Chapter 403: Rasa: One Adult Against Three Kids, the Advantage Is Mine!
After Haneda finalized his plans with Shikaku, the latter began preparing for the arrangements following Haneda's faked death.
On the very first day, Konoha announced that the great Fifth Hokage had tragically passed away in the spring of March, Konoha Year 59.
At the same time, they revealed that the new Hokage would be Uchiha Shisui, with Uchiha Itachi as the new Anbu Commander, while the Elders' Council would remain unchanged.
The news spread at an astonishing speed. Konoha had only made the announcement in the morning, and by nightfall, nearly the entire world—except for island nations like the Land of Water—had already heard about it.
The following morning, Konoha extended invitations to the daimyos of various countries and the leaders of major ninja villages to attend the funeral, scheduled for five days later.
The burial arrangements were rushed, and it seemed Konoha didn't particularly care whether the invitees attended or not, subtly sending a message to the daimyos.
Everyone knew that most daimyos lived in luxury. To travel to Konoha, they would either take ships or carriages, but never cram themselves onto trains.
The dignified daimyos would only choose the first two modes of transport—they wouldn't be caught dead squeezing into a train car with commoners, as it would be humiliating.
Haneda, in designing the train system, had deliberately avoided giving preferential treatment to the wealthy. There were no business class or first-class compartments, only hard sleepers and soft sleepers.
The number of passengers in the hard and soft sleeper cars was the same, but the experience in the soft sleeper cars was slightly better.
With such short notice, the daimyos simply decided not to attend.
In the end, only the daimyos of the Land of Rain, the Land of Bears, and the Land of Waves managed to arrive in Konoha three days later—not out of respect for Haneda, but because they had no choice, having been stripped of their real power.
In contrast to the daimyos' arrogance, the other ninja villages showed respect to Konoha—or rather, to Haneda, the powerful figure.
Among the Five Great Ninja Villages, all except Kirigakure either sent their Kage in person or dispatched representatives.
The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, and the Fourth Raikage attended personally, while the Fourth Tsuchikage, Han, dared not come.
Han knew that Haneda had specifically targeted jinchūriki in the past. Until he could be absolutely sure Haneda was truly dead, he feared walking into an ambush.
Instead, Han sent his student, granddaughter, and future "Shadow," Kurotsuchi, to represent Iwagakure in Konoha.
Five days later, Konoha became the center of the world's attention. The ninja world and nations alike focused on the funeral.
On the evening before the funeral, within the Uchiha district of Konoha…
Naruto, Sasuke, and Gaara were walking to Ichiraku Ramen together.
"Naruto, if I keep eating ramen every day, my hair's gonna start looking like noodles. Don't you ever get tired of it?"
Sasuke had already accompanied Naruto to Ichiraku five times that week and was now openly expressing his unwillingness to go again.
"Sasuke, Ichiraku Ramen is super nutritious! It's as good as soldier pills!" Naruto, Ichiraku's number-one fan, immediately shot back.
Though Sasuke complained, he still went with Naruto. However, it wasn't just about eating ramen.
Sasuke was eyeing the Nine-Tails within Naruto, seeking its chakra to aid his training.
Suddenly, Gaara stopped walking and said quietly, "Someone's following us."
"Who?"
"Who?!"
Sasuke immediately grew alert, scanning the surroundings for hiding spots.
Naruto, on the other hand, practically shouted, making sure everyone could hear him.
Sasuke sighed, realizing they'd already alerted their stalker. "Naruto, can't you keep your voice down next time?"
"Ah, sorry, sorry, just a habit," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head apologetically.
Just then, a gust of wind blew past, carrying specks of gold sand.
A man with short brown hair, dressed in a black ninja outfit and mesh armor, appeared in front of Gaara in the blink of an eye.
"Gaara, have you had enough fun in Konoha? You should've realized by now what a hypocrite Uchiha Haneda is."
"He's only using you—using the One-Tail inside you and your status as my son to humiliate Sunagakure!"
The man was none other than Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage. His primary purpose in coming to Konoha was to take Gaara back.
Gaara wasn't just the One-Tail's jinchūriki but also Rasa's son. To Rasa, it was a disgrace that such an important asset and the son of the Kazekage had stayed in Konoha for so long.
If there had been anyone more suitable than Rasa to lead Sunagakure, the village would have replaced him as Kazekage long ago.
Now that Haneda was "dead," Rasa seized the opportunity to take Gaara back.
But Gaara had found a true friend in Naruto during his time in Konoha and no longer cared about returning to Sunagakure.
"Lord Kazekage, please step aside," Gaara said coldly.
He had no affection for Rasa, his biological father.
In Gaara's eyes, Rasa was the root of all his suffering.
Rasa had made his own son a vessel for a tailed beast, repeatedly attempted to assassinate him to test his control, and brought him nothing but pain.
To most people, Rasa was unfit to be a father.
"I'm your father! And you're the One-Tail's jinchūriki from Sunagakure!" Rasa growled, his teeth clenched in anger at being addressed as "Kazekage" instead of "Father."
Gaara's refusal to acknowledge him as a father—or even as someone from Sunagakure—was clear.
The term "Kazekage" was a gesture of respect for his title, nothing more. To call him "Father" or "Sir" was unthinkable.
When Rasa refused to move, Gaara didn't bother avoiding the confrontation.
Without saying a word, Gaara led Naruto and Sasuke straight past Rasa, his gaze filled with disdain and killing intent.
Rasa, of course, wasn't about to let them go. He immediately raised a wall of gold sand to block their way.
"Move," Gaara said, his voice icy.
The sheer chill in his tone made Naruto and Sasuke shiver—neither of them had ever seen the usually reserved Gaara like this.
"You're my son. As your father, I have the right to take you back."
"You're the One-Tail's jinchūriki from Sunagakure. As the Kazekage, I have the authority to command you."
"Gaara, don't delude yourself. Uchiha Haneda is dead, and Konoha can't protect you anymore."
Rasa's arrogance infuriated Gaara.
Gaara had never considered Rasa his father. A father should give love, not endless torment. Rasa was unworthy.
He also didn't see himself as a part of Sunagakure. Its villagers despised him, its shinobi wanted to kill him, and he had always been treated as a mere tool.
Why should he show loyalty to those who disgusted him? Sunagakure was unworthy.
The darkness Gaara had long suppressed burst forth. Without hesitation, he attacked Rasa.
A malevolent red chakra enveloped him as he entered a tailed beast state. With one strike, he shattered the gold sand blocking their path and lunged at Rasa.
Rasa smirked, the mockery in his expression unmistakable.
"A mere child. Even if you've started transforming into the One-Tail, so what?"
"I'm an adult! And not just any adult—I'm the Fourth Kazekage, one of the strongest in the ninja world!"
"Even if it's three kids against one adult, the advantage is entirely mine!"