My Journey as Fourth Kazekage

As Rasa pushed open the doors and stepped inside, the once-noisy conference room fell silent. All eyes turned to him, but the looks he received were far from reverence. It was only due to his superior status that they were forced to remain quiet. Their dissatisfaction, however, was written all over their faces.

After all, the meeting was scheduled for 9 AM, and it was almost noon.

Yet, Rasa felt no shame whatsoever. Having fully integrated with the original Fourth Kazekage's memories and personality, he was unfazed by their stares.

His path to becoming the Kazekage hadn't been entirely legitimate, but at the end of the day, he was the Kazekage. As long as he remained in this position, no one would dare openly rebel against him.

Sweeping his cold gaze over the crowd, Rasa strode forward and took his seat—the lone chair at the head of the room, symbolizing the highest authority in Sunagakure.

From this vantage point, he could clearly see the complex political landscape within the village.

There were more than thirty people present in the meeting room, with even the weakest among them being elite jōnin. All of them were high-ranking officials who held the power to influence village policy.

However, Rasa only truly paid attention to five of them.

First were the two elders seated on either side of him—Chiyo and Ebizō.

Next was Chiyo's protégé, a strikingly beautiful yet cold-eyed kunoichi with an alluringly exposed outfit and a slender figure—Scorch Release Pakura.

On the other side, seated beneath Ebizō, was a tall and burly man dressed in a long robe. His square-shaped face was stern and expressionless. He was none other than Magnet Release Michikawa.

(AN: I have no idea who this person is so I think he is an OC.)

Lastly, there was Baki, his most trusted aide and the leader of Sunagakure's Anbu. A powerful jōnin, and the only person in the room who wholeheartedly supported him.

As for the rest? Though they were all influential figures within the village, they were nothing more than followers of these five.

Unfortunately, of the five, only Baki was truly on his side. The others either had their own agendas or didn't respect him at all.

And at the root of this power struggle… was the sudden disappearance of the Third Kazekage.

Unlike Konoha, Sunagakure's internal power structure wasn't overly complex. The village lacked large clans, and overall, its forces were divided into two main factions—the Noble Faction, represented by the Sand Clan, and the Civilian Faction, composed of common-born shinobi.

Historically, while each Kazekage was appointed by their predecessor, the support of both factions was also crucial to maintaining legitimacy. A Kazekage needed both the Nobles' and the Civilians' backing to be truly recognized as the village leader.

This was the case for both the Second and Third Kazekage.

However, the Third Kazekage's abrupt disappearance meant that no successor had been designated. This created a power vacuum, leading the Civilian Faction to push for one of their own to ascend to the position.

Among the candidates, the one with the strongest support wasn't Rasa.

It was the very woman sitting before him—the so-called Hero of Sunagakure, Scorch Release Pakura.

The Civilian Faction fervently supported Pakura as the next Kazekage. To them, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have one of their own lead the village. At one point, her popularity had even surpassed Rasa's.

However, the legacy of the Kazekage lineage still held weight…

The Sand Clan, which had always held the Kazekage's seat, was naturally unwilling to relinquish its power. Thus, they refused to support Pakura.

Then, by a twist of fate, half a year ago, Iwagakure launched a surprise attack on the Land of Wind. During this invasion, Rasa repelled the enemy forces using his Magnet Release: Gold Dust, gaining immense prestige. Seizing this opportunity, the Sand Clan backed Rasa and elevated him to the position of the Fourth Kazekage.

This meant that Rasa lacked the support of the Civilian Faction. Even among the Nobles, only half truly supported him. The leader of the opposing half was none other than the man before him—Michikawa.

Logically speaking, since Michikawa was also from the Nobles' faction, he should have supported Rasa now that he had become the Fourth Kazekage.

However, the real complication lay in the fact that the Third Kazekage was missing, not confirmed dead.

The Third Kazekage was widely regarded as the strongest Kazekage in history. The idea that someone could silently eliminate him without a trace was unthinkable. Thus, even now, many people still believe that the Third Kazekage was alive—just missing.

Michikawa, having once been a trusted aide to the Third Kazekage, was one of those firm believers.

In his eyes, Rasa was nothing more than a temporary placeholder, forced into this position out of necessity. To Michikawa's faction, as long as the Third Kazekage's death was not confirmed, they would never fully accept Rasa as their leader.

As for Chiyo and Ebizō, these two elders had lived since the days of the First Kazekage. They operated outside Sunagakure's political system, holding authority over the Puppet Corps, the Sealing Squad, and the Tailed Beast. Their influence was immense, making them virtually untouchable. Naturally, they did not consider Rasa someone they needed to obey.

Adding to his troubles, Rasa had only been Kazekage for less than three months. He hadn't had time to build a strong personal faction. The only real move he had made was appointing Baki as the head of the Anbu, securing some control over the village's black ops forces.

Aside from that, his position was still precarious, with enemies on all sides.

But that… was the past.

As Rasa surveyed the numerous Sunagakure shinobi before him, he did not rush to speak.

Even though his supporters were few, he was still the Kazekage. Just by sitting in silence and casting his gaze over the room, he exerted immense pressure—especially on those who had just been badmouthing him moments ago.

Of course, this didn't include the five key figures.

Chiyo and Ebizō, both elderly and experienced, simply closed their eyes, showing no respect whatsoever.

Pakura, with her seductive open-back outfit, furrowed her brows slightly but met Rasa's gaze head-on, completely unfazed.

Michikawa remained stone-faced, sitting firmly in his seat without moving an inch.

Only Baki looked visibly tense, his eyes darting nervously. Though Rasa had promoted him, his strength and seniority were the lowest among the five. Even so, he managed to maintain his composure.

For three or four minutes, the room remained in a tense silence.

Just as someone was about to break the quiet and speak, Rasa suddenly opened his mouth.

"Elders, Pakura, Michikawa, Baki—you stay. The rest of you may leave."

The moment Rasa finished speaking, the entire room stiffened.

First, they were surprised. Then, their expressions filled with resentment. They had already tolerated the fact that the Kazekage had arrived hours late for such an important meeting. But now, after saying nothing at all, he was dismissing them?

This was outright disrespectful.

Some shinobi looked like they wanted to protest, but the instant Rasa's cold gaze swept over them, they felt like an invisible weight had crushed their throats.

No one dared utter a single word. One by one, they quietly left the room.

Rasa paid them no further attention, and once the room was cleared, he got straight to the point.

"I overheard your discussions outside. Everyone was quite vocal. But none of you spoke." Rasa smirked, "Now, I'd like to hear your thoughts."