Rei stifled a chortle as he saw the dumbfounded and slightly fearful faces of the Suna Council who wondered what kind of secrets Pakura knew about them. He was well aware all Pakura had to do was demonstrate her signature Scorch technique. While the council would still be able to question her identity because another Scorch user could have resurfaced or whatever bull they would probably try to pull, if the Daimyo supported Pakura after that, there was nothing the Suna council could do. It would pass as proof of her identity no matter how reluctant and unwilling would the council be.

Revealing their secrets though... now that was a stroke of genius. She not only subtly threatened them, but she also showed them they NEED to integrate her back into the village. There was no chance to tag her as a rogue ninja. Not while their Daimyo supported her. Not when she was a part of the Uzushio Trading Company. There was only one way to make her keep her mouth shut and that was to get her back into their ninja rank since every ninja is obligated to keep village secrets... well, secret. ​​

'Damn, she played these old and young coots like a fiddle.' Rei's eyes sparkled in amusement, 'They have no other option than to give their support to her in the next stage of her plan.'

"You want to usurp the Sabaku clan!?" Rasa angrily burst out and stood up, balling his hands into fists as he glared at Pakura with extreme hatred. "You can't do that!" He exclaimed.

Rasa was fine with being booted from the Kazekage office. It just meant one of his cousins would get the position until one of his kids is a Jonin. The very laws of his village would safeguard that. Rasa also believed his kids to be failures. He could easily manipulate them from the shadows so, really, him not being the Kazekage was just a formality that would probably even suit him well. He never expected Pakura to try and usurp the rulership of the village for herself!

Daimyo knew the plan and as such, before anyone else could react and make the process more difficult, he spoke, "On the contrary, Rasa. It was YOUR family that pushed, blackmailed, and bribed for this law to be introduced in the village. It was YOUR family that snatched the control of the Kazekage position through it. And it was YOUR family that made it possible for us to demand the same of you as long as all the rules are properly followed." He gave the people in the room a pointed look, daring them to contradict him despite knowing he was right. "As such, we will now vote if the reason of one, Rasa Sabaku, for sending Pakura Yotsuba, one of the strongest and most influential ninjas of Sunagakure in her time, on a suicide mission, conspiring with Kirigakure in order to get rid of his political enemy, is enough to evoke the Grudge Match. Rasa Sabaku broke the laws of this village as well as this nation by conspiring with an enemy village for, not the benefit of either the village or the nation, but his own. He willingly offered the life of one of our strongest shields for no other reason than he felt threatened. I beseech you to think about it. If he could do it to Pakura who was at the time beloved and revered as the hero of Sunagakure..." Who is to say he won't do it to you went unsaid.

Rasa knew he lost this round. If he threw a temper tantrum now, it would not help his cause. Not at all. It would simply portray him as immature. He had no other option than to sit down and quietly seethe, letting the vote go on.

Chiyo impassively stared at the Daimyo who just delivered his speech while inwardly she was groaning, knowing at least some of the young clan heads would be captured by it. As for the others... 'All the ways they could go about removing Rasa, they just had to choose the most troublesome one! And I unknowingly made it easier for them! Curse it all! To think I would be so easily played.' She huffed in irritation.

Pakura had to be returned to the service of the village if the secrets she knew were to stay secret. All of the council members knew that. The problem was how to ensure it since she was clearly under the protection of both the Wind Daimyo and the Uzusio Trading Company. And here, the Daimyo himself gave them an easy way out. After all, if the Grudge Match was on, it would either mean Pakura would die or she would become the Kazekage. Either way, she wouldn't be able to reveal what she knows to the enemy.

'I guess, it could be worse. At least if the girl wins the village would retain the Daimyo's favor again.' Chiyo grumbled as she made the decision of who to support.

While Chiyo fought the internal battle of decisions, Rei watched the occupants in the room, seeing they also considered their options. Only when his eyes landed on Suzumiya Mirano did they sparkle in a massive amount of amusement that could be translated to internally laughing his ass off. The woman in question noticed and returned a small understanding smile to Rei.

Seeing the people in the room more or less made their decisions, the Daimyo decided to continue the meeting. "Let's vote."

Unsurprisingly to Rei, Mirano was the first who raised her hand and voted in favor of the Grudge Match. Seeing her do that, three other clans and four independent ninjas on the council followed her lead while Rei had to bite his lower lip in order to not burst into uncontrollable laughter at the bewildered face Rasa sported when the entire neutral faction in the council, united for the first time during his whole tenure, voted against him.

This... was exactly why Rei and Pakura were so assured of themselves.

The Suzumiya clan was a very new clan in the village. They only became a part of it at the end of the Third Ninja War. During Rasa's rule, however, the clan rose in status until it rivaled the most influential clans in both wealth and power. There were not many ninjas in the Suzumiya clan but all of them were powerful.

When the financial crisis hit the village because of Rasa's mismanagement and sour relationship with the Daimyo, it was the Suzumiya clan who helped those in need. The poorer clans and individuals. Naturally, the amount of goodwill and political capital they accumulated over these harsh years was staggering.

It was... only their connection to the Biri-Biri company that allowed them to grow so quickly.

And Rei couldn't help but admire Konan's scheming. It was really incredibly good of a decision to send their employees undercover into Sunagakure all these years ago and have them form a clan. Because of that and the help this clan gave to the village through his company, Rei currently held 8 votes out of 21 in the Sunagakure's council with none the wiser.

The next to vote was the so-called anti-Rasa faction which provided another 7 votes in favor of the Grudge Match. During his time as the Kazekage, Rasa made quite a few enemies. While they couldn't say anything against him while he was in power, now that there was a way to kick him while he was down, they would naturally go for it.

Really, having the Suzumiya clan provided quite a lot of inside information to Rei. There was no way in hell Pakura would lose the vote. He knew it from the start, he simply wanted to see all the bickering.

Surprisingly enough, only three people voted against the Match. Two clans and one Baki. They were closest to Rasa in the political field. Not that their votes helped the man and they knew it. They simply stood by him in case he won the match. Either way, there was no loss for them.

In the end, the vote ended with 17 for and 4 against the Match. Rasa couldn't help but slump in his seat while Pakura beamed at him. It was decided. The fight was on.