Let's Talk About This Instead!

There were two trees in front of my house. One was... what was it again?

Rasa no longer even knew what kind of trash he had buried outside his door. Since these strange pieces of trash were supposedly useful in some special way, he had simply... buried them at the entrance. As for inside the house... the entire place was a giant sandcastle. Burying them indoors meant no sunlight, and if he wanted to add some water, he could only wait until he could no longer hold it in. Besides, throwing trash inside his own home just felt a little strange.

So what was there to think about? He could just toss it outside; the wind and sand would take care of it for him.

If anything was discovered later, it was right outside his own door anyway, so he would notice it.

And yet...

They had merely taken root and sprouted?

What a letdown~

He had thought planting fruit pits would earn him some bizarre reward. Wasn't that how most game events worked?

For example, after completing an event, you might get materials to make a rice dumpling. Once you ate it... you would receive equipment, items, money, or some other strange thing. Otherwise... if it only restored your character's hunger meter, the players who had worked so hard on the event would chop you to death!

So...

"Did they glow at night?"

Rasa frowned slightly and seriously questioned Karura, who had poured him a cup of tea before sitting across from him.

"Or is there anything strange about them?"

"No~, there isn't. What could be strange about two little saplings?"

Karura looked at Rasa in confusion, her brows furrowing as she thought for a moment.

"Does it count that they look a little wilted if they aren't watered?"

"..."

How was he supposed to answer that?

Rasa looked speechlessly at Karura. When he saw the mischievous gleam in her eyes, he realized... she was teasing him.

He smiled helplessly and shook his head.

After thinking for a moment.

"That isn't right... planting trees in the desert shouldn't be this easy~"

Although the Survival Rate was low—he seemed to have buried several, yet only two had grown—but... if planting trees in the desert were so easy, desertification would not be such a difficult problem to solve. To plant trees, several steps were needed, like cultivating the soil first.

Yet the ones he had casually buried had actually taken root, sprouted, and grown. Wasn't their vitality a little too strong?~

Could this be that so-called special effect?

But what use was it?

Perhaps it would be useful for fighting desertification in an ordinary world, but this was the Shinobi World... rather than painstakingly planting trees himself, he might as well cooperate with Orochimaru and use Impure World Reincarnation to bring back the First Hokage. Then he could plant trees in one wave. With a dozen or so more attempts... he could surely improve Sunagakure's environment properly. If that did not work... he just had to work hard and make money, and he believed he could get what he wanted.

Why should he obediently plant trees himself?

He rubbed his forehead helplessly, then shook his head and said, "Forget it. I won't think about it anymore."

They had already been planted. What else could he do?

However, as soon as the words left his mouth...

"Mm-hmm~, that's true~" Karura nodded in agreement, then looked at Rasa with a smile. "Then let's talk about that Ninja named Kana!"

"..."

No, I think we should keep talking about those trees from before~

Rasa looked at Karura with a serious expression. He felt that trees growing in the desert... definitely meant there was some secret involved. If Sunagakure could research it, then...

"Hmm?"

However, before Rasa could speak, Karura let out a questioning hum, and he immediately fell silent again.

He sighed helplessly, raised his head at a forty-five-degree angle toward the ceiling, and said faintly with a trace of melancholy and sorrow, "That day, I saw a girl..."

Before he could finish—

"Big sister, I'm back. And Brother Rasa... the whole village is spreading rumors that you've cast aside the old for the new, all because you saved..."

Along with the sound of the door opening, Yashamaru's voice suddenly came in.

Can this brother-in-law be killed?

"That was what happened." Rasa took a sip of hot tea and shook his head with a sigh. Then he added sternly, "Don't tell anyone about this. This is top-secret information."

Kana's constitution... absolutely could not be revealed, especially during wartime. Once others found out, even if Kana had no way of reviving the dead, the relatives of those who had sacrificed themselves would still become furious, especially since Kana was an outsider.

"Mm, Yashamaru and I will keep it secret."

Karura wiped her reddened eyes. It was obvious she had cried just now. This kind-hearted girl... fortunately, she could not become a Ninja because of her physical condition. Otherwise, Gaara might not have made it out.

She fell silent for a moment, then sighed and shook her head.

"There are countless refugees created by every war. In this war... who knows how many countries and Ninja villages will be destroyed."

No Ninja village dared to casually take in wandering Ninjas. After all, no one knew whether the Ninjas from their village had killed that Ninja's relatives, lover, or someone else. If that caused chaos within the village, it would be disastrous.

So...

Other than becoming tools or test subjects... wandering Ninjas could only die, or... keep wandering through the Shinobi World.

Thinking about this war, Karura sighed and stopped dwelling on it. She was from Sunagakure, so why think so much?

Then she looked at the weary-faced Rasa and the much darker Yashamaru.

She immediately understood the brutality of the war at the front lines. They must not have dared relax for even a moment, remaining beneath the blazing sun at all times to guard against invasions by other Ninja villages.

Otherwise, why had her delicate and handsome younger brother changed so much in such a short time?

His skin had darkened, his body had grown stronger, and he looked much more spirited. Even... the headscarf he once wrapped around his head to block the sand had been removed. Yashamaru used to be terribly afraid of being battered by wind and sand.

Yashamaru... had truly grown up~

The corners of her lips lifted slightly, her face filled with a gratified smile. Then she turned to look at Rasa, who was still lost in thought.

"Rasa, I doubt you'll be able to return home for the time being."

"That's right~"

Yashamaru echoed from the side. Though he did not know why his sister had just looked at him with such a motherly smile, he recalled when he had been watering those two saplings.

"The news of Brother Rasa's return has spread through the entire village. A lot of people have gathered outside your house to worship those two saplings that grew in the desert!"

At that, he frowned in confusion as well.

"But... why did two trees suddenly grow outside Brother Rasa's door? And... what kind of trees are they?"

However, Rasa ignored Yashamaru's question. He frowned slightly, looked at Karura, and asked in confusion, "But why are those villagers... worshipping the saplings outside my house?"

Had no one ever seen trees before?

That was impossible!

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