The howling wind swept across the land, kicking up clouds of yellow sand that stretched as far as the eye could see.
The desert stretched endlessly, a monotonous sea of yellow under a sky choked with dust.
The once-blue heavens were now a murky haze, though the scorching sun still managed to pierce through the sandstorm, baking the ground below.
The world felt like a massive furnace, devoid of life, oppressive and suffocating.
It was in this harsh environment that Sunagakure, one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, was built.
Despite being the largest of the Five Great Nations in terms of land area, the Land of Wind was also the most resource-scarce and weakest in overall strength.
Most of its territory was barren desert, incapable of supporting plant life, and the country relied heavily on imports for food and water.
Unable to change the geography of the Land of Wind and with the Daimyo unwilling to offer aid, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, had resorted to mining gold in the desert to fund the village.
This was why, when Rasa learned of the attack on Konoha, he was the first to declare war.
Similarly, after discovering that the Gelel Stones possessed the power to alter the environment, Rasa immediately ordered the capture of a man named Haido and the destruction of his organization.
The incident had begun almost comically. After negotiating terms with Iwagakure and Kumogakure regarding Konoha's resources, Rasa was leading his Sunagakure Ninja back to the village when they were ambushed by a group of oddly armored individuals.
Seeing their leader use a lightning-based ability, Rasa initially thought Kumogakure had betrayed their agreement and was attempting to assassinate him.
However, the enemies turned out to be far weaker than expected.
Upon interrogation, Rasa discovered that these attackers weren't even Ninja, and they had no knowledge of Chakra, let alone how to extract it.
They had attacked simply to test the strength of the Ninja World. Unfortunately for them, they had stumbled upon a regional boss right out of the gate.
What intrigued Rasa was that, despite lacking Chakra, these individuals could use abilities resembling Lightning Release Ninjutsu.
Despite his best efforts, Rasa couldn't extract the secret of their powers or their origins. Moreover, their wounds healed at an astonishing rate, almost instantly.
After a series of experiments, Sunagakure Ninjas discovered a blue stone within the leader's body.
This stone contained immense life energy, which granted the user lightning-based abilities and rapid regeneration.
Further experiments revealed that this life energy could also alter the environment. When the stone was buried in the sand and its energy activated, a seed planted above it grew into a towering tree in moments.
The Sungakure Ninjas who witnessed this were ecstatic. Rasa mobilized nearly half the village's forces to search the mountains for more of Haido's associates, eventually uncovering a steel fortress.
Without hesitation, Rasa unleashed a Gold Dust Imperial Funeral, and the elite Ninjas from Sungakure obliterated the fortress. Haido, once dreaming of grandeur, became a lone survivor, his organization wiped out.
The Sunagakure Ninja collected what few Gelel Stones they could find, though one of Haido's subordinates escaped by transforming into a bat.
With little information to go on, Rasa kept Haido alive, subjecting him to daily torture in an attempt to uncover the location of the Gelel Stone's mines.
Now, in the Kazekage's Office, Rasa sat at the head of a large stone table, flanked by the village's two most senior advisors, Chiyo and Ebizo.
Around the table were the leaders of Sunagakure's various departments, all gathered for a meeting that would determine the village's future.
The atmosphere was charged with anticipation.
"Kazekage-sama, have you truly found the location of the Gelel Stone's mines?" Baki, the commander of Sunagakure's combat forces, asked.
Though usually calm, even he couldn't contain his excitement at this moment. The small forest cultivated on the village's outskirts using fragments of the Gelel Stones had already proven resilient against the desert's relentless winds.
The implications for Sunagakure were monumental, and every villager could see the potential.
All eyes turned to Rasa, filled with hope and expectation.
Rasa's face was also lit up with an irrepressible smile.
"That's right. The Anbu have already located the Geller Stone Vein at the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers, based on the Book of Gelel."
"They actually found it!"
"That's great!"
"Sunagakure is finally going to rise again!"
For a moment, all the top leaders of Sunagakure couldn't contain their joy, their faces filled with ecstatic expressions.
Even Chiyo and Ebizo, the two elders, wore genuine smiles.
The scene looked less like a meeting of village's leaders and more like a group of children who had just received a reward.
After letting everyone revel in their excitement for a while, Rasa raised a hand to signal for calm.
"Alright, I understand everyone's excitement, but we still have other issues to discuss."
The room immediately fell silent, and they waited eagerly for Rasa's next words.
Rasa didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "The importance of the Gelel Stones to Sunagakure is clear to everyone here. Given the immense life energy contained within these stones, it's inevitable that our mining operations will attract the attention of other villages… especially Konoha and Iwagakure."
"Although Konoha has closed itself, we must remain vigilant. And Iwagakure, with their flying techniques, could reach us in no time if they catch wind of this."
"Therefore, when we begin mining the Geller Stones, we must act quickly and efficiently."
"Baki, you will organize a team of one hundred elite Ninja and a sealing team. Prepare enough sealing scrolls. I will personally lead this operation."
Baki immediately nodded with a serious expression. "Understood, Kazekage-sama!"
Rasa continued, "During my absence, all village affairs will be handled by Elder Chiyo."
He turned to Chiyo, and said, "Elder Chiyo, I leave the village in your hands."
Chiyo nodded solemnly. "Understood, Kazekage-sama. You can rest assured."
Chiyo understood the importance of this mission to the Sand Village. If possible, she would have liked to join the expedition herself.
But the safety of the village was equally critical, and with Rasa taking a large portion of the village's elite forces, someone had to stay behind to protect the village.
Rasa nodded and then turned to the others...
After the meeting concluded, Rasa quickly assembled his team and set out for the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers.