Naruto: Rebuilding the Hidden Sand Village

Land of Rain.

An envoys from Amegakure was scheduled to visit soon.

According to intelligence sent back by Mōmu, the former leader of Amegakure had already been crushed by Uzumaki Nagato. That battle had shaken the heavens and the earth, eclipsing the sun and moon—it was nothing short of terrifying. As a shinobi of Sunagakure, Mōmu had been deeply shaken. But when he thought of the village's kindness, the Kazekage's trust, and his family back home, he had clenched his teeth, suppressed his fear, and charged into the battlefield through the flames and chaos.

Facing down hundreds of enemies without flinching, he embodied the fearless spirit of the Sand. And in the end, through his unwavering resolve and high-minded principles, he "saved" the leader of the Akatsuki.

The letter here used a lot of flowery language and extensive descriptive words to write a bunch of nonsense. It was clear that Mōmu didn't want to elaborate on the situation at the time, perhaps because the battle was too intense for his six years of ninja training to perfectly describe. So, Rasa didn't pay it any mind. As long as he knew the result, the process… wasn't important!

As for that shadowy, pitch-black entity Rasa had warned him about, Mōmu claimed he'd seen nothing of the sort. In fact, he even questioned whether the Kazekage had been hallucinating. After all, who could possibly look that bizarre?

Rasa just sneered. In the future, there would be ninja who could literally turn into snakes.

Though right now, Kabuto had shifted to training as a puppeteer, who knew what his final path would be?

And when the so-called "Child of Prophecy" eventually faced off against the Ten-Tails jinchūriki—Ōtsutsuki Kaguya—with enhanced shinobi training, things might get... complicated.

So Rasa decided to leave future worries for the future.

The rest of Mōmu's report detailed the current state of Amegakure.

After the death of Hanzō of the Salamander, the country had plunged into chaos. Although Nagato, wielding the legendary Rinnegan, had brought a portion of Amegakure's ninja under his control, many others refused to accept leadership from "a bunch of brats." Several factions were gathering in secret, planning to overthrow Akatsuki's new rule.

With Hanzō's oppressive regime and now a civil war, the Land of Rain was in total disarray. Recovery would take time.

As for whether Nagato and his group could unify the country?

No one seriously doubted it. This was the shinobi world, after all. With the strength of those three kids, it was only a matter of time before they seized full control.

Now acting as the new leader, Yahiko had expressed his gratitude to Sunagakure for their assistance. To repay the favor, he had arranged an official diplomatic visit from Amegakure in the coming weeks.

In short, Mōmu's report could be summarized like this:

"Kazekage-sama, the Land of Rain is a total mess. If you want to make a move, now's the time!"

Rasa couldn't help but nod with admiration.

Now that's what you call a true inheritor of the Will of Sand!

After calculating the time it would take for their convoy to travel, Rasa estimated that Yahiko and his group would arrive at Sunagakure within a week or two—barring any incidents.

Looks like it was time to prepare the village for a formal visit.

Meanwhile, in the Capital of the Land of Fire…

"You guys from Sunagakure—what the hell are you trying to pull?"

Jiraiya sat casually on a railing, leaning back against a wooden pillar with his arms crossed, staring at Kabuto with furrowed brows as the latter stepped out of the building.

"You're gathering that many civilians… and kids?"

"Jiraiya-sama~," Kabuto replied with a pleasant smile, pushing up his glasses as if he hadn't noticed the accusatory tone. "That's not exactly your business, is it? After all… you're a Konoha ninja."

What's the deal?

You think the world revolves around you?

"Last I checked, shinobi from different villages aren't supposed to interfere with each other's internal affairs~"

"I'm not here representing Konoha," Jiraiya said with a smirk, flashing a gleam of his perfect teeth in the sunlight. "I'm here as the Toad Sage! An ambassador of love and peace, future literary legend, and the one and only embodiment of justice—Jiraiya-sama!"

Kabuto stared blankly.

Childish.

Though he silently cringed inside, Kabuto maintained a polite expression.

"Jiraiya-sama, you already agreed—so long as we do nothing to threaten the safety or interests of the Land of Fire or Konoha, you wouldn't interfere with Sunagakure's operations here. I trust you'll honor that."

"No, kid," Jiraiya chuckled smugly. "What you're doing already is a threat. Gathering that many civilians and orphans? Sounds like you're planning some shady, morally questionable human experimentation!"

"I'm afraid that's a baseless accusation," Kabuto replied calmly, his smile unfazed. "These people aren't even from the Land of Fire. Most of them are war refugees—displaced from other nations. They came here because the Land of Fire is the wealthiest and most stable in the entire shinobi world. And because…"

He sighed and shook his head.

War didn't just impact shinobi—it ruined the lives of ordinary people everywhere.

If Auntie Kana hadn't taken him in all those years ago… he might have ended up just like these poor souls, wandering in search of a home.

"Not long ago, a Konoha rogue—who, like you, was also one of the Legendary Sannin—was exposed for horrific, unethical, inhumane experimentation. That scandal? It shook the entire shinobi world."

There was a subtle bite of sarcasm in his tone, tinged with a trace of melancholy.

"I'm sure countless ninja and innocent civilians perished in Orochimaru-sama's experiments. Isn't that right, Jiraiya-sama? And yet… despite his monstrous power, he still walked away unscathed from fights against Tsunade-sama, yourself, and even the Third and Fourth Hokage. Truly worthy of the title 'Legendary Sannin.' A real candidate for… the God of Shinobi's successor."

"..."

Jiraiya winced.

This brat was sharp-tongued for his age.

And honestly… he wasn't wrong. Orochimaru's case had been badly mishandled. The Third had been too soft, and the council let it slide. Jiraiya didn't exactly have the moral high ground here. Refugees? That was small stuff compared to what Orochimaru had done.

All he had left to stand on was the fact that this was still Land of Fire territory.

He remembered the deal: Kabuto would tell him more about the surviving Uzumaki, and in return, Jiraiya would stay out of Sunagakure's business—as long as they didn't cause trouble.

So far, Kabuto hadn't spilled a single detail about the supposed Uzumaki survivor.

But still… Jiraiya had made a promise.

And ninja always choose how to follow rules, depending on the situation.

With that in mind, Jiraiya reassured himself that he was still being wise and reasonable. His smugness returned. He glanced behind Kabuto—toward the refugees.

Over the past few days, he'd secretly observed how Kabuto interacted with them.

Then suddenly, a lecherous grin spread across his face.

"Heh heh… kid, you clearly don't understand how the Great Toad Sage really operates!"

Before Kabuto could respond, Jiraiya summoned a toad with a puff of smoke. Its tongue shot out, wrapped around Kabuto, and yanked him in.

"Perfect timing! Let's see what the new generation of Sunagakure shinobi are made of! I'll show you what it means to face one of the Three Legendary Sannin!"

"..."

Kabuto hung there, suspended by a gross toad tongue, completely deadpan as he looked at the man who'd resorted to violence just because he lost a verbal argument.

This… is one of the legendary Sannin?

Shameless beyond belief.