"Konan?" Raizen struggled to sit up, only to find his right arm already wrapped in layers of bandages, the pain greatly reduced. At this point, Konan hadn't yet become the cold "Angel of Akatsuki" of the future; seeing Raizen awake, she smiled and turned her Chakra into a sheet of paper, swiftly folding it into a delicate paper crane in her palm. "This is for you—get well soon." Raizen smiled, thanked her with a nod, then leaned close to whisper something in her ear. Konan's cheeks flushed slightly, but she still used her Chakra to create an extremely thin yet very long strip of white paper. Raizen took the special paper and carefully studied the crane in his hand. The material felt extraordinary, not dispersing like ordinary Chakra Ninjutsu. The future Konan's Paper Spirit Technique had begun with this very paper crane!
Hearing Raizen stir, the napping Sasori sprang up, instinctively wanting to check on him, but his habitual pride rooted him in place. Definitely a problem child! Raizen tucked Konan's paper crane inside his robe and greeted Sasori first: "Yo, Sasori—thanks for saving my arm. Where are we now? Back in the village?" A tired female voice sounded beside him: "Handsome little Ninja, you've got good stamina—awake already? Little Konan nursed you the whole time, but don't forget the rest of us! We're still in Amegakure; my medical Ninjutsu saved you, you know. No thank-you for me?" Raizen turned toward the voice and saw a woman in a nun's habit with round spectacles. "Yakushi Nono?" "You're Yakushi Nono?" What brings you to the Land of Rain?" Running into you—looks like my luck's pretty good." Yakushi Nono hadn't expected this little Sand Ninja to recognize her.
But she paid it no mind; the Wandering Priestess was ready to leave Root, to devote herself to running the Orphanage from now on, letting that name fade into the past. Busy staunching a child's bleeding, Yakushi Nono said calmly, "You two Lord Ninja, now that treatment is finished, shouldn't we settle the bill?" Konan was about to speak for Raizen, but he stopped her with a raised hand: "Of course—Dr. Nono's skill is superb; thanks to you my arm is safe. Sasori, lend me some money, will you?" As a Chunin with first-rate puppetry, Sasori earned plenty from missions. Besides, he was Grandmother Chiyo's own grandson! This wasn't your average Chunin—this was a golden thigh to hug! At Raizen's words, Sasori naturally pulled out his wallet: "You got hurt because of me; the medical fee's on me." Raizen didn't stand on ceremony, simply taking the wallet, drawing out five ten-thousand-ryō notes: "I'll owe you—fifty-thousand ryou for treatment, I'll leave it here. Many thanks, brilliant Nono-onee-san! I also owe you a favor. If you ever need help, come find me in Hidden Sand Village. My name's Raizen—just a no-name Genin now, but I'll soon shake the entire Ninja World! See you later!"
Back in Konoha Hospital, Nono would charge only five-thousand ryou for Raizen's sort of injury. With a quick Mystical Palm, she sealed the wound on the child's leg, smiled gently, wiped her hands, and finally said, "My, such spirit for a little Ninja! Giving so much? Are you some big shot from Suna, or just filthy rich?" Raizen hopped off the makeshift bed and flexed his arm; in the real world, an injury that heavy would take months of bed-rest. Yet here he was, good as new in no time. Satisfied his arm moved freely, he said, "Not really, but Nono-onee-san needs the money more. I'm strapped right now; this is borrowed from Sasori. Still, I'll soon be a rich and powerful Ninja—I believe that absolutely. Only, I've one question: Nono-onee-san, have you ever thought how many can you save working yourself to death alone? All these heart-rending separations the Ninja World War creates, all these pitiful war orphans, these poor common folk—is there a permanent solution?" Raizen wasn't speaking only to Nono. His words were meant for Konan and the others, and for Sasori, whose ideals were still malleable.
Hearing the question, Yahiko jumped up, about to spout his creed of bringing peace through dialogue and negotiation. Non-violent change? Ha! Sorry, Yahiko, but that idea's a bit too white-liberal for this world! In a Ninja World where might makes right, it just won't fly. He didn't directly refute Yahiko. Right now, he was only an obscure Genin transmigrated into weak little Sunagakure. Weakness itself is original sin in this world, kid! While Yahiko delivered his fiery speech, Raizen, head down, busied himself with a small piece of gray Chakra metal. He'd gotten the scrap from Sasori; the stuff felt oddly familiar. But he had no time yet to check how this material differed from his past life. According to Sasori, its conductivity was only twelve percent, yet still sky-high in price. Something so expensive—Raizen couldn't bear to use it all up. He controlled an electric arc to slice two paper-thin sheets, sandwiching between them the thin paper Konan's Chakra had created.
Amid Yahiko's cadenced oratory, he'd already confirmed his basic idea. A simple composite capacitor was taking shape in his hand. Next, he used lightning to activate this black-tech "supercapacitor" of the Ninja World, thin sparks bursting from its front terminal. When he fed it Wind-attribute Chakra, the supercapacitor converted it into stored charge all the same. In this Ninja World, Chakra truly was miraculous! If something so wondrous existed in the real world, his Gundam dream might actually come true. But even if reality couldn't manage it, he was now in the miraculous Ninja World—researching Gundam here was totally doable! When Yahiko finally finished his grand speech, Raizen offered a perfunctory clap: "Insightful—nice speech. Since fate brought us together, come find me in Sunagakure if you're ever in trouble. Konan, this little toy's a return gift; keep it for self-defense. Just press here, and a paralyzing Lightning Release will shoot out the front. It'll only stun the enemy for a while—non-lethal. It needs my precise Lightning-charge to stay in this toned-down form. By my count, it's good for at least four uses. Once it's spent, contact me, and I'll recharge it for you. Till we meet again—let's head home!" Raizen spoke to Konan as he handed over the makeshift cylinder.
The composure beyond his years left Konan with a very favorable impression. She had no idea how costly Chakra metal was, nor how rare a Chakra-storing trinket could be, taking it merely as a friend's gift, shyly hugging the little tube and bowing her thanks. Sasori kept his cool, problem-child face, merely nodding in farewell. To him, only the female Medical Ninja deserved any real regard; the rest were just beginners learning to stockpile Chakra. Compared with Raizen borrowing his money and Chakra metal, Sasori was far more interested in Raizen's precise control of Wind and Lightning. Stripping Chakra metal that finely was no easy feat. The former Raizen had been as inconspicuous as Little Bug; after this injury, he'd matured and steadied. Such precision Chakra technique would be a huge help for Sasori's puppet crafting. The two raised umbrellas and walked into the Land of Rain's curtain of rain, heading for the Land of Wind and slowly fading from view. As they walked, Sasori asked his first question: "Raizen… do you like that blue-haired girl?"