Chapter 154: Daimyō’s Pressure

Unlike last time, when the Daimyō had merely sent his samurai general, Oda, to deliver a letter in secret, this time, the scene was grand and ostentatious.

Although the leader of the entourage was still the same samurai, Oda, the sheer scale of the procession upon entering Sunagakure made it clear that the Daimyō had a specific agenda, especially at such a critical moment.

Sunagakure, Kazekage's Office.

As the Kazekage, Rasa once again met with the Daimyō's trusted aide, Oda. However, this time, there was an additional elderly figure standing beside him.

As per protocol, Oda retrieved a handwritten letter from the Daimyō. Then, the newly arrived elder immediately spoke in an arrogant tone, questioning Rasa.

"Kazekage-dono, I am Aoki Yasunao, a close advisor to the Daimyō. I have come to Sunagakure under the Daimyō's orders. His Excellency wishes to personally ask you; why has Sunagakure sabotaged the alliance with Kumogakure and Iwagakure? Kazekage-dono, do you even understand what you are doing?!"

The moment these words fell, Baki and Sēramu, who stood beside Rasa, immediately darkened their expressions.

Rasa was their village's Kage, yet this man, Aoki Yasunao, had the audacity to question him in such a tone!

However, Rasa acted as though he hadn't heard a word, merely scanning through the Daimyō's letter with a thoughtful gaze.

He couldn't ignore how perfectly timed the Daimyō's envoy had arrived, so perfectly that it didn't feel like a coincidence.

Considering that this alliance had originally been proposed by the Daimyō himself, it seemed that the Daimyō's dissatisfaction with Sunagakure was far greater than Rasa had initially expected!

From the way things looked, Sunagakure's past submissiveness to the Daimyō had truly made him believe the village was nothing more than his personal retainer to command as he pleased.

Seeing that Rasa had remained silent for so long, Aoki Yasunao became even more displeased.

"Kazekage-dono, why do you not answer me? Do not forget, I speak to you on behalf of His Excellency the Daimyō!"

Baki's anger was now completely visible, and Sēramu stepped forward as if to speak, only for Rasa to raise a hand to stop him. Meanwhile, the samurai, Oda, merely sat there silently, observing.

Rasa calmly set the letter aside and turned his gaze toward the elderly man, his expression now cold.

"Aoki Yasunao, is it? Let me ask you, on behalf of which Daimyō are you speaking to me? The Daimyō of the Land of Lightning? Or perhaps the Daimyō of the Land of Earth?"

Aoki Yasunao's brow furrowed immediately.

"Kazekage-dono, are you a fool? Or are you mocking me?!"

"Hmph."

Rasa let out a faint snort, further irritating the old man, before he slowly replied.

"Whether I am a fool or not, I know myself. But as for some others, I am not so sure."

Aoki Yasunao's expression darkened.

"Kazekage, what do you mean by that?"

"What do I mean? You claim to be a close advisor to the Daimyō of the Land of Wind, yet you come here spouting nonsense without even investigating the situation first. Tell me, are all of His Excellency's aides as incompetent as you?"

Rasa's unreserved words left Aoki Yasunao trembling with rage, his eyes widening in disbelief.

It was as if he had never imagined that the Kazekage would dare to speak to him in such a manner!

"Kazekage, how atrocious of you to call me useless and insult His Excellency the Daimyō! If you don't give me an explanation, I will report everything that has happened here to the Daimyō!"

"An explanation? As the Kazekage of Sunagakure, why should I explain myself to you? You come here spewing nonsense without even investigating the situation first. That a useless old man like you can still remain by the Daimyō's side… how pathetic."

"You… you…!"

Aoki Yasunao was so furious that his mustache bristled, his eyes widening in rage.

At that moment, Oda, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke.

"Kazekage-dono, you've gone too far. Aoki Yasunao is- "

However, before he could finish, he felt an overwhelming, ominous pressure envelop him. Looking up, he met Rasa's cold, piercing gaze. In that instant, Oda was reminded that the man before him was no ordinary shinobi. He was the Kazekage, one of the most powerful figures in the ninja world.

"Too far?"

Rasa's voice was like a blade.

"Oda-san, tell me, what part of what I said was incorrect? Is this old man not a useless fool? Or do you agree with what he's been saying?"

Oda, sensing Rasa's imposing stance, felt a chill in his heart. He now realized that the Daimyō's request would not be as simple as he had initially thought. Still, he steadied himself and spoke.

"Kazekage-dono, Aoki Yasunao was indeed a bit impatient, but he does have a point. I have heard about what happened between Sunagakure and the shinobi of Kumogakure and Iwagakure. However, in the grand scheme of the Three Nations Alliance, these conflicts can be set aside. After all, the Land of Fire's territory is incredibly fertile. If our three nations join forces, we will surely defeat Konoha and divide the Land of Fire among ourselves."

Instead of refuting him, Rasa simply asked,

"Oda-san, you keep talking about the alliance of the Three Great Nations, about defeating Konoha and splitting up the Land of Fire… But let me ask you, what makes you think that, after we defeat Konoha, the Lands of Lightning and Earth will allow the Land of Wind to take a share of the spoils?"

Oda was momentarily stunned, while Aoki Yasunao immediately found an opportunity to jump in.

"Of course we have an agreement!"

"An agreement? So the Land of Wind has already officially allied with the Lands of Lightning and Earth?"

"Not yet, that's exactly why I'm here, to finalize this matter! If Sunagakure doesn't first ally with Kumogakure and Iwagakure, how can we talk about the larger Three Nations Alliance?"

Rasa ignored the foolish old man entirely and instead directed his words toward the slightly more reasonable Oda.

"Oda-san, do you know how many registered shinobi currently serve Sunagakure?"

Now understanding where Rasa was going with this, Oda calmed himself and asked,

"How many?"

"Even with the recent growth in our village's strength and the latest batch of academy graduates, we barely have 4,000 shinobi in total. Do you know how many shinobi Kumogakure and Iwagakure have? Not even counting those they've hidden away, just the number they've sent to the Konoha battlefield alone, Kumogakure has over 10,000, while Iwagakure has 8,000."

!!!

Both Oda and Aoki Yasunao were visibly shocked.

"The difference is that large?"

Oda murmured in disbelief.

Aoki Yasunao, on the other hand, snapped back in frustration.

"Kazekage! Isn't that your fault? What have you been doing with the funds His Excellency allocated to Sunagakure? Why is the village's shinobi force so small?"

"Idiot."

Rasa shot the old man a disdainful look before turning back to Oda.

"Training shinobi takes time. It has only been eight years since the last Great Ninja War. Sunagakure suffered heavy losses, and it's impossible to fully replenish our forces in such a short period. Especially in an environment as harsh as ours."

Then, Rasa shifted his gaze to Aoki Yasunao.

"Rather than standing here questioning me, Aoki-san, why don't you go back and persuade the Daimyō to allocate more funds to our military?"

Without waiting for the old man's furious response, Rasa turned back to Oda and continued.

"Please inform His Excellency the Daimyō that, given Sunagakure's current strength, even if our three nations join forces, the Land of Wind will not be the one to claim the largest share of the spoils. In fact, we might end up disappearing entirely. Because war means casualties, and Sunagakure cannot afford another war."