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My Journey as Fourth Kazekage 122
🕑 Added 2025-03-19 16:00:09 +0000 UTCChapter 122: The Invitation
Rasa had never imagined that Ryūchi Cave, the place he had tirelessly sought but never found, would come to him on its own. Yet, instead of feeling joy, he was filled with caution. He believed that the White Snake Sage, the ruler of Ryūchi Cave—one of the Three Great Sage Regions—would not seek him out without a reason.
The girl named Tagorihime, sensing Rasa's wariness, smiled gently and said,
"Please do not worry, Rasa-sama. I am here on the orders of the White Snake Sage to invite you to Ryūchi Cave as a guest. There is no ill intent."
"Ho?"
Rasa replied, testing the waters.
"Sunagakure has no connection with Ryūchi Cave. If the White Snake Sage wishes to invite a shinobi, shouldn't it be Orochimaru of Konoha?"
Tagorihime covered her mouth with her sleeve and chuckled softly.
"I understand your doubts, Rasa-sama. But please believe me, once you meet the White Snake Sage, all your questions will be answered."
Rasa frowned slightly and continued to probe.
"Since it is an invitation from the White Snake Sage, I naturally have no reason to refuse. However, as the Kazekage of my village, I have been away for quite some time. Allow me to return to my village and handle some affairs before I accept your invitation. How does that sound?"
Tagorihime's eyes narrowed slightly, and she smiled.
"That would be wonderful!"
As she spoke, she pulled out a scroll from her sleeve.
"When Rasa-sama is ready to accept the invitation, simply open this scroll. I will personally come to escort you to Ryūchi Cave. Oh, and if possible, please do not keep the White Snake Sage waiting too long."
"Understood."
Seeing that she was not pressuring him to accept the invitation immediately, Rasa felt somewhat relieved. He carefully took the scroll and casually asked,
"May I ask how you knew I was here, Tagorihime-sama?"
From the time he arrived in the Land of Demons to the moment he defeated Mōryō, only a few hours had passed. His movements had been kept strictly confidential, so how had she found him so quickly? Was Ryūchi Cave located near the Land of Demons?
As if anticipating his question, Tagorihime bowed her head slightly and said,
"The White Snake Sage is well-informed about everything in the shinobi world."
Rasa, of course, did not believe this. If the White Snake Sage were truly so omniscient, she would not have waited until now to seek him out.
Still, even if it was an exaggeration, it showed that the White Snake Sage's intelligence-gathering abilities were extraordinary.
"I understand. Once I have settled my village's affairs, I will come to fulfil the invitation."
"Thank you. Then, I shall take my leave now."
Tagorihime nodded politely to everyone present before disappearing with a puff of smoke.
Rasa finally let out a sigh of relief and glanced at Honoka.
Honoka, understanding his concern, quickly scanned the surroundings with her sensory abilities. Finding nothing unusual, she nodded to Rasa.
At that moment, Miroku finally stepped forward, her beautiful eyes brimming with tears as she expressed her gratitude.
"Thank you, Rasa-sama, for defeating Mōryō."
Rasa smiled and shook his head.
"There's no need to thank me. This was not my achievement alone. It was the combined effort of all the priestesses who came before you."
!!!
Miroku's face filled with shock.
Rasa then began to explain.
"I used a method to enter the world created by Mōryō, where I met the generations of priestesses who had been devoured by him. They helped me destroy Mōryō, and in return, they entrusted me with the task of looking after you and the Land of Demons."
"Eh?!!"
Miroku was even more astonished.
Honoka, however, felt that things weren't so simple and asked curiously,
"Didn't Mōryō say that he and the priestesses were two halves of the same entity? That unless one devoured the other, they would never truly disappear?"
This reminder also struck Miroku, though by now, she had complete trust in Rasa.
Seeing this, Rasa offered a brief explanation.
"What Mōryō said was true, but it wasn't the only way. You can think of it as me now possessing Mōryō's power, effectively replacing him as the other half of the priestess's power."
!!!
Miroku didn't know how many times she had been shocked today.
However, she couldn't help but voice her concern.
"Won't the power of an evil being like Mōryō affect you, Rasa-sama?"
"Don't worry. Power itself has no inherent good or evil. The difference lies only in how it is used."
Rasa's words seemed to enlighten Miroku, prompting her to nod firmly. Honoka also looked at Rasa with admiration. Now that Mōryō had been dealt with, it was time for Rasa to take his leave.
"Eh? You're leaving already? Please stay a little longer, Rasa-sama. I haven't had the chance to properly express my gratitude!"
Seeing Miroku's reluctance, Rasa had already made up his mind.
"Don't worry. While I do need to leave now, this doesn't mean we won't meet again in the future."
"???"
Miroku looked at him with curiosity.
"Didn't I say earlier? I promised the generations of priestesses that I would look after you and the Land of Demons. So, if you don't mind, I would like to formally invite you to visit our Sunagakure as a guest."
"Eh? Really?!"
Miroku, who had been feeling down, suddenly became excited again.
"Of course. You are welcome to visit Sunagakure anytime."
As Rasa spoke, he summoned Daikoku, Ishito, and Ishibo.
"Kazekage-sama, the six individuals have been dealt with."
As elite jonin of Sunagakure, handling a few shinobi from a place like the Land of Demons was a trivial task.
"Good work. Now, there's one more thing I need you to do. Please stay in the Land of Demons for a few more days to protect the priestess and escort her when she visits our village."
"Understood!"
Rasa then turned to Miroku and bid her farewell.
"I apologize, Priestess-sama, but the shinobi world is in turmoil right now. As the Kazekage of Sunagakure, there are many matters that require my attention. I cannot stay here any longer, so I look forward to seeing you in Sunagakure soon."
"Mm!"
Miroku nodded firmly.
"You can call me Miroku, Rasa-sama. I'll see you in Sunagakure!"
---
Rasa wasn't making excuses to avoid staying in the Land of Demons. As the Kazekage of Sunagakure, one of the Five Great Nations, he was indeed extremely busy. There were countless decisions that required his attention, especially recently, as reports from the Anbu indicated that the war between the Cloud Village and the Stone Village against Konoha had taken a new turn.
As for why Rasa invited Miroku to visit Sunagakure, the reason was simple: he had his eyes on the Land of Demons.
Although the surprise attack on the Land of Fire had brought Sunagakure a substantial amount of military funds, money would eventually run out. To free Sunagakure from the financial control of the Land of Wind, Rasa needed to find a second source of funding, and the Land of Demons was a suitable candidate.
Rasa was even considering helping the Land of Demons establish a hidden village secretly controlled by Sunagakure. This would not only strengthen Sunagakure's power but also prepare Rasa for his ultimate goal of unifying the shinobi world.
Yes, after obtaining Mōryō's power, Rasa's ambitions had grown even greater.
The power granted to him by Mōryō and the priestesses was simply too immense—
It was the power of space-time.
