Amid the sweeping sandstorms and fierce winds, the yellow earth-toned buildings of Sunagakure loomed faintly in the distance.
Above the Kazekage's office tower—
A swirling mass of thick golden sand rapidly gathered into a vortex.
In the blink of an eye, it formed the tall figure of a man dressed in a tan suit, a black coat draped over his shoulders.
"He really is that tall…"
Chiyo, Ebizō, and the other elders all looked visibly stunned.
Three meters sounded impressive on paper—but seeing it with their own eyes was another matter entirely.
Standing in front of him, Chiyo wasn't even as tall as Crocodile's leg. She was only 1.49 meters tall.
Of course, Crocodile hadn't always been this tall.
Back then, he had stood at most 2.53 meters. But through intense physical training and a steady diet of high-nutrition food provided without limit by Army Headquarters, he had grown another 40 centimeters or so.
"You must be the Sand Release user who captured the Third Raikage alive in Rōran?"
As the highest-ranking figure present, Chiyo naturally stepped forward, taking her place beside Rasa, who was still controlling the alert-ready Gold Dust. Her expression was grim as she asked the question.
"I'm Chiyo, a senior advisor of Sunagakure. And you are?"
"Chiyo…"
Crocodile recalled the intelligence he had read on the Shinobi World and quickly matched it to the person before him.
Not that the intel had been very detailed.
It only listed her name, gender, estimated age, title, and a few combat styles and jutsu she could use.
Not much at all. Barely anything, really.
"Very well—you're qualified to speak with me."
He first acknowledged Chiyo's standing, then grinned broadly. "I am Crocodile, the King of all Deserts."
"The King of the Desert?!"
Chiyo, Rasa, and the others froze. What was that supposed to mean?
"After my battle with the so-called Sage of Six Paths long ago, I've been slumbering beneath the Land of Rōran. But I was rudely awakened by that Raikage fellow."
Crocodile recited his fabricated backstory without the slightest change in expression.
"After casually disposing of him, I thought—since I'm already awake, why not return to the Shinobi World and lead my people to conquer it once and for all?"
Of course, this was exactly the sort of performance he enjoyed.
And judging by the stunned expressions on Chiyo, Rasa, and the others, it seemed to be working quite well.
He battled the Sage of Six Paths?
Slept beneath Rōran for centuries?
Casually defeated the Third Raikage?
Conquer the world?
These four key points instantly elevated Crocodile's aura to an overwhelming level, leaving the elders gathered on the rooftop thoroughly dazed.
"Ahem…"
Thankfully, Rasa recovered first. In a deep voice, he asked, "So you mean… you're not a mortal either? You've been asleep since the Sage of Six Paths' era?"
Crocodile smiled slightly and didn't answer right away. Instead, he transformed into a swirl of golden sand and reappeared right in front of them in an instant—causing both Rasa and Chiyo to instinctively retreat several steps.
"Do I look like a mortal to you?"
The reduced distance made his towering three-meter frame and imposing build all the more striking to Sunagakure's leadership.
Rasa, Chiyo, and Ebizō all fell silent.
He had a point.
That kind of physique couldn't possibly belong to an ordinary human. And considering he had mentioned the Sage of Six Paths… perhaps he really was some ancient god or celestial being brought back to life.
Of course—
As shinobi, they still held onto a sliver of doubt.
"And when you say 'conquer the world,' you mean…?" Ebizō asked hesitantly.
"Exactly what it sounds like. I will lead you—and the entire Land of Wind—to conquer the Shinobi World. Aside from Rōran, no other nation shall remain!"
Crocodile assumed a posture of grand ambition.
Seeing his display, Chiyo felt like she understood him a little better now. Most likely, he had once attempted to conquer the Shinobi World back in his era, only to be defeated by the Sage of Six Paths.
But then again—
In this era, there was no longer a Sage of Six Paths. And if this man could easily defeat the Third Raikage, perhaps there truly was no one who could stop him.
In that case, wouldn't Sunagakure…
At that thought, a surge of emotion welled up in Chiyo's heart.
Because she saw hope.
Hope for avenging her son, her daughter-in-law, and her grandson!
She still didn't know exactly how Sasori had disappeared, but she had always believed Konohagakure had something to do with it.
That suspicion wasn't just because her son and daughter-in-law had died at the hands of Konoha's Hatake Sakumo. It also had to do with the fact that the latter had suddenly died by suicide in Konoha last year.
Chiyo didn't believe the suicide story one bit.
Hatake Sakumo was a powerful shinobi whose strength could rival that of the Kage from any village—how could someone like that just kill himself out of nowhere?
And conveniently, the Third Kazekage and Sasori had also gone missing last year.
How coincidental was that?
But was it really a coincidence?
Chiyo didn't believe it for a second. She was certain Hatake Sakumo had infiltrated their village, killed both the Third Kazekage and Sasori while they were outside, and was seriously injured in the process. He must have died shortly after returning to Konoha.
Konoha then faked a story about Sakumo committing suicide to cover up their crime of sending someone to assassinate the Kazekage.
Her son, her daughter-in-law, and her grandson had all died at the hands of Hatake Sakumo. But since Sakumo was already dead, Chiyo could only transfer all her hatred onto Konohagakure itself.
Yet Sunagakure was weak, and they had no Kazekage.
She simply had no way to exact revenge on Konoha. So every day, she could only mope about and go fishing with her younger brother outside the village.
But now—
Crocodile's strength, and his ambition, had given her hope.
Gripped by this desperate hope, she found herself no longer so concerned about the truth of his self-proclaimed identity—so long as he didn't harm Sunagakure, it didn't matter.
"So, Lord Crocodile, are you planning to become the Kazekage of Sunagakure?"
It was at this moment that Rasa suddenly spoke, though his tone carried a hint of nervousness.
"You should be calling me Your Majesty now!"
Crocodile let out a cold snort from above, his tone haughty and commanding.
[BOOM——————]
Suddenly—
A forceful, overbearing aura erupted from him, surging outward like a tempest far more violent than the sandstorm surrounding them.
In an instant—
The heavens and earth over Sunagakure shifted once again.
Already dim from the swirling yellow sand, the light grew even darker and more obscure under the roar of the wind.
Even visible purple lightning flickered in and out of the air, crackling with sharp pzzzt sounds.
"This is…"
"Wind Release?"
"No—it's a mental shock! A genjutsu?!"
In front of Crocodile, Rasa, Chiyo, Ebizō, and the rest of Sunagakure's elders all turned pale as they struggled to withstand both the violent wind pressure and the spiritual impact washing over them.
They were all jōnin-level shinobi, so they didn't faint under the pressure of his Conqueror's Haki.
[Thud! Thud! Thud!]
But down in the streets and alleys of Sunagakure—and among the ninja patrolling or standing guard on rooftops—anyone who wasn't at least jōnin-level was rolling their eyes back and collapsing to the ground.
And the affected area was expanding at an alarming rate.
"This is what you call presence. Watch your words from now on."
Seeing that it was enough, Crocodile slowly withdrew the Conqueror's Haki he had only recently mastered.
At the same time, he took out a cigar, placed it between his lips, and lit it with a lighter. A small red glow flared to life.
"As for the position of Kazekage, I don't need it. After all, this Land of Wind was a nation I founded back in the day. In a moment, I'll be heading over to make the current daimyō step down."
He exhaled a long stream of white smoke, looking down on the shocked Rasa and the others.
"My purpose here today is twofold. First, to meet with you all. Second, to get you prepared."
"Prepared for what?"
Chiyo asked in a low voice, her expression filled with unease.
"To elect a new Kazekage as soon as possible… and prepare to launch a conquest war."
Crocodile spoke in his deep, magnetic voice, calm and unhurried: "From now on… you're all under my command. Got that?"
According to the intel provided by the World Government, he had already gained a decent understanding of this shinobi world's class structure and political system.
Perhaps the other officers in the army weren't very interested in such things—
But he wasn't like them.
That's why he set his sights directly on the daimyō of the Land of Wind.
He had noticed the inexplicably strong influence these daimyō had over the shinobi villages. So, the first step would be to eliminate the daimyō in a way that seemed justified.
Then, using the Land of Wind and Sunagakure as the foundation, he would ignite a civil war within the shinobi world.
That way, the World Government wouldn't need to rush to send in a massive army.
As for military strength—
Crocodile had already resolved that problem on the spot!
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