Summer of the 43rd Year of Konoha's Calendar.
With Kumogakure launching an all-out war against Konohagakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure, the Third Great Shinobi War was now raging across the continent.
Iwagakure, seemingly prepared for this moment, shifted its focus to the front lines against Konoha and Kumo after Kusagakure proved too weak to be of use.
As for Sunagakure... things weren't looking great.
It seemed the major shinobi villages had, intentionally or not, chosen the Land of Wind as their main battleground. The moment war erupted, forces from all sides poured into the desert.
Sunagakure's shinobi were bitter about this—after all, it was their homeland being trampled by foreign forces. But what could they do?
Nothing but grit their teeth and bear it.
Weak nations have no voice.
Right now, their only hope was to ensure Sunagakure survived this war. Everything else would have to wait.
That autumn, Kirigakure crossed the sea and formally declared war on Konoha. They repeatedly harassed Sunagakure's forces near the border, seemingly trying to provoke open conflict. Yet, despite the aggression, a full-scale battle never broke out.
Clearly, Kirigakure had something else in mind.
With all five great villages now engaged, the entire shinobi world had been dragged into war.
On the Kumo Front—
After another brutal skirmish, Rasa collapsed in the desert, mentally and physically drained. When was the last time he'd panned for gold?
Every time he left the battlefield, all he wanted was to lie down and rest. It had been a while since he made any progress in his training.
And as for looting the battlefield? This wasn't like fighting in Kusagakure's territory.
Each village had its own rules. Picking through enemy corpses here was practically suicide. Once a battle ended, cleanup squads came in immediately—there was no time to loot.
In Kusagakure, sure, he'd been able to fight and loot at the same time. But here?
Way too risky.
Try that here, and the Kumo shinobi—those battle-crazed muscle-heads—would tear him apart.
These were the kinds of maniacs who charged shirtless into war.
Especially their Third Raikage. The man had a reputation for being short-tempered and brash, but people whispered that, behind closed doors, he was kind and wise—a doting old man.
Yeah, right.
This was the same man who would one day march solo into Iwagakure territory and fight ten thousand shinobi by himself.
Not exactly the forgiving type.
If they caught him desecrating Kumo corpses, there'd be no question—by the next day, the Raikage himself would lead a sneak assault on Sunagakure's rear lines.
"Rasa, of course you're here."
Just as Rasa was lost in thought, two familiar figures approached: Chiyo and Ebizō, both with serious expressions.
They glanced around and dropped their voices.
"We need to discuss something important."
"...?"
Rasa raised an eyebrow.
Maybe it was because he'd been considered a contender for the Fourth Kazekage lately, but the two advisors had been including him in war meetings more often. Probably trying to build up his credibility.
Still, this was an odd time for a meeting.
Were they planning a surprise attack?
"We're considering infiltrating Kumo's rear lines," said Ebizō, eyes sharp. "If we can strike a vital point, we might be able to divert their attention."
Rasa blinked.
So it really was a suicide mission.
He stared at Ebizō, unsure what to say. Sure, Sunagakure was on the back foot, but this... was madness.
Did they seriously think sneaking behind enemy lines was easy?
Before he could speak, Ebizō cut him off.
"Don't try to talk us out of it. You know as well as we do—if this keeps dragging on, Sunagakure won't last."
Unlike the other villages, Sunagakure had no real support from the rear. Their supply lines were nearly bone-dry.
No food. No funding. No manpower.
They had no choice but to end the war quickly. A drawn-out fight would be their death.
"This war between Kumo, Konoha, and Iwa... this is the only opening we'll get to shift the tide," Ebizō continued.
Rasa didn't argue. He knew it was true.
War was expensive.
And Sunagakure was broke.
They were short on everything—money, talent, water, food.
Just a few days ago, he'd asked Chiyo for more funding to reinforce village defenses. She'd turned him down flat.
Food prices were rising by the day. There were even times when money couldn't buy supplies at all. A team of Suna shinobi sent to procure food had been forced to beg the Daimyo's palace for aid.
Even then, the food they finally got had cost several times the market price.
Who knew how much those miserly officials had skimmed off the top?
The reality was grim: even Rasa, willing to spend his own fortune for Sunagakure's sake, couldn't keep up.
Ebizō wasn't wrong.
If this dragged on, who knew what would happen?
They couldn't survive on hope and gold dust alone.
After a long pause, Rasa looked up, eyes serious.
"How exactly are you planning to pull this off?"
Chiyo stepped forward, eyes narrowing into a sly smile.
"By doing what we do best."
"...Puppets?"
"Poison."
End of July, Year 43
Rasa was appointed acting commander-in-chief, while Chiyo and Ebizō returned to the village to oversee logistics and keep things stable on the home front.
"Is everyone here?"
Seated at the head of the war room table, Rasa looked over the injured but determined shinobi gathered before him—bandaged and battle-worn.
"I assume the messengers explained the situation to you all?"
A shinobi spoke hesitantly, "Why are Chiyo-sama and Ebizō-sama returning to the village at such a critical time?"
Was something happening back home?
"To ensure victory—and to make sure we have a stable rear line," Rasa said with a calm smile. "That's why they've left the front to us. It's up to us now to hold this border."
No need to mention the infiltration mission. Too many ears in the room.
As his voice faded—
"Understood, Lord Rasa!"
The Suna shinobi snapped to attention, voices united.
"We'll carry out your orders without fail!"
Finally.
He'd waited a long time to hear that.
Rasa narrowed his eyes and smiled, nodding slowly.
"In that case... for now, I want everyone to shift their focus—"
He paused, then dropped the bomb.
"—to gold panning."
"...???"
Wait, what?
The room fell into stunned silence as Rasa smiled serenely.
Gold panning?!