The Land of Wind, Sunagakure.
"This one is sour plum soup, this one is grass jelly, and this one is herbal tea."
Uchiha Natsuki handed scroll after scroll of plans over to Rasa.
"These here are sweets, peach gum dishes, glutinous rice types, cough remedies, tuckahoe paste…"
"All of them contain detailed preparation methods."
Holding the thick stack of documents, Rasa, as a Kage, naturally had the strategic insight to recognize their value. He quickly discovered the enormous business potential within.
"These are all products I carefully selected to suit the climate of the Wind Country. Find reliable people to manage them, run the business yourselves, and then we'll split the profits."
Rasa frowned. "What's your real purpose?"
Natsuki smiled. "You're a Kage—if you promote this, the Uchiha will earn much more. Think of it as securing an ally for us Uchiha."
When he said "us Uchiha", he emphasized it deliberately.
Rasa understood. The Uchiha clan now dominated Konoha, both economically and in terms of high-end combat strength, far surpassing most other clans. But compared to the united might of all the Konoha clans combined, they were still a bit short.
What the Uchiha lacked most now was development.
Even though Fugaku had stepped down as Captain of the Police Force, as long as the Uchiha had money, they could supply resources to other clans.
When it came to selecting a Hokage, past status didn't matter. If one could provide enough benefits, even a commoner could be chosen as Kage.
Rasa himself had been nominated as Kazekage because of the great merits he earned during the Third Great Ninja War.
And Fugaku had already revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan power. Since the Third Hokage suppressed him politically, the Uchiha sought another path: strengthening their economy to back their claim to the Hokage's seat.
Now, Natsuki—the Uchiha's deputy clan leader—was here in Sunagakure offering real benefits.
The sealing problem that Sunagakure had struggled with for years, Natsuki solved alone.
Rasa had many shinobi investigate, and indeed, Natsuki's sealing arts were unique. He truly came in goodwill.
Now Gaara could freely control his ability to converse with Shukaku, with no risk of berserk rampages.
This also allowed Rasa to reconcile with Gaara, realizing how wrong his own past choices had been.
The process was uncomfortable, but reality is shaped by the strong, and rules are made by them.
And Natsuki only wanted Sunagakure as an ally.
It was a win–win situation, and Rasa could think of no reason to refuse.
"Very well. I agree. As long as I, Rasa, remain in office, I will be the Uchiha's strongest ally."
A smile spread across Natsuki's face.
"Business matters are settled. Now, let's move to something personal." With Rasa's promise secured, Natsuki relaxed into his chair.
He began, "Though the shinobi world has gone through three great wars, ambitious schemers are still everywhere. Even with Gaara's seal now stable, as a Jinchūriki he will inevitably attract covetous eyes."
Rasa listened carefully. Among the Five Great Nations, the Wind Country was relatively poor. Its Daimyō neglected governance, cutting Sunagakure's funds year after year.
Even the Kazekage had to moonlight as a gold miner to support the village budget. Were it not for Rasa's skill in gold dust manipulation, he likely wouldn't have become Kazekage at all.
Jinchūriki were meant to be strategic weapons, but Sunagakure lacked sealing experts. For generations, the One-Tail Shukaku had been unusable.
The former host Bunpuku had mastered his bond with Shukaku, even earning the beast's admiration, thanks to his pure and serene heart.
But the Sunagakure leadership, divided by power struggles, refused to let any one faction control the Jinchūriki. So Bunpuku was imprisoned until his death, wasting countless opportunities.
Natsuki continued, "Our Uchiha have reliable information—a powerful organization is targeting the tailed beasts. Their strength is such that their plans may affect not only Konoha and Sunagakure, but other villages too. And Gaara is among their targets."
Rasa didn't ask where the information came from—such secrets weren't his to pry into. But his heart tightened. If someone extracted Shukaku, Gaara would die. This was a direct threat to his son's life.
"What do you suggest, Natsuki-san?"
"I greatly admire Gaara's talent. He must have suffered from frequent rampages and never received proper guidance. From here on, Kazekage-sama, you should devote yourself to raising him well, preparing him for the disaster that will inevitably come. With his potential, once grown, he will be the finest choice for your successor as Kazekage."
Rasa was deeply moved. For him to recognize his son was one thing, but for someone as powerful as Natsuki to hold Gaara in such esteem meant far more.
He had already witnessed Natsuki's strength personally. For such a man to value Gaara this highly—he couldn't help but feel reassured.
"You have my word, Natsuki-san. I will train Gaara well."
"I came here not only for business, but also to give you this warning—so you can be prepared."
Unease lingered in Rasa's heart. A deputy Uchiha clan leader with Mangekyō Sharingan wouldn't waste words lightly.
But since this mysterious organization had yet to reveal itself, all he could do was keep the concern buried inside.
Having said all he came to say, Natsuki didn't linger. He quickly set off again.
His main goal in the Wind Country was Gaara—planting the seed of goodwill, to eventually draw him into his own faction.
By now, Obito was already stirring trouble in Kirigakure. Time was running short for Natsuki.
Unrolling a map, he studied his next targets: in the Land of Grass and the Land of Rivers, and especially the Land of Water across the sea.
But reaching Kirigakure meant traveling through the Land of Rivers and Fire, then taking a months-long sea voyage from the Land of Hot Water.
Travel between Konoha and Sunagakure was relatively easy thanks to their new alliance, but the other countries wouldn't be so cooperative.
Natsuki sighed.
Better to send Itachi on the overland missions, while he himself headed to the Land of Water.
With the desert winds howling and no one around, Natsuki quickly wrote orders on a scroll—telling Itachi to capture Karin in the Grass Country and Jūgo in the Land of Rivers.
Both would be crucial to Orochimaru's research.
Forming hand seals, Natsuki summoned with a puff of smoke—a crow appeared.
"Deliver this to Itachi," he instructed.
"Caw… caw…"
Unable to speak human words, the messenger crow soon vanished.
The Uchiha had long maintained bonds with ninja cats and ninja crows. Natsuki chose crows as his medium.
He wasn't picky about summoning beasts. To him, the most useful aspects of the Summoning Technique were message delivery and reverse summoning.
Back in the clan, they mainly used ninja cats from Hikaru for communication. But away from home, Natsuki relied on messenger crows to stay in contact with Itachi.
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