Naruto: Rebuilding the Hidden Sand Village

"That brat Kabuto has left the team?!"

Upon receiving the message, Rasa rubbed his temples in frustration, muttering,

"Doesn't that kid know how worried Kana would be?"

According to the report, it seemed that one of the Legendary Sannin, the Toad Sage Jiraiya, had discovered that their Sunagakure-nin were conducting business while concealing their identities within the Land of Fire. Suspecting they were secretly carrying out secret operations under the guise of a merchant caravan, he'd begun tailing them.

Then, just as they were preparing to head back, Kabuto stayed behind in the city, telling the others to return without him. He said he would wait for the right opportunity to draw Jiraiya's attention away before sneaking out later.

However...

The caravan waited outside the city for five days, and Kabuto never showed up. They finally sent someone in to investigate—only to find a letter Kabuto had left behind.

In it, Kabuto said he had temporarily left the group and was headed for the Land of Rain, promising he'd return to the village later.

Oh, and also...

He added that in the capital's red-light district, word had it some freeloader was impersonating one of the Legendary Sannin and had skipped out on the bill. Now he was being hunted by the district's enforcers.

As for why no one believed the man was truly one of the Sannin?

According to the madam, that guy was lewd, shameless, and flirted with men and women alike. There was no way he could be the legendary and noble Jiraiya of Konoha. She swore on it.

"That little bastard really knows how to stir up trouble~"

Rasa chuckled bitterly, shaking his head. After a moment of hesitation, he decided to tuck the letter away—out of Kana's sight.

After all, that kind of place… Even if Kabuto was only trying to lure away the perverted sage's attention, he still went there. If Kana found out, a beatdown would definitely follow.

"Couldn't the kid at least consult an adult before doing something like this?"

If Jiraiya wanted to come, then let him. Even if he made it to Sunagakure, so what? At most, as the host, Rasa would just gift him a few "Gold Panner Gift Pack" as a token of goodwill between the two villages.

As for trying to do anything else?

Well… he'd have to ask the sand in Sunagakure whether it agreed.

"Seriously… dragging some pervy old man into a brothel? If anyone should go, it should be—"

Cough cough.

Rasa squinted, suspicious.

"Could it be… this kid planned it all along?"

"He's really not an honest one."

Still, he had the presence of mind to leave a letter to explain where he was going. Otherwise, with the state of the world as it was, if a freshly graduated kid disappeared, Sunagakure would have to send a search party.

"Send word to Amegakure—tell them to keep an eye out. That should be enough."

As for the rest... they'd deal with it later.

Meanwhile… Konoha's silence was deafening.

Despite Rasa sending out the general agent agreement days ago, Danzo, who had been designated as the general agent, still hadn't replied.

"Could it be… they think we're too poor to be worth doing business with?"

"Damn it… I really don't have any hidden motives. I just genuinely want to get rich together!"

Rasa sighed and shook his head.

"Should I start looking for a new distributor?"

In the end, he decided to shelve the matter and revisit it after gauging the situation further.

Today, he had plans to visit the glass factory, where according to Advisor Ebizō, they had developed something interesting.

At the Factory

"Lord Kazekage,"

Advisor Ebizō was already waiting. One look at his beaming smile was enough to tell Rasa that he was in a great mood.

Could it be... some kind of breakthrough?

Before Rasa could ask, Ebizō had already gestured for him to follow.

The moment they stepped inside, a wave of heat rushed out to greet them. Fortunately, it was already late afternoon, so the weather wasn't unbearably hot. Otherwise, Rasa would've seriously reconsidered coming.

"So… what's this 'interesting thing'?"

He hoped whatever it was would justify the recent overtime demands placed on the workers.

While most other factories had shifted operations to nighttime due to the heat, the glassworks had ramped up production instead, which meant it must be something promising.

Under Ebizō's guidance, they bypassed the scorching furnaces and entered a cooler storage room.

There, Rasa blinked—then frowned.

What greeted him was a pile of glass sculptures.

"...You're not telling me this is what you meant by 'interesting,' are you?"

Glassware was already mass-produced across the shinobi world, especially in the capital of the Land of Wind, which boasted the largest glass factory and processing plant in the region. Between nobles, commoners, and ninja, the whole supply chain had long been covered—from ornate collector's items to affordable bulk goods.

So this mountain of sculptures?

"If it doesn't sell, the cost of materials and labor alone will bury us."

But before he could criticize further, Ebizō reached over and picked up a half-meter-tall sculpture.

It was a large, detailed figure of Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage—the God of Shinobi—facing off against the Nine-Tails.

It was a familiar image: Hashirama, eyes solemn, declaring:

"Kurama, you're too powerful… I must seal you!"

Then, from behind him, a thousand hands rose, one gripping the stunned Nine-Tails.

Still…

"So what? It's just a static sculpture," Rasa thought.

Just as he was about to sigh and lecture Ebizō on how this kind of thing was already outdated…

"Kurama, you're too powerful… I must seal you!"

A deep, dramatic voice echoed from the sculpture.

Rasa's expression froze. He blinked.

"…Did that come from it?"

The sculpture emitted glowing green light as the voice played.

Ebizō beamed. "What do you think? I personally carved every detail myself, based on your description, Lord Kazekage!"

Rasa's eyes lit up.

"Not bad at all!"

He grinned wide, teeth practically gleaming in the green light.

"This thing could sell for a fortune!"

So even audio tech had entered the ninja world now?

"Wait… is this thing chakra-powered?" he asked cautiously.

If so, only ninja could use it—which would limit sales too much.

"Nope. Batteries," said Ebizō smugly, pulling open a panel at the base and popping two simple cells into view. "Ordinary civilian invention."

"Perfect!"

Rasa's eyes narrowed in interest.

"Start production immediately. Make figures of all the Kage from each village, along with key historic events. Get those sculpted too!"

He knew it'd only sell during the early wave—eventually, other villages and civilians would reverse-engineer the tech. This world didn't care about things like intellectual property rights.

Then he suddenly remembered:

"Wait… we've got other stuff we could make too, don't we?"

"Remote control cars? Four-wheel drives? We just need to pair it with an anime series..."

"Scratch that—split it off from the glassworks and establish a dedicated toy factory!"

He straightened up, face full of solemn determination.

"Sunagakure must bring joy to the ninja world—

so every child can have a happy childhood!"

Ebizō blinked, caught off guard.

He had just wanted to show the Kazekage a new product. How did this turn into launching a toy empire?

Still, he nodded seriously.

"Understood."

"Ah—right!" Rasa added as he turned back with a mischievous grin.

"Make something custom for me first. Just one unit is enough. As for what it should say... use this line—"

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