Kakashi didn't expect Minister Fox would quiz him.
Why not continue dealing with the Kazekage?
Kakashi immediately said, "Lord Fox, Sensei Minato said the village isn't planning to send ninja troops into the Land of Rivers.
Our goal is to prevent Sunagakure from joining the war.
The ideal outcome is assassinating the Kazekage and leaving without anyone knowing.
Sensei Minato was tied up by a mysterious enemy, so the assassination failed.
If we continued to act now, forcibly killing the Kazekage, it would provoke Sunagakure's militant faction. They would use avenging the Kazekage as a pretext to accelerate the war.
Shinobi never abandon a mission because the enemy is too strong. Many would charge forward recklessly against a powerful foe.
Killing Kazekage Rasa in front of everyone now wouldn't stop the war; it would accelerate it."
Yōkō nodded and said, "Kakashi, your way of thinking is very good. You can consider the overall situation, think like a Hokage."
Uchiha Yōmomo's eyes widened in shock.
Minister Fox actually praised Kakashi so highly. Could it be Kakashi was already on the radar of the village's higher-ups, marked as a key talent for cultivation?
No wonder Kakashi became a Jōnin at twelve.
Yōkō said, "Kakashi, take Uchiha Yōmomo and Nohara Rin into hiding. The mission has encountered unexpected complications beyond your squad's capability. I'll handle things from here."
Kakashi still wanted to ask about their squad's mission but found Minister Fox had already vanished.
Inside Tori Castle in the distance, Shukaku was engaged in a fierce battle with Kazekage Rasa.
Yellow sand and gold sand collided, sand waves rolled, submerged and destroyed building after building.
Rasa felt anxious. He had to push Shukaku outside Tori Castle.
If Shukaku ran rampant and destroyed Tori Castle, the Daimyō would be unhappy. That could affect war funding.
Rasa had to waste a large amount of chakra, injecting it into the ground to create gold sand. The gold sand covered all the ground around Shukaku, pushing the beast outward.
Shukaku manipulated sand, surprised to find the gold sand was heavier than its sand, possessing considerable force.
"That Second Kazekage guy actually improved upon my Sand Manipulation to create Magnet Release. What a damnable fellow."
Shukaku had massive chakra reserves. It slammed both claws into the sand, fully merging them with the ground. The surrounding desert filled with Shukaku's chakra.
An even larger sand wave, overwhelming in quantity, surged towards Rasa.
The sand wrapped around Rasa. Shukaku bellowed:
"Got you! Desert Imperial Funeral!"
Shukaku's sand abruptly contracted, pressing inward, trying to crush Rasa.
However, the sand only crushed a gold sand sphere.
The gold sand sphere was Rasa's absolute defense, withstanding pressure from all sides.
Shukaku grew more irritated. Rasa's chakra was far less than its own, but the gold sand's quality was even higher than its own sand.
Without that layer of gold sand, Shukaku's sand could crush Rasa into pulp.
At that moment, Shukaku suddenly heard a strange voice.
"Continue. Use Desert Imperial Funeral again!"
Shukaku was puzzled. How could someone enter its soul world?
This person had deep knowledge of souls, actually able to converse with Shukaku on a soul level like the Sage of Six Paths.
"Who are you?"
"No need to concern yourself with who I am. Just answer: do you want to kill Rasa, kill the successor of the Second Kazekage Shamon, kill the leader of the Sunagakure that sealed you for thirty years?"
Shukaku's claws searched within the sand, using more chakra to create sand.
An even larger sand wave, like a waterfall, crashed into the gold sand sphere.
Inside the sphere, Rasa was very calm. Shukaku was strong but couldn't breach his absolute defense.
The Second Kazekage-sama created Magnet Release precisely to use heavier iron sand to defeat Shukaku's sand.
Just then, a grinding sound of sand made Rasa's scalp tighten.
Sand inexplicably passed through the gold sand sphere, appearing behind Rasa?
No!
Impossible!
His absolute defense gold sand sphere had no chakra flaws whatsoever.
The suddenly appearing sand crushed Rasa's joints with terrifying force.
After the initial shock, the breath in Rasa's heart escaped.
He slowly turned his head and saw another person inside his gold sand sphere.
A fox mask...
Rasa suddenly remembered when he broke out of the Wood Release: Four Giant Trees Formation, something seemed to have patted his calf.
He lost. He had lost completely.
The excruciating pain of his bones being crushed felt non-existent. Rasa asked in a flat voice:
"How will you treat Sunagakure and its ninja?"
Yōkō thought for a moment. Soon Rasa's head would be crushed; he couldn't leak information. So he said:
"Pakura will become the Fifth Kazekage and lead Sunagakure to withdraw from the war."
Rasa asked again, "Ōnoki said he wouldn't allow anyone to profit from the war between the anti-Konoha alliance and Konoha, wouldn't allow any village to stay neutral in the Third Great Shinobi War..."
"You believe Ōnoki? Would you rather believe I'm the missing Third Kazekage, or believe Ōnoki's talk about not allowing any village to profit from the conflict?"
Rasa gave a bitter laugh and let the sand swallow him.
His whole life... showing exceptional talent as a child, taken as a disciple by the Third Kazekage-sama while still in the Ninja Academy.
Never slacking off in his youth, not growing arrogant because he was the Third's disciple, training diligently in Magnet Release secret techniques daily.
In his youth, learning governance and village management from his teacher.
During the Second Great Shinobi War, although unable to defeat Konoha, he made a name for himself.
Never imagined that after becoming Kazekage, within months, he'd die a miserable death in Tori Castle.
Not worth it... This damned life wasn't worth his usual diligence and efforts...
In Tori Castle, Shukaku crouched among the collapsed city walls, puzzled as it looked at the noble mansion grounds.
The mansion had long been destroyed by sand and Wood Release. On top of the ruins lay Shukaku's thick sand.
Shukaku felt its sand had crushed something.
It withdrew the sand, revealing a pile of gold sand within.
Mixed with the gold sand was its own sand. More crucially, within the gold sand and sand were glaring bloodstains.
Atop the sand were Rasa's distinctive reddish-brown hairs...
"Kazekage-sama!"
The Suna-nin screamed in horror.
Their Fourth Kazekage had been killed by Shukaku!
Pakura originally thought the assassination had failed today since Wind couldn't kill Kazekage Rasa. She didn't expect Fox to personally come to Tori Castle.
Fox came and left. Pakura thought Rasa had turned danger into safety.
She didn't expect Rasa to still die.
As a Suna-nin, truly seeing the Kazekage die before her eyes, Pakura's heart beat faster and faster in panic.
Until Shukaku's piercing laughter echoed through Tori Castle.
"Oh! Oh ha! Shamon! Do you see! Your Magnet Release is nothing special! Magnet Release can't beat my Sand Release!"
Pakura's eyes hardened. She said to the ninja beside her, "Quick! Seal Shukaku! We can't let it destroy Tori Castle!"
After forming seals, Pakura released her own Lozenge Seal and chargued at Shukaku.
"Scorch Release: Scorching Jade!"
(End of Chapter)