Rasa put down the last piece of paperwork for the day and let out a relieved sigh as he sank back into his chair.

Another day without that absurd monster showing his face.

He had appeared out of nowhere and won the one-tails from its host.

The very next day, he had come for the village hidden in the sand and there was nothing the combined forces of the village could do against him.

Then, he had fought off the Tsuchikage on their behalf and snatched the four-tails.

In an inconceivable turn of events, he had even found a way to fuse with both beasts at the same time.

Every time Rasa saw him, he seemed to become more terrifying.

Externally, although it seemed that the entire village was still under his control, internally, the undercurrents were surging.

The voices of the dissidents who felt that Rasa was only a puppet of the monster and that instead of spinelessly submitting to its might, they should rally together to revolt.

The faction led by Pakura of the scorch style was particularly insistent and annoying.

The twenty-year-old kunoichi had gained a great deal of fame on the Iwa-Suna battlefield.

It was her squad who had held off the four-tails while she kept Onoki at bay with her bloodline limit, in the time it had taken them to arrive on the battlefield, saving innumerable lives and gaining the moniker of Hero of the Sand.

With a head full of youthful ideals and strength to back it up, she was turning out to be a powerful political rival.

After his ‘talk’ with the monster on their way to the battlefield, he couldn’t really deny their claims of his being a puppet ruler.

But, if the alternative was to pit themselves against the monster, he would be the first to disapprove.

It hadn’t been hard for it to subdue the village with only one tailed-beast.

It would be simpler with two.

Anyway, it wasn’t as if they hadn’t benefitted from the association. An upgraded protective formation, vastly increased prestige and a weakened enemy.

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All they had to pay for it till now was his verbal admission of surrender. He wasn’t naïve enough to believe that it would forever stay that way.

That is why every day he didn’t see the monster was such a relief. He knew that their next meeting would be one where the Village had to repay its debts.

Think of the Devil and he shall come.

His eyes snapped open as he felt the dreaded presence appear in his room. It frustrated him to no end that he couldn’t even detect how he managed to bypass the wards.

Another demonstration of authority. The message was loud and clear: ‘Your life is in my hands.’

The monster looked quite different.

The new shade of hair, the mark on his cheek and striking amber eyes that seemed to glow within the backdrop of darkness that was its sclera.

He had become more terrifying. Again.

Rasa sighed with resignation, “What can my humble self achieve for you this fine day?”

Lin Feng finished gnawing on the, surprisingly delicious, fried scorpions he had bought off a roadside stall and said, “Its time for your village to get a makeover. I need your help for the evacuation and during the construction. Come.”

Before he could even react, Lin Feng grabbed Rasa’s arm, coating both of them with Void Force he stepped into the Void reappearing on a platform of sand floating over the centre of the village.

Blinking away his confusion at the change of scenery, Rasa clenched his fists.

This feeling of being dragged around like a toy was so intensely humiliating and yet there was nothing he could do despite being one of the most powerful men in the world.

With another deep sigh, he purged all his negative emotions and turned to the monster beside him.

“What would you have me do?”

“Just announce that there is going to be a comprehensive upgrade of the village infrastructure and for that, all the people need to get out of their houses and stand in an open area. I’ll do the rest.”

Shrugging, he complied, his hands blurring into seals for a wind style jutsu that amplified his voice.

“ATTENTION, DENIZENS OF SUNAGAKURE, THIS IS THE KAZEKAGE AND WE ARE EMPLOYING ALERT LEVEL 2. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL.”

From their perch in the sky, they saw all the people in the village burst into a flurry of activity.

Like ants emerging from a kicked anthill, all people swarmed out of their houses with their valuables and deeds, making their way to the nearest shelter.

The shinobi maintained order, preventing stampedes and speeding up the evacuation process.

Within hours of the announcement, the entirety of the village had been emptied of its residents.

Lin Feng was impressed by the discipline of the villagers and the extensive measures in place for emergency evacuations.

Several messenger hawks had come and gone in a steady stream between Rasa and the various squads of shinobi that were assisting with the migration reporting their status and asking for explanations.

A letter asking whether this was a preparation to fight a decisive battle against the monster caught Lin Feng’s attention.

“What is this? Should I be worried about a rebellion, my dear man? Didn’t you assure me that you had the situation well under control?”

Rasa winced at the sight of Lin Feng’s teasing grin. “One of my more vocal detractors: Pakura of the scorch style. Now being hailed as a Hero of the Sand for her military exploits. Troublesome, but manageable. No need to worry.”

“I’ll trust your word.” Clapping his hands, he excitedly said, “Now that all the preparatory work is over, let us begin.”

“It’s time to usher in a new Sand.”