Iwagakure.
"Have we figured out why Sunagakure wants that batch of ore?"
The elderly, short-statured shinobi sitting at the head of the meeting table had snow-white hair and eyebrows, a wrinkled face, and a comically oversized red nose. He swept his gaze across the room full of Iwa jonin with narrowed eyes.
"For them to value such a batch of seemingly useless minerals this much… it means there's some secret use we haven't discovered. No matter what, we must get to the bottom of this."
If those minerals turned out to be important, then Iwagakure needed to take immediate action—restrict their sale, raise the price, or even start developing them internally.
But despite having cooperated with Sunagakure for quite some time now, they still hadn't figured out what exactly the Sand was up to.
He still remembered the original negotiation: Sunagakure didn't want money, didn't ask for any goods in return. All they wanted… was a shipment of useless ore from the Land of Earth.
Not gold. Not silver. Not iron. Not even copper.
Just some obscure, valueless rock. And they wanted it badly.
Which made him all the more cautious.
Was there something about these minerals they didn't know? Could this end up being a threat to Iwagakure's future interests? If necessary… even if they didn't yet understand its value, he was ready to ban its export entirely.
And yet—
Damn, it's profitable.
Ever since they'd started trading with Sunagakure, Iwagakure had made serious money—more than they'd ever gotten in grants from the Daimyō of the Land of Earth. And with trade continuing to grow within the country, the profits were only going to rise.
So instead of paying for Sunagakure's goods in coin, most of the village would rather just hand over useless ore in exchange.
But as the Tsuchikage, he couldn't think like a common trader. Everything he did had to prioritize Iwagakure's long-term interests and strength.
He turned toward a Research Department shinobi with a solemn look.
"Has the Research Department figured out what these minerals can be used for?"
"Er… not yet," the shinobi admitted.
"Sigh…"
The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, let out a weary sigh, though there wasn't much he could do. All he could do was keep encouraging the researchers to continue.
"What about the new ninja recruits?"
"We're in a time of peace, so most graduates have already been assigned to veteran squads and are gaining mission experience," rumbled a burly Iwa shinobi in a red bandana. "Also, because our village's revenue has risen sharply in the past six months, we've been able to admit more children this year. If this keeps up, our number of new shinobi could double next year."
"Excellent."
That news brought some relief to Ōnoki's heart. At the very least, they were making money. The village was more prosperous, and their military strength was slowly growing.
This was still a shinobi world, after all. Even if Sunagakure had found a use for that ore, as long as they remained weaker than Iwagakure, it wouldn't matter. Worst case? They could always start a war and take it back.
Defeating Sunagakure wouldn't be a stretch.
Ōnoki kept his stern tone as he continued, "In a few months, Sunagakure will be hosting the second Shinobi World Mini 4WD Tournament, along with the first Beyblade Tournament and the first Shinobi King Championship. What's the village's stance on these events?"
"A lot of people have already signed up," said the Research Department shinobi, raising his hand. "Our department is also sending personnel to compete in Sunagakure. While we continue researching the ore, if we can gather intel from the tournament… it would significantly lighten our workload."
"Good."
Ōnoki cracked a rare smile at the researcher's underhanded thinking.
Now that's a proper shinobi.
"In that case, list out the projects and personnel your department will be entering into the tournament. The village will fully support your operation. But remember—everything must be done in secret. No one can find out what you're doing."
"Understood!"
...
Time passed quickly.
By July, Sunagakure had already received its second shipment of rare earth minerals from Iwagakure.
Rasa immediately handed the batch over to a designated research team for analysis.
He hadn't expected the Land of Earth, covered in rocky terrain, to be sitting on such a strategic resource. Rare earth minerals were valuable across multiple fields—civilian tech, military hardware, aerospace, even science and medicine.
Of course, as someone without a technical background, he had no idea how to actually use them.
All he could do was provide a vague direction for the researchers and let them figure the rest out. Besides, refining rare earths was notoriously difficult. At this stage, Sunagakure had no established methods for processing them—everything was still in the research phase.
Which is why… even if he knew Iwagakure was planning to send people to spy on them during the upcoming tournaments, he didn't care.
They were all just fumbling around in the dark.
In fact, for all he knew, Iwagakure might even be ahead of them in the research race.
But still—
Damn, the Land of Earth is sitting on a goldmine.
Both light and heavy rare earths minerals were present in the shipments!
If Iwagakure hadn't been so poor—if they hadn't tried to pass off a few clumps of weird ore as "valuable minerals" in an attempt to scam what they assumed was a backwater village—Rasa might never have figured it out.
He only recognized the stuff thanks to a random news story he remembered from back on Earth. That sparked his curiosity, and after digging into some data, he got suspicious.
He still wasn't sure back then.
But after the alchemy plant analyzed the samples and reported "unknown properties," he'd gotten excited—and moved to formalize the trade deal.
Even if the minerals turned out to be worthless, it wouldn't be a loss. The partnership with Iwagakure was already turning a profit.
And science… well, it was always going to cost money.
Plus, even if it wasn't rare earth mineral, it might still have other surprising applications. You never know.
"So don't worry about waste or failure," Rasa told the researchers in front of him, his tone serious. "Your only job is to figure out what these minerals can do."
"Follow the path I've outlined, or try your own ideas—I don't care. Just explore every possibility."
Who knows? Maybe they'd discover aluminum alloys, titanium alloys, magnesium alloys, optical glass, special materials…
Hell, with the right concentration, even rare earth mineral could promote plant growth.
No matter how you looked at it, this stuff was a win.
But just as he finished speaking, a Suna shinobi burst into the room.
"Lord Kazekage! One of the Three Legendary Sannin—Jiraiya-sama from Konoha—has arrived!"
"???"
Rasa blinked.
What the hell is that guy doing here right now?
The tournament hadn't even started yet.
Confused, he turned to look at the messenger.