Naruto: Rebuilding the Hidden Sand Village

"Are your eyes broken or what?"

Rasa looked at the astonished Pakura, exasperated, and snapped, "That's Kabuto, a genius of the younger generation in the village. He's practically Advisor Chiyo's student, and he also has Aunt Kana, who he sees as his mother. Don't talk nonsense."

Even if both he and I are terribly unlucky, there's no way his kid could've grown this fast in just a few years—even if they were on hormones every day.

"The kids… it's really cold, so they've hardly been out lately. They've been staying indoors."

And for other reasons…

Lately, Kabuto—along with Kanna, Karura, Temari, and Kankurō—had been spending evenings in the mountains behind the village. They stayed out there all night and wouldn't return until just before dawn.

"So you won't really see them at night."

"Wait… in just two years, you've got two kids already?" Pakura's eyes were wide with surprise and admiration. "You're impressive!"

"…"

Ugh, what a harlot!

Rasa glared inwardly at Pakura's flattering look and teasing tone. And actually… he didn't just have two kids anymore—there was a third on the way.

He shrugged apologetically. "Karura really misses you. She's been so happy since she heard you were coming back. Uh… tomorrow, come over for a meal!"

Among the village's most talented young kunoichi, Karura and Pakura had a good bond—one was a carefree tomboy, the other a refined lady. Pakura had always looked out for Karura.

But then…

"Come to think of it, I haven't properly thanked you yet." Pakura narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. Her confident posture caused Rasa to shiver involuntarily. A cold smile curved her lips. "Where's Advisor Ebizō? I have some personal matters to discuss with him."

"…"

So that was it.

Rasa looked away uneasily and sighed. He hated saying anything about the situation between them, but he had to soften things a bit. "Advisor Ebizō… ashamed of his mistake and regretting turning on his comrades, has retired. He's in the rear mountains now—raising flowers, tending herbs, fishing."

Their business… better for them to sort out themselves.

"He said… he's not accepting visitors at the moment."

As soon as the words came out—

"What? I'm out on the front lines fighting my guts out, and he's retired to a leisurely village life?"

Pakura's anger flared. Rasa's nerves stiffened as he watched her grow colder.

"Well, I haven't been up to the mountains in a while. Since I'm woke up anyway, might as well go fetch some water—maybe take a good, long bath while I'm at it."

"Advisor Ebizō… huh. Well, never mind. He's old—let's not trouble him too much."

Rasa exhaled deeply, stepped aside to clear the way, and plastered a polite smile on his face.

"Welcome home, everyone!"

It was now November, Year 47 in the Leaf Calendar.

All Shinobi who had gone out for combat had returned. The post-war chaos in the Shinobi World had gradually calmed as time passed.

Aside from the occasional spy mission, each Great Shinobi Village had quietly settled into its own territory.

Sunagakure was no different—only outlier was the refinery just beyond the village limits.

The refinery had become the village's sole economic backbone during this lockdown, and with abundant food reserves, villagers could quietly and happily live through this rare peace.

This winter might not be luxurious, but it was showing signs of being the quietest winter they'd ever seen. At least in terms of stocking: the village had enough supplies to make it through the season without hunger.

The return of Pakura's main force was a big deal. After treating the injured shinobi, Rasa, as Kazekage, rewarded them.

Obedience to orders is a ninja's first rule.

Gifts and small bonuses were common—but heavier, material rewards weren't typical. So when rice and other staples were handed out, many shinobi froze.

"Is the village… suddenly that wealthy?"

"They actually send rice to their ninjas?"

Seeing the Kazekage smiling while distributing, they realized it wasn't a joke; they cheered, "Kazekage!"

In truth, Rasa had no choice but to do this. After all, during the war, to prepare for full-scale combat, the village's shinobi hadn't been on missions for a while, and the Land of Wind hadn't given them any compensation.

Forget foolish notions like controlling the Daimyō or declaring independence. To become a Daimyō, one would assume the Daimyō's household also possessed its own internal military strength. If they were discovered, Sunagakure would become a target for the entire shinobi world.

It would be like those shared bicycle companies in his previous life; he could abandon a bike, but if someone thought they could just take it without permission, they would definitely be reported and demanded to pay compensation.

From the time of the First Kazekage, Sunagakure had been branded with the mark of the Land of Wind. Therefore, at this stage, it was most correct to calmly live their own lives and not bother with the Daimyō's household. As for other ambitions… they could wait until their financial reserves were solid.

And the Daimyō's household… perhaps because they had cut off Sunagakure's funding and because of Sunagakure's record of repeated defeats in battle, they seemed to have forgotten about Sunagakure.

After the war, they didn't send anyone to say anything. Therefore, the returning shinobi, without the village's help, would likely have had a very difficult time in the initial period. Especially now, in winter.

But now, most village folk had jobs—even ninjas had pay—so no one begged.

Rasa now ran Sunagakure like a large company: shinobi and civilians were employees. This maximized labor, provided earning opportunities, and kept the village together.

"This food should be enough until everyone adapts and finds their place in the village."

Rasa sighed, expecting things to get busy again now that Pakura had returned.

Although his "gacha luck" was terrible, his chakra reserves, physical strength, and gold dust collection had all increased lately. He joked he might one day even become a shinobi-god equivalent.

As for all the so-called "garbage"—like fruit pits or discarded scraps—Ebizō had taken them for research. Rasa had once buried a whole batch outside his old house, and only two of them ever sprouted. The odds were abysmal—just like him and Kabuto trying to pull a rare reward with their cursed luck. Better to leave it to Ebizō to study and maybe find a way to improve the germination rate.

Rasa sat in his office chair, updating returning ninja records, and frowned slightly.

"Maybe I should establish an HR department."

As Kazekage-CEO, he handled employee sign-ins and assignments whenever anyone traveled—how could he ever mine any gold himself?

Then suddenly…

"Knock, knock~"

A gentle knock came at the door, sending a chill down Rasa's spine. He looked out at the night.

"Damn it… how did I forget something so important?!"