Kōsuna took the order with full understanding. After all, a "theme" wasn't really the important part—what mattered was making something distinctive. He'd caught on to his boss's intention immediately.
Without delay, he turned and left. The industrial zone still had a mountain of problems waiting for him.
Defective product recalls, protecting the Sunagakure brand, thorough inspections across every other production line—these couldn't be taken lightly. If this sort of thing happened a few more times… there wouldn't be enough temp workers to blame, and the village's reputation as a reliable exporter would come under fire.
If it ended up affecting the upcoming event… that would be a disaster.
This had to be handled seriously.
As for Rasa—
At this moment, he sat at his desk, gazing at the layout map of Sunagakure, deep in thought.
Currently, all of the village's factories were concentrated in a single industrial area. It was a distinctly Sand-style manufacturing hub, including a mudbrick factory, refinery, gold-panning gear factory, glassworks, toy factory, materials processing plant… the list went on.
The toy factory in particular handled an eclectic range of products: glass sculptures, gift packaging, Mini 4WD parts, Beyblades, kiddie rides, arcade cabinets, even "Fate Stones." Lately, it had also started producing entire toolkits for treasure hunters. It had essentially turned into a general goods manufacturing center.
While this setup was convenient for management—no need for a bunch of separate workshops—it wasn't ideal for building a clean, focused brand image for the toy factory. They couldn't just keep relying on the "Imported from Sunagakure" label in other countries.
So the toy factory would need to be split. A main company would handle only toys, while sub-lines would manage the rest of the miscellaneous products, ensuring the toy brand stayed recognizable and unique.
The goal was that when someone mentioned a certain toy, everyone would instantly know it came from that factory in Sunagakure—not think it came from some catch-all workshop that made everything under the sun.
To build a premium brand, exclusivity mattered.
The other miscellaneous lines could just be managed under subsidiaries. That way, even if something went wrong, it wouldn't tarnish the entire Sunagakure brand.
And so—
"Merge all toy-related production and the Toy Research Department under a single company," Rasa muttered, pen tapping against the desk.
"We'll call it…"
'Child Treasure Entertainment Company'
...
Meanwhile, in Konoha—
"From this day forward, you'll be undergoing a three-month closed training program here."
Danzo leaned on his cane, his single visible eye stern as he swept his gaze over the selected elite shinobi who had made it through layers of evaluation and would represent Konoha in the upcoming Shinobi King 52 championship.
The lineup included names consistently ranking in the arcade top ten—Hatake Kakashi, Shiranui Genma, Sarutobi Asuma, Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Itachi—and two dark horse newcomers, Tetsu and Chōza of the Akimichi clan. Two spots were still undecided. With the arcade selection rounds still underway, there was no need to finalize them yet.
In fact, delaying the selection would help stir up hype around the tournament—and boost arcade profits in the process.
Danzo looked over the eight confirmed participants, his tone remaining strict.
"No one is permitted to leave without permission. No outsiders are allowed to enter. If you must step out for any reason, submit a request to me personally. Only after I investigate and approve will you be allowed to leave."
"What about food…?"
Danzo's eye twitched slightly as he looked toward the large-bodied Akimichi clan head.
He was beginning to suspect this guy had signed up just to mooch off the village rations. After all, closed training meant room and board were fully covered—and once they reached Sunagakure, the contestants would even be staying and dining for free at the Grand Sail Hotel, the fanciest spot in the village.
And the Grand Sail's flagship hotel in Sunagakure was on a whole other level compared to the one in Konoha.
Expressionless, Danzo nodded. "Meals have already been arranged through the Grand Sail restaurant. They will be delivered at scheduled times by assigned personnel."
"Awesome!"
Chōza patted his belly with satisfaction and gave a hearty nod.
The others, however, didn't show much reaction.
Not like they had a choice anyway.
Kakashi stood off to the side, radiating his usual "do-not-disturb" energy. Honestly, if he had the choice, he wouldn't have joined this closed training program at all.
What a joke… If he had time, he'd rather get in a few matches—or read a book and cultivate his artistic temperament. As for becoming champion… he believed that as long as he worked hard, Obito would understand him.
Training here?
Please.
Too many people. Too much noise.
Especially with all these seniors and peers gathered in one place—there was no way he'd be able to concentrate on reading.
He was a man who enjoyed his peace and quiet.
Unfortunately, the higher-ups had made the decision. His preferences no longer mattered.
Danzo's expression remained as stern as ever. He tapped the chalkboard behind him—recently dragged in by Root shinobi.
"Currently, Shinobi King 52 has fewer than a hundred playable characters," he said. "Of those, Konoha has the most."
Which made sense. Ever since the formation of the hidden village system, Konoha had always produced the most prodigies.
Which meant… the most famous ninja.
"All characters were created based on the legends, techniques, and public intel left behind in the history of the shinobi world."
Sure, the models looked kind of janky—but that was necessary to protect the identities of real ninja.
That damned Hiruzen still doesn't get it, Danzo thought sourly.
Old is fine. Ugly is fine. Even a hunched back is fine. That ridiculous pervy old man avatar they gave him? Actually a good disguise! Why fight it?
Why insist on changing it?
Sighing internally, Danzo kept his face unreadable. When it came time to talk about the character "Copy Ninja Kakashi," he turned toward the real Kakashi.
"I'll let Kakashi explain this one himself—Copy-Ninja 50/50 Split, Extreme-Flow style…"
He said it in a tone as if introducing some legendary veteran.
"He's not bad at it."
As time passed, the training hall gradually filled with conversation—players sharing thoughts on the game, strategies, character mechanics, little-known combo tips. Laughter occasionally burst out as people discussed the more amusing parts of the game.
The room was filled with relaxed, high spirits.
Danzo, meanwhile, saw that things were running smoothly and handed oversight to the supporting shinobi. Their job was to ensure the training followed a strict schedule: sleep on time, wake up on time, boot up the machines on time.
Everything had to be precise.
This would ensure that on game day, in front of audiences from all over the ninja world, Konoha's representatives would embody both the spirit and strength of the Leaf.
He didn't interrupt the players' discussion. Quietly, he stood and exited the building.
Outside, the sky had darkened into twilight.
He looked up, then down at his rumbling stomach and sighed.
"All right, let's head to the Grand Sail Restau—"
He didn't get to finish.
A green flash streaked past.
In front of him appeared a figure so familiar—and so headache-inducing—that Danzo's brow twitched violently.
The man stood tall, eyes ablaze with passion. He took a deep breath, then yelled out loud enough to startle everyone within earshot:
"Lord Danzo! I want to fight in Shinobi King!"