The Land of Yellow Sand

The yellow sand obscured the sun, the golden crow hung high, and the air distorted and warped in the scorching heat.

The high temperature of over 40°C during the day plummeted to below zero at night, yet even with this extreme temperature difference, like a natural barrier, human civilization still existed.

Within a canyon surrounded by a ring of giant rocks, rows of earth-yellow houses were neatly arranged in a circular village.

In the center stood a building with a rounded top. The character 'Wind' in the center of the building bore a touch of vicissitudes from the constant erosion of sand and gravel.

Bang--!

"Chōjūrō! You can't control your ambition now that Kazekage-sama is gone, can you? I'm telling you, until there's news of Kazekage-sama, the next election won't begin!"

In the Elder Council Hall on the top floor of the Kazekage Building, an elder slammed his fist on the central round table and stood up, shouting angrily.

But this time, it was different from before. Several elders from the 'Kazekage faction' remained silent.

"Yūta, Tōsen."

The two who were called by name didn't respond immediately. After a moment of silence, they said, "Sajiu, you're aware of the Cloud Ninja's surprise attack on the border outpost. The village needs a leader to control the situation now."

"That's right. The disappearance of the Third Kazekage and Sasori has led Chiyo-sama to ignore village affairs, but the village still needs to survive."

The two spoke one after another, causing some of the centrist elders to waver.

What they said made sense, and their sincere speeches after changing their stance added to their persuasiveness. Around the table, the elders exchanged glances.

Sajiu swept his gaze across the room, his anger subsiding. He knew it was futile, and some people might have already reached certain agreements beforehand.

He glanced at the calm Chōjūrō and grinned, "Alright, you're right. The village does need a new Kazekage. Then I propose Rasa, the Third Kazekage's disciple, be appointed the Fourth Kazekage."

Chōjūrō, whose expression had been like still water since the meeting began, frowned for the first time. Before he could speak, an elder next to him said, "Rasa is still too young and lacks hard-earned honors, making it difficult to gain popular support. The village needs a prestigious leader now. I propose Chōjūrō be appointed the Fourth Kazekage."

"No honors? At the age of twenty-something, he has already completed over a hundred A-rank missions and nearly ten S-rank missions. What is this if not honor? Furthermore, the Third Kazekage's disciple succeeding to the position is legitimate. If Kazekage-sama ever returns, this would also be a good story."

Sajiu paused, his gaze sweeping across the room. "Don't forget, the village's most important source of income now is minerals. I don't need to tell you whose merit this is, do I?"

When the elders heard the first part of Sajiu's speech, their expressions remained unchanged. After all, honor was nothing more than seniority and ability, and this wasn't unique to Rasa. It was up to them to decide who was capable and who wasn't.

But the last sentence struck their vital point. If Rasa were to have a falling out with the village over the position of Kazekage, not to mention ceasing to search for mineral veins, even if he just slacked off, they wouldn't be able to bear it!

That would truly be a deep gash across their aorta.

Several elders who were particularly dependent on minerals immediately expressed their support for Rasa to be the spokesperson, because he had the seniority, the ability, and had made great contributions to the village!

The meeting room descended into chaos. Only Moyuzi, who was in charge of the Medical Department, stood with her arms crossed, her gaze slightly lowered, as if she couldn't see the ugly scene before her.

Ironically, Sunagakure was ruled by these people.

An ordinary person might think that the ruler of Sunagakure was the Kazekage, but that was not the case.

Even the Third Kazekage, hailed as the 'Strongest Kazekage,' was at a disadvantage against them, only able to arrange for a few elders to mediate.

The Elder Council was the brain of Sunagakure. If they wished, they could even prevent the Kazekage's orders from leaving the Kazekage Building!

The universally recognized strongest Kazekage?

Who recognized him?

Had he paid his dues?

Not to mention that they secretly controlled the lifelines of many industries in Sunagakure. It could be said that if they uttered a word, Sunagakure would be paralyzed!

In the past, when Chiyo and Ebizo were around, these people would restrain themselves somewhat. Now that the two mountains above their heads were gone, wouldn't the jackals that had broken free from their collars feast on this fat sheep that was Sunagakure?

Sigh~

Moyuzi let out a silent sigh. Unexpectedly, everyone's gaze suddenly turned to her.

"Moyuzi, Lord Chōjūrō taught you ninjutsu at the Ninja Academy. You must have a high opinion of Lord Chōjūrō, right?"

"Moyuzi, you know Rasa's character and strength. He is the future hope of the village!"

"Moyuzi"

At this moment, out of the twelve Elder seats, excluding the missing Kazekage and Chiyo and Ebizo who did not concern themselves with politics, there were exactly nine people. The vote was a 4-4 tie, making Moyuzi's vote the crucial one in deciding the next Kazekage.

"I"

As the youngest elder on the Elder Council, Moyuzi usually just voted along with the others or abstained. Now, being told that her vote would decide the Kazekage, she was momentarily flustered.

"Uh, I think for such an important matter, we should listen to the opinions of Chiyo and Ebizo."

The siblings Chiyo and Ebizo always stood together, so her vote would then seem insignificant.

However, Chōjūrō said in a deep voice, "The two elders are advanced in years and are already very tired because of Sasori's matter. It's best not to trouble them with this."

Chōjūrō was already at the age of knowing his destiny this year. It could be said that Sunagakure did not even exist when he was born. He had witnessed Sunagakure's journey from nothing to something, and participated in the village's transformation from desolation to prosperity. If it weren't for Chiyo, he would have been in charge of Sunagakure long ago.

But there was no choice. Who could help it when the other party was a few years older, and he had followed behind the other party since he was a child.

What was even more infuriating was that their strength was also higher than his.

It should be known that in his youth, Chōjūrō was the number one taijutsu user in Sunagakure. His wind style, genjutsu, and summoning techniques were all top-tier. He had even established a certain prestige in the ninja world at that time.

It was just that there were too many monsters in his generation. Now, when listing the heroes of the past, he was no longer ranked. This made the self-important Chōjūrō extremely annoyed.

In the hearts of today's young people, Chōjūrō, who was once inferior in strength to Chiyo, the Kazekage, and Bunpuku, was a powerful elder, but not a strong ninja.

It could be said that Chōjūrō's life had always been lived under the shadow of Chiyo, even though she had already retired.

It was finally an opportunity to become the king of Sunagakure while Chiyo was not involved in politics, so why would they let Chiyo and her brother interfere in the village's affairs again?

Chōjūrō voiced his opposition, and the atmosphere immediately became delicate.

The other Elders also had mixed feelings. They were unwilling to be subordinate to Chiyo any longer, but decades of habitual obedience prevented them from forming any thoughts of opposing Chiyo's management.

They could only be described as a group of victims of long-term emotional abuse.

"Let's talk about the Cloud Ninja first."

An Elder spoke up, and the atmosphere in the Meeting Room instantly eased considerably.

"I'll talk about it."

Yūta, the head of the Intelligence Department, paused, waiting for everyone's attention to turn to him. "A week ago, Cloud Ninja suddenly launched a surprise attack on our country's border outposts with the Land of Rain. A total of five outposts and one base were destroyed, resulting in heavy losses. Fortunately, our reinforcements arrived in time, and the defense line has been stabilized. You can look at the specific details."

As he spoke, Yūta took out a report and distributed it to the Elders.

"I propose that Rasa lead the team to the border to intercept the enemy."

Sajiu finished reading the report and pondered for a moment, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

You say Rasa has no prestige? What is repelling the powerful Cloud Ninja with his troops if not prestige?

This invasion by the Cloud Ninja was simply the best opportunity for Rasa to take the throne.

But as soon as he finished speaking, the experienced Chōjūrō immediately objected, "No! The Shukaku seal still needs Rasa to suppress it. Compared to the threat of the Cloud Ninja, the Tailed Beast is the foundation of the village. Sajiu, are you disregarding the safety of the village?!"

He understood that he couldn't let Rasa go to the front lines. If they lost, it would be fine, but if they achieved a great victory and returned triumphantly, what reason would he have to stop the other party from succeeding?

Given his health condition, he didn't know if he could wait until the next Kazekage election. After all, Rasa was young and strong. Although the lifespan of past Kazekages was not long, he dared not gamble.

Sajiu was cornered by righteousness and couldn't speak, his expression looking grim.

The other Elders were not fools. They had no ambition for the Kazekage seat, but they had a great ambition to earn military merits from this opportunity.

Although they didn't know why the Cloud Ninja were attacking the Land of Wind, in this land of Yellow Sand, they truly feared no one.

After another round of verbal sparring, everyone finally decided to recommend Pakura, who came from a commoner background, as the leader of this defensive battle. This was a result that everyone could accept.

Of course, her subordinates had already been decided, consisting of elite soldiers and strong generals from the Great Clans.

With the war decided, the rest were minor details.

The Elders finally had the chance to drink some tea to moisten their dry throats, and the atmosphere seemed much better.

"By the way, has that kid Hoshino Maki recovered from his injuries?"

Chōjūrō said casually, wondering if he should visit the survivor of the Cloud Ninja surprise attack in the hospital to gain some favor with the villagers.

It was only natural for the Kazekage to visit the injured, and Lord Chōjūrō, who considered himself a quasi-Kazekage, didn't find it strenuous.

"His body has recovered, it's just..."

Moyuzi's expression turned strange upon hearing this. She hesitated, wanting to say more but ultimately holding back her true thoughts.

It's just that his brain seems to have a problem.

This minor incident was glossed over, as the important figures didn't have the energy to concern themselves with a mere little guy.

Meanwhile, Hoshino Maki stood in the lobby of the Sunagakure hospital, hands on his hips, shouting with all his might, "Anyone seriously injured? Minor injuries are fine too. If all else fails, come get a check-up, you might be sick!"

People around saw a handsome youth in a patient's gown, about sixteen or seventeen years old, looking for patients everywhere and found it absurd, quickly avoiding him.

Sigh~ What a shame about that good-looking face, it doesn't come with a matching brain.

Although this world didn't have laws that allowed mentally ill people to kill without consequence, no one wanted to deal with them.

Ye Mu, or rather Hoshino Maki, looked anxiously at patient after patient, but all he received in response was avoidance and fear.

Those with minor illnesses feared being turned into serious cases by treatment, and those with serious illnesses feared not even being able to secure a dignified death.

"Hoshino Maki! Back to your room!"

The Head Nurse, no, the disciplinarian, rushed down from upstairs, grabbed Hoshino Maki by the ear, and started dragging him upstairs, all while flashing an apologetic smile to the crowd.

Sigh~ Those little nurses were so flustered by this kid's words that they couldn't keep an eye on him.

"Ah! Ah! Be gentle, Aunt Miho! As an excellent Medical Ninja, I fought bravely on the front lines against the enemy and was gravely wounded. How can you treat a distinguished ninja who shed blood and sweat for the village like this?"

"Pah! You brat, I know you well enough. You'd be lucky if you didn't wet yourself when you saw a Kumogakure ninja."

Miho scoffed, teasing him.

She was in the same ninja class as Hoshino Maki's parents and was a close friend. After Hoshino Maki's parents passed away, she often went to his home to take care of the young Hoshino Maki. In short, no one understood this kid's capabilities better than she did.

She had originally worried about Hoshino Maki's safety when she heard he was going to the border. Fortunately, he had escaped danger, and his life was saved.

Recalling Hoshino Maki's appearance when he was rushed into the hospital's emergency room, Miho still felt a lingering fear.

At that time, Hoshino Maki was unrecognizable when he was pushed into the emergency room. His internal organs were visible through the two deep, diagonal slash marks. Miho almost fainted, getting onto the operating table before him.

Whether it was divine intervention or Hoshino Maki's extraordinary Vitality, such a severe injury was miraculously saved. It's just that his Brain seemed to be not working very well.

The first day he woke up, he was dazed, staring at the sky outside and not speaking no matter how he was asked. The second day, he ignored his bandages, got into a wheelchair, and clamored to save the dying and heal the injured.

To be honest, three nurses couldn't even catch Hoshino Maki in his wheelchair, and they were exhausted. Miho, who rushed over, was stunned.

From then on, Miho personally supervised Hoshino Maki. After all, he was a former ninja, and Hoshino Maki became much more obedient. Who would have thought it was all an Illusion? The moment she went to the Canteen to get food, this kid had already run off again!

The dialogue between the two dispelled the concerns of the onlookers. It seemed this kid really was a Medical Ninja!

In Sunagakure, or rather, the entire Ninja World, Medical Ninjas were highly respected, except in Kirigakure. Especially after Lord Tsunade's performance in the last Ninja World War, where she could both fight enemies and heal injuries, many people's rigid impressions of Medical Ninjas were shattered.

But with Chiyo retiring due to Sasori and the Kazekage's disappearance, and Tsunade leaving Konoha to become a notorious target, the development of medical ninjutsu in the Ninja World fell into a leaderless state, and excellent Medical Ninjas became increasingly scarce.

A Medical Ninja who could survive the battlefield must have some skills, right?

Nowadays, most excellent Medical Ninjas were found in the Daimyo's Mansions of various countries, serving the village higher-ups and major families. Next were those stationed at the borders, specifically serving ninjas.

Although hospitals existed, the number of people queuing far exceeded the Chakra reserves of Medical Ninjas. Therefore, ordinary people could only access doctors and Medical Ninjas of average skill. If only they could...

Many patients and their families looked hesitantly at the young man in a patient's gown. Hoshino Maki, who had been ignored moments ago, suddenly became the center of attention.

But no one was willing to be the first. They all wanted to wait for others to test the kid's medical skills, to see the quality, before considering it themselves.

Just as Hoshino Maki was about to be pulled into the elevator, a somewhat pale hand grabbed the corner of his clothes.

"Please, please save my husband."

After speaking, the person directly knelt on the ground, covering her face and weeping.

References:

Naruto TV episodes 1-720

Gaara Hiden: Samurai of the Sand

Related Zhihu articles

Bilibili UP主 videos

List updated irregularly

Worldview based on Gaara Hiden: Samurai of the Sand

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