The Main World.
Year 29 of Konoha, winter.
The Country of Roran, east of the city.
The sun had just risen, and the edge of the desert was still dark red. Wind blew in from afar, carrying the dry scent of sand and making the crowd's clothes flap.
Long lines stretched across the open ground outside the city gates. Thousands of people, men and women, young and old, held sacks, cloth bags, wooden buckets, and even bundles made from tied-up clothes. Today was the day the Country of Roran distributed fertilizer. The first batch produced since agricultural fertilizer technology had gone into production totaled fifty metric tons. It was not being sold to farmers, but given away.
Toyotomi Shining Sand stood on the city wall, his red hair like a burning flame in the morning light. He was six years old and wore white Clan Clothing with a golden Hourglass Emblem embroidered on the collar. His eyes were amber, gazing down at the dense crowd below.
Sasha stood beside him, holding a cup of hot tea. "Will fifty tons be enough?"
"No," Shining Sand said calmly. "But it will do. Every household will get some. Enough for them to try it, enough for them to learn that it works. Once they've tried it and know it works, they'll buy it next year."
Below the wall, the lines slowly moved forward. Dozens of tables stood at the city gates, piled with bags of grayish-brown powder. Each farmer stepped up to a table, registered their name, address, and acreage, then received a large bag of fertilizer. One large bag weighed fifty jin. Enough for one mu of land for a year.
"Next!"
Among the crowd, a figure in a gray cloak moved slowly forward. His cloak was thick, its hood pulled low,