Chapter 490: 490.Konoha Has the Supplies, But What Do You Have?

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Compared to Sunagakure, Kirigakure’s situation wasn’t much better. Grumbling within the village was steadily increasing.

Yet Yagura didn’t care about any of this.

He was determined to fight Sunagakure to the bitter end. Even the Daimyō of the Land of Water was beginning to have doubts.

Before the war started, the Daimyō of the Land of Water, who had been attacked and lost a hand, had been the loudest advocate for war.

Now, seeing the war stuck in a quagmire with no improvement, the Daimyō was beginning to regret it.

But regret was useless. He was already on the grill.

As for Yagura... he was just a pawn of the Akatsuki.

As a pawn, he certainly didn’t care about village complaints. As long as the objective was achieved, everything else was fine.

Even if the controlled Yagura was ousted from the Mizukage seat after the mission was complete, the Akatsuki wouldn’t care much.

Fortunately, Yagura being ousted wasn’t likely in the short term.

Removing a Mizukage was very difficult.

Besides, Yagura’s war against Sunagakure had legitimate justification. Even with considerable complaints within the village, his position remained unshaken.

Unless Kirigakure suffered catastrophic losses, such an insubordination wouldn’t occur.

The losses were heavy, but not enough to damage the village’s foundations. So Yagura’s Mizukage seat remained secure.

Rasa said he would find a way, so Chiyo dropped the matter, leaving it to him. After all, Rasa was the Kazekage.

It seems I can’t avoid going to Konoha.

Among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, all were at war.

At this time, you couldn’t expect anyone to donate supplies. You had to exchange them at great cost.

But even with great cost, others might not be willing to part with supplies, because everyone was short.

Looking across the shinobi world, the only ones who could still supply Sunagakure were Konoha, Kumogakure, and some resource-rich small countries.

But those small countries didn’t dare get involved, fearing Kirigakure’s retaliation.

Setting aside those small countries, Kumogakure’s own consumption was high, and the distance was great. Relying on them would be too difficult.

Given their previous cooperation, Rasa decided to go to Konoha and talk with Kazuki again.

Even if Sunagakure had no money and no ore, he had to talk face to face.

Rasa believed that if the price was right, Kazuki wouldn’t refuse.

Freezing cold. Two large braziers burned in the command post, making it warm and cozy, with no hint of cold. In the command post’s rest area, the temperature under the blankets was even higher.

This freezing weather was perfect for staying in a warm bed.

It was also the worst time to be disturbed.

And that was exactly Kazuki’s situation.

He had been sleeping soundly, wrap with a thick blanket, when an uninvited guest showed up. Who would be in a good mood?

Unable to bear it, Kazuki crawled out of his warm bed, threw on his clothes, and headed outside. Hearing the commotion, Izumi groggily lifted her head.

"Kazuki, where are you going?"

"To stomp some groundhogs. You go back to sleep. I’ll be back soon."

"Stomp groundhogs?"

Muttering to herself, Izumi turned over and went back to sleep.

Stomping groundhogs in the middle of the night, in this weather... you probably won’t even see any mice.

Putting on a thick coat, Kazuki left the camp.

In a forest not far from the camp, Itachi and the Anbu had Rasa cornered.

"Rasa, if you don’t have a reasonable explanation, don’t blame me for stomping you like a groundhog!!!"

Kazuki was in a terrible mood.

"...."

Rasa never dreamed this would be the opening line when he came to see Kazuki.

You all step back. I’ll handle this suspicious character.

Kazuki signaled to Itachi and the Anbu. They nodded and quickly left.

Rubbing his eyes, Kazuki yawned, tightened his coat, and asked irritably.

"Rasa, state your business quickly, before I lose patience."

"I apologize for disturbing your rest."

In need of a favor and outmatched, Rasa was very humble. Asking for a favor was one thing.

What he feared most was Kazuki, true to his word, stomping him like a groundhog.

His previous experience had nearly gotten him laughed to death.

He didn’t want to repeat that.

"Get to the point."

Kazuki didn’t want flattery. Rasa had come all the way from Sunagakure to the border camp to see him. There must be something important he needed; otherwise, he wouldn’t be so polite.

No matter how bad Sunagakure’s situation was, Rasa was still the Kazekage, equal to Tsunade. In theory, his status was higher than Kazuki’s as Hokage Assistant.

But that didn’t matter to Kazuki.

State your business or get lost. Don’t waste my sleep.

In this freezing weather, why didn’t he at least announce himself? They could have gone into the camp and talked comfortably. Discussing matters in a freezing forest, in this weather – something must be wrong with him.

"Sunagakure needs a batch of supplies. A considerable batch."

So Rasa stated his purpose. He’d come to do business.

To buy supplies from Konoha.

"Supplies?"

The previous batch of supplies should have lasted Sunagakure for a while. By the time those run low, supplies from other sources should be ready.

So why was Rasa coming all this way to buy supplies now?

Snowflakes, carried by the cold wind, landed on Kazuki.

Noticing the snow accumulating on his shoulders, Kazuki understood immediately.

The weather!

The severe weather had disrupted Sunagakure’s supply chain.

That’s why Rasa was coming to him again.

"Alright."

After some thought, Kazuki decided the deal was acceptable.

Among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Konoha’s supply consumption was the lowest. Plus, the Land of Fire was fertile; they had plenty of supplies. Selling another batch to Sunagakure wouldn’t affect the village.

If there was no impact, why not sell?

Kazuki wouldn’t actively seek war profiteering, but he wouldn’t turn away profit delivered to his door.

After less than three minutes of consideration, Kazuki agreed.

"Personally, I won’t refuse such a deal – Konoha can make a good profit. But I’m curious, does Sunagakure have money? Or, more precisely, do you have anything to trade for supplies? These words may not sound good, but for the deal to go smoothly, I need to ask."

Konoha has supplies. Plenty of them.