Naruto: Rebuilding the Hidden Sand Village

"I never expected Sunagakure to be this prosperous. As expected of one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages!"

After touring the factories outside the village and observing the villagers' daily lives, Yahiko couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

"I wonder what it's like in Konohagakure, the richest and most powerful village in the entire shinobi world? It must be even more enviable."

As he said that—

"..."

Rasa remained silent.

It wasn't that he didn't want to respond. He simply didn't know how.

Ever since the war ended, Sunagakure hadn't sent its shinobi out for missions. Most of them had stayed behind, working within the village.

Recently, some nobles from the Land of Wind had come to commission missions, but since they were too dangerous and the pay too low, Rasa rejected them all.

In the end, those nobles had left cursing, accusing Sunagakure of being ungrateful and picky, even going so far as to curse that Sunagakure was doomed.

That was just the way the shinobi world worked…

Having won all three previous great ninja wars, Konoha received the most mission commissions. Next came Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning, and Iwagakure of the Land of Earth. Then Kirigakure in the Land of Water. And lastly… Sunagakure.

They had no choice. Their Tailed Beast didn't stack up to the others, their overall strength lagged behind, and they had fewer kekkei genkai. It was frustrating.

So even though Sunagakure had recently made some money through refinery and selling sand, whether it could catch up to Konoha's deep foundation… who could say?

As they continued walking, Yahiko looked at the shinobi and civilians coming and going through the village. His gaze was filled with envy, and he sighed every so often.

After all, Amegakure had been in chaos for far too long.

He once thought that with the rise of a demigod of the shinobi world, Hanzo of the Salamander, Amegakure would see rebirth—peace.

However, after seeing that the God of Shinobi, his brother, and his close friend had all died, Hanzo's ego inflated. He believed himself to now be the strongest shinobi in the world…

He thought he could elevate Land of Rain to the status of a sixth great nation, and its village to the sixth great shinobi village.

Then they could receive more commissions!

Without hesitation, he declared war on three major villages.

As expected… Amegakure lost.

That war dragged the country into ruin. Countless people starved and froze. After the defeat, Hanzo's confidence shattered. He never regained the presence of the "Demigod" and shut himself within the country, closing off the borders and severely restricting movement. Amegakure's economy plummeted and never recovered.

From then on, the country fell into internal strife. In order to survive, people fought and stole. Amegakure was broken and weak, and remains so even now.

After that war, the Demigod of the Shinobi World… was no longer a demigod. All he felt was fear—fear of other villages invading, fear of losing power.

This time, Hanzo had acted out of fear of Nagato's Rinnegan threatening his rule. He colluded with Konoha shinobi and used underhanded tricks, almost killing Konan and Yahiko. Fortunately, they were saved—cough, cough.

Anyway, once Yahiko became leader of Amegakure, his goal was to clean up the chaos caused by Hanzo and restore order. His plan was to swiftly use force to stabilize the country. Everything else could wait until peace returned.

That might have been a solution…

But strictly speaking, the Akatsuki themselves had once been rebels—part of the chaos plaguing Amegakure. And how many others in the country had also resorted to violence out of desperation, simply to survive?

Yahiko still remembered what Kyūsuke had said before joining Akatsuki:

"There's no hope left in the Land of Rain!"

That was why Yahiko… didn't want to wage war under the guise of peace.

"That's Stargazing Platform!"

Rasa pointed to a large, under-construction building in front of them. He had a warm smile on his face.

"My wife Karura and I first got together here after unexpectedly witnessing a vision of the Star God in the night sky. So I decided to build this stargazing platform, hoping others might find happiness like we did."

However…

"Star God?" Yahiko blinked, glancing at the glaringly bright sky. He muttered, "Do gods really exist?"

"Hahaha, I'm not sure either," Rasa shrugged. "But hey, maybe they do. Who knows?"

After all, in the shinobi world, plenty of people dreamed of becoming gods.

Some even wanted to play god and reshape the world. It all depended on whether you accepted those delusional types or not.

"You should bring a girl here sometime. Everyone lucky enough to see the Star God ends up blessed—like me. I'm already a father of three."

"That sounds wonderful."

Yahiko's eyes held admiration. He squinted up at the bright sky, then looked down again with a gentle smile.

"If I have the chance… I'll definitely come."

The agreements with Sunagakure had been made. In a few days, a group of Suna shinobi would escort a shipment of food back to Amegakure, and some of the people there would finally gain jobs and begin to settle down.

He believed that once the people saw this change, even the most hopeless among them would join their efforts to rebuild the country.

As for the large water project between Amegakure and Sunagakure—it would commence at the appropriate time in the future.

When it did… it would surely provide even more employment and hope for the people.

With those thoughts, Yahiko looked at Rasa with a grateful smile.

"Thank you, Lord Kazekage."

"..."

Hearing Yahiko's sincere thanks, Rasa was momentarily speechless. After a pause, he forced an awkward laugh, his gaze drifting.

"No need for thanks. We're allies, after all!"

There was no doubt Amegakure would find peace. But in the future… who knew if Amegakure would still exist?

He sighed inwardly.

As a kindhearted Kazekage, he'd never quite inherited the true Will of Sand from the First Kazekage. So when faced with the heartfelt gratitude of a young man… he couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

He patted Yahiko's shoulder. "Come on, I'll take you to meet someone."

"??? Brother Rasa's tone seems very mysterious? Who could it be?"

"You'll find out soon. Oh, right—where's Momu? Why didn't he come with you?"

If Rasa remembered correctly, at this point in the operation, Momu's mission should've been completed.

Besides—

Rasa gave Yahiko a curious glance. "What's wrong? You don't look so good."

"It's nothing!" Yahiko quickly waved his hand and laughed awkwardly, clearly avoiding the subject. After a short pause, he said apologetically, "Uncle Momu… I'm sorry!"

"…Alright. I think I get the picture." Rasa nodded, smiling. "Forget it. No harm done—as long as he's safe!"

Clearly, Nagato and Konan hadn't trusted their big brother figure to go to Sunagakure alone, so they'd held Mommu back as a hostage.

"Besides, someone needs to stay behind and manage the cooperation between our two villages. And since Momu knows both sides, he's the perfect person for the job. Let him stay there a while longer."

Don't worry, Momu…

Your wife and child are doing just fine. You don't need to worry!

Feeling a bit sentimental for his distant comrade, Rasa pointed toward the hospital ahead. "Come on. She should be resting by now."

"???"

Yahiko looked puzzled again, but didn't ask. He simply followed behind Rasa.

Still…

Who could it be that warranted such a serious tone?

PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin