"So this is Konoha. It looks so rich!"
Standing atop a mountain, the first group of Sunagakure candidates to arrive gazed at distant Konoha, encircled by an enormous barrier and walls, and could not help exclaiming.
The harsh, dust-swept environment of the Land of Wind condemned Sunagakure to a difficult existence, surviving within a limited area on what few resources it possessed. The desert and its frequent storms cut off most avenues of income, leaving Sunagakure in perhaps the direst straits of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
As the advance party, the three Sand Shinobi standing here were all highly placed talents of their village's new generation. The siblings Chiyo and Ebizo were students of Shamon, the current Kazekage's trusted aide and the future Second Kazekage, while Sandstorm was Kazekage Reto's personal student.
(Sandstorm is the future Third Kazekage; Kishimoto never gave him a name.)
With their destination almost within reach, Chiyo gave both male members of the team a hearty slap on the shoulder, a mischievous grin spreading across her pretty, delicate face.
"The hopes of the whole village rest on you two. Give it your best!"
As Sunagakure's advance team, claiming victory in the free-for-all of the Chunin Ninja Exams was not their main objective. Their second objective was to forge an alliance with Konoha, while their first was actually-
To use their male charms to make Uchiha Shingetsu fall head over heels for them, lure her to Sunagakure, and have her plant forests in the desert!
The idea sounded outrageous and was, in fact, utterly unhinged, but Ebizo and Sandstorm had no choice but to give it everything they had. There was simply no helping it. Penniless Sunagakure coveted Konoha's Inari deity far too much!
The Land of Wind's internal situation was nothing like the Land of