Chapter 338: No Honor in War!

At dawn, in front of the Fourth Kazekage Rasa’s residence in Sunagakure.

“Knock! Knock! Knock!”

“Who is it?”

“Lord Kazekage, something has happened!”

“Wait!”

After a series of hurried footsteps, the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, dressed only in a sleeping robe, opened the door. His expression darkened when he saw the ANBU shinobi standing outside.

“Yashamaru, what happened? Is something wrong with Bunpuku?”

Looking at his anxious brother-in-law, the only major incident Rasa could think of at that moment was something happening to the village’s One-Tail Renchūriki!

Sunagakure’s One-Tail Renchūriki, Bunpuku, was already advanced in age and nearing the end of his life. He could die at any moment.

To prevent Sunagakure’s ultimate weapon, Shukaku, from dying along with its Renchūriki, the village had recently been making preparations to extract Shukaku from Bunpuku’s body in advance and seal it inside the ninja tool known as the Black Tea Kettle, after which they would select a new Renchūriki.

The only shinobi in Sunagakure capable of suppressing Shukaku was the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa. However, Rasa had been seriously wounded during the recent Battle of Kikyō Mountain and had yet to fully recover.

As a result, the matter had been delayed until now. Elder Chiyo had also been doing everything she could to prolong Bunpuku’s life.

If something went wrong at this point, it would undoubtedly be a disaster for Sunagakure!

“No. Something has happened along the border. One of our outposts has been attacked!”

“Someone has already gone to inform Elder Chiyo and Elder Ebizō. Lord Kazekage, please hurry to the Kazekage Tower as well!”

Yashamaru explained the situation at breakneck speed, clearly anxious.

“Wait a moment!”

Rasa’s expression immediately became serious. He turned and headed back inside.

Since he was going to attend a meeting at the Kazekage Tower, there was no way he could go dressed only in a sleeping robe.

As the Kazekage, he still had to maintain his dignity.

Before long, with the help of his wife, Karura, Rasa had changed into his Kazekage robes and stepped outside.

“Karura, it’s probably nothing serious. Stay home and take care of Temari and Kankurō.”

Rasa’s wife, Karura, was also an elite shinobi of Sunagakure and was qualified to attend the meeting.

However, Karura was already seven months pregnant, her belly considerably enlarged and her movements inconvenient. Rasa therefore had no intention of having her accompany him.

“Don’t worry, Sister. Everything will be fine!”

Seeing Karura’s worried expression, Yashamaru, who was standing at the door, also offered a word of reassurance.

“Mm. Hurry to the Kazekage Tower. Don’t keep everyone waiting. I’ll take good care of myself!”

Karura nodded and escorted Rasa to the door.

Rasa and Yashamaru didn’t waste any more time. After saying goodbye to Karura once more, they vanished into the darkness and hurried toward the Kazekage Tower.

Only after their figures disappeared into the darkness did Karura withdraw her worried gaze, close the door, and return inside.

Soon, Rasa and Yashamaru arrived at the brightly lit Kazekage Tower.

By the time they entered the conference room, Elder Chiyo, Elder Ebizō, and the rest of Sunagakure’s senior leadership had already gathered.

Rasa walked directly to the seat of honor and immediately asked,

“What exactly happened? Which outpost was attacked? Was it Kumogakure? Iwagakure? Or perhaps Kirigakure? And what is the current situation?”

The attack on a border outpost had certainly caught Rasa by surprise, but it wasn’t entirely unacceptable.

Although the Land of Wind was poor and barren, it was still one of the Five Great Nations of the Shinobi World. It was impossible for it to remain on the offensive indefinitely without eventually being attacked itself.

Moreover, something like this had happened before.

During the Third Shinobi World War, Kumogakure had launched a surprise attack against Sunagakure by sea. Rasa had repelled the attacking Cloud shinobi during that incident, and that victory had ultimately cemented his position as the Fourth Kazekage.

“It’s not Kumogakure, Iwagakure, or Kirigakure.”

Maki, the head of Sunagakure’s ANBU, spoke.

“The outpost that was attacked was one of ours in the Land of Rivers. Judging from the distribution of forces in the region, the most likely culprit is Konoha.”

“Konoha?!”

Rasa and most of the Sunagakure leaders who had yet to hear the news froze.

A similar thought appeared in everyone’s minds.

How could it be Konoha?

Why would it be Konoha?

They had considered many possibilities. Even if some small country had lost its mind and attacked them, they could have accepted it.

But how could it possibly be Konoha?

To exaggerate the comparison, the situation between Konoha and Sunagakure was like that between a fabulously wealthy man and a beggar on the street.

Would a wealthy man go out of his way to rob a beggar?

Moreover, given Konoha’s longstanding tendency to remain on the defensive and endure attacks from others, how could it possibly take the initiative to attack another village?

Rasa frowned.

“Maki, have you confirmed this? Was it really Konoha?”

Maki replied, “Yes. The enemy’s assault was extremely powerful. The entire outpost in the Land of Rivers was completely destroyed, and there were no survivors! The defenders didn’t even have time to send out a warning!”

“It was only after the border patrols noticed the disturbance and went to investigate that they discovered what had happened.”

“According to the reports, all the traces left at the scene indicate that the attackers came from the direction of Konoha’s outpost. They have already crossed the border and entered the Land of Wind!”

“And among the forces in the vicinity, Konoha is the only one capable of accomplishing something like this.”

“They’ve entered the Land of Wind?”

Rasa was shocked. He slammed his hand onto the table and stood up.

“What are they trying to do? Have we located them?”

Maki’s expression was solemn.

“They don’t seem to have any intention of concealing their movements. Judging from their route, they’re heading straight for Sunagakure!”

The moment those words were spoken, everyone’s expression changed.

Everyone knew what kind of state Sunagakure was currently in.

It would not be an exaggeration to call this the most vulnerable the village had ever been.

If Sunagakure were attacked at a time like this…

No one dared imagine the consequences.

Rasa’s expression was extremely grim.

“Why is Konoha attacking us? Is it because we don’t want to pay reparations? That’s merely our negotiating position! We haven’t even officially begun negotiations yet!”

“Konoha is seriously playing dirty!”

Elder Chiyo narrowed her eyes.

“Kazekage, now isn’t the time to speculate about Konoha’s intentions. We need to prepare for battle!”

Rasa suddenly came to his senses. He was no longer concerned with his anger and immediately asked,

“How many of them are there? When will they arrive?”

Maki answered, “Based on the traces left at the scene, at least two thousand. They will reach the village in no more than twenty hours!”

Rasa asked again, “How many troops can we mobilize from within the village?”

Maki replied, “At most fifteen hundred. If we transfer troops from the border, it will take at least a day.”

Rasa closed his eyes and thought for a moment.

“In other words, we need to hold them off for at least four hours… We absolutely cannot let the battle take place inside the village. Otherwise, we’ll be far too passive.”

A sharp glint flashed through Rasa’s eyes.

“We must take the initiative and attack!”

“Take the initiative?!”

Everyone in the conference room froze and looked at Rasa with some surprise.

Given the current situation, shouldn’t they be thinking about how to defend the village and hold out until reinforcements arrived?

However, some of them strongly agreed with Rasa’s proposal.

After all, there was one thing Rasa had said that was absolutely correct:

They could not allow the battlefield to reach the village!

Elder Chiyo spoke first.

“Evacuate the civilians first… As for taking the initiative… Konoha’s forces this time are undoubtedly elite troops, while the elites of our Sunagakure are still stationed along the various border fronts. If we take the initiative to attack, we have absolutely no chance of victory!”

Rasa frowned and patiently explained,

“Elder Chiyo, the main reason I’m proposing that we take the initiative is to push the battlefront away from the village. Otherwise, even if we evacuate the civilians, Konoha will still inflict enormous damage on us!”

“Sunagakure is poor. It wasn’t easy for us to build up what we have today!”

“I understand what you’re saying.”

Elder Chiyo still shook her head.

“But there is no defensible terrain outside Sunagakure. If we deploy too far from the village, Konoha can simply bypass our defensive line. Surely we can’t exchange human lives merely for time?”

“On the other hand, if we establish our defensive line around the village, then as long as Konoha’s shinobi can’t fly, we have a very good chance of holding the ‘One-Line Sky’!”

The terrain around Sunagakure was extremely unusual.

The village was surrounded by steep cliffs, with only a single passage connecting the interior and exterior. This passage was known as the One-Line Sky.

Sunagakure had also established extensive defensive measures around the area. Even if they couldn’t defeat Konoha’s attackers outright, they could still use the terrain to delay them for some time.

The only problem was that the defensive line was simply too close to the village.

Once the defensive line fell, the entire Sunagakure would immediately be exposed to the enemy’s advance.

And in shinobi warfare, terrain didn’t provide as much of an advantage as it did in conventional warfare.

If Konoha focused on breaking through the defenses, they could still force their way through after paying a certain price.

If that happened, Sunagakure would truly be placed in a passive position.

Even if they ultimately won the battle, their losses would probably be immeasurable.

Rasa said solemnly,

“Elder Chiyo, the risk is simply too great! What are we supposed to do if Konoha has brought a Renchūriki this time?”

“Considering that their attack completely annihilated our outpost in the Land of Rivers, the possibility is quite high!”

Elder Chiyo fell silent.

This was indeed something she had failed to consider adequately.

If Konoha had brought a Renchūriki this time, then a single Tailed Beast Ball would instantly erase Sunagakure’s defensive advantage.

The village would truly be in danger!

Seeing this, Ebizō asked,

“Then what do you intend to do if we take the initiative? There is no defensible terrain around the village. Are you planning to fight Konoha in open terrain?”

“There is no other choice!”

Rasa nodded and spoke grimly.

“We can only exchange lives for time. We establish successive defensive positions outside the village and intercept them layer by layer, delaying Konoha’s advance for as long as possible.”

After a pause, Rasa’s gaze swept across the faces of everyone in the conference room.

“Everyone, you all understand that this battle will be difficult regardless of where we fight it. But at the very least, we can choose to keep the flames of war outside our own doorstep.”

“Even if we have to pay for it with our lives!”

The moment those words were spoken, the atmosphere in the conference room became extremely heavy.

“…”

After a long silence, Elder Chiyo sighed.

She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.

That was effectively Chiyo making her position clear and handing control of the matter to the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.

Rasa also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

At a critical moment like this, the most dangerous thing was internal disagreement within the village.

Chiyo’s decision to relinquish authority was ultimately made for the sake of the village as a whole.

Rasa looked toward everyone in the conference room again.

“Although there is no defensible terrain immediately outside the village, that doesn’t mean the area is completely open and without obstacles.”

“Everyone, don’t forget about Sazanami Temple!”

Sazanami was called a mountain, but in reality, it was little more than a small earthen hill.

Sazanami Temple was the secluded residence and training ground of Sunagakure’s One-Tail Renchūriki, Bunpuku.

To ensure that Sunagakure retained control over its One-Tail Renchūriki while also preventing a rampaging Shukaku from affecting the village, Sazanami Temple had been established neither too close nor too far from Sunagakure.

It was roughly ten kilometers away.

Although Sazanami was only a small hill, at least it wasn’t desert. The soil there was relatively firm.

Whether in terms of distance or terrain, Sazanami Temple was indeed an excellent location for establishing a defensive line.

Rasa continued,

“The enemy is advancing directly from the border toward Sunagakure, and Sazanami Temple lies directly along their route.”

“We can use Sazanami Temple as the center of our defensive line and stop the enemy before they reach the village gates!”

There was no denying that Rasa’s plan was highly feasible—but that was under ordinary circumstances.

Elder Chiyo opened her eyes again.

“Kazekage, I have no objections to your plan. But I still want us to have an additional safeguard. We should fully fortify the One-Line Sky at the village entrance as well, just in case.”

Rasa frowned slightly and did not immediately agree.

According to Rasa’s plan, he intended to use a desperate last stand at Sazanami Temple to ignite the fighting spirit of the Sand shinobi and drive them to fight to the death.

But if they established another defensive line at the One-Line Sky, it would tell everyone that they still had a route of retreat.

In that case, the Sand shinobi at Sazanami Temple might not be willing to fight with everything they had.

And if Konoha pursued them relentlessly during their retreat, causing Sunagakure’s forces to collapse into a rout, then the situation would become completely irretrievable.

Seeing Rasa’s hesitation, Elder Chiyo explained,

“Kazekage, there’s something you don’t know. Although the village can still muster fifteen hundred shinobi, the overwhelming majority of them are genin.”

“More than five hundred of them are even fresh graduates from this year’s Shinobi Academy class!”

“Morale can certainly be useful, but the gap in actual combat strength is simply too great!”

Guarding the borders was already considered a B-rank mission. Sunagakure had deployed six thousand troops along its borders, meaning that most of the shinobi left inside the village were genin or genin squads who were not qualified to undertake missions of that level.

That was why Elder Chiyo believed that rather than allowing these shinobi to throw their lives away outside the village in exchange for a slim chance of survival, they might as well stake everything on a single decisive defense.

Rasa’s eyes flickered.

His injuries had yet to fully recover, so Chiyo and the other senior officials had handled most of the village’s affairs during the preceding period.

He had only just learned about this situation.

Under these circumstances, sending those genin to Sazanami Temple to make a last stand really wasn’t appropriate.

After thinking for a moment, Rasa said,

“Deploy those newly graduated genin at the One-Line Sky. Send everyone else to Sazanami Temple.”

After a pause, Rasa asked,

“Elder Chiyo, can Bunpuku still fight?”

Elder Chiyo shook her head.

“It would be difficult.”