Land of Wind—Sunagakure
The Chūnin Exams recently hosted solely by the Hidden Sand had quietly extinguished the brief enthusiasm sparked by last year's joint exams.
The losses themselves weren't significant. Most of what was "wasted" was manpower, and that could hardly be called a real cost. Rasa didn't dwell on it.
What truly troubled the Fourth Kazekage were the conversations he had begun overhearing more and more frequently throughout the village.
"When will Konoha host the exams again this year?"
"Yeah, there's still no notice. I was hoping to ask someone to bring a few things back."
"It'd be great if I could go along with the team. Prices in the Land of Fire are way cheaper than here…"
Sunagakure was expensive—painfully so.
Even though the village leadership worked hard to keep the prices of basic necessities down, they were still noticeably higher than in the Land of Fire. As for non-essential goods, which weren't strictly regulated, the difference was even more glaring.
Ninja were not free to leave the village at will. Most foreign missions entered Sunagakure as financial quotas, distributed uniformly by the higher-ups. At present, the longest continuous opportunity for leaving the village was participation in the Joint Chūnin Exams.
Especially after the reform of the exam system, participating teams were required to depart up to two months in advance.
That meant Sunagakure ninja could remain outside the village for extended periods—and with the Land of Fire's prosperity, even a small amount of money translated into a noticeably better quality of life.
It was only natural.
Buying useful, affordable goods from outside the village wasn't against the rules.
The problem was that these voices grew louder. More frequent.
Rasa summoned Ebizō.
"You've heard the discussions spreading through the village, haven't you?"
The old man, wrapped in a thick, sand-resistant cloak, nodded slowly. His eyes were sunken, weary.
"I have. The Land of Fire is simply too prosperous."
A shadow passed through Rasa's eyes. After a long silence, he finally spoke.
"Advisor… do you think Konoha is doing this deliberately?"
If this had happened in the past, Rasa wouldn't have hesitated.
He would have concluded that Konoha was acting intentionally—then halted cooperation on the Chūnin Exams or demanded a reduction in frequency.
But now?
The profits from the exams were undeniable. Even after Sunagakure's independently hosted exams yielded disappointing results, Rasa still hoped to continue cooperating.
Everyone benefited.
And yet—
Something about the current situation felt deeply wrong.
The ninja who remained in the village continued to live harsh, frugal lives.
Meanwhile, genin selected for exam participation spent months outside, enjoying comfort and abundance.
This disparity would eventually create resentment.
And that resentment would turn into instability.
Ebizō had no answer.
Whether Konoha was acting deliberately or not, the solution remained the same—and it wasn't one he could provide.
Unless Sunagakure turned hostile.
Rasa understood this as well.
Without seizing fertile land or fundamentally altering the balance of power, there was no effective way to resolve the issue.
—
Someone is spying on the organization.
Obito already knew who it was.
Shisui's chakra signature had long been marked by Black Zetsu. The moment Shisui appeared as part of an investigative team, Zetsu became aware.
Hyūga Iboro's Byakugan couldn't be active at all times.
But Black Zetsu—lurking beneath the earth—never stopped watching.
"Should we take action, Obito?" Zetsu asked.
Obito remained silent for a moment.
"Jiraiya… and Shisui," he said slowly.
"Neither of them is an easy target."
Even with Nagato's cooperation, the outcome wouldn't change.
Worse still—their cooperation wasn't seamless.
One plus one would not equal two.
It might even be less than one.
After realizing the scale of Konoha's investigation, Akatsuki began tightening its operations. Even commissioned missions now had routes pre-arranged entirely by Zetsu.
The meeting locations were changed.
It wasn't time to expose Amegakure.
Under that identity, they could still accomplish many things.
But allowing Jiraiya to continue digging unchecked was equally unacceptable.
Akatsuki was no secret—not the current one, nor the previous iteration.
And the fact that Konoha had dispatched Shisui meant their target wasn't merely a mercenary group.
They were searching for Uchiha Madara.
"…Information extracted from Enjin's mind?" Obito muttered.
Konoha had clearly begun connecting Akatsuki to him.
How to respond—that was the real problem.
Given the current state of the shinobi world, Obito couldn't find a suitable opening.
Then another name surfaced in his thoughts.
'Orochimaru.'
As a former elite of Konoha—someone who knew its secrets inside and out—what conclusions would he draw from the present situation?
And more importantly…
What would he do next?
—
The exchanges between Konoha and the Hidden Cloud Village had long since settled into a stable, well-worn routine. With the process running smoothly—and Roshi occupied with other pressing matters—the responsibility of leading August's combat exchange activity naturally passed to someone else.
He made this clear during his meeting with Samui.
"Roshi," Samui remarked coolly, "you've been rather idle this year."
"Samui," Roshi replied without missing a beat, "I've been working as well."
"A normal ninja wouldn't take more than half a year off," she countered calmly. "Even Raikage-sama occasionally goes on missions."
Roshi smiled faintly.
"Samui, a typical Hokage wouldn't personally undertake external missions either. At that level, there are more important matters to handle."
Samui considered this, then nodded slightly.
"Kumogakure's atmosphere is different. Using Raikage-sama as a comparison may not be entirely appropriate."
"Exactly," Roshi followed up smoothly. "In Konoha, high-ranking ninja usually focus on internal governance and long-term strategy. So-called 'vacations' are often theoretical. Take Jiraiya, for example—"
He paused.
Jiraiya gathered intelligence while traveling, but also collected other materials along the way. Not the best example.
And Tsunade had outright abandoned the village for years. Orochimaru… well, that example was even worse.
Roshi calmly changed direction.
"For instance, Killer B from your village has been on long-term leave as well, yet no one would call him idle."
Samui's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Roshi, please refrain from probing into Killer B-sama's whereabouts in this manner."
She added evenly, "And it is also true that B-sama has devoted considerable energy to matters beyond his role as a shinobi."
Before the conversation could drift further, Nara Shikaku, who had been listening quietly, gave a light cough at just the right moment.
"Gentlemen—and lady," he said mildly, "if there are no new objections regarding the exchange match, shall we proceed to the next agenda item?"
Roshi immediately nodded, returning to business.
"For this event, Nara Shikaku will serve as Konoha's overall team leader. During the exchange, he will have the authority to make temporary decisions in response to unforeseen circumstances."
Samui turned to Shikaku and inclined her head slightly.
"Kumogakure has long heard of Konoha's military advisor. We look forward to working with you, Shikaku-san."
"There's no need for such formality," Shikaku replied, waving a hand.
"Let's simply follow the agreement and regulations."
The discussions continued for nearly two hours, as both sides confirmed a long list of seemingly trivial—but critically important—details: personnel deployment, venue usage rules, emergency medical logistics, and more.
At last, Shikaku stood.
"Then everything will proceed according to today's discussion."
He turned to Roshi and nodded.
"Roshi, the subsequent reception of Jōnin Samui will be entrusted to you."
With that, he gathered his documents and exited the conference room.
Silence settled in, broken only by the shrill cries of cicadas outside the window, their noise stirring the heavy summer air.
Samui methodically organized the scattered papers on the table, her movements precise and efficient.
"Samui," Roshi said lightly, "would you care to try Konoha's tempura?"
Her hands never paused.
"While I am in Konoha, your arrangements naturally become my itinerary, Roshi."
Once the last document was stacked away, Samui retrieved a small, unremarkable cloth pouch from her ninja tool pouch. She placed it on the table and slid it toward Roshi.
"A batch of ocean-going merchant ships recently arrived at Raikumo Port," she said.
"These came along with the shipment—some… rather useless seeds."
"They were apparently meant for cultivating ornamental flowers," she continued, "but they only ever grow branches and leaves. They never bloom."
Roshi picked up the pouch, feeling the faint friction of the seeds within. He looked up at her.
"Thank you. You've gone to considerable trouble, Samui."
"Just making use of what would otherwise be discarded," Samui replied flatly.
"Rather than becoming waste for the merchant caravan, it's better they serve some purpose."
—
Mōryō was said to be a demon of infinite power, yet the legend that it had been sealed by a priestess ultimately proved unreliable.
The incident of the Box of Paradise had already demonstrated one undeniable truth: an uncontrollable evil, no matter how powerful, was ultimately meaningless.
As for the so-called Evil God, it was far too abstract. Power over death sounded impressive, but in reality, anyone holding a weapon could decide life and death.
The legend of the Sage of Six Paths was ancient beyond measure. No concrete traces could be unearthed in the short term.
Only the Dragon Veins left behind tangible records—sealed personally by Minato Namikaze.
That vast, terrifying energy slumbering beneath the earth…
As the former head of Root, Danzō was naturally familiar with the Fourth Hokage's commonly used sealing techniques.
Could it have been the Four Symbols Seal?
Danzō closed the scroll slowly.
And then there were the descendants of Rouran—those rumored to influence the Dragon Veins themselves.
It was time to move.
Kakashi's investigation into Root was digging deeper by the day. Sooner or later, he would reach the core secrets Danzō had buried. Time was no longer on his side.
Time slipped by silently amid paperwork and experiments, July bleeding into August before one could even notice.
The tail end of summer still clung stubbornly to Konoha. The sun burned fiercely, the air heavy and suffocating, making it hard to tell whether this heat was worse than midsummer itself.
Outside the Ninja Academy, the grounds were alive with noise.
New student entrance exams.
Roshi stood beneath the deep shade of a towering zelkova tree beside the school building, leaning casually against its rough trunk. His gaze swept over the crowd gathering at the academy gates.
Most were children about to enroll—faces filled with excitement, nervous anticipation, or restless curiosity. Nearly all of them were accompanied by parents or hopeful elders from their clans.
Yet amidst the chatter and movement, one figure stood strangely apart.
Blond hair gleamed almost painfully bright under the sun. The boy stood alone at the edge of the crowd, hands stuffed deep into his pockets, head lowered stubbornly as he stared at the tips of his toes.
The Uchiha family arrived at the gates.
Uchiha Fugaku and his wife spoke with the academy's reception instructor, while Itachi stood quietly beside them. Sasuke lingered between his parents, eyes darting around as he took in his future classmates and surroundings.
Itachi noticed Roshi beneath the tree.
He murmured something to his parents, then slipped away from the crowd and walked over.
"Captain," Itachi greeted softly.
"Here to accompany Sasuke for the exam?" Roshi asked.
"Yes." Itachi nodded.
Following Roshi's line of sight, he also noticed the blond boy standing alone. His eyes flickered briefly—but he said nothing.
Itachi's sudden departure didn't go unnoticed.
Sasuke turned, spotting Roshi in the shade.
His small face tightened at once, lips pressing together in irritation.
'It's him again…'
Brother was always talking about "Captain this, Senpai that". He barely had time to train with Sasuke anymore.
The blond boy lifted his head, scanning the crowd with a vaguely confused look.
Sasuke snorted softly and turned his gaze away.
But in that brief moment—
Blue eyes met black.
Only for an instant, across the shifting sea of heads.
Sasuke frowned without realizing it.
'Who is that guy…?'
He looks like an idiot.
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