The Sunagakure delegation arrives, and Mikami Yu decides on his first payment-One-Tail chakra!

"So this is the heartland of the Land of Fire? It really does look nice. Moist air, abundant water, and plentiful forests... Children born somewhere like this really have it good."

Pakura surveyed her surroundings, her eyes flickering briefly before she turned to her friend beside her. "Karura, this should be your first time here too, right?"

"Yes."

Karura nodded and replied, "This is my first time serving on the Shadow Guard Team, after all. Before this, I stayed in the village and rarely had a chance to leave. The Third Hokage brought a group to Konoha some years ago, but I was too weak back then to be chosen for the Shadow Guard Team, so I missed out..."

"That's all right. You'll have more opportunities in the future."

Pakura smiled, then said earnestly, "Konoha has stood at the pinnacle of the Five Great Ninja Villages for decades. Although it has declined a few times along the way, it always rose again shortly afterward. There must be a secret to that.

"During this visit, we need to observe carefully and look into it."

After becoming Acting Kazekage, Pakura had devoted considerable effort to conducting a thorough investigation into every aspect of Sunagakure, from its policies and institutions to its resources.

She had uncovered quite a few problems.

Some could be addressed by drawing on the wisdom of their predecessors. Others, however, were longstanding issues accumulated over decades, with no suitable solutions to be found anywhere in Sunagakure's history.

Thus, aside from strengthening their alliance with Konoha, Pakura had also come hoping to pick up a few tricks. As the earliest-established village and the one whose prosperity had lasted the longest, Konoha must have encountered all sorts of problems over its decades of development, and it should have resolved most of