No Room for Error

When people are in despair, they always want to find something to place their faith in—money, love, or perhaps some deity whose existence they cannot even confirm.

Sunagakure had already been thrown into a state of panic by the disappearance of the Third Kazekage, and then... it had fallen into a terrifying war. Especially after the village's Ninjas began heading to the battlefield one after another, it was easy to imagine how afraid the villagers were of the future.

Just then...

News of Lord Rasa suddenly returned. He had gone alone into Grass Ninja territory and dealt them a devastating blow. Then came word that the Stone Ninja Vanguard that had surrounded Lord Rasa earlier had already been buried beneath the sand. How could such news fail to cheer the villagers, whose hearts had been weighed down by fear and despair?

Next... the border between the Grass Ninja and the Stone Ninja became a blazing battlefield. Rasa held back both sides, the Grass Ninja suffered heavy losses, and the Stone Ninja made a tactical retreat. The battle on that front had stabilized. Lord Rasa continued northward and fought a major battle against Kumogakure, turning the tide and recovering Sunagakure's disadvantage. In the end, he had even captured the man who was about to become the Fourth Raikage. Then...

After hearing of these astonishing achievements, everyone also noticed that two trees had somehow grown from the sand and stones outside Lord Rasa's home.

It was simply unimaginable. Could the legendary First Hokage have come to Sunagakure to plant them?

No matter how they thought about it, that was utterly impossible.

Thus, the interaction between the environment, their state of mind, and this unexpected event had created the strange scene before their eyes.

In any case, Rasa knew that he would never be able to return to his own house. Every day, those villagers would go over to check whether the two little saplings were growing strong, whether they had anything to do or not. If Karura had no time to water them, the villagers would even carry water over themselves. Add in a few villagers who let their imaginations run wild... and that was how the strange scene he saw upon returning to the village had come about.

Of course... some Ninjas had also examined the soil outside his home. Aside from finding some odd bits of trash mixed in with the sand and stones, they had discovered nothing unusual.

The sand was still the same old sand. The entire Land of Wind was covered in this kind of sand, with its high metal content, poor soil, and low moisture. Most of it was fundamentally unsuitable for growing plants.

Even if the Shinobi God appeared, planting trees in their village would probably require replacing them every few days, turning him into an environmental landscaping engineer~

Therefore, these two trees that stubbornly grew outside his home were definitely extraordinary. They had to be a gift from the heavens!

Consequently, no matter how puzzled they became afterward, the Sand Ninja did not dare destroy the two little saplings casually for research. After all, trees growing in the desert for no apparent reason... how incredible and incomprehensible was that~

Especially since... they had actually begun growing so sturdily.

So they had to watch them!

Watch them carefully!

Perhaps this was the future of their Sunagakure?

Perhaps the desert of Sunagakure would one day become fertile land?

Whoever dared to cut down the trees at a time like this would become the enemy of the entire village.

Seeing the villagers fiercely protecting the little saplings, Rasa even felt that... what they had acknowledged was actually only those two little trees, not Rasa himself.

He recuperated in the village for several days. After all, although Sunagakure's Kage succession ceremony was relatively simple, it still required some time to prepare.

A large portion of the old Jonin who had come with him had left the battlefield and returned with him at this time specifically for the succession ceremony. Of course, if he was imagining a dense crowd of Ninjas and villagers standing below to watch his succession ceremony, he could forget about it. Most of the Ninjas were currently guarding the Land of Wind's borders.

So, it could be said that his succession ceremony was... probably the simplest one since the First Kazekage. Moreover, Sunagakure's Kazekage robes were not particularly ornate. A simple white windproof cloak was enough. Wrapped tightly, it could effectively ward off dust and sand, and it was the most popular clothing in the Land of Wind.

Of course, Rasa did not have any expectations for his impoverished village. They could barely afford to buy food, so why bother fussing over so many details?

The farmland near the only small lake behind the village, which sustained the lives of the entire village, could barely provide enough food when they tightened their belts and supplemented it with grain purchased from outside. But now that they were at war... it was no longer enough.

The mission rate had fallen off a cliff, to say nothing of the fact that the Sand Ninja had no time to carry out missions. They could barely manage the front lines, so what missions could they possibly take?

Did they want to destroy the village?

Therefore, most of the food was sent to supply the Ninjas at the front. The village was in severe shortage, and even so... there was still not enough food for the front lines.

The village could truly be described as... both poor and hungry~

He could only keep everything as simple as possible.

He also prayed inwardly that Chiyo and the others would secure more benefits for Sunagakure during the negotiations, allowing the village to survive this war. Otherwise... most of the gold he had mined would probably have to be poured into this bottomless pit that fed the entire village.

Rasa took a sip of hot tea with a sigh and looked at Karura, who was preparing lunch in front of him. Later, she would also need to water the trees outside his home herself.

As long as nothing came up, she usually went to water them personally. After all, those were the achievements of her fiancé.

So she was rather busy.

Though Rasa still had no idea how the two trees had become connected to his achievements.

His current recognition, after all, had been won back on the front lines through his ability to spend money. But... since everyone saw things that way, he could only see them that way too.

He glanced toward the room...

"Yashamaru still hasn't come back these past few days?"

"He said that one of his companions died on the battlefield, and he was worried something might happen." Karura blushed, then shook her head with a smile. "So he's been comforting his companion's parents during this time and hasn't been staying at home."

"Is that so?"

Rasa nodded, took another sip of tea, and did not pursue the matter further.

War meant death, especially with Sunagakure currently at a disadvantage. More Ninjas were dying, so... it was not surprising for someone to return from outside the village and find a companion gone.

Yashamaru must be very sad right now as well. He should not disturb him.

And during this period... after Kumogakure had compromised, the pressure on the battlefield had begun to ease. Next, the many temporarily graduated kids would gradually return. As for the other battlefields... once Kumogakure withdrew, the surplus Ninjas would begin to be reassigned to them.

At the same time, the children who survived the battlefield... could already be called true Ninjas. Although many of the kids had not understood much of the theoretical knowledge they had been taught, the knowledge they had gained on the battlefield... was already enough to make them understand what a true Ninja was.

These were things they could never learn from textbooks.

Rasa felt somewhat melancholy. He sighed, but there was nothing he could do. After this round of war... it would probably take several years for the number of Ninjas in Sunagakure to recover. Once the war completely ended, every village would enter a period of recuperation and digest the gains of war. And that would also be the time when the birth rate was highest.

Although quite a few Ninjas had raised flags behind them when they left the village, there were still many lucky ones who managed to return alive, marry, and start families.

"Then let's eat."

Just then...

Karura finished preparing dinner as well. She served Rasa a bowl of rice and said with a smile, "Our Fourth Kazekage!"

Let's move the time back a little.

With the Fourth Raikage in the enemy's hands, Kumogakure did not dare delay in the slightest.

Thus, today, the barren desert no longer bore any visible traces of the fierce battle. Every gust of wind that swept across the sand and stones carried away a little more evidence.

As time passed... all the traces would be buried beneath the desert.

Chiyo held a basin with a solemn expression. She had guarded it throughout this entire period and would not let anyone touch it except her younger brother. After all... this was the hope of peace for Sunagakure~

There absolutely could not be the slightest mistake.

She wore a smile and walked forward slowly, one step at a time. Not far ahead of her stood the Kumogakure Ninja, who had been waiting there for quite some time.

Finally... had they come?