The Queen of Roran froze for a moment, then realized what Zou Hyuga was referring to.
It was the black liquid the survivors of Rōran used for lighting. It seeped up from underground, had a strong, pungent smell, and was highly flammable.
But was something so commonplace really worth a partnership?
Under the Queen of Roran's doubtful gaze, Zou Hyuga understood what she was thinking, but he genuinely wanted to work with her.
As he remembered it, petroleum was an indispensable industrial resource, essential to technological development.
Yet, for some reason, the Shinobi World could make movies but showed no signs of internal combustion engines. He could only attribute that to the peculiar nature of chakra.
The Queen of Roran fell silent for a long time before finally nodding, seemingly resigned to her fate.
"If you want to work together, then let's work together."
Seeing her like this left Zou Hyuga feeling rather helpless. Did I really look that much like a villain? Extracting petroleum was clearly a win-win for both sides.
He also needed the Queen of Roran's authority to extract petroleum legally and avoid overt obstruction from Sunagakure's officials.
Once they had reached a preliminary agreement, Zou Hyuga and Oto took the Queen of Roran away from the desert oasis and headed toward the ruins of Rōran.
On the way to Rōran, they found no more decent oases, only endless windblown sand. Having chosen to travel at night, they instinctively drew their collars tighter against the nighttime chill.
Zou Hyuga lit a campfire to ward off the sudden drop in temperature and warmed the food he had brought.
After handing some to Oto Uchiha, he offered another portion to the somewhat frail-looking queen before him. She accepted it and ate several mouthfuls without hesitation, not caring whether it