Naruto: Rebuilding the Hidden Sand Village

The leader of Amegakure—Yahiko—departed Sunagakure, bringing with him supplies from the Sand Village.

Rasa watched as the Ame-nin gradually faded into the distance. Among their group were also a number of Suna-nin assigned to help Amegakure resume production and rebuild. Once they reached their destination, they would report to Momu, who had already arrived in advance to coordinate logistics.

From this point forward…

The relationship between the Land of Rain and Sunagakure would become tightly intertwined. After all, if an entire country ends up working for a single village... its future is already decided.

As for the Daimyō of the Land of Wind... they seemed to have long since stopped acknowledging Sunagakure's existence.

The war had been over for more than six months, and still no instructions or mandates had come from the Daimyō's office. Even when they drove away a bunch of nobles who had come to commission missions, there was no response from the capital.

It was as if the Wind Daimyō had erased Sunagakure from existence.

And yet, ninja villages, as a nation's military arm, often take on tasks too dirty or delicate for the government to handle directly. So the question was: had the Daimyō truly gone silent… or had he already found someone to replace Sunagakure, taking this opportunity to cut ties with a "burden" known for its past defeats?

If that were the case...

No wonder the Daimyō had dared to cut off all funding, ignore Suna's decisions, and force them into complete self-reliance.

Of course, even if the Daimyō suddenly wanted to commission something again, Rasa was pretty sure he'd reject it.

After all...

Sunagakure is broke!!!

So why waste resources running around unless absolutely necessary?

Stretching with a yawn, Rasa basked under the sun, sighing.

"This heat is ridiculous… time to head back to the office and enjoy some wind."

His wife Karura was due to give birth soon. He had to make time to stay by her side in the coming days.

As for Kana...

A few days ago, when he brought Yahiko to meet her, and she heard she had a living clan member in Amegakure, she was overwhelmed with joy. She bombarded Yahiko with questions about Nagato, and about Nagato's parents.

Uzushiogakure had fallen when she was just a child. After leaving, she had wandered through the shinobi world. Eventually, in search of a stable home, she tried to join the Grass Village, revealing her abilities to their leader—

But wandering ninja were never truly accepted by the other major villages.

Those dark years… she never wanted to think about them again.

If she had stayed in Grass and never found Sunagakure… she didn't even want to imagine what her fate would've been.

And why hadn't she gone to Konoha?

In that chaotic era, Konoha—well, just look at what happened to Nagato's parents. That says it all.

So learning she still had family alive brought her immense happiness.

She mourned Nagato's parents, sympathized deeply with his suffering, and was outraged by the betrayal of Hanzo and the Konoha ninja who had crippled Nagato's legs. She promised that if she could, she'd travel to Amegakure—or have Nagato come to Sunagakure—and do her best to treat his injuries, hoping he might stand again.

She also sincerely thanked Yahiko for always taking care of Nagato.

And Yahiko, equally emotional to learn that Nagato had surviving kin, swore he'd tell him the moment he got home. He was sure Nagato would be overjoyed.

As for the Uzumaki clan members still in Konoha... Yahiko and Kana both seemed to deliberately avoid mentioning them. Likely because of their deep dissatisfaction with Konoha.

Yahiko's parents had died at Konoha's hands. Nagato lost his legs because of them.

Now was definitely not the time to bring up their relatives in the Leaf.

Rasa sat at his desk, enjoying the breeze from the fan, looking over the maps in front of him. Once Yahiko began organizing miners in the Land of Rain, and if they found suitable metals, Sunagakure would begin laying electric lines.

As for the grand-scale north-to-south water diversion project, that had to be postponed for now.

Advisor Chiyo had made progress on grid planting stabilization techniques—methods to secure desert soil. If all went well, this would allow them to begin transforming Sunagakure's terrain directly.

This method was simple, effective, and cheap—perfect for Suna's current conditions.

If successful, it would also pave the way for railways, power lines, and aqueducts—greatly aiding future infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the Land of Rain bordered three major countries: the Fire, Earth, and Wind Nations. Its geography gave it great potential for developing commerce.

This time, the food aid from Sunagakure wasn't that substantial. After all, Wind Country was not known for agriculture.

They'd use the profits earned to buy grain in the Land of Fire, then deliver it to both the Land of Rain and Sunagakure.

Rasa furrowed his brows, deep in thought.

"Once we stabilize the sand with these grids, we can proceed with rail, electric, and water systems. But for large-scale development… we'll still need to keep an eye on the Daimyō."

The majority of the Land of Wind was desert. As long as they didn't encroach on oases or threaten central authority, no one cared what they did in the sand.

After all...

What good is the desert?

What, you think all that sand just happens to be rich in mineral veins? That's pure fantasy.

Still... someone might get greedy and stick their hand in anyway.

Thinking this, Rasa gave a helpless chuckle, then shook his head.

"Anyway, I should find time to visit Chiyo and check on progress."

After all... he had personally gifted one of Suna's top talents to her. If she hadn't produced results by now, it would be a complete waste!

Meanwhile—

Land of Fire's capital, in the most extravagant red-light district—

"Yoyo!" Jiraiya had his arm around Kabuto, grinning sleazily.

"You little brat, dragging a holy sage like me into a place like this at your age? Tsk tsk~ Not bad, not bad."

Really now...

This kid was exactly the type he liked—bright and cunning.

But still...

"You're not even of age yet, you know? I'm starting to feel guilty. How about you just hand me the money and I'll go in alone? Don't worry—this sage is only here to gather material. A noble and artistic pursuit! But kids like you… better stay away from places like this~"

"Nah~," Kabuto pushed his glasses, smiling gently. "It's a rare chance to leave the village, and I want to see what the world is really like."

"I've always dreamed of being a writer, and who better to learn from than the great Jiraiya-sama himself? Maybe one day, I'll be a literary giant too."

"Hahahah! Is that so?" Jiraiya burst out laughing.

"Well then, keep your eyes wide open, kid. This sage will become the most famous author in all the shinobi world!"

"Since you're treating me tonight, I'll be sure to teach you how to gather proper material! Pay close attention!"

"Of course, Jiraiya-sama, enjoy yourself to the fullest." Kabuto patted his bulging coin purse with a smile.

"Don't worry, I brought plenty of cash~"

But...

Just as Jiraiya was laughing proudly with that lecherous grin—

Kabuto's eyes narrowed, a flicker of something dark flashing within them.

His lips curled into a faint, eerie smile.

"Be sure to drink hard, Jiraiya-sama. Drink well… and drink a lot, okay?

Don't waste the depths of my sincerity~"