Chapter 2.4

The shock of seeing another's truth so clearly would wear off soon, that much I knew. I was not yet strong enough, not yet completely in tune with my Maia self, that the effect of imposing my nature on others could last long. Had Rasa not believed I wasn't going to pose harm to him, it wouldn't have worked at all.

In fact, if I had meant to deceive him on even the slightest level, it wouldn't have worked either. The reason why Mairon's betrayal had, for a while, shaken the heavens, was because it truly was against an Ainur's nature to deceive mortals for one's own gain. The oath I had sworn, one that used Eru's name, could not be uttered lightly. Its benefit was obvious – if said with the right intent, it would convey to the other your sincerity of purpose. If said falsely, it carried consequences.

I wasn't sure if I understood them entirely, but I knew that not a single Ainur, Man, Elf, Dwarf, or any other being in Arda that had taken Eru's name in vain had led a good life from that point.

I devoted three threads of thought to consolidating all the information I'd been able to garner so far – the metaknowledge I'd come into this world with, the conversations I'd had with Jun about the state of politics so far as he knew it, and whatever else I'd been able to observe so far. Two I kept trained on my surroundings in case things went south and I needed to bolt. I already knew what my exit plan was, but it wasn't without its risks.

If Rasa reacted before I could, I'd be shut down. Plain and simple. I thought it unlikely given the sheer speeds I was capable of going, especially in short bursts and in the beginning, but I couldn't rely on that knowledge as something foolproof.

I dismissed those thoughts, focusing back on the matter at hand. Rasa wasn't on-board, per se, but the window of opportunity I'd created for myself had to be used. I'd earned enough goodwill with Gaara – and maybe Baki too, given how he'd jumped into the conversation – that I knew I could rely on him in the future, especially if I was in a situation where I needed an ally like a Jinchūriki. If I was able to coach him and Shukaku, who I doubted had ever had a perfect host before, through the process, I would have an immensely powerful ally.

And, I liked to think, a friend too.

With this many mental partitions running at the same time, I was able to think of each factor this conversation might hinge on simultaneously.

"Let's begin with the Daimyo,"

"What about him?" Although his words were still slightly slurred, Rasa retained enough of himself to narrow his eyes. Oh my. It seems I'd underestimated the man's willpower.

Data: Rasa's tenure as Kazekage marked by economic and military challenges. Data: Rasa's wife's death. Analysis: Increased emotional detachment, affecting diplomatic and familial relationships. Rasa's decisions, influenced by village needs and personal losses, prioritized Sunagakure's security. Unknown factors: The full extent of Rasa's personal grief's impact on his leadership choices.

"Do you want my help or not?" I asked softly. At his silence, I continued. "Why did he pull your funding?"

"…he and I had a falling out, but nothing Suna can't manage without." Rasa finally said.

Data: Deteriorated relations with Wind Daimyo. Analysis: Personal conflicts with Rasa, perhaps exacerbated by his emotional state, leading to reduced missions and economic hardship for Sunagakure. Unknown factors: Precise nature of disagreements and potential opportunities for reconciliation. Data: Suna's decline began a decade ago. Wind Daimyo died a few years back. Letter suggests problems continued. Inherited grudge? Stronger or weaker?

"Don't," I said firmly. "I will not pretend to know the particulars of the situation, but I can more than simply guess why Suna's funds are drying up. It isn't just the Daimyo, that much I know."

Information available: Iwa's border skirmishes with Suna. Analysis: Suna, viewed as Konoha's ally, faced resource draining conflicts, diverting attention from economic development. Unknown factors: Possible diplomatic solutions not explored, internal village dynamics during conflicts.

Rasa hesitated, glancing at Baki. I frowned. This was getting both of us nowhere. "My best guess," I said carefully, "Is that your 'falling out' with the Daimyo coincided with increased raids from Iwagakure. The border skirmishes you're having with them must be draining resources – you can't fight a low-intensity conflict and still have enough manpower left over to make up for a loss in funds. Am I thinking along the right lines?"

The Suna-nin – including Gaara, I noted – jerked back. I smiled. Now I had them on the backfoot.

"…you're significantly more well-informed than I was led to believe," Rasa replied quietly.

"I catch on quick," I said casually. Rasa frowned for a second, before sighing.

"I can't deny what I've seen and I can't deny that you've been helpful, but what you're asking for… if even a whisper of it got out, it might just break Suna."

Information available: Konoha accepting missions from Wind Daimyo. Hokage wouldn't intentionally weaken their only ally in a weakened Konoha. Comparative: Konoha accepted additional missions because of urgent need. Post-Kyuubi crisis? Analysis: Potential lack of awareness of Suna's plight, contribution to Suna's economic struggles. Unknown factors: Rasa's internal deliberations on maintaining alliance despite resentment, potential communications between villages regarding this issue.

"It already is," I stressed. "Do you think the world doesn't see you weakening? Do you think it escaped your citizens' notice that there just aren't as many merchants or traders coming here? That they don't gossip about how they see fewer and fewer ninjas around anymore? Or that critical infrastructure in the village isn't repaired for ages?"

"And what would you have me do?" Rasa snapped, slamming his hands on the desk. I stayed still even as I applied another three shields onto myself. I wasn't afraid to push, not anymore. Maybe that was overconfidence. Maybe I hadn't earned it. But I was sick and tired of being heard but not listened to. Were all ninja this stubborn? This paranoid? "I am beset by enemies and false friends at all sides. I cannot afford to act one way or the other. All I have tried has failed to make more than a dent in our problems!"

I took a deep breath in. I couldn't make headway like this. Revealing my true form had already affected him if he was willing to say this much, but it wasn't enough. I had to give him an opening, had to conform to what he expected of people. At the end of the day, what any Kage, any ninja expected, was give and take. I couldn't offer him my aid without making it seem like I was demanding something in return, that would just make him mistrust me further.

"Where I come from," I started, "There was a being so deeply unsure of himself that, when the time came to take up arms against a great enemy, he begged his lord to let another take his place. He did not do so simply out of fear of the enemy, but fear that he wasn't enough. The man who took his place fell to the enemy's manipulations. For a while, it seemed that all was doomed."

Rasa looked at me in askance, as if he was trying to place the story I was telling him with any he might have been familiar with. I smiled, letting the Song weave into my words, projecting my sincerity to him as deeply as I could without revealing my true form again. "I'm not saying you're afraid, I believe you when you say you've tried everything." Then, I smiled. "But then, you didn't have my aid. Kazekage, resigning yourself to what you see as your fate, before every avenue has been exhausted, is the same as admitting defeat. Are you the sort to do that?"

Despite himself, the Kazekage shook his head.

"Then what I would have you do is ask for help," I said gently. "I'm not asking you to go to the Daimyo, or even Konoha. I can imagine that the Wind Daimyo's just the sort of person to redirect his missions to Konoha. It isn't wise for him or for you because you're losing both face and funds, and he's directly weakening his own powerbase."

I paused, summoning a third of the energies I still had left.

"It isn't hard to imagine that you're feeling awfully resentful, too. Towards the Daimyo, his son who inherited whatever bad blood existed between you and his father, even Konoha for turning a blind eye. If you do not wish to turn towards them, then turn towards me. Swear to me that you'll try to be a better father-" Gaara snapped his head towards me. "-Swear to me that you'll set aside your hate as best you can, I've already shown you how much of a lie your life's become. Swear to me that you'll treat me the way I have promised to treat you, and I will aid you to the fullest of my abilities."

Rasa stilled, teeth gritted, hands clenched ontop of his desk. Finally, he nodded. "I swear," he said quietly.

As soon as those words escaped his lips, something clicked between us. Through my mind's eye, I saw a golden string float between his chest and mine, right where our hearts were. An oath had been made that couldn't be broken, not without severe consequences to the one who spat on it. Even if I didn't trust Rasa, I trusted my powers.

I'd thought about what I could possibly offer him that would make more than a dent to Suna's financial woes. I couldn't create anything complex as I was, they couldn't wait long enough for any structural reforms to take place. Whatever I gave them had to be something I could produce easily, something that could be sold easily, so that an inflow of money could be established in the short-term. It also had to be something that Suna didn't already possess, or possessed too little of to make use of on a large scale. I'd found my answer when I was studying the map detailing Iwa and Suna's stand-off. I clapped my hands together, concentrating.

And then I sang once more, a loud, long note that pushed against me just as I pushed back. This time, I didn't rely on my memories of Namo's mercy, or of Estë's healing arts. I envisioned Aüle the Smith, Husband to Yavanna, Forgemaster of the Valar. I felt the heat of his forge. I heard the roar of his hammer against the anvil. I saw iron shape and mould as he desired. I felt, heard, saw, and I created. As I drew my palms apart, I saw air give way to metal, black and durable, but not so beyond the range of normal steel that selling it would pose a strategic risk.

A brief look of awe crossed the three Suna-nin's eyes. I smiled. I don't think I would ever get tired of seeing others reactions to hearing the Ainulindalë, the Song of Creation. I may not be capable of the feats that the greatest of my kind had engaged in yet – I couldn't erect mountains from the ground, couldn't decompress the ground and let rivers form, couldn't summon thunderstorms that would rage for a dozen years – but I'd be damned if I didn't get there one day.

I placed the chunk of solid metal – nameless and not especially mystically active, and therefore reproducible without expending great effort each time – and folded my hands in front of me.

"You tried selling your gold dust but transporting it by ship was too costly and dangerous. Of those you could trade with on land, Iwa would sooner fight you for it. Claw and Fang didn't have the money to buy it in bulk consistently. Rain had been closed off for ages. The only other country you could've easily traded with was Rivers, and they have one of the continent's biggest goldmines."

Rasa stared at the chunk of metal. I could almost see the neurons fire and the synapses connect in his brain as he came to the conclusion I wanted him to. "You want me to trade metal."

I nodded. "I want you to trade metal with Rivers first. They'll take the offer – it'll increase their profits when you stop giving them whatever competition you pose. If they have a gold mine, they'll have an industry devoted to it. If you have surplus left over and don't find yourself in need of an immediate cash injection, ask your blacksmiths to reforge it into tools. Those, you'll be able to sell to Rivers at a much higher profit margin. I'm sure your economic advisors can find other trading partners, and at the very least, you'll have lower import bills on the steel Suna needs. We can expand onto other raw resources later."

Rasa picked up the chunk of metal, refined into perfection at the moment of its creation. Then, his eyes found mine. "This… might fix some of the short-term financing goals, but it won't solve everything. Suna's economy's been on the decline for more reasons than merely a lack of trading partners. Why?"

"Giving gifts has a value of its own," I said, smiling. There was a weight to my words as I said them, though I had not used any of my essence to reinforce them. Something about the words I'd chosen echoed in the room, reverberating against the walls. "The Iwa issue you're having? Talk to me about it."

Rasa considered the metal for a moment longer before handing it to Baki, who took it almost reverently. "It isn't the Iwa-nin that we can't deal with. It's who they send into the Land of Wind. More to the point, what they send into the Land of Wind."

…oh. That- that made so much more sense than what I'd been thinking of. Of course Iwa would do that. Of course hard-headed, stubborn-to-a-fault Onoki would do that.

"Han and Roshi," I said quietly, earning a nod from Rasa. At this point, the poor man wasn't even surprised I knew things that I really, really shouldn't. I was sure my message about being a spirit had gotten through. If I said I was Maiar, that I was born of Eru's thought, it would've meant nothing to him and only created more questions. I'd settled on merely implying that I was not human, could see and bring out others souls, and let his mind come to whatever conclusion he'd come to.

"They're Jinchūriki. More than that, they're Jinchūriki who apparently get along with their Tailed Beasts." Here, Rasa shot a look at Gaara, but not an unkind one. The red-haired boy shifted slightly, utterly unused to feeling any kind of compassion from his father. I frowned. That was one more thing to fix, but I couldn't do anything about that just now. "My ninja cannot deal with them on their own, they have to withdraw and wait for me and Gaara. Only together have we had any luck in driving them back. If they come together…" He trailed off.

"I understand. I don't think that'll be a problem for much longer."

Rasa took a deep breath in, exhaling loudly. He breathed in again, unclenching his fists and opening a drawer next to his desk. Out came a glass and a thick, squat bottle of amber liquid. He poured a healthy amount into the glass, swallowing a big mouthful of it a second later.

"And why do you think that?" Rasa asked with forced calm.

"Because," I said, eyes settling on the red-haired boy doing his best not to be noticed, "I intend on turning Gaara into a perfect Jinchūriki."

In the peripherals of my vision, I noticed Gaara snap his head towards me, eyes widening as Shukaku clarified to his host what exactly that would entail. Even Baki let out a small, half-strangled sound, bringing his hand up to nurse his forehead. Rasa exhaled sharply. Then, he pushed the glass away and took a deep swig from the bottle.

…I think I broke him.