The Third Kazekage

In the Kazekage's Office, the Third Kazekage, with blue hair and yellow eyes, wearing a white Kazekage robe over a blue ninja outfit, was reading the mission report Souya had submitted.

After carefully reading it through, the Kazekage smiled. "Well done!"

"It was all thanks to your excellent guidance, Sensei!" Souya said respectfully from the side.

"Having a student like you is my good fortune, too!" The Kazekage waved a hand, then asked, "How is your training with the Magnet Release Scroll I gave you? Any problems?"

"I've gotten reasonably good at the nature transformations of Wind and Earth, but I'm still not very adept at balancing the Chakra proportions when combining them. It may take me a little longer before I can actually use Magnet Release," Souya answered honestly.

Although the body he'd transmigrated into had the familiar black hair and black eyes and was rather good-looking, it had no Kekkei Genkai at all. Despite Souya's strenuous training, his Chakra was only slightly greater than an ordinary person's—not remotely comparable to those with cheat-like abilities such as the Sage Body.

Souya's only advantage was his Soul Power. After the Soul Source from the Blue Star was nourished and repaired anew by this body, his Soul Power had become at least half again as strong as that of an ordinary ninja. The most direct result was Souya's astonishing ability to control Chakra.

With such outstanding Chakra control, he'd practically mastered the Chakra Thread manipulation techniques for Puppet Masters as soon as he learned them at the Ninja Academy, earning the teachers' admiration.

Perhaps Sasori was willing to spend time with Souya because he, too, had the makings of an exceptional Puppet Master. After all, ordinary people couldn't understand the world of geniuses.

But after the Third Kazekage took Souya on as his student, Souya stopped studying anything related to the Puppet Technique. In the Kazekage's line of thinking, no matter how powerful a puppet was, it was nothing before Magnet Release.

Magnet Release could directly control and destroy the metal components inside a puppet, depriving the Puppet Master of his advantage.

So, for the past several years, under the Kazekage's guidance, Souya had been training in the Wind and Earth Chakra Nature Transformations, then trying to combine them and develop Magnet Release.

But before Souya had succeeded, another Magnet Release ninja had already emerged in Sunagakure: Rasa, who had also received guidance from the Third Kazekage!

Unlike the Kazekage's Iron Sand, the Magnet Release Rasa had mastered controlled Gold Sand.

At Souya's request, he was naturally training his Magnet Release with the aim of controlling Gold Sand like Rasa.

There was no other reason. Anyone could tell the difference in value between black iron and gold.

When you could command a vast cloud of glittering Gold Sand, you had far more flair than someone manipulating pitch-black iron grains.

Souya had also offered another reason: another Magnet Release ninja who could control Gold Sand would bring Sunagakure another major source of income.

"Good! To reach the threshold of Magnet Release at your age without a Kekkei Genkai is proof enough of your talent!" The Kazekage nodded approvingly.

The Kazekage then asked about some details of Souya's mission and how Sasori was doing.

After all, he'd seen how withdrawn Sasori had been. As one of Sunagakure's few exceptional talents, the Kazekage didn't want him to sink into darkness.

"Oh? So you want to give Sasori a new goal in life, to rekindle his desiccated inner world?" The Kazekage looked at Souya in surprise. Even as Kazekage, he sometimes found this student difficult to read.

The boy seemed able to come up with all sorts of unusual ideas, and on closer consideration, they often made perfect sense.

"Yes, Sensei," Souya replied.

"Then... how do you know Konoha has a Forbidden Jutsu that can summon the dead back into this world?" The Kazekage's expression grew serious.

"Sensei, it doesn't matter whether Konoha has that Forbidden Jutsu. It's enough that Konoha is our enemy," Souya said meaningfully.

Even the Kazekage narrowed his eyes and studied this shrewd student anew.

Souya, dressed in simple blue clothes, didn't shy away. He simply smiled in response.

The Kazekage thought it over. Souya made a good point. No matter how uncanny or talented he was, it was enough that he was a ninja of Sunagakure!

And speaking of geniuses...

The Yellow Flash, whose fame was rapidly rising in Konoha, had mastered the most difficult Space-Time Ninjutsu...

The Kazekage clenched his fist in secret. If the Yellow Flash truly was as formidable as the intelligence reports claimed, and they also had the "Sannin"... how long would Sunagakure have to wait before it could claim fertile land?

After a moment's silence, the Kazekage looked at Souya again and thought to himself, Perhaps this fellow will become someone like the "Sannin," too...

"Your plan is a good one. I'd intended to personally guide Sasori for a while and see if I could untie the knot in his heart. Since you've put it this way, I'll cooperate with you when the time comes." After speaking, the Kazekage lowered his head and returned to the documents on his desk.

"Then, Sensei, I'll be off."

The Kazekage waved a hand, and Souya turned and left the office.

Yellow. The streets were mostly yellow wherever he looked. Only a few newly opened shops had added splashes of color to their storefronts.

But under the ceaseless erosion of the yellow sand, even those vibrant colors would eventually be swallowed by the desert.

The wind was mild today, and the streets bustled with people. Vendors called out without pause, while several caravans that clearly came from abroad had set up in open spaces and were loudly hawking their wares.

Their exotic porcelain, clothing, cosmetics, and other goods naturally attracted crowds of young women. The caravans knew all too well how much influence women wielded in the consumer market.

Souya only glanced at the goods before shifting his gaze to the women gathered around them.

To be fair, although Sunagakure ranked last among the Five Great Shinobi Villages in strength and resources, Souya felt that it comfortably topped the list for average beauty.

The young women had fair skin and pretty faces, with hair ranging from blond to brown. Their every smile and frown radiated youthful energy.

The sight made the caravan merchants redouble their sales pitches, talking up their wares with boundless eloquence.

After giving his eyes a treat, Souya continued on, heading out of the village.

He had a humble little room in the village, but his destination this time was a Temple outside it.

The Temple was spacious, surrounded by high earthen walls that looked exceptionally solid. The walls bore the marks of time, telling of its merciless passage.