away. After all, if you keep sending your men into battle just to take everything they win, no one will fight for you for long.
So, after divvying up the loot, Rasa split it into ten shares. He kept nine "on behalf of the village," of course. The last share was distributed among the rest.
Each shinobi only got a few silver pieces—but they were thrilled to receive anything at all.
And as for why he took so much?
"I'm only keeping my rightful share," Rasa declared, expression solemn, eyes gleaming with righteousness. "The rest? That's for the village. Every coin will be used to strengthen Sunagakure. I, Rasa, swear it—not a single ryo will go to waste!"
I, Rasa, have always been a man of my word—always!
As he glanced at the rewards screen, already lining up another eighty-plus consecutive draws, Rasa could hardly contain his satisfaction. This feels amazing.
He cleared his throat, noting the admiring looks from his subordinates.
"I've stored the money safely in my ninja pouch," he said with a sigh, shaking his head with fake reluctance. "No need to worry. With me, it's safer than anywhere. I swear it on the late Third Kazekage!"
Believe me, everything I do is for Sunagakure!
Even if he had to spend money like water… it was all to protect the village!
Spring, Year 43 of the Hidden Leaf Calendar.
For unknown reasons, the war on the borders of Kusagakure had begun to cool down. Grass shinobi no longer dared to challenge anyone outside the frontlines.
Oddly enough, Iwagakure had started getting louder, almost eager for battle. Every time they deployed, they tried dragging Kusagakure's forces along—but Grass refused them outright, every time.
According to intel brought back by scouting teams, relations between Iwa and Kusa had soured. Badly.
Reportedly, the conflict went something like this:
"Why didn't you help me when I was under attack? Aren't we supposed to be allies?!"
Kusa shinobi were furious at how often they'd been targeted by Suna—while Iwa stood back and did nothing.
As for Iwa's response?
"We didn't know anything about that."
Rasa, of course, didn't care what excuses either side had. All he saw was that squeezing Grass shinobi for cash was a very lucrative business.
When it became clear that the small Grass village was actually richer than Suna—one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations—it sparked real outrage among the Suna forces.
Back in the days of the First Kazekage, they'd boldly demanded land and money from the so-called "God of Shinobi." So really, this envy was nothing new. It was part of the "Will of Sand."
If you don't grow thick skin, how do you survive in the desert?
This was exactly why Suna had been quick to stir trouble in the last two Great Ninja Wars. Konoha had more missions, more money, more talent, and more power.
Who else were they supposed to pick a fight with?
So when they realized beating up Grass shinobi paid more than regular missions, the choice was obvious.
They went all in.
Rasa even started dragging off the barely-alive Kusa shinobi after battles and—each night—auctioned them off at the border.
Grass was livid. But they couldn't do a damn thing about it.
Iwa, for some reason, stayed silent—completely ignoring their so-called allies. At this point, the alliance between Kusa and Iwa was effectively dead.
Rasa never dared try the same tactics with Iwa shinobi. After all, Iwagakure was a proper Great Nation—unlike Suna, which was still a poor, struggling village in the middle of the desert.
Iwagakure once mobilized over ten thousand shinobi to trap the Third Raikage. That kind of manpower said everything about their strength.
Of course, that hadn't happened yet. For all Rasa knew, Kumogakure could have exaggerated the numbers later to save face.
Still, at this stage, Suna's entire strategy was built on bullying the weak and avoiding the strong.
They had no money, few people, and even less military power. What else could they do?
In the end, Kusagakure—who'd blindly waded into this mess—paid the highest price.
Eventually, even when Rasa shouted across the border trying to auction prisoners, Kusa shinobi just ignored him.
Half a month went by without income. Suna's average earnings dropped off a cliff. Morale plummeted. and Suna-nin were getting testy, screaming across the border things like:
"Don't start a war if you can't afford one!"
"You don't even care about your own shinobi anymore. Are you guys even a real village?"
"Come to Suna! We may be broke—but gold is everywhere in our land, I swear!"
Kusa shinobi, by now, were visibly pissed.
Late spring, Leaf Year 43. Summer was fast approaching.
This spring hadn't brought as much rain as the last, which was a real disappointment to many Suna-nin hoping for a proper bath.
All they got was enough from Kana—Sunagakure's half-baked Water Release medic-nin—for a splash of water to wash their faces.
But today…
Rasa and the Suna officers were gathered inside the main command tent, awaiting a shinobi who had just arrived from Chiyo's front.
No time for bathing now.
"Lord Rasa!"
The shinobi was covered in sand and grime, clearly having rushed nonstop to get here. He bowed deeply in front of Rasa.
At this point, Rasa's status—after stomping Kusa and battering Iwa—had skyrocketed.
If nothing unexpected happened…
He was all but guaranteed to become the Fourth Kazekage.
So of course, everyone in the village treated him with the utmost respect.
Rasa nodded.
Seeing the messenger this exhausted, he frowned. "Did something happen on Lady Chiyo's front?"
Was she defeated? Did Kumogakure break through?
But just as the words left his mouth—
The shinobi dropped to one knee, lowered his head, and said respectfully:
"Lady Chiyo instructs Lord Rasa to finish any immediate tasks, then report to the front lines against Kumogakure without delay!"