Sunagakure.
With the event date drawing ever closer, the village was becoming increasingly busy. And with the new school term already underway, the daily flow of students and workers created a lively, bustling atmosphere throughout the village.
The road construction project had already reached over halfway completion. Most of the main roads had been fully paved and opened for traffic. At the same time, the sand control initiative—using grid planting techniques—had never stopped. Certain areas in the village had begun planting drought-resistant flora native to deserts. For instance, haloxylon trees… which Rasa himself had once grown remotely using his chakra.
It had taken a massive amount of energy back then—just growing one tree had nearly drained him dry.
Meanwhile, the track for the Mini 4WD tournament also had to be modified. After all, the Beyblade-style arena and the Shinobi King 52 arcade cabinets were also essential equipment for the upcoming competitions.
To avoid overextending resources and manpower, the village leadership had ultimately agreed to modify the original Mini 4WD venue, rather than build a brand-new one. This minimized construction needs and saved both time and budget. All they needed was to reserve a bit of space to place the Beyblade platform when the time came.
As for the arcade machines—they would be brought in only after the Mini 4WD and Beyblade matches were finished. Otherwise, the place would be way too crowded.
Each phase of the tournament would have its own dedicated equipment arranged in the center of the venue at the proper time.
To accommodate this, there would be a one-day rest period between events. This would not only allow participants to recover but also give time for the venue to be rearranged.
Currently, the new large-screen displays and loudspeakers—refined and optimized by Chiyo and her grandson—had already been installed. A test run would be held later in the evening to ensure everything worked properly and to avoid any issues on the actual day.
After the success of the previous Ninja World Mini 4WD Championship, local merchants were already ramping up preparations, eager to cash in big once the events started.
It was safe to say—
April of Konoha Year 53 was not only the hottest month for Sunagakure exports, but also a crucial period of infrastructure development within the village.
The factories needed manpower. So did the construction crews. Packaging, transport, hospitality—everything needed hands. As a result, Sunagakure was now facing a temporary labor shortage.
Left with no choice, they had begun sending recruiters out to the greenbelt areas near the village to bring in temporary workers.
It was only a short-term issue.
Once the peak season passed, the village would quiet down again. They just needed temp workers—for now.
"That's why this batch of goods was probably made by temps," Rasa said seriously, sitting across from a merchant. "Sunagakure absolutely does not produce defective products. That would be dishonest, irresponsible, and entirely unacceptable. Please, believe me—we'd never allow such a thing to happen."
He glanced down at the fragile Mini 4WD car shell in front of him. It looked like it had been weathered down by the wind—it practically crumbled at a touch.
"The moment we received your complaint, we immediately launched an investigation. The timeline should be…"
Before he could finish—
The door to the office opened.
A calm, steady-looking jōnin named Kōsuna walked in.
Rasa blinked, then smiled slightly.
"Looks like you've already got results."
"Kazekage-sama." The factory manager bowed respectfully, then reported seriously, "After investigation, it was confirmed that the issue came from a recently hired worker. During the shell production process, they failed to follow the material ratios and did not add the compounds within the correct time window. That's what caused the structural weakness in that entire batch of Mini 4WD cars."
"So it really was that," Rasa frowned, then turned sternly toward Kōsuna. "What was the production supervisor doing? How did such a major oversight happen? If Boss Yohanko hadn't noticed the problem and reported it in time, think about what would've happened! Those defective products could've been sold—and our village's reputation would've been ruined!"
"Remember, integrity and trustworthiness are the founding principles of Sunagakure. Whether it's in our work, our conduct, or our business dealings, we must never forget the Will of Sand laid down by the First Kazekage!"
"Yes! We will always uphold the Will of Sand!"
"Good. Effective immediately, remove the workshop supervisor from their position. Also deduct the relevant salaries and bonuses from everyone responsible. And I want a written reflection from each of them—which I will read personally."
He turned and smiled at the wandering merchant—Boss Yohanko.
"As for this faulty batch, we'll arrange a full recall. Don't worry. The replacements you need will be prioritized and shipped as quickly as possible. And… to express our deepest apologies, we'll apply an additional 20% discount on top of the original wholesale price."
That did the trick.
Both sides were satisfied.
Rasa maintained his smile as he watched Boss Yohanko leave. Once he was gone, the Kazekage sighed and turned to Kōsuna.
"So… what's the real situation?"
"There was a mechanical failure on the production line," Kōsuna reported with his usual stoicism. "The material feed system didn't inject the compounds at the correct time and ratio. That's why the shells and chassis of that batch turned out so brittle. I've already arranged for puppet engineers to repair and inspect the production equipment. I don't believe the issue is too serious."
"Equipment failure, huh…"
Rasa rubbed his temples, thinking about the number of defective cars in that batch.
It was no small amount.
Even if the plastic was cheap, it still hurt—especially when the village was already stretched thin.
After a moment of silence, he asked, "Can we recycle them?"
"Well… I did ask," Kōsuna hesitated. "Unfortunately, the cost of recycling is higher than just producing new parts from raw materials. We'd have to break them down and reprocess everything, and our tech for that still isn't all that advanced."
"I see." Rasa glanced down at the broken Mini 4WD shell and sighed.
"In that case… send the whole batch to the glassworks. Let them melt it down and use it to make souvenir gift boxes."
Then, as if something occurred to him, he rubbed his chin.
"This is our second major event already. We really ought to have some proper commemorative merchandise this time."
He thought back to the first event… most of the stuff on sale had just been regular goods. There hadn't been any collectibles or souvenirs to mark the occasion.
That… had been a big missed opportunity.
He sighed inwardly, a bit regretful.
"Whether it's practical or durable doesn't really matter. What does matter is that it's unique—something special that ties into the theme of this event."
"Kazekage-sama…" Kōsuna paused, frowning slightly. "The theme of this event… what is it exactly?"
Why hadn't he heard anything about it?
As soon as he asked—
"The theme? Who said there had to be a theme? Just make it look nice."
Shouldn't be too hard, right?
Rasa waved it off. Themes were just something people said to make the event sound more prestigious.