My Journey as Fourth Kazekage

Rasa wasn't one to wear rose-colored glasses. He had no intention of helping Ōnoki rediscover some lost sense of self. Seeing the old man's dismissive attitude, Rasa shot back without hesitation.

"You…"

Ōnoki's expression soured immediately, but this time, he didn't go so far as to call Rasa a "brat" with that same condescending tone. He simply sank back into his seat, looking like he'd lost the desire to voice any more complaints.

"Fine by me."

The Third Raikage didn't waste any time making his decision. He shifted his attention to the Third Tsuchikage.

"Ōnoki, what about you? Don't forget, we now share a common enemy."

Ōnoki clearly wasn't bothered by the threat itself. However, he was a man who always weighed the benefits carefully. The deal Rasa was proposing wasn't a bad one for Iwagakure—it actually lined up pretty well with their interests.

The lingering shadow of Madara Uchiha's past actions on Ōnoki was far too heavy to ignore, and anything that could weaken, or even bring down, Konoha was a deal too sweet to pass up.

As for the mercenaries?

Ōnoki wasn't blind to the situation. He saw it for what it was: if he could solve this problem with money rather than sacrificing the lives of his own ninja, it was a no-brainer.

"No problem. I agree too."

With Ōnoki's agreement, the meeting wrapped up far more smoothly than anyone had anticipated.

Now, the only thing left was to sort out the finer details. But that was no longer their concern.

Once the general framework of the cooperation had been established, the specifics were to be handled by their subordinates back home in their villages.

As a sign of goodwill, the ninjas from each village began to leave, and the Kage returned to their respective camps.

With the cooperation in place, the next step was to focus on preparing for an assault on the Land of Fire.

Of course, Konoha's spies wouldn't miss this, and the ninja world was already starting to buzz with the news.

Meanwhile, in Sunagakure, the ninjas were withdrawing in groups, but Rasa didn't seem in a rush to leave.

"Are you really sure you want to meet with the leader of this Akatsuki organization?"

In the Sunagakure camp,

Michikawa, who had already been preparing to leave, asked with a touch of hesitation.

From Michikawa's perspective, it didn't make much sense for Rasa, the Kazekage, to want to meet with the leader of the Akatsuki. To him, it seemed like a small, naive group of kids running some kind of half-baked operation.

"Mm, since I've already agreed, there's no harm in meeting them."

"I see."

Since Rasa had already made up his mind, Michikawa figured he wouldn't be able to change his stance.

"Then I'll leave with the village's ninjas first."

"Mm. Make sure you're ready. The battle with Konoha is next."

Just then, Pakura arrived. Rasa had assumed she was coming to say her goodbyes, just like Michikawa, but to his surprise, she chose to stay.

"???"

Seeing Rasa's confused look, Pakura rolled her eyes and gave him an explanation, somewhat with rosy cheeks.

"Just in case, I'll stay behind to protect you. I… don't want you to end up like the Third…"

Her words sounded caring, but Rasa couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. What did she mean by "like the Third"?

"There's no need. With Baki and Yashamaru around, we won't run into any problems."

Pakura shot him a look, clearly not pleased by his dismissal.

"No… I'll stay. On one hand, I'm the one handling the communication with the Akatsuki. On the other hand, I'd like to meet this Akatsuki brat myself…"

At this point, Rasa couldn't exactly refuse.

The two of them left the camp together.

As Michikawa led the rest of the village's ninjas away, the camp slowly started to lose its structure, growing more disorganized and scattered.

Pakura watched the exhausted ninjas depart, and for some reason, a thought crossed her mind. She turned to Rasa with a question.

"Do you think there will ever be true peace in the ninja world?"

"Peace?"

Rasa looked at Pakura in confusion. She wore a melancholy expression, her face marked by a sense of disillusionment.

"Why do you ask that?"

Pakura's voice softened as she responded.

"I don't know why, but it feels like, in my memory, this world has always been at war—or preparing for it…"

She slipped into a nostalgic tone, as though lost in thought.

"When I was born, the First Great Ninja War had just ended. I was too young to understand war back then, and I thought it was just grown-ups fighting. That was the happiest time of my life—until thirteen years ago. I had just graduated as a Genin when the Second Great Ninja War broke out. I was twelve, and I joined the war as a lowly Genin. I still remember my first time killing someone."

She closed her eyes, pausing for a moment before reopening them.

"That was when I understood what war really meant—death. And from that moment on, in my memory, the battlefield has never stopped. There have always been dead bodies—my teammates, my family, my teachers… all of them died in that war. I thought, once that war ended, maybe the ninja world would find some peace. But just a few years later, another war started."

Though Rasa had the original host's memories, as a transmigrator, he couldn't truly empathize with Pakura. He wanted to comfort her, to tell her that one day, war would end, but knowing how things played out in the future, Rasa knew that was a lie.

Even if the Third Great Ninja War ended, there would be the Fourth. And after the battle with Kaguya Otsutsuki, the Otsutsuki clan would return. War, it seemed, would never truly stop.

Pakura must've sensed Rasa's discomfort, because she smiled awkwardly.

"Is it really that hard to answer my question?"

Rasa paused for a moment, then nodded slowly.

"It is. The existence of ninjas is meant to serve war, and human desires will never stop. As long as there are desires, war will never end."

"Never end?"

Pakura's face grew even more somber.

"Exactly."

Rasa gave a slow nod, but then added something to soften the blow.

"While war may never end, we can try to make peace last longer. But... these methods are difficult."

Pakura suddenly turned to look at Rasa, intrigued.

"What methods?"

Rasa's answer was straightforward.

"It's simple. Either we find a common enemy to unite all the ninjas against, so war doesn't break out so easily, or we unify all the divided nations for a permanent solution."

Pakura's face became serious as the weight of Rasa's words sank in. Both options seemed nearly impossible—finding a common enemy or unifying the entire ninja world? Neither seemed likely.

"Do you really think it's possible?"

"Who knows~"

Rasa didn't answer directly. Instead, he looked out toward the horizon.

"Maybe one day, we'll be the ones to achieve that goal..."

Pakura was taken aback. Her eyes gleamed as she stared at Rasa, a flicker of something unreadable in her gaze. She opened her mouth, as if to ask something, but for some reason, the words never left her lips.

Just then, Rasa turned back, a smile curling on his face as he said,

"Well, let's stop daydreaming. Looks like our guest has arrived."

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