Sunagakure High-Level Meeting
"Gentlemen, regarding the issue of supplies, I have already reached an agreement with the Keikou Trade Association from the Land of Fire and signed a contract. I believe that soon, Sunagakure will no longer have to worry about food supplies," Rasa said, his expression unchanged, but there was a hint of satisfaction in his heart. Not long ago, these people had been pressuring him about the village's resources after he proposed the elite training system. They never thought that if Sunagakure had the funds to develop the village, Rasa would hide them away.
One of the higher-ups spoke up: "Kazekage-sama, who exactly is this Keikou Trade Association?"
"They're a noble family from the Kawakawa region of the Land of Fire. They own a vast amount of land for growing food. They are now looking to mine in the Land of the Wind, so they are offering us a trade for food supplies," Rasa explained, handing out copies of the signed contract to the others. "The ANBU has already investigated, and the information is sound. This deal benefits Sunagakure greatly, so I went ahead and signed it."
The others skimmed through the contract and saw that it indeed offered significant benefits for Sunagakure. Trading food supplies for mining rights in the Land of the Wind would benefit the Keikou Trade Association, but for Sunagakure, it was the best option available.
Once everyone finished reading, no one voiced any objections. Rasa continued, "Then, once the Keikou Trade Association delivers the supplies, we'll have Pakura take charge of the escort mission."
At the mention of Pakura's name, many of them paused for a moment, and someone voiced their concern: "Pakura? Is that too much of a favor to them? A few Chuunin should be enough to handle it."
Pakura was a powerful Jonin from Sunagakure. With her mastery of the Scorch Release, she had killed many enemies during the war. She had even been a candidate for the position of the Fourth Kazekage. Assigning such a powerful ninja to a mere escort mission seemed like an unnecessary overuse of resources.
Rasa snapped, "The Keikou Trade Association and Sunagakure are long-term partners. Do you think you can find another merchant that offers such favorable terms for us in the entire Shinobi world?" He continued sternly, "If something were to happen to their people, Sunagakure's food supply would be interrupted. After all the trouble we've gone through to save up for new ninja development, we'd have to waste it all on purchasing supplies from other countries. Have you thought about the consequences?"
His harsh words silenced the room.
And so, the matter was settled. While there was little chance of other ninjas causing trouble in the Land of the Wind, the task of protecting the Keikou Trade Association was classified as an A-rank mission. After all, there was some merit to the concerns raised by others. Pakura was a hero of Sunagakure. For a B-rank mission, there was no need to deploy a ninja of her caliber. Only A-rank or S-rank missions, ones of special significance to Sunagakure, would warrant her involvement.
Within half a month, the Keikou Trade Association delivered the first batch of goods as part of the trade agreement—almost a third of the total amount. Given its importance, Rasa had sent two teams of Sunagakure ninjas to oversee the delivery. They were extremely cautious, inspecting the goods twice before handing them over. This was because Sunagakure was in dire financial straits. After losing a major battle, the feudal lords had cut their funding, and even Kirigakure had been causing trouble along the Land of the Wind's coastline.
If the Keikou Trade Association had arrived any later, Rasa might have been forced to consider sending out his hero, Pakura, just to sign a peace treaty.
After the delivery, Miki approached Pakura and said, "Jonin Pakura, as agreed, we'll send the second batch of supplies in a month. Next, the Keikou Trade Association will be heading into the desert to search for minerals, and we would like you to escort them."
"Of course. My subordinates and I will ensure the safety of your people in the Land of the Wind," Pakura replied, bowing slightly. As long as the Keikou Trade Association didn't interfere with Sunagakure's secrets or harm the Land of the Wind, she would have no objections to their actions.
Soon after, the Keikou Trade Association gathered a large number of people and brought various equipment with them. Mining in the desert was no small feat, and the Land of the Wind also had nobles involved in the mining business, often employing hundreds of people. Given the scale of their operation, the number of people brought by the Keikou Trade Association didn't surprise Sunagakure.
And with Pakura, a hero of Sunagakure, accompanying them, even with so many people, there was little chance of any trouble in the Land of the Wind. This was the trust the other Sunagakure ninjas placed in Pakura. It was the same trust they would place in her on the battlefield, knowing their backs were safe.
Exploring for minerals was a long and grueling task, and Pakura and her team would likely be out there for a long time. Rasa had deliberately sent her on this mission to get her out of Sunagakure, hoping that the resources saved could be used for a bold reform to strengthen the village. After all, Rasa didn't want Sunagakure to be known as the weakest village in the Five Great Shinobi Countries.
The previous Kazekage had held a strong reputation. If Rasa didn't change Sunagakure's current situation, his own position as Kazekage would be unstable.
Nearly a month later, while the Keikou Trade Association continued to search for minerals in the desert, the second batch of trade goods was delivered to Sunagakure. The Keikou Trade Association had also found two small mineral veins—iron and copper. While not the most valuable, they would still make a decent profit. The most important part was that the Keikou Trade Association had established a mining base in the Land of the Wind, and their numbers were steadily growing.
At present, with the mining personnel from the Land of Crafts, the number of people from the Keikou Merchant Association in the Land of Wind has exceeded three hundred. The Sand Ninjas accompanying them for protection and surveillance are still the same four from Pakura's team.
Seki hadn't expected things to go this smoothly. Though the merchant association's guards numbered only twenty, the Sand Ninjas were too trusting. Originally, they had planned to send this many people for at least two months, but now, the time was cut in half. It seemed that Seki had been too conservative in his estimate; their efficiency could be even faster.
"Jonin Pakura?"
Seki arrived at the camp that Keikou Merchant Association had set up for the Sand Ninjas and called out. This was their base of operations for the mining mission. Since they were staying for the long term, Seki was provided with a residence by Pakura's group.
"Mr. Seki, please come in." Pakura stepped out, giving a small salute, and then invited Seki inside.
Inside the camp, Seki took out a map of the mining routes and handed it to Pakura. "Jonin Pakura, here's our next mining plan. Please take a look and let me know if there are any areas forbidden by Sunagakure. If so, I'll adjust the route accordingly."
Pakura nodded and took the map. After looking it over for a moment, his brow furrowed slightly. He thought for a bit before speaking.
"There's nothing wrong with most places, but this route is getting close to Roran. That area is outside of Sunagakure's control."
"Roran?"
"Yes, Roran is a small country ruled by its queen. As for Roran, Sunagakure generally avoids crossing into its territory."
"That complicates things. According to the surveyors from the Land of Crafts, this place might have a mining vein…" Seki feigned frustration. "If we send someone to make contact with Roran's people, would they allow us to enter?"
"This, I'm not sure." Pakura shook his head helplessly. She didn't pay much attention to politics and wasn't very clear on the relationship between Sunagakure and Roran.
"In that case, we'll go ahead and try contacting Roran's queen," Seki said. After speaking, he handed a box to Pakura and departed the camp.
"Wow, looks like another batch of high-end sweets from the Land of Fire," Juān exclaimed, her eyes lighting up as she quickly approached. Opening the box, it turned out to be exactly what she had guessed—expensive sweets.
The days spent in the desert were excruciating. Though it was an A-level mission assigned by the village, Pakura could handle it, but her three subordinates couldn't. If Keikou Merchant Association hadn't sent gifts like this from time to time, Juān and the others would've already protested to Pakura to return to the village.
In reality, they had very little rest. They only had three days a month to return to the village for a break. However, with the continuous delivery of gifts and sweets from Keikou Merchant Association, Juān, and the others' fondness for the merchant association had steadily grown, even though they weren't originally from the Land of Wind.
By using mining as a cover, Keikou Merchant Association had successfully created a legitimate route into Roran. The development of the Land of Wind's desert was also proceeding steadily.
If this was only about Roran's dragon vein, Hyuga Mirai didn't need to spend so much effort. He needed to experiment on a larger scale in one of the great nations' ninja villages. There was no point in altering small countries; some of these small nations didn't even have their own ninja villages. Once capital infiltrated, the nobles and daimyos would lose half of their influence.
Without strength and capital, there was no resistance.
If Hyuga Mirai took control of most of the desert in the Land of Wind, he would be ready to make major moves against the Land of Rain and the Land of Wind.
In the Uzumaki Trade Association laboratory, 18 connected with Hyuga Mirai.
"Sir, the route to Roran is now open. The next step is to contact them for the transformation. Do you want to go yourself?"
"I will go, but it's for the dragon vein," Hyuga Mirai responded. "That person named Seki has done well. Keep letting him handle the Roran situation. You can give him a few more ninja guards to hire and make sure the research on Sunagakure doesn't stop."
"Understood, sir."
Afterward, Hyuga Mirai checked in with Ayaka Uzumaki. He had taught her the seal techniques for the Edo Tensei of Senju Tobirama. After a month of practice, Ayaka had finally mastered controlling the Edo Tensei of Senju Tobirama, making it follow her will.
This was possible because Hyuga Mirai had sealed Sage Chakra into Ayaka Uzumaki's body. Without it, controlling Senju Tobirama's Edo Tensei would have been impossible.
With Senju Tobirama's strength, as long as he wasn't facing sealing techniques, even a few squads of elite ninjas couldn't defeat him. However, with powerful sealing techniques and Ayaka Uzumaki's use of the Adamantine Chain, even Senju Tobirama was no match.
Before long, Hyuga Mirai reflected on something
'It feels a bit like a familiar technique.'
(End of Chapter)