"Switch out the daimyo?"
Chiyo's aged eyes went blank.
She had been in Sunagakure for so many years, seen so many brilliant shinobi.
Even shinobi as powerful as the Second and Third Kazekage had still been scrupulously respectful when facing the daimyo.
No one had ever dared to be this arrogant.
Open their mouth, close their mouth—replace the daimyo.
It shook the beliefs she'd held for decades.
Teizawa watched her reaction.
In his heart, he couldn't hide his contempt for the servile mindset of these "native" shinobi.
What person from Earth didn't know the saying: "Are kings and nobles born any different?"
"Elder Chiyo, don't you want Sunagakure to be great again?"
"With Gaara's temperament, if Sunagakure keeps developing like this, in a few years it'll completely fall into being a third-rate village."
"Are you willing to watch the village the Kazekage built—generation after generation, with everything they had—end up in decline?"
"When you're gone one day, what face will you have to meet the Second and Third Kazekage?"
Teizawa pressed the advantage, continuing to tempt her.
In his plan, Chiyo and Ebizō were pieces he had to win over.
And because Ebizō almost completely followed his elder sister Chiyo's commands…
In the end, it all came down to convincing Chiyo.
Otherwise, even if the coup succeeded in the end—
Sunagakure would only be left a shattered mess.
That didn't fit the main objective: Make Sunagakure Great Again.
"Hah…"
After a long while, Chiyo finally exhaled a breath of foul air. "You almost talked me into it, you brat."
"Uh…"
Teizawa blinked.
What did that mean?
His PUA failed?
"I'll admit it," Chiyo said. "You're the gutsiest Sand shinobi I've ever met."
"Even the Second and Third Kazekage didn't have… a crazy idea like yours."
"But?" Teizawa took the initiative and supplied the word.
"Exactly," Chiyo said slowly. "But… in the end, the ninja world is ruled by strength. And I know your strength."
"You're good at winning hearts. But in the end, you're still lacking."
"But Gaara is a jinchūriki—real, undeniable Kage-tier combat power…"
"So even if I let you stage a coup, even if you succeed, what you achieve still won't surpass the Fourth—Rasa."
"And if you fail… what you leave behind for Sunagakure is nothing but a disaster."
"But if I support Gaara… even if he does a poor job, at least Sunagakure will stay stable while I'm still alive."
After saying that, she even smacked her lips and emphasized her next words:
"As for after I'm dead… who cares!"
"So, Elder Chiyo, this is where the talks fall apart?" Teizawa sighed, speaking lazily.
"No more talk," Chiyo said, her expression severe. "Brat, let me teach you something—shinobi still have to let their strength do the talking."
"So you're planning to take me down directly, and snuff out this coup before it even begins?"
"You're smart. But don't worry—I won't kill you."
"When I die, you'll take my place as elder."
"But for now… it ends here."
Chiyo's tone abruptly sharpened.
At some point, several chakra threads had already snapped from her hand, shooting toward Teizawa.
This was the foundation of a puppeteer's control—so long as they touched Teizawa's body…
She could seize control of him in an instant.
"Teizawa-sama…"
"Damn it, I told you the elder couldn't be trusted!"
"Stop!"
The shinobi who had been quietly gathered around the perimeter all jolted in alarm.
They tried to intervene, but it was already too late.
The speed of a Kage-tier puppeteer wasn't something they could match.
"Strength, huh…"
But Teizawa, the target, looked as if he hadn't even reacted.
He only let out a slow sigh—then snapped his fingers with his right hand.
Snap…
In the crisp sound— a tide of black, ink-dark iron sand surged up from the ground like a sea.
In an instant, it swallowed the space between Teizawa and Elder Chiyo, wrapping them both inside it.
It even condensed into kunai, senbon, blades—every kind of killing tool.
It stopped Chiyo's chakra threads on the spot— and then, all at once, stabbed toward Chiyo…
Only to halt right before turning her into a pincushion.
Snap…
Another finger snap.
The countless blades that were nearly pressing into Chiyo's skin melted back into black iron sand.
They flowed away in streams, shrinking back underground and vanishing.
The iron sand came fast.
And it left just as fast.
Chiyo stood there in a daze, completely motionless.
Just now, she had truly felt the threat of death.
That feeling of danger wrapping her from every direction—no escape route, nowhere to dodge—
it was unavoidable.
And what horrified her most…
was what this iron sand meant.
"This… this is… iron sand?"
"It's… Magnet Release, the same iron sand as the Third Kazekage-sama… Teizawa-sama actually has Magnet Release."
"Is it really Magnet Release? Heaven bless Sunagakure…"
"As expected of Teizawa-sama—no, as expected of the Kazekage-sama…"
"Kazekage-sama… Kazekage-sama…"
The surrounding shinobi surged with emotion, trembling all over in excitement.
"R-Really… Magnet Release?" Chiyo finally spoke, but her aged eyes were bright to a frightening degree. "You… actually have Magnet Release?"
Teizawa remained calm, still speaking lightly.
"Elder, you're right. Strength is the foundation!"
As he spoke, Teizawa's gaze turned sharp as a blade, stabbing straight into Chiyo.
"So now… tell me. Can I sit in the Kazekage's seat or not?"
Sunagakure's Magnet Release began with the Second Kazekage, Shamon, who studied the One-Tail Shukaku and gained mastery over it.
Then, under the Third Kazekage, it developed into the signature technique: Magnet Release—Iron Sand.
After that came the Fourth, Rasa's gold dust.
And then the Fifth, Gaara's sand control.
You could say Magnet Release to Sunagakure was what Wood Release was to Konoha—its meaning was that profound.
More importantly, it was a symbol of legitimacy.
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