Konoha 42, summer.

In the spring of this year, the Land of Wind had still received several light rains, which genuinely put quite a few Sand Ninja at ease. But now that summer had arrived...

The climate of the Land of Wind had begun to turn dry and scorching. The blazing sun hanging in the sky made most of the Sand Ninja start feeling somewhat irritable again.

Moreover, to prevent the sand from eroding them and shield themselves from the direct sunlight, most of the Ninja had begun wrapping themselves in headscarves, trying to cover themselves as thoroughly as possible. On one hand... they had to guard against sand, wind, and the scorching sun, while on the other, they had to be careful not to suffer heatstroke from wrapping themselves too tightly.

Living in the desert...

was just too hard!

And...

Because sand could not store heat from the sun, daytime temperatures in the desert could reach as high as 50 to 60°C. But once night fell, the temperature would plummet.

So they also had to pay attention to keeping warm at night.

During this period, as long as nothing was going on, all the Ninja would gather together. They absolutely refused to go outside if they could avoid it. Several groups would stay together, then have the Sand Ninja who knew Wind Release blow air inside the tents.

That was precisely why... at this stage, Sand Ninja who knew Wind Release had become the most popular Ninja around here.

Of course...

There was another particularly popular person as well.

"Lord Rasa!"

"Good afternoon, Lord Rasa!"

When Rasa entered the Ninja rest tent with a solemn expression, the Ninja who had been cooling off inside immediately stood up and respectfully saluted him.

By now, his reputation had truly been forged by his own hands. He had annihilated an Iwagakure scouting team, infiltrated the Kusagakure camp, and dealt the Grass Ninja heavy losses. And then... someone had started spreading the rumor that he had stolen a woman from Kusagakure.

That was a massive injustice~

Was he that kind of person?

Of course not! What if Karura misunderstood him later?

Naturally, these misunderstandings had not damaged his prestige or achievements. After all this time... Chiyo Advisor's side should have received the news of his triumphant return by now.

Information traveled rather inconveniently throughout the shinobi world. It relied either on Ninja or summons, so running on foot was certainly slower than transmitting a signal. Of course... one could also use the reverse-space-time teleportation of summons, but... that placed certain demands on both parties to the contract.

Looking at Kanna Uzumaki, who stood quietly beside him with a gentle smile, then at the Sand Ninja in front of him, who were grinning sheepishly while staring at the tent roof, Rasa helplessly shook his head and said, "You people are really bored."

As the only Ninja here who knew Water Release...

Kanna's Water Release was even more popular with the Sand Ninja than her healing abilities. After all... being able to drink a mouthful of ice-cold water in such sweltering weather was an incredibly refreshing experience.

Especially in recent years, as desertification worsened by the day, the water level of the village's only drinking-water lake had continued to fall, and the amount of water allocated to each household had gradually decreased. So... how could everyone not be happy about getting to drink their fill on the battlefield?

Although he had followed what he had seen on television, using the large temperature difference between day and night along with scraps of cloth to distill some water, that tiny amount of water... was practically a scam!

It was nowhere near as much as Kanna could produce with a single jutsu!

Rasa shook his head and looked helplessly at Kanna beside him.

"You too. Water is extremely important right now. It's enough to store however much water you need for each day. Save the remaining Chakra in case anything unexpected happens."

"Understood, Lord Rasa."

Kanna nodded gently, a smile still on her face.

After waking up that day, she had initially been somewhat frightened. After all, she had suffered inhuman treatment in Kusagakure, and on top of that... she had been threatened and brought here by him, a Sand Ninja. But gradually... she discovered that with him keeping things under control here, and with all the Ninja concealing the information about her constitution... this period might have been the happiest time of her many years of wandering~

It was just... she didn't know how long such days could last.

Kanna glanced at Rasa beside her, her eyes somewhat dim and a little fearful.

"???"

What was going on?

Rasa was completely baffled by Kanna's sudden dejection.

But he did know that whenever another Ninja asked her for help, Kanna would always be more than willing to lend a hand.

The Chakra of the Uzumaki Clan was, of course, extraordinarily vast. It was just that he had bitten her too hard a few months ago, and her body had yet to recover completely. So he still had to make sure she took things a little easier.

Staring at the Sand Ninja in front of him, who was cheerfully scratching his head, Rasa said, "You people too. How can you bully your own companion?"

"Lord Rasa... we only wanted Lady Kana to make some water so we could wash our faces." A Sand Ninja with slightly rugged features scratched his head awkwardly and said, "Yesterday, I saw you call Lady Kana to wash—"

Rasa glared at him, making him shudder.

"I didn't see anything!"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Rasa said irritably, glancing at Kanna, who was also looking somewhat embarrassed. "I only asked her to release some water."

After coming to the Land of Wind...

even taking a bath was troublesome.

However...

"Oh~"

The other Sand Ninja nodded in sudden understanding. They looked at Rasa as if Lord Rasa had also been... wasting water, leaving him at a loss for words.

He, he... it was all because he had failed to lead by example!

No, wait. He worked so hard panning for gold... and protecting the village. What was wrong with using some water to take a bath?

Was it really that serious?

Was it shameless?

Was it utterly disgraceful?

Of course not!

They had to understand how uncomfortable he felt every day after returning from his hard work panning for gold, his entire body covered in sand.

Rasa fake-coughed twice, then glanced at the green orb Kanna had carefully brought up to her neck.

Healing Orb: Increases basic health regeneration by 50%.

This was what he had drawn last time. In the end, after thinking it over, he had given it to Kanna, whose vitality had been seriously depleted. It was also because of this little thing... that Kanna's complexion had looked much better recently.

Then, looking solemnly at the grinning Sand Ninja in front of him, he said, "You people... be a little more careful. Although the attacks from Kusagakure and Iwagakure have weakened, this is still a battlefield. You must remain vigilant at all times!"

Ever since the standoff had begun, Kusagakure seemed too heavily damaged to dare act recklessly again. As for Iwagakure... they probably had other considerations as well. Thus, the fierce clashes between the three sides were no longer as intense as they had been at the beginning, and the casualties were not as severe as before.

Perhaps... if no other external factors interfered, the war here would remain deadlocked like this until it ended.

And precisely because of that...

he had so much time to pan for gold and take a bath.

"Understood!"

As soon as Rasa finished speaking, the Sand Ninja's expressions immediately turned solemn. Indeed, the war was not over yet! They nodded seriously.

Yet their hearts were filled with emotion.

As expected... with Lord Rasa here, we've unconsciously relaxed even on the battlefield.

They had to remember...

the Sand Ninja had suffered casualties during this period as well!

Lord Rasa was truly someone they could trust!

Naturally, this was also the influence created by the formidable strength Rasa had displayed during this time.

He...

had already won the recognition of every Sand Ninja here.

"In that case, then... Kanna..." Rasa shook the sand from his body and looked solemnly at the quiet Kanna beside him. "I have something else I'll need to trouble you with."

"..."

The Sand Ninja who had just been inspired by Lord Rasa immediately... looked speechlessly at the paragon of righteousness before them.

As expected of Lord Rasa!

However, before the Sand Ninja could sigh in admiration...

"Lord Rasa..." A Sand Ninja who had been patrolling outside rushed in, quickly saluted, and said, "The Grass Ninja and Stone Ninja have launched another attack!"