Chapter Text
The Land of Wind - and Suna by extension - doesn't really have much going for it. Sure, they have a few regional specialties - their silk is second to none, the various perfume oils they produce are unmatched in quality, and the spices that grow along the very narrow strip of fertile land on the coast are as exquisite as they are expensive - but aside from that…
It’s just- sand.
So much sand.
Too much sand.
Minato hates sand, especially the type of sand found in the deserts leading to Suna. It's the type of sand that gets into your clothes and doesn't leave for months. It’s coarse and hot and wholly unpleasant.
He supposes if there’s one thing the Land of Wind has going for it, it’s that the only reason another Daimyo would ever invade it is over a truly grave insult - anything less and not even they would be able to justify the costs. Of course, that doesn't mean the Wind Daimyo can behave with impunity - quite the opposite, really. While their lack of natural resources may make them unappealing for conquest, it also leaves them almost entirely reliant on imports. Sanctions are never pleasant, but against the Land of Wind they have the potential to be more devastating than any invasion. A starving people is a desperate people, and desperation…well, when people feel they have nothing left to lose, social order collapses.
But, no matter how delicate international politics were for the country, they could hardly compare to the mess that was their internal politics - particularly Suna’s.
Before he had been named as the Sandiame’s successor, Minato had possessed only general knowledge of Kaze no kuni - and, to a lesser extent, the Kazekage clan. His lack of knowledge at the time regarding the regions political climate was understandable, he felt, seeing as he rarely ran missions through the area. (Un)fortunately it was an ignorance the Sandiame had been quick to rectify, though the method through which he had chosen to do so had left much to be desired.
(Minato can still recall the day with great clarity. It had been much like any other day during his leadership training with the Sandiame - meetings, paperwork, mission reviews, ect. They had been sitting in the Hokage office doing the latter when suddenly Sarutobi had broken the silence. This also wasn’t unusual, it typically just meant that the man had seen something in a report - such as a mistake or irregularity- he felt was important to point out to Minato.
“Hmm. We’ve received new intelligence reports from Wind. Tell me, what do you know of the Kazekage clan, Minato-kun?” The man had asked.
“Well I know they rule Suna. Um… I think I also heard that they’re supposedly pretty powerful too, but I wasn’t clear on if that was in reference to the whole clan or an individual.” He’d replied.
Minato hadn’t thought much about his answer, only glancing up distractedly to respond to Sarutobi’s question before turning his attention back to the report he had been reading.
After seconds passed with no reply, Minato glanced back up at Sarutobi, about to question if that was all, only to pause at the bewildered and - dare he say - mildly horrified look on the mans face.
“...Is that it?” He’d asked faintly, to which Minato could only nod slowly in confirmation.
What followed had been one of the most grueling crash courses of international who’s - who he’d ever had to endure. Only Kiri could compare to the convoluted mess that was Suna, and even then they were still beat. How a country that was more sand than anything else could possibly manage to be so complicated would never cease to baffle him.)
Unlike the other great villages, the mantle of Kazekage was hereditary, in keeping with the tradition of Sabuku, who both founded and rule Suna. The Sabuku - now more commonly known as the Kazekage clan - were a powerful clan of Kaze no kuni long before the hidden villages. They had risen to prominence centuries earlier after gaining the favor of the countries nobility thanks in no small part to the utility of their bloodline. Having spent centuries as the most prominent clan in the region, it is of no surprise that when other countries began establishing their own hidden villages, it was none other than the Sabuku whom the Wind Daimyo called upon to found and lead his own, a task which they had fulfilled rather admirably.
Everything about that place was needlessly convoluted. The Kazekage clan - which was actually the Sabuku - was only really a clan in the loosest sense of the word. No one aside from the head and their successor were allowed to use the Sabuku title, and those positions could only be held by those who had inherited the clan's unique version of magnet release. As for everyone else, they were entitled to only their given name, something which Minato found more than a little ridiculous seeing as the only time the title was ever really used was during a formal greeting or introduction.
There was more, of course - much more. But contemplating anything beyond the little things when it came to Kaze no Kuni’s political and cultural peculiarities had a tendency to give him a headache - which, to be fair, also seemed to be true for most things these days - something he could ill afford at the moment - after all, he could already see the gates of Suna in the distance.
—
Staring out at the village he ruled from his office window, Rasa felt the familiar feelings of pride and inadequacy well up inside him. This village was his family's legacy, a reward for centuries of service, a symbol of their strength and power. It was his duty to protect it, to nurture it and see it prosper and rise to even greater heights just as his predecessors had, and yet…
Rasa closed his eyes and let out a tired exhale.
Sabuku no Rasa. A title that proved his bloodline just as his bloodline proved his heritage. His Kekkei Genkai had emerged before he’d even entered the double digits, and with its awakening the trajectory of his life had been irrevocably altered. Rasa came from a line that had diverged from the Sabuku four generations prior - two generations more and his line wouldn’t have even appeared on the register anymore. A line so far removed from the Sabuku, which had produced no notable talent, was one which received no special privileges in Suna. His line should have consigned him to a life as nothing more than another rank and file shinobi, but fate had seen fit to decree it otherwise.
The day Rasa’s Kekkei Genkai awoke was one of the worst days of his young life. In other countries, in other clans, awakening a bloodline was usually something to be celebrated.
Not in Kaze no kuni.
Not for descendants of the Sabuku.
At the time, he had been too young to understand the HeartbreakGreifResignation that had flashed across his birth parents' faces. He didn’t understand why they weren’t excited, nor why their behavior became so cold and distant.
Within an hour of revealing what his younger self had only seen as a cool new ability, Rasa’d found himself deposited at the Kazekage building, with only a storage scroll containing the contents of his room for company. His birth parents had stayed only long enough to collect a payment voucher before leaving. They offered no explanation for their actions, not even a goodbye - they simply left, practically washing their hands clean of him. It would be many months before he would even begin to come to understand why they’d acted as they had, and even still he never quite forgave them for it - though, he supposes the forgiveness of what was now a stranger wouldn't hold much value to them anyway.
Only a Sabuku could be Kazekage, and only someone with the bloodline could claim the title Sabuku.
Failing to deliver a child of the blood to the Sabuku was viewed no differently than bloodline theft in the eyes of both the clan and the law. They were within their rights to visit swift and brutal retribution upon any who dared do such a thing, a privilege which the clan took full advantage of.
Maybe if he’d known that, Rasa would have tried to hide his bloodline instead, but he hadn’t, and he’d paid the price for his ignorance. Over the course of a day Rasa had gained a Kekkei Genkai and become a clan heir, and all it’d cost him was the love of his parents and the remainder of his childhood.
He prayed to any god that would listen that one of his children had inherited the bloodline, that he wouldn’t have to watch another child go through what he had. Part of him felt wrong for wishing for such a thing. He could practically hear the bitter laughter of the lonely boy he had once been echoing in his mind - ‘hypocrite’ it hissed ‘you have no right!’ it seethed.
Damningly, he couldn’t find it in himself to disagree. Because Rasa knew in his heart that if history were to repeat itself once more it would not be he who would resist the current.
No, after his fathers abrupt disappearance, his wife's death, and the disadvantageous position they’d ended the war in - even from the winning side - Rasa was in no position to challenge tradition. Already a political block had formed on the council that was pushing him to name Sasori as his successor - despite the fact that the man didn’t possess the bloodline. That they felt confident enough to suggest such a thing had opened his eyes to how truly precarious his current position was. The situation was made all the worse with how the Daimyo was blatantly acting against their interests. Rasa remembered the man from one of the few visits where he accompanied his father to the capital. To the third Kazekage the Daimyo had been gracious and respectful, but no such courtesy had been extended to Rasa, even after the war had ended.
Rasa was pulled from his thoughts as he felt the air behind him shift, prompting him to turn and address the messenger who had appeared.
“The Konoha delegation has been sighted, Kazekage-sama. The Hokage is accompanied by the usual guard and at least four unknowns, three with Kage-level reserves.”
Rasa felt himself straighten at that. While having Kage-level reserves didn’t automatically mean that the individual could fight at such a level, it did mean that they were capable of incredible damage if given the chance. The fact that none of the scouts had recognized them meant that they weren’t in the bingo book, which was unusual for shinobi of such a caliber, but then again, he’d been hearing quite a few unusual rumors surrounding Konoha as of late, some even going so far as to claim that gods walked among us once more. Of course, Rasa didn’t put much stock into such rumors, but it was important to know them nevertheless.
“I see. Sato, initiate village wide high-alert protocols. It would seem that I have guests to greet.”
