Ninja Ice House

The cold wind stirs up sand and can cut the exposed skin into scars.

Even a powerful ninja would not go out casually in such weather. If protective measures were not taken, he would inevitably be in a state of embarrassment.

Uchiha Sasuke, Ringo Yuri and Lao Zifeng came to the outskirts of Sunagakure Village, avoiding waves of patrols, and finally approached the city wall without any danger.

Looking at the fortress built on the mountain not far away, there are watchtowers erected on it. At the shooting port of the parapet, you can vaguely see the ballistas ready to go.

With this posture, let alone a few ordinary ninjas attacking, even if the tailed beast approaches, they will probably be beaten to a semi-crimp.

After all, it is one of the five great ninja villages. Even if it declines, it is not something that a few rebel ninjas can compete with head-on.

Only by sneaking in unnoticed and finding the target person can he be successfully captured.

Of course, Uchiha Sasuke's purpose is not to capture jinchūriki, nor does he want to collect tailed beasts.

The purpose of coming here is to negotiate with Sunagakure Village and put pressure on them to allow the Iyo Self-Help Association to obtain the legal rights to operate in the Kingdom of Wind.

Logically speaking, after the one-village-one-country order is established, no second ninja force can obtain official status in the same country.If you want to change all this, the right thing for Uchiha Sasuke to do is to go to the daimyo and ask him to issue an order to make Sunagakure Village illegal and make Uchiha Sasuke and others the legal leaders of the ninja village.

However, this is definitely not possible.Let’s not mention whether the daimyo of the Wind Country agrees or not. Even if this thing is done and the Suna Ninja refuses to admit it, nothing will change.The daimyo did have great justice and secular power, but that didn't mean they had the initiative and could even directly order the Suna ninja.

Therefore, Uchiha Sasuke had already sent an official letter to Sunagakure Village.

Unfortunately, in the face of the evil guests who were about to come to their door, the elders of Sunagakure Village did not take it seriously at all. They were still busy fighting for power and profit, using the excuse of choosing the next Kazekage fifth generation to plan for their own selfish interests.

Not getting any reply, Uchiha Sasuke naturally wouldn't wait and came to visit him at the end of this cold spring and winter.

When Uchiha Sasuke announced his name, the Suna ninja who was guarding the door was also confused. However, the other party said that there was already an invitation to meet, so naturally he had to report it and let the village senior management make a decision.

After a long time, Lao Zi and Ringo Yuri were impatient and almost went crazy. The door opened, and several Suna ninjas with unkind expressions welcomed the three of them in.

Negotiating with a traitorous nin is not a good thing. If word spreads, it will damage the reputation of Sunagakure Village.

"Does this count as going deep into the tiger's den?"

Lin Yuri was very unaccustomed to the dry climate of Sunagakure Village. The wind and sand that cracked her skin and the lingering smoke and dust in the air made her feel uncomfortable. Because of this, the mood of this female mist ninja has been changing since she went north. Neither is very good.

Lao Zi, who had seen a lot of the world, took a few sips of wine, moistened his throat, and said casually:

"The current Sand Ninja is like a wounded jackal licking his wounds. He will not start a war with us when it is not necessary."

"It won't work even if the Leaf Village supports them?"

"If we don't have enough strength, no matter how much foreign aid we have, what's the use?"

Lao Zi laughed disdainfully and said,

"A ninja village that can't even choose a 'shadow', what's there to be afraid of? If they had the courage, they wouldn't be retreating in the south."

It's not that Lao Zi doesn't look down on the Suna ninja, it's that all the Iwa ninjas look down on the Sand Hidden Village who are struggling to survive in the yellow sand.

A rock ninja would be damned if he could like a sand ninja.

The three of them were led deep into the Sunagakure Village and entered a fairly atmospheric building. After resting for a while, they waited patiently.

But until the afternoon of the next day, no one responded, making Uchiha Sasuke and others realize that something was wrong.

"what happened?"

Uchiha Sasuke's question, Lin Yuri and Lao Zi were also speechless.

"It seems that your reputation as an Uchiha is not easy to use. If I had known better, I shouldn't have made you the leader."

Facing Uchiha Sasuke's embarrassed expression, Lin Yuri teased him nonchalantly, not worrying about anything at all. Lao Zi didn't have any troublesome thoughts at all except being concerned about his empty wine gourd.

It was not until the evening, when several human machines were already a little impatient, that someone informed them that the Kazekage Fifth Generation had been summoned.

"Do you have a Godaime?"

Uchiha Sasuke asked in great surprise.

The guide's face was a little tangled, and he didn't know where to answer.

"There will definitely be a fifth generation, but..."

Before he could answer, the place had arrived.

"I have no comment, you can ask for yourselves."

Pushing open the door, the three of them entered a quiet living room. It was still in a traditional style, which was different from the fashionable style on the East Coast.

Behind the bamboo curtain, Gaara, dressed in a decent formal suit, came out, invited the three of them to kneel down on the tatami, served matcha himself, and then asked slowly.

"You came all the way, what do you think?"

"Are you the Kazekage Godaime?"

Lao Zi couldn't help but sneer and said,

"How come no one has ever heard of it?"

The Kazekage Godaime, who had had a "difficult childbirth" for a year and a half, finally chose this child. It was simply ridiculous.

Gaara responded nonchalantly:

"It's been true for a long time, it's just not made public."

There is no public Kazekage, does it count?

Uchiha Sasuke and Lao Zi looked at each other, not knowing whether to believe it or not.

"Can you call the shots?"

"Yes. However, the implementation may take time. I plan to restart the Chunin Examination in the middle of the year, which will be jointly hosted by our Sunagakure Village and Konoha Village. I will take this opportunity to announce it to the world."

"alright."

Uchiha Sasuke nodded helplessly.

His opponent in the Chuunin Exam back then had quietly become the Kazekage.

Although it was a bit strange, the other party's situation didn't seem to be very good, and Uchiha Sasuke was too lazy to meddle in other people's business.

"Let me tell you bluntly, I want to establish a foothold in the southern border of the Kingdom of Wind, and I hope to establish a sphere of influence with the Sand Ninja."

"Is this your intention, or is this an ultimatum issued on behalf of someone?"

"This is the consensus of us southerners."

"Southern?"

Gaara's expression remained unchanged, and he asked calmly,

"You are the rebellious ninja of Konoha Village, and this Yuri Lin is the rebellious ninja of Kirigakure Village. As for this traveler dressed as a wandering monk, he is probably the Four-Tailed Jinchuuriki, right? You can represent the southerners of the Land of Wind, I think. It’s so funny.”

"There is nothing ridiculous about this. We now have actual control over the south. Even if you don't admit it, it won't help. Instead of being unclear, it's better to explain this clearly to eliminate conflicts."

"It's not my place to talk about this."

"Even the Kazekage?"

"Especially the Kazekage."

Gaara said firmly,

"We Sand Ninjas are responsible for the force of the Kingdom of Wind. If we surrender without a fight, what will others think? Even if such a day comes, it must be decided by the Daimyo. We ninjas are not worldly owners after all, only the Daimyo Only then do you have this qualification.”

"I know, but I can save a lot of trouble by persuading you in advance and going to find the Daimyo of the Kingdom of Wind."

"I don't agree. The responsibility for losing the land cannot be borne by me, nor can I just admit defeat without doing anything."

"Haven't you already admitted defeat?"

The words that pierced his heart left Gaara speechless.

After a long time, he said very sincerely:

"Let's put this matter aside for now. The year before last, the battle between you and me ended halfway, and there was no winner. Now, can we continue the battle and see who was the winner?"

Uchiha Sasuke said impatiently:

"Do you think that if you beat me, you will be the strongest in the Chuunin exam that year? Let's not talk about whether you can do it or not. Even if you can do it, can you win the phoenix?"

"It's hard to say."

Gaara said leisurely,

"I haven't actually fought, so I can't prove anything."

"Okay, if you want, I'll accompany you."

-----------------

Since coming to the Kingdom of Wind, Uchiha Sasuke has encountered many strong enemies, winning more and losing less. Only when he faced Yuri Lin, he suffered a miserable defeat, but that was already a few months ago.

Uchiha Sasuke believes that his strength has improved very quickly, and he can catch up a lot in a month or two. If he fights again now, he might still be able to win.

As for the Gaara in front of him, Uchiha Sasuke did not think that he was worse than him. Back then, he was still an immature genin newcomer, and he could seriously injure Gaara, let alone now.

However, when it comes to fighting, something seems wrong.

In the face of the secret technique of sand manipulation, fire escape is useless at all. With a speed and reaction ability that is far beyond the opponent, he can go around behind him and carry out the attack.

However, Gaara's defensive ability is too strong. As a Jinchuuriki, his chakra is far more abundant than Uchiha Sasuke, and he has more outstanding recovery power.

If he cannot rely on his powerful explosive power to quickly defeat Gaara, Uchiha Sasuke will be at risk of defeat.

After a fierce fight for nearly 10 minutes, I used Chidori once, breaking Gaara's defense, but causing no damage.

Uchiha Sasuke, realizing that the previous tricks could no longer do anything to him, unceremoniously drew out the divine sword Onikiri that he had just acquired. With the sharp blade and the powerful cutting ability after attaching Chidori, he could finally Effectively restrained the use of Magnetic Escape and Sand Manipulation Secret Technique.

Even so, in this environment that was more suitable for the one-tail jinchūriki to show off his power, Uchiha Sasuke was not able to take advantage. After fighting hard for nearly half an hour, the chakra was almost exhausted, and even the curse seal of the sky was somewhat suppressed. When he couldn't hold back, Uchiha Sasuke, who didn't want to expose all his trump cards in the "away game", stopped his rushing attack.

"Why, don't continue?"

"If we continue, it won't be a competition, but a fight to the death."

"As a Kazekage, it is a great honor to die fighting for Sunagakure Village."

"I never realized before that you are also a joke teller."

In such a hellish place, dying in battle due to inexplicable things is neither honorable nor honorable.

"That's it for today. I think each other should know each other's strength and stop making unnecessary tests. In Sunagakure Village, who else has a master with your strength?"

"Personal strength can explain many problems, but not all. There are thousands of ninjas in our village who are good at fighting. You..."

Gaara glanced at the other party slightly and contemptuously,

"What kind of situation can a few rebellious nins achieve?"

Gaara has already thought clearly. If the other party is really confident, there is no need to cause trouble to Sunagakure Village, create a fait accompli, and then become one on its own.

It is precisely because of the lack of strength and the lack of full support from real big backers and big benefactors that we have to come here to negotiate.

To this day, Gaara, who takes the Fifth Kazekage as his own responsibility, has more or less a strategic vision for governing the country.

If the Leaf Village or the Furusugi family really gave their full support, the three traitorous ninjas, Uchiha Sasuke, Ringo Yuri and Lao Zi, would not have come forward at all.

Although Sunagakure Village has actually lost control of the southern part of the Country of Wind, there is still room for recovery.

As for how to do it, Gaara didn't know, but he understood that because of his current reputation and reputation, he couldn't even handle the internal affairs of Sunagakure Village, and there was nothing he could do.

Even if he really became a real village chief, he would still be alone with the Suna ninja alone.

If you want to maintain the interests of Sunagakure Village, you must seek the support of Konohagakure Village, which will indirectly affect the determination of the Furusugi family behind it, especially Fushigakusui.

"You guys, please go back. At least for now, we don't plan to give up. Or..."

Gaara looked at Lin Yuri and Lao Zi who had different attitudes,

"You want to come together?"

"Your tone is really quite serious. The little devils these days are more arrogant than the last."

Lin Yuri couldn't help but sneered a few times,

"If I have a chance, I want to fight you. Now..."

He winked at Uchiha Sasuke and Lao Zi,

"Let's go and come back for advice another day."

Fortunately, the school where Uchiha Sasuke and Gaara were competing was outside the village, but they were afraid that the space in the village would be too cramped and they would be constrained and accidentally break something from before.

now...

The three people who were moving quickly to the southeast released their senses to the rear from time to time. Shadows that were almost integrated with the yellow sand were approaching quickly.

"Gaara did it?"

Uchiha Sasuke looked very unhappy and couldn't help complaining. Lao Zi laughed, and after using Melting Release to make a few trigger traps, he quickened his pace to keep up, and replied slowly:

"Probably not. As he said before, there must be someone who cannot be mobilized and wants to take advantage of others. If we can capture three S-class traitorous ninjas, that would be awesome."

"Is it because I'm too weak that I'm regarded as a soft persimmon, and a bunch of other fish want to try my hand at it?"

Where Uchiha Sasuke didn't notice, Saber Onikiri followed Uchiha Sasuke's negative emotions and sent wisps of black strange energy into his body. After a while, the boy who became more and more angry as he thought about it stopped.

"It seems that if we don't kill the chicken to scare the monkey, we will be looked down upon."

Lao Zi and Lin Yuri also turned around,

"That's right. After traveling thousands of miles, wouldn't it be in vain if we didn't kill a few people?"