Early autumn, Year 44 of the Hidden Leaf Calendar.
Kumogakure formally announced their defeat and began withdrawing all forces stationed on the Land of Wind front. They redirected most of their troops to the ongoing battlefronts against Iwagakure and Konohagakure.
As for the man once appointed by his father as the next Raikage—he had become the laughingstock of the shinobi world.
A Kage candidate, captured by the enemy and not committing suicide to preserve his honor? For most villages, that would be an unforgivable disgrace.
Of course, the fallout wasn't quite as severe as it could've been. The Third Raikage hadn't officially stepped down yet, and the Daimyō of the Land of Lightning hadn't formally issued the succession edict. Technically speaking, his son wasn't really the Raikage yet.
Still, for any other village, this would've been enough to trigger an immediate leadership change.
But Kumogakure wasn't like other villages.
The Third Raikage was the Fourth's father. On top of that, the village's Tailed Beast Jinchūriki—Killer Bee—was his little brother. Their relationship was known to be incredibly close. Trying to force a new appointment under these conditions would've torn the village apart.
Total chaos was guaranteed.
So Kumo pulled back from their front with Suna, shifting their focus entirely to the Konoha–Iwa front. Perhaps trying to reclaim some honor after the loss, the Fourth Raikage, A, was temporarily appointed commander of operations against Konoha. As for the Third Raikage—he was still locked in a constant battle of stubbornness with that other relic, the Third Tsuchikage.
Kirigakure, on the other hand, began intensifying its operations not just against Konoha—but also Sunagakure. Harassment and border raids were picking up in frequency and severity.
No one could quite figure out what those mist-shrouded lunatics were really up to, but if they wanted to fight—well, fight they would.
Konoha now found itself under enormous pressure, besieged on multiple fronts. Facing three of the Five Great Nations at once was no joke—and these weren't impoverished villages like Suna either.
So even though the war with Kumo had ended, the Third Shinobi World War was only escalating.
The flames of conflict in the shinobi world were growing.
Mid-autumn, Year 44.
The cool winds of the autumn equinox did nothing to ease the burning heat of the Land of Wind battlefields.
The situation at Pakura's front had grown increasingly dire. Chiyo had no choice but to divert a fresh unit of shinobi to reinforce her.
But Pakura lived up to her title as one of Suna's elite jōnin. Wielding the rare and deadly Scorch Release, she held the line against Kirigakure with sheer grit, even though she was outnumbered several times over.
She single-handedly killed dozens of Kiri-nin, earning a level of battlefield fame nearly rivaling that of Lord Rasa himself—though truth be told, those two trees growing outside Rasa's house might forever give him the edge.
At this point, the trees had basically become a tourist destination. The area in front of his home was always crowded and noisy.
Honestly, Rasa was starting to think he needed to find a new place to live. If this kept up, his private residence would turn into public property.
But that wasn't his biggest problem.
His biggest problem was that… Chiyo had returned.
And she'd brought back the war reparations from Kumogakure: 80 million ryō.
"That's it?"
Rasa stared blankly at her.
"We've been fighting this long, and we only got eighty million? You're seriously telling me that's all?!"
Had this old lady gone senile?
He could sell a certain someone on the black market three times over and still make more than that!
"I told you to bleed them dry!"
But Chiyo just sighed and shook her head.
"That's already more than we usually make in a year," she said, sipping her tea.
"Damn… we are broke."
"Sunagakure might be one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, but let's be honest—we're at the bottom of the list. We don't like to admit it, but that's how the rest of the world sees us. Reputation determines everything—how many missions we get, how much funding we receive, and most importantly… how much we earn."
Chiyo set her cup down, her face full of resignation.
"Two consecutive losses have done irreparable damage to our image. And that's why the Land of Wind Daimyō's office has been slashing our funding year after year. At this point, they're practically pretending we don't exist."
She looked up and smiled faintly at Rasa.
"That's why defeating Kumogakure this time was so important. I'm hoping it brings us more mission requests."
"Maybe."
Rasa didn't care much about mission volume.
High-risk S-rank missions—spying, assassination, intelligence theft—paid a few million at best and often took weeks or even years. Why risk your life for that when you could just mine gold?
Of course, as the incoming Fourth Kazekage, he couldn't say that out loud. What kind of example would that be?
But still…
How does that relate to fleecing Kumo? Shouldn't reparations be based on their economy, not ours? How am I supposed to 'misappropriate funds' for gacha pulls with this?
Chiyo froze for a second.
Then sighed.
"It's for the sake of peace."
"Wait—what? Did Kumo strong-arm us into this? Are they threatening war again?"
That didn't make sense. They still had the Fourth Raikage—locked in a sealing basin. One wrong move and Suna could parade his unconscious body in front of the world.
What could Kumo possibly do?
But then Chiyo dropped the real bomb.
"Ten years of peace," she said quietly. "Kumogakure has agreed not to attack us for the next ten years."
Rasa stared at her.
"Ten years…? That's the reason?"
Chiyo sighed again.
"In times like these, that kind of guarantee is more valuable than gold. We need time to recover."
Rasa didn't say anything.
He just sat there, staring silently at the old woman's tired face.
No contract, no treaty, no promise was more trustworthy than raw power. Suna had built its name by ignoring treaties—shredding them, in fact. That was practically their tradition.
What happened to the boldness of the First Kazekage? That man dared demand land and tribute from the Senju clan without lifting a finger, even when faced with two literal demigods!
And now here they were—winning the war and still too scared to make demands?
Besides, after the Third War ended, the entire shinobi world would enter a "phony peace"—a cold war full of backdoor dealings and silent assassinations—until the Fourth Great Shinobi War finally erupted.
No need to beg anyone for peace.
But seeing the weariness on Chiyo's face, Rasa couldn't bring himself to argue. To veterans like her, who'd lived through countless battles, peace—any peace—was something to cling to.
Even if it was meaningless.
He sighed and dropped the subject.
Eighty million ryō… it wasn't terrible for lottery rolls. But for a whole village?
They got scammed.
Still… it was better than being stabbed in the back by your own village in the name of "peace," like certain others Rasa could think of.
It still hurt, though.
Just as Rasa was wallowing in his thoughts, Chiyo set down her teacup and looked at him with that irritatingly fond "senior approval" gaze.
"Get ready. I returned from the battlefield specifically to preside over your Kazekage succession ceremony."
"It's finally happening?"
"Everything's been ready for a while. But with the Third missing, there was no one qualified to officiate—so I came back to do it myself. Oh, and by the way… Kana's back too."
"...Kana?"
Suddenly, a bad feeling welled up in Rasa's chest.
"Don't look at me like that," Chiyo said, chuckling. "I swung by your place when I returned and… well, I might have bumped into Karura there."
"..."
Rasa's expression froze.
That mischievous glint in Chiyo's eyes said it all.
This old woman... is truly ruthless.