Undercurrents Stirring

Moon Lake—more precisely, the vast oasis that had formed around it—lay over four hundred kilometers from the Hidden Sand Village. The lake itself was not large, covering only a little over twenty mu.

Even so, it was already the largest inland freshwater lake in the Land of Wind. A ring of low shrubs grew around its shore, clearly planted deliberately to preserve the soil and water. Spreading outward from the lake for more than a hundred li, circles upon circles of drought-resistant desert plants had been planted, creating an enormous oasis.

At the very edge of the oasis stood a simple man-made windbreak wall and several military fortresses, built during the era of Reto, the First Kazekage.

"It's beautiful. I think the environment here is better than in the Hidden Sand Village, and it's about the same size. It's rare to find such a large lake in the desert. If we built a city around the lake and planned it properly, I could triple the scale of this place within five years. Granny Chiyo, why didn't Lord Reto build the Hidden Sand Village here in the first place?"

Jing Hang shaded his eyes with one hand as he looked at the sparkling curve of deep-blue water, unable to hold back his admiration. The thought made him ask the question.

"It wasn't that he hadn't considered it. The main reason it wasn't built here was strategic."

Chiyo glanced around to make sure no one was nearby.

"When Reto founded the Hidden Sand Village and selected its location, this was the first place he chose. But he was meticulous, so he specifically sent Ebizo to survey Moon Lake's water source.

"The investigation lasted a full year. They eventually discovered that Moon Lake was not fed by a source of its own. Water from the Shule River seeped underground to this place, eventually forming a rich aquifer above an impermeable layer. If the upstream were ever controlled by someone else, the water here would gradually dry up, and this place would immediately become dead land.

"Oh, and keep this secret. I'm only telling you because you're the Kazekage. If Danzo found out, he'd definitely cut off your water upstream. Heh heh." Chiyo teased.

"No wonder the First and Second Kazekage were always trying to take the Land of Rain. I thought..."

"You thought what? Do you think they were fond of that damp, rain-soaked hellhole? Don't underestimate the strategic vision of our predecessors. Heh heh." Chiyo clasped her hands behind her back and continued forward.

"Then we should turn this place into a logistics base. We could open farms, relocate people here to produce grain, vegetables, fruit, and medicinal herbs, raise pigs and sheep... The Hidden Sand Village's economic problems would definitely improve drastically!"

"And how would you transport it all? There are over four hundred kilometers of desert in between."

"We build roads."

"Build roads in the desert? Build half of one, then bury the other half in sand?" Chiyo thought Jing Hang was joking, so she changed the subject.

"Speaking of that old turtle Danzo, he's quite seasoned. After suffering a small loss, he immediately retreated to Night-Cry Sand Sea to patch up the holes and filter manure water. What do you think he's thinking now?"

"What else could he be thinking? He's trying to figure out how to deal with me." Jing Hang smiled.

Chiyo suddenly stopped walking.

"You need dealing with too. You're the Third Kazekage now, not the elite Jonin you used to be. Let your subordinates handle more of the charging and fighting. Don't keep putting yourself in danger. Do you think your life belongs to you alone?"

"Sigh, I don't want to either. We're short on talent, and there are too few people who are truly capable. I can't rest easy leaving certain matters to others." Jing Hang sighed helplessly.

"After this war ends, I want to travel under the guise of state diplomacy. With the world in turmoil, great talents must be hiding in the wilderness! We need to throw a few catfish into this muddy water and stir things up in the village. It's only been a few generations, and we haven't produced many people worth mentioning."

That was indeed the case. Compared to the Hidden Leaf Village's inclusiveness and Hidden Cloud's extreme emphasis on martial strength, the Hidden Sand Village's talent development system was undoubtedly backward. It also lacked any real system for discovering and protecting those with special bloodlines.

Over the years, they had only produced one Pakura with Scorch Release, and even she had been dug out of the crowd by Jing Hang based on his memories. Thinking about it, in the original story, the only people Sunagakure could show off in its later days were Gaara and Sasori of the Red Sand. Just two experts, and one of them was a rogue ninja. Temari, Kankuro, and the rest were hardly worth mentioning.

Old revolutionaries like Chiyo and Ebizo would have been put in a museum if they were in the Hidden Leaf Village, yet even by the time of the Fifth Kazekage, they were still out there fighting for their lives. It was truly a case of no generals in Shu, so Liao Hua had to lead the vanguard. This situation had to change. If everything required the boss to do it personally, it would not sound good no matter who heard of it.

"Things do need to change. You've always had grand ambitions, even as a child. The tree hasn't even been planted, yet you're already thinking about what the fruit will taste like. At the very least, shouldn't you wait until this war is over?"

"Do you think there's anything we've missed, Shikacho?" Danzo stared at the middle-aged ninja before him.

"We still have far too little useful intelligence. Though Jing Hang is young as a ninja, he handles matters with great sophistication. Since his debut, he has rarely left anyone alive during missions. All we know now is that he can control Iron Sand and use Shadow Clones. Beyond that, we know nothing. So the current plan can only be considered a rough draft. We cannot guarantee a hundred percent chance of capture. At best, we have a sixty percent chance."

Nara Shikacho shook his head. As the leader of the Nara clan, famed for their meticulous minds, even with his exceptional intelligence, he could do little with such scarce information.

"Do your best to refine it further. If you need any resources or people, tell me directly." Danzo remained as calm as ever.

"Once we take him down, this war should be over. Work hard, Shikacho." Danzo gave a polite, slight bow. Nara Shikacho hurriedly returned it.

Extremely suspicious, cautious, sinister, and ruthless, he trusted no one and could not tolerate even the slightest possible oversight. He would only feel at ease if everything proceeded according to his own designs.

He often spoke of how "ninja must sacrifice themselves," yet when it came time for him to make that sacrifice, he could not do it himself. Those were the traits of the elderly Danzo in the manga, but even now, in his prime, those tendencies had already begun to show.

When Sunagakure and Hidden Rain were locked in fierce battle, he intervened, sacrificing the Three Legendary Ninja to deal with the famed "Demigod of the Ninja World," Hanzo of the Salamander. Once the situation was settled, he used his overwhelming troop advantage to pressure Hanzo into signing a humiliating treaty. When dealing with Shamon, the Second Kazekage, he had likewise sacrificed Kagami Uchiha as bait to lure the enemy in head-on, while launching a successful sneak attack from behind.

Danzo had truly brought sacrificing others to achieve his own ends to the extreme. Everything had unfolded just as he had expected. Now, the only thing standing in his way was the remaining Sunagakure forces entrenched at Moon Lake. Once that stone was removed, whether they were wiped out or forced to bow their heads as Hidden Rain had, Danzo would have achieved a tremendous feat. His influence among the Hidden Leaf Village's higher-ups would increase, and perhaps one day, sitting in the Hokage's chair would no longer be impossible.

Who could have expected a blue-haired brat to suddenly stand in his way? With one brilliant retreat, Jing Hang had decisively abandoned the forward base at Night-Cry Sand Sea. All he left behind were ruined houses, broken tiles, and several wells filled with manure. It was like having a mouthful of hot porridge forcibly poured down his throat—he could neither swallow it nor spit it out.

Continue pursuing them to Moon Lake with the main army? That would stretch the supply line of over ten thousand troops to ten times its original length. The supply line would also be extremely vulnerable to harassment. One moment of carelessness could result in the entire army being wiped out.

Not pursue? Sunagakure could use its short supply line to the village to replenish troops, stockpile supplies, and recover. If it even managed to connect with outside reinforcements, it would become even harder to take down. If Danzo exhausted his troops for no gain, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other Hidden Leaf Village higher-ups would have plenty to say. Intelligence also showed that Hidden Stone Village farther north was growing restless, and its forces were already close to the Land of Rain...

"Bring Jiraiya and Orochimaru here," Danzo ordered. A flash of killing intent passed through his eyes.