Naruto: Rebuilding the Hidden Sand Village

Lately, things had been relatively peaceful in the Hidden Sand Village. There were no chaotic or unusual missions, and most of the shinobi were working quietly within the village. But due to ongoing manpower shortages, every single person was considered a valuable labor resource.

That's why puppeteers—who now served as engineers—had become incredibly popular.

They could research tools to optimize production, and do the work of multiple people for just a single salary. How could that not be popular?

They were every employer's dream.

After the daily gold dust quota was collected, Rasa began his usual inspection around the village.

The smelting factory was located outside the village walls, so the layout inside hadn't changed much—just a few structural adjustments, like the academy swapping places with the hospital, and those two large trees... which had now become something like spiritual symbols where villagers went to pray.

Who knew? In the future, those trees might become Hidden Sand Village tourist attractions.

"The Legendary Residence of the Fourth Kazekage", maybe?

Could probably sell quite a few tickets.

After all, the Land of Wind already had some notable landmarks—like the Ruins of the Ancient Kingdom of Rōran or the Stone of Gelel. With a little restoration, some artistic polishing, and a good promotional campaign, plenty of tourists might be curious enough to visit.

The only problem was that no one really knew where those ruins were. If they were close to the village, the Sand shinobi would've found them by now. Most likely, they were too far away, which made them unfeasible for current development.

So for now, artificial attractions were a must.

For example, the Stargazing Platform currently under construction outside the village.

Since they now had that amazing "Constellation Legend Simulator," it would be a waste not to build an observatory.

As for marketing…

What better story to promote than the romantic tale of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl? And if the ever-honest Sand shinobi were to add a little artistic flair to the legend…

The story would go: When a man and a woman stand together on the Hidden Sand Stargazing Platform and clearly see the figures of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl in the night sky… they are destined to become a happy couple.

After that, toss in a few staged "model couples" for good measure. In a world like the shinobi world, full of intense emotional bonds, Rasa figured—maybe there didn't even need to be a strict "man and woman" limitation.

Strong bonds between men could be just as moving, right?

Of course, the most powerful marketing tools were still novels, films, and TV—but with the current pace of technology development, while electricity was starting to appear in various regions, large-scale communication devices were still likely a decade or two away. No old-school TVs for a while.

Maybe in another ten or twenty years, computers could be used to play games.

A while back, after Hidden Sand had made some money from gold mining, some shinobi submitted a proposal to bring electricity to the entire village.

However…

"With all this wind and sand… it makes more sense to use wind power and solar energy, doesn't it?"

That was Rasa's conclusion. And thus, another development project was born.

Several puppeteers began researching how to convert solar and wind energy into electricity. Full electrification of the village didn't seem too far off anymore.

Currently, the village's export industries included gold dust, mining tools, and a small amount of glass products. Honestly, Hidden Sand's external trade was still pretty weak.

So promoting independent business ventures was a top priority for the village.

Rasa had even heard that not long ago, Elder Chiyo's brother Ebizō had used his own money to ask an outgoing merchant caravan to bring back a few pigs.

No one knew what he was planning.

Farming hadn't even stabilized yet, and the man already wanted to raise livestock? In the desert?

What could pigs possibly eat out here besides sand?

But Rasa didn't say anything. If someone wanted to spend their own money… what could the Kazekage really say?

With so many villagers working outside the village and school-age children in class, daytime in Hidden Sand had grown noticeably quieter.

Rasa took in the spring breeze and drew a deep breath…

Only to choke on a nose full of sand.

"Spring's nearly over… summer's coming soon."

"Are you sure there's gold dust in this stuff?"

...

A tall woman with light blond hair, wearing a green cloak with the kanji for "Gamble" boldly written on the back, grabbed the shop owner by the collar with one hand. Her expression was cold, and her tone even colder—half-smirking, half-threatening.

"If you're trying to scam me…"

CRACK!

The wooden table next to her shattered into splinters.

The shop owner shuddered at the sound, then slowly lifted his head to look at the woman in front of him.

As a Hidden Sand native, he was already starting to guess who she might be.

One of the Legendary Three Sannin.

The strongest medical-nin in the shinobi world.

Granddaughter of the legendary God of Shinobi.

And the woman who'd made a name for herself in the Land of Fire over just half a year—known across the region as the biggest gambling sucker around.

Ordinary folks might not recognize her…

But that monstrous strength? Who else could it be but Princess Tsunade of the Hidden Leaf?

So the shopkeeper quickly explained:

"We don't really know for sure, but they say that area's long been used by people across the Land of Wind for gold panning. Rumor is that ever since the Daimyō cut off funding to the Hidden Sand, they've been relying on that desert to extract gold."

"Hidden Sand? Gold mining?" Tsunade frowned, thinking for a moment.

Then she let go of the shopkeeper and waved her hand generously.

"Fine. Shizune, pay the man. Let's try a hundred bags first!"

"A hundred is almost 100,000 ryo, Lady Tsunade…" Shizune hesitated. "Maybe we should try ten first? Just in case, you know… maybe…" She glanced nervously at the shopkeeper preparing the goods. "…he's scamming us?"

"What's the point of just ten?" Tsunade slapped her chest with confidence. She didn't even care about the nearby creeps drooling as they snuck glances at her. "We do things big or not at all! Relax, the Senju Clan still has money. Grandpa and Granduncle left a huge inheritance. I'm the only one left to spend it—so don't worry. Go ahead and blow it!"

And with that…

SLAM!

The shopkeeper grinned brightly and finished preparing the goods.

"Alright, that'll be exactly 100,000 ryo!"

"What?!" Shizune's voice shot up in protest. "That's not true! It should only be 99,900 ryo!"

What, just because Tsunade looked rich, he thought he could fleece her?

Even Tsunade's eyes narrowed as she rolled up her sleeves. Trying to scam one of the Legendary Sannin? Was this guy looking to die?

But then—

"That table you smashed? It's worth a hundred ryo."

"A hundred ryo for a broken table?!"

"That's handcrafted by one of the Land of Wind's master carpenters… even if it's a rejected piece."

"Even a rejected piece is worth that much?!"

"Pfft, that's cheap!" the shopkeeper sneered, staring at Tsunade. "If it wasn't a reject, it would've gone for at least… what, ten thousand ryo? Easy."

Sure, it was just something he cobbled together with scrap wood on the road, but hey—he was a Sand shinobi, inheritor of the Will of Sand from the First Kazekage. He wouldn't give an inch over a single ryo!

"Pay up! And if you don't—"

"Shizune, just give him the money."

Tsunade didn't bother arguing over a hundred ryo. She was the sole heiress to the Senju clan's massive fortune.

Would she ever worry about money?

Just a hundred ryo.

She—wasn't short on cash!