Teizawa's gaze swept down over the entirety of Sunagakure from on high, and he spoke from deep in his belly:
"Warriors of Sunagakure, we've won!"
That steady, resonant voice landed in every ear.
It carried a force that made people believe.
After a brief silence, someone started it.
Around the plaza, and then throughout all of Sunagakure, several thousand shinobi stepped forward as one, craning their necks and shouting back:
"Suna… Suna…"
It wasn't perfectly synchronized, but it was loud enough.
In the end, it merged into a roaring tide that lingered above Sunagakure's skies, refusing to fade.
"Suna…"
Kankurō trembled all over with excitement.
Staring at the massive mechanized armor, he shouted himself hoarse.
He'd completely forgotten who he was supposed to be.
Temari, beside him, watched her kid brother lose his mind and couldn't stop her mouth from twitching.
But as she looked at that overbearing, dominating figure…
Her chest felt like a stampede of little deer.
Her thoughts tangled into a mess.
Maki, stone-faced as ever, watched the people around him who used to be Gaara's trusted men, one after another joining the chant.
A bitter smile tugged at him.
And yet it also felt inevitable.
Someone like this… was Sunagakure's future.
Chiyo and Ebizō watched that arrogant young silhouette from afar.
Feeling Sunagakure's vitality flare back to life.
The two of them spoke at the same time, sighing:
"Being young is nice."
It was the first time Chiyo had truly felt it.
That someone could pull all of Sunagakure's shinobi back together again.
This kind of scene…
How many years had it been since the Third Kazekage vanished?
And she knew, more clearly than anyone, that after today…
Sunagakure wouldn't have revolutionaries, hardliners, and fence-sitters anymore.
From this day forward, Sunagakure would have only one voice…
…
Kazekage's Office.
Teizawa lounged in the Kazekage's seat, posture casual, utterly at ease.
Chiyo and Ebizō sat on the nearby sofa in silence.
Maki, Temari, Kankurō, and the others were there as well.
Along with Tokiri, Otofu, and Satetsu, and the rest who had sworn loyalty to Teizawa.
Plus a number of shinobi from the clan families.
Only… among those clan shinobi, there were clearly far fewer faces than there should've been.
It was obvious: during the earlier fighting, plenty of stubborn elements had been targeted and wiped out.
You could say it like this.
Every mid-to-high-level figure in Sunagakure who was still alive was here.
Several dozen people packed into the room, making the spacious office feel cramped.
Teizawa's eyes swept across the crowd.
For some reason, he thought back to not long ago, when he'd been sitting here to receive that so-called "trial."
This moment mirrored that moment.
But everything had been turned upside down.
"Kazekage-sama, Gaara has been thrown into the prison. Monk Hōichi carved a seal onto him. How should we handle him next?"
At last, Tokiri, the jōnin who had already taken over ANBU, spoke up and broke the silence.
The instant those words fell, the air in the office turned subtle.
The coup had succeeded beyond anyone's expectations.
But…
How do you deal with the previous Kazekage?
It was a sensitive question.
Chiyo's eyes flicked toward Teizawa, unreadable.
Even though Teizawa had promised her he wouldn't kill Gaara…
With Teizawa's prestige in Sunagakure now, if he decided to go back on his word—
There wasn't a damn thing she could do about it.
Temari and Kankurō looked at Teizawa too, both visibly tense.
Blood was blood…
There was no way they wouldn't care.
"Kazekage-sama, Gaara must die!"
Someone immediately jumped in, teeth clenched, voice thick with hatred.
"Leaving aside the countless killings Gaara committed while he was the jinchūriki, just the fact that he lost control in the village and unleashed the tailed beast, nearly causing catastrophe, is enough for the death penalty."
"Exactly. If not for Kazekage-sama, the consequences would've been unimaginable."
"Gaara the butcher must die!"
With one person taking the lead, several more instantly echoed him.
"Must die!"
"Kill Gaara!"
"Extract the tailed beast and choose a new jinchūriki…"
In an instant, the office grew loud.
"Kazekage-sama," Maki couldn't sit still anymore. He hurriedly spoke. "Gaara is the One-Tail's jinchūriki. He's Sunagakure's strategic weapon. Killing him means raising another jinchūriki, and that's not worth it…"
Someone cut him off. "With Kazekage-sama's strength, what does it matter whether we have a jinchūriki or not? Gaara must die…"
"He didn't cause Sunagakure any real losses."
"He's killed plenty of people…"
Voices overlapped, one after another, arguing nonstop.
Teizawa didn't respond.
A cold electronic voice inside his mind stole his attention.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully seizing the position of Kazekage. Though you still lack a formal inauguration ceremony, in truth you have already become the one and only Kazekage in the hearts of all Suna shinobi.]
[Calculating rewards…]
[All of the host's ninjutsu and taijutsu will be upgraded to max level, with greatly increased power…]
[Host chakra capacity increased by 500%.]
[Host's Magnet Release has automatically evolved into Electromagnetism…]
The upgrades to ninjutsu and taijutsu, Teizawa could more or less understand.
It was like taking a normal B-rank technique…
And after the upgrade, making it hit with A-rank power and lethality.
As for the chakra increase…
That just meant he could fight longer.
But electromagnetism?
Teizawa's eyes narrowed slightly, thoughtful.
Electromagnetism. The evolution of magnetism?
A person flashed through his mind.
The scene-stealer from X-Men.
Magneto.
If his guess was right…
This Magnet Release evolution had basically pushed him beyond the limits of the shinobi world.
Meaning: even if he didn't have chakra anymore…
He could still use electromagnetic force.
This power was now completely fused with his body.
A massive win.
To put it simply, Magnet Release used to only control steel and other metals, plus objects he'd "refined" ahead of time with his own chakra.
Like Rasa's gold dust.
Like Gaara's sand.
But now…
Through electromagnetic force, Teizawa could control any object within a certain range.
Any object.
Not just metal, and no pre-refining required.
That range was still limited for the moment.
But…
If this ability kept growing, it was terrifying.
He could even use electromagnetic force to interfere with magnetic fields.
If one day he could control the magnetic field of the entire planet…
Teizawa couldn't help letting his imagination run wild.
By then, even if the Ōtsutsuki showed up, he wouldn't be afraid.
"Kazekage-sama… Kazekage-sama…"
Chiyo's aged voice called out several times in a row, yanking Teizawa back from his runaway thoughts.
"Ah." Teizawa finally came back to himself. "Elder Chiyo, what is it?"
Uh…
Everyone exchanged looks.
So while we're in here screaming ourselves raw over whether to kill Gaara, you were zoning out?
"Ahem." Chiyo's mouth twitched, and she forced herself through it. "Since you've already become Kazekage, put Gaara's matter aside for the moment. There's something we need to address quickly."
After a pause, she looked at Teizawa, expression heavy.
"The envoy the daimyo sent is dead!"
"Oh."
Teizawa nodded, completely unconcerned. "Then he's dead."
Chiyo: "…"
What do you mean, "then he's dead"?
That thing represented the Wind Country daimyo.
Crushing down the irritation in her chest, Chiyo said in a low voice:
"You taking the Kazekage seat, in name, still requires the daimyo's approval. So… this is troublesome."
"And the village is about to run out of money. We need the daimyo's funding support…"
The meaning was obvious.
At a time like this, they couldn't afford to offend the daimyo.
He held Sunagakure's economic lifeline.
"What the hell? My position still needs him to—"
Before he could finish, Teizawa suddenly thought of something. His eyes shifted, and a grin tugged at him.
"Elder Chiyo is right. Tomorrow I'll go to the daimyo's estate and personally apologize."
"I'll have him recognize my position as Kazekage, and continue providing financial support to Sunagakure…"
Chiyo felt like there was something between the lines.
But before she could press further, Teizawa waved a hand.
"Everyone's exhausted. Go rest. The postwar recovery work in Sunagakure… I'll leave it to Elder Chiyo."
As he spoke, Teizawa flicked a look to a few of his confidants.
They immediately began urging the others out.
Chiyo wanted to give a few more instructions, but Teizawa brushed her off.
Right now, Teizawa's prestige in Sunagakure had basically reached its peak.
Chiyo couldn't say much.
She could only leave, helpless.
But as everyone filed out…
Only Temari stayed behind, teeth clenched, refusing to move.
Seeing his big sister not budge, Kankurō had no choice but to swallow hard and stay too.
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