Shimizu was stunned.
He had not expected Yuji to suddenly raise the subject of the Kazekage position.
In truth, until now he had carried a premonition, perhaps more accurately an intuition, that the Third Kazekage's mysterious disappearance might be connected to Yuji and Sasori.
But it had remained speculation, just like his earlier suspicions, without evidence to support it. And the progress the Sand Village had made since then, following the plan Yuji had gradually revealed to him over time, had been proceeding in an orderly fashion and achieving considerable results.
The village's economy had clearly improved.
Sasori glared at Yuji from the side, also apparently not having expected Yuji to suddenly announce their intentions so directly.
"You want to bring these pieces of trash into the village?" Sasori frowned.
It was clear he did not particularly understand or appreciate this direction of thinking. He did not consider the Uchiha and Hyuga clan bloodlines to be especially significant resources. Sasori had always held this view. He felt that having himself and the Sand Village was sufficient.
As for others, including the Third Kazekage himself, they had never been truly necessary in his assessment. He had absolute confidence in the two of them, and he considered devoting energy to acquiring outside bloodlines a form of disrespect to his own art.
Yuji did not even address Sasori's objection directly. Although he had changed Sasori's destiny and altered certain aspects of his personality over the years, Sasori's core values remained difficult to influence.
Sasori still revered his own strength and resisted relying on external resources. His way of thinking was actually quite similar to Rasa's and to the Third Kazekage's in that respect.
"This is our second plan," Yuji said, extending one finger. "Talent acquisition."
"Beyond the economy, the most urgent problem the village currently needs to resolve is combat power. In this battle against Konoha, you both saw clearly that Konoha's strength comes from having numerous clans, extensive secret techniques, and a deep reserve of special ninjutsu resources. For the Sand Village to truly rise, solving economic problems alone is nowhere near sufficient."
"No matter how economically wealthy we become, without strong combat power to protect that wealth, we will ultimately be nothing more than a target for others."
Sasori glanced at him briefly, then looked away. He did not voice another objection, being reluctantly persuaded if not genuinely convinced. He did not deeply care about this direction.
However, his reaction did represent the kind of opinions the broader Sand Village population might hold on the matter.
"Rasa wants to become the Fourth Kazekage. Everyone knows this. I originally considered having one of us, either myself or Sasori, find a way to take the Kazekage position.
But I have already discussed this with Sasori, and he has no interest in it. To be honest, I find it too troublesome as well. So the more I think about it, the better another idea seems."
Yuji stared directly at Shimizu.
Shimizu swallowed.
"Rasa's abilities are extremely important to the village. Although both Sasori and I intend to maintain some distance from him, we cannot deny his strength. Personally, I actually respect him considerably. It is simply that his personality and way of operating are fundamentally incompatible with mine.
His behavior and mannerisms are essentially a copy of the Third Kazekage."
"If Sasori or I were to become Kazekage, although we could use various means to suppress Rasa's dissatisfaction, given his status and influence within the village and among the people below him, problems would inevitably arise. And suppressed emotions always eventually erupt."
"You were the former Kage Guard of the Third Kazekage. You have considerable experience and achievements comparable to Rasa's, with only the disadvantage of being somewhat older.
Taking advantage of this great war against Konoha, I would like to recommend you to become the Fourth Kazekage."
He said it more directly than Shimizu had expected.
Although Shimizu had anticipated something along these lines, actually hearing the words caused his breathing to falter.
Kazekage.
This was something he had never genuinely imagined for himself.
But he quickly regained his composure and looked at Yuji with a complex expression.
From everything Yuji had said, it was not difficult to see that this young man had long since planned and predicted every aspect of the Sand Village's current situation, including every step going forward. This was the Yuji he had come to know best across all their years together.
And Yuji had not been planning alone. Sasori had been involved from the beginning.
Shimizu had guided these two through their early growth and missions, yet he had never truly understood the depth of what existed between them. He had never imagined that after all this time, at this crucial moment, Yuji would open his heart to him like this.
"You..." Shimizu hesitated.
"Yes. The Third Kazekage is dead. Sasori and I did it."
Yuji looked at Shimizu calmly.
He had long since determined that Shimizu suspected them both. Now the entire sequence of events had reached its conclusion and nothing could be changed. He knew Shimizu's character well.
If the Third Kazekage were still alive, even with the relatively good relationship between them, Shimizu was the kind of person who might have felt compelled to act on his suspicions for the greater good, regardless of personal feeling.
But in Yuji's eyes, everything had already become a settled fact.
Furthermore, Shimizu's genuine relief at stepping away from the Kage Guard position, combined with everything he had expressed about the Third Kazekage over the years, revealed that Shimizu had actually been deeply dissatisfied with the Third for a long time.
All of this allowed Yuji to speak openly without real concern about the response.
Shimizu's own words and Yuji's confirmation collided with everything Shimizu had been suppressing for years, overwhelming his ability to process it immediately. His emotions were indescribable.
"I believe you," Yuji added quietly.
Then he fell silent, not wanting to interfere with Shimizu's processing of this sudden revelation.
After a long pause, Shimizu let out a slow breath and closed his eyes.
Yuji continued.
"You, as someone who has observed from a certain distance, must see clearly that the true obstacle to the village's development has always been the faction led by the Third Kazekage. This includes the senior officials I previously eliminated through tactical maneuvering during the Land of Fire operation, those who died while fleeing.
They were all targets I had identified from the very beginning."
"The village itself is not sick. The illness was the ideology those people spread."
"The same will."
Shimizu looked at Yuji and found he did not know what to say. But he understood clearly enough that the internal conflict within the village had most likely been orchestrated by Yuji from the beginning.
"My experience is certainly sufficient to surpass Rasa on paper. But even if you use this great battle to support me, pushing me into the Kazekage position will not be simple.
Although I am an elite Jonin, my raw strength is far below yours and Sasori's. While it is still respectable by most standards, it falls well short of what commands genuine Kage-level respect."
Shimizu had set aside the emotional weight of everything he had just learned and was processing it practically.
"Becoming Kage is not only about fulfilling a role within the village. It also carries weight externally. To put it plainly, a village's representative must carry a certain degree of deterrent power against outside forces.
Consider the current ninja world. Who does not know your name and Sasori's name? You are more famous than almost anyone on any battlefield. Even the Third Hokage would not dare underestimate you."
He paused.
"But if I am elevated to Kazekage and that news spreads to the other villages, I am afraid they will not understand why. Except for Konoha and Iwagakure, who have some knowledge of who I am, the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Mist have likely never heard of me."
Shimizu laughed quietly at himself.
This was simply the reality of it.
"That is fine. You only need to agree. I have a way to handle the rest," Yuji said with a light chuckle.
"But you told me before that you were fully capable of becoming Kazekage yourself, and clearly you are the most capable candidate. So why not?" Shimizu still felt the arrangement was not quite right.
In his eyes, there was no question that Yuji was the best candidate for the Fourth Kazekage. Even accounting for his age, his rise would not necessarily be inferior to Rasa's. Especially with the Great Ninja War ongoing, his importance to the village, whether in the rear managing systems or at the front driving battle outcomes, was irreplaceable.
"Only the weak need a false title to arm themselves."
Sasori spoke up from the side at a blunt and slightly ill-timed moment.
"And furthermore," he continued, "you should be clear about this. Letting you become the figurehead does not mean you can ride roughshod over us or issue orders we are obligated to follow. It simply means that compared to Rasa, you are somewhat easier to work with.
Regarding the village's future development, we will still be thinking through things carefully ourselves."
"Whether Rasa trusts you is his business. It does not mean I trust you."
Shimizu understood.
He was a puppet. That feeling was familiar to him in a way that was difficult to put into words. This little scorpion, besides Rasa, found it genuinely difficult to extend trust to anyone else.
"Sasori's words were a bit much," Yuji sighed helplessly, gesturing that the comment had been somewhat excessive.
Sasori finished speaking and turned to leave the tent.
"I apologize, Shimizu-sensei. You know Sasori's personality."
"It is fine. I understand."
Unexpectedly, Shimizu suddenly smiled and nodded. Then, looking at Yuji directly, he said with deliberate emphasis, "I do not mind becoming a puppet if doing so genuinely benefits the village and helps you. I am very willing to contribute in whatever way is needed."
Yuji was genuinely moved by this.
He extended his hand to Shimizu.
"Thank you. Sensei."
"It is the same thing I have always said, Yuji. Keep going. I believe that under your guidance, the village will become better and better."
He paused, a slight smile forming.
"But the premise is that you can actually elevate me to the Kazekage position."
"If it fails, I am not taking responsibility. Haha!"
"Do not worry. Leave it to me."
A moment of quiet followed.
"And you," Shimizu said, looking at Yuji with an expression that had settled into something warmer and more knowing. "You do not actually want to become a shadow Kazekage. You are simply afraid of the administrative burden, are you not?"
"Well... I genuinely have too many things to manage already. If I also had to handle all the messy affairs of village governance on top of everything else, I simply would not have the time..."
"I thought so," Shimizu sighed.
He had somewhat misunderstood the reasoning at first, thinking the arrangement was primarily about the particular demands of this period in the war.
But the truth was simpler and more characteristic of the person in front of him. Yuji needed someone at the top to share the weight of formal responsibility.
In itself, placing Shimizu in that position was a form of genuine trust.
And once everything in the village was moving toward stability, the Kazekage position could be handed to someone more suited to carrying it forward from there.