Evil Uchiha Itsuki

Ruling through sheer strength is never a long-term solution!

What Pakura needed was the support of Sunagakure—the whole of it! Both the lower and upper levels!

So, after auditing the village's finances, Pakura decided that her first priority would be to allocate enough funds to build a river connecting Amegakure and Sunagakure.

This would provide Sunagakure with sufficient water.

If she succeeded, Pakura would become the most popular Kazekage in history.

The plan sounded great—until an unexpected problem arose.

Pakura's face darkened as she stared at the financial report. After reading it, she angrily threw it at Chiyo's feet.

"Granny, you told me they knew what they were doing, that even if they had selfish interests, they'd still have a sense of the bigger picture."

Chiyo was stunned.

Ebizo was also dumbfounded.

Even though Pakura held a grudge against them for abandoning her years ago, she had still shown respect toward them because of Chiyo's recent extreme efforts for Sunagakure.

But now, Pakura's actions were over the top.

What was in that report that made her so furious? So much so that she lost her composure!

Chiyo and Ebizo felt a deep sense of foreboding as they picked up the report and began to read it.

After just a few lines, both of them went pale and staggered as if they were about to collapse.

"This... this…"

Chiyo stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence.

Pakura sat in silence, grinding her teeth in frustration. "I was planning to deal with just the ringleader, but now… it looks like that's not an option."

Ebizo opened his mouth to say something but couldn't get the words out.

The numbers in the report were so shocking that even Ebizo, who always sought stability for Sunagakure, didn't know how to plead for mercy.

Under the machinations of many high-ranking officials, the village's finances had already been devoured to the point of ruin.

Despite gaining significant benefits from their role in the Konoha Collapse Plan, Sunagakure's finances weren't showing a surplus. Instead, they had been depleted even further due to internal disputes over spoils.

Some had profited greatly from their looting of Konoha, while others had taken less.

Those who felt shortchanged decided to help themselves to Sunagakure's coffers, determined not to be the ones left empty-handed.

Pakura took a deep breath, grinding her teeth. "Anbu, start the operation!"

"Wait!" Chiyo interrupted.

"Granny, are you really asking me to hold back?"

Pakura frowned.

"No," Chiyo shook her head firmly. "Pakura, I understand your anger—I'm furious too. But even if you arrest or kill them all, will it solve the problem?"

Pakura looked at her, puzzled.

"Make them spit it out," Chiyo declared confidently. "I'll handle this. I'll make sure they cough up what they took, twice over. If they return enough, I might spare some of them. Otherwise, they'll all die."

Pakura stared at the various plans laid out before her. After a long pause, she slowly nodded.

"Fine. Give them one chance—let's see if they take it."

That same day, Pakura convened a meeting of Sunagakure's top officials. Afterward, all of them disappeared.

Two days passed before some of the officials began to reappear.

They looked terrified, as if they had seen ghosts.

And only three returned.

Out of the original eight, two were cleared of wrongdoing, while three were gone for good.

This shook Sunagakure to its core.

What was the new Kazekage trying to do? 

She had just taken office, and already she was taking down high-ranking officials one after another. Who could stand up to this?

As a result, the entire village was buzzing with speculation.

In response, Pakura openly revealed the crimes of the three officials who had exploited Sunagakure's finances, and left one final note: *All ninja subsidies will be temporarily suspended!*

This only stirred the uproar even more.

No matter what you do, you can't mess with people's livelihoods.

Touch their money, and they'll cut off your hand.

But this time, Pakura's actions left no room for dissent. On the contrary, the whole village called for severe punishment for the corrupt officials and demanded the return of the embezzled funds.

Pakura was satisfied.

So were the village's finances.

Chiyo had truly made the culprits repay what they had taken, with interest.

Chiyo, known for her ruthlessness, didn't hold back at all. 

What's more, she was a poison expert. Those who fell into her hands would truly experience what it meant to wish for death over life.

In the Kazekage's office, Pakura continued to sign off on orders.

"Next month, distribute the overdue ninja subsidies."

"Gather all the professionals we need for the river construction."

"Form a special task force to protect these professionals—make sure nothing happens to them."

"Announce that we're recruiting enough manpower to build the river."

"Form three squads led by sensory-type ninjas to keep a close eye on Konoha, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure. They won't let us complete this easily."

Hearing this stream of commands, Chiyo and Ebizo exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

They couldn't deny that Pakura was more capable as Kazekage than Rasa had ever been.

However…

If given the choice, they still would have chosen Rasa.

Rasa had always been more beneficial to Sunagakure.

But now, there was no choice to be made.

"Cough, cough…"

Chiyo began to cough.

Pakura paused her writing and looked up. "Granny Chiyo, I've contacted Hogakure. You should head there and let Tsunade treat you."

"Tsunade?" Chiyo blinked, then shook her head. "No need."

"Don't you trust her to cure you?" Pakura frowned. "Even if she can't fully restore your health, she can at least extend your life by a few years."

Chiyo was nearing the end of her life.

Years of battle and using poisons had left her body riddled with injuries. Even in poisoning her enemies, she had been infected herself to some extent.

Removing some of the toxins and controlling her injuries could easily add a few more years to her life.

"I trust her," Chiyo said softly, "but I can't go."

Chiyo spoke slowly but firmly.

Pakura twirled the pen in her hand and let out a soft sigh.

This was likely Chiyo's final pride.

This old woman, who had fought against Konoha all her life, was unwilling to accept Konoha's help in the end.

Even though Tsunade never returned to Konoha, the mark she bore was deeply etched with Konoha's influence.

"I should take a rest now. The rest is up to you, Fifth Kazekage."

Chiyo cracked a toothless smile, then turned and left.

Ebizō closely followed behind her.

This might be the last time they would ever meet.

Chiyo had fulfilled her promise, enduring countless insults to help Pakura secure her position as Kazekage.

What was left, she no longer wished to handle, nor did she have the strength to.

It was time for her to rest.

...

Itsuki arrived in a lower part of the Amegakure village.

The area had already flooded, forming a small lake.

Its size was continuing to expand.

"We'll start from here!" he said, pointing to the spot. "From here, we'll dig a long river, extending all the way to Sunagakure, directing the rainwater from Amegakure out to Sunagakure."

Konan furrowed her brow and said, "Here? This is a massive project."

"It's fine!" Itsuki smiled. "Amegakure doesn't have a huge population, but it's not small either. Many people here can't even afford to eat. Give them a meal and a little bit of money, and they'll work harder than anyone."

"That's true! Amegakure is too poor," Konan said with a helpless smile. "But even with that, there's still not enough people."

Relying on just the people of Amegakure to dig a river? That's a pipe dream! How long would that take?

Itsuki didn't seem concerned at all. "Take it slow. I believe once Amegakure starts moving, more people will join in."

"Alright then," Konan replied.

Itsuki opened a map and studied it carefully for a while.

Amegakure was an intriguing country.

It was surrounded by six other nations.

The powerful ones were Sunagakure, Konohagakure, and Iwagakure, and the slightly weaker ones were the Land of Birds, the Land of Rivers, and the Land of Grass.

Although small nations typically understood their role as strategic buffer zones, Amegakure was exceptionally ruthless in its actions.

Konoha was too occupied with its own problems to care about Amegakure's river project.

Iwagakure, however, might not turn a blind eye.

"Let's see if we can distract them," Itsuki muttered.

Iwagakure had two tailed beasts.

The Four-Tails, Son Goku, whose jinchūriki was Rōshi.

And the Five-Tails, Kokuō, whose jinchūriki was Han.

At this moment, neither of them was in Iwagakure.

The Akatsuki had already located them and was prepared to capture them.

Once their two tailed beasts were captured, Onoki wouldn't have the time to worry about Amegakure's river-digging efforts.

...

Whoosh! The Flying Thunder God Technique activated.

Itsuki appeared in the Kazekage's office.

He checked his chakra reserves and frowned slightly.

Teleporting from Amegakure to Sunagakure had used up nearly one-sixth of his chakra.

Amegakure was right next to Sunagakure.

At this rate, traveling to Kumogakure, the furthest village from Sunagakure, with one teleport, might completely drain all his chakra.

Could he still claim to go wherever he wanted?

"Each time, I realize how much I still lack," Itsuki sighed softly.

But now, all his focus needed to be on obtaining the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

He needed to awaken the Rinnegan as soon as possible!

[Kekkei Genkai: Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan (Pupil Power: Level 7, 59%)]

Once he had the Rinnegan, and his Sage Mode was upgraded to Level 8, he would finally have the courage to face the Six Paths.

"Why are you here all of a sudden? Did you miss me? I haven't been gone for long," Pakura said without even looking up from her desk.

She wasn't surprised by Itsuki's arrival.

With the Flying Thunder God Technique, Itsuki could move freely to over 90% of the places in the ninja world.

"I came to check up on you, to make sure you weren't sneaking around with some random guy behind my back!" Itsuki teased.

Pakura rolled her eyes.

Such a boring man.

"Call Gaara over. I need Shukaku," Itsuki said, looking at Pakura. "The Akatsuki has already begun its operations. They won't let any of the nine tailed beasts escape, except for the Two-Tails and Nine-Tails. For Sunagakure's safety, hand Shukaku over. Sunagakure can't withstand the Akatsuki's attack."

Pakura frowned, put down her pen, and said, "Shukaku... Gaara can't die right now. If they must take Shukaku, it should be last."

Right now, there were many objections to Pakura's leadership in Sunagakure.

Too many people had died!

At this time, no significant figures could afford to die.

Chiyo also understood this, which is why she chose to retire after completing her mission.

Even if she died in her seclusion, it wouldn't be discovered for some time.

That would be enough time for Pakura to solidify her control over Sunagakure.

"Don't worry, I don't want Gaara to die either," Itsuki smiled. "I promise, Gaara will live a normal life."

Pakura was stunned. "You can extract the tailed beast without killing the jinchūriki?"

"I believe I can manage."

"Alright then."

Pakura immediately ordered the ANBU to summon Gaara and Temari.

"Pakura!" Itsuki playfully placed his hand on the most beautiful back in the ninja world. "Haven't seen me in a few days. Did you miss me?"

Pakura rolled her eyes again. "Cut it out! Gaara and Temari will be here in a few minutes. What, do you only have a few minutes of stamina?"

Itsuki's face darkened as he pulled Pakura into his arms and began...

By the time Temari and Gaara entered the Kazekage's office, Pakura was already slumped over her desk, completely drained.

"Lady Kazekage... uh, Itsuki?" Temari's eyes lit up when she saw Itsuki.

"Yeah," Itsuki smiled as he stepped forward, placing a hand on Gaara's and Temari's shoulders.

"Relax, I'm taking you somewhere."

"Where?" Gaara asked, his face full of suspicion.

The moment Gaara saw Itsuki, Shukaku inside him started howling in panic.

Gaara could feel it — Shukaku was afraid.

Afraid of the man in front of him.

Gaara found it hard to believe.

Was Shukaku actually capable of feeling fear?

"Where I'm taking you doesn't matter. Just come with me," Itsuki smiled as he said the most domineering thing.

Whoosh! The Flying Thunder God Technique activated.

The three of them vanished together.

When they reappeared, they were deep in the desert.

Looking at the vast, endless desert around them, Itsuki suddenly thought of an ancient kingdom.

But with his arrival, the ninja world's development had already diverged from the original story.

Naruto...

Forget it!

He didn't have much to do recently, so he might as well let Naruto and Sasuke handle this one together.

If there was something to deal with, they could take care of it. If not, it would just be a honeymoon trip for the couple.

They'd been cooped up at home for long enough.

Itsuki's gaze shifted to Gaara.

Shukaku... you're mine!

Suddenly, a series of scrolls floated up, surrounding Gaara in an eerie formation.

Gaara's expression turned wary. A bad feeling was growing stronger in his heart.

He didn't know exactly what was about to happen, but he knew this moment would decide his fate.

Temari was confused, but she chose to trust Itsuki.

"Seal!" Itsuki shouted.

Bang!

Chains shot out from the scrolls, wrapping tightly around Gaara.

"Ahhhh!" Gaara screamed in agony.

At the same time, inside Gaara, Shukaku let out an even more horrifying scream.

In that moment, Shukaku fell into chaos.

It felt like... it was no longer itself!

(End of chapter)