Land of Hot Water is world-famous for its natural hot springs all over the country and its peaceful and peaceful atmosphere. It is a famous resort in Shinobi World. In the air that is filled with a light sulfur smell all year round, time seems to flow more slowly.
A streamlined, high-tech maglev car is driving silently on the winding mountain road leading to the famous hot spring town "Rainbow Hot Spring". Outside the car window are the rolling green mountains and the occasional hot spring stream with white steam, which is in sharp contrast to the cool and pleasant environment inside the car.
In the car, Sōkyū Hatake was leaning leisurely on the comfortable leather seat, closing his eyes and relaxing.
He only wore a simple white casual shirt and trousers, which made him less aggressive and more lazy and easy-going.
Opposite Sōkyū Hatake, three women with different styles are enjoying this journey.
Queen Sara of Rōran, wearing an elegant lavender dress, is smiling and enjoying the scenery outside through the car window. She is holding a cup of Rōran specialty herbal tea with a sweet floral fragrance in her hand. Her behavior can naturally reveal the dignity and grace of Queen of a country.
Ayame, on the other hand, was wearing a comfortable cotton dress and was looking down at an electronic scroll of a report on the trial planting of new cold-resistant crops in Land of Iron.
Her delicate brows were slightly furrowed, as if she was thinking about some technical problem, and her focused look gave her gentle temperament an intellectual charm.
In the past few years, Ayame has not been idle at all. Now he is Rōran's minister responsible for the circulation of grain and non-staple food.
But Mitaraishi Anko, who is now in charge of Rōran's external intelligence and part of [Special Affairs], has a completely different style.
She occupied an entire sofa seat without any image, wearing a black T-shirt and hot pants with an exaggerated cartoon snake pattern printed on it, revealing a pair of slender Bulk Up long legs.
She was munching the special snacks brought from Rōran without any ladylike manner, a kind of gummy candy specially made from Snakeberry and honey, which was also a snack that Ayame invented after taking office. Anko's cheeks were bulging, like a squirrel stocking up on food for the winter.
"Ah~ It's really comfortable to go on vacation!" Anko swallowed the gummy candy in his mouth with satisfaction and stretched out, revealing his curves.
"Tenten Facing those boring Intelligence Scroll, my eyes will turn into Sharingan! Mr. Sōkū, why don't you let that idle guy Obito help me..."
"Anko, pay attention to your manners. It's really not easy for Sōkū to spare a few days this time." Sara reminded softly, her tone gentle but with a sense of majesty. She put down the tea cup and looked at Sōkyū Hatake, who had her eyes closed to relax, with tenderness in her eyes.
"Yes, everyone has been too busy in the past two years. The whole world is changing too fast, and we have more and more things to deal with." Ayame also temporarily raised his head from the scroll, pushed up his non-existent glasses, and smiled softly.
"It's a matter of combining work and rest. You can't be tense all the time. And... you did some things better than expected, so I can relax a little, but Obito is indeed a bit too leisurely." Sōkyū Hatake still closed his eyes, but the corners of his mouth were slightly raised.
"Hey, don't worry Mr. Sōkū, we are very capable!" Mitaraishi Anko chuckled.
"That's right, you guys are... so capable." Sōkyū Hatake said pointedly, then turned to look at them.
"Sōkū-kun is really..." Faced with Sōkyū Hatake's double-entendre words, even Sara couldn't help but blush with embarrassment and secretly spat Sōkyū Hatake.
"Why don't you ask sister Pakura to come with you this time?" Ayame put the scroll away and then looked at Sōkyū Hatake.
"Pakura is still dealing with the mess of Sunagakure. Even after these two years of development, everything is not that simple. What do you think Pakura is doing?" Sōkyū Hatake looked out the window.
"Sister Pakura... has a strong execution ability. The changes in Sunagakure are almost visible to the naked eye. According to the plans and resources provided by you, Mr. Sōkū, she is promoting the reform of Sunagakure with... well, almost stubborn loyalty. Economic indicators have improved rapidly, and people's livelihood has improved significantly. It's just..."
Sara paused slightly, seeming to consider his words.
"Just what?"
"It seems that she relies too much on Rōran's input, and her local innovation ability seems to be somewhat insufficient. Moreover, she executes your orders almost without hesitation. This not only brings high efficiency, but also allows her to accumulate some... potential criticisms within Sunagakure. After all, not everyone is willing to see Kazekage so obedient."
Sōkyū Hatake said "hmm" softly, without comment, and turned his eyes to Ayame.
"Judging from the data on food and material circulation, Sunagakure's demand structure is completely different from two years ago. They are extremely dependent on Rōran's exports of minerals and specialty agricultural products, while almost all imported daily necessities and industrial manufactured products come from Rōran or its leading business network.
Sister Pakura has indeed done a good job in integrating resources internally and implementing policies, and almost no assistance was wasted. But as sister Sara said, this deep binding makes Sunagakure's economic risk resistance completely tied to Rōran. Once our supply chain fluctuates, Sunagakure will be directly affected."
"However, Pakura herself seems to have never expressed concern about this. Her trust in you Sōkū is 100%." She paused and added.
"Hmph, sister Pakura is not trusting, she is simply following her completely." Anko curled her lips and interjected. She is in charge of intelligence, and her perspective is sharper and even a little dark.
"According to the news from my subordinates, Sunagakure Council of Elders, especially the old guy Ebizo, complained a lot in private. He said that sister Pakura has almost become the top executive officer of Rōran in Sunagakure, and Kazekage Building has almost become a branch of Rōran.
Sister Pakura has suppressed several voices of dissatisfaction, and her methods are quite neat. I heard that Mr. Sōkū goes back to 'take care' of sister Pakura from time to time, right?" She winked at Sōkyū Hatake narrowly.
"However, the people at the bottom and most ninjas are very happy with it. After all, the improvement in life is real. I just don't know what they will think if this kind of 'good life' needs to pay a higher price one day."
"Pakura... What she wants is to prove her worth and prove that I was right in choosing her. She doesn't need independent thinking, she just needs perfect execution. Sunagakure doesn't need innovation, she just needs to integrate. At this stage, this is enough. As for potential dissatisfaction..." Sōkyū Hatake narrowed his eyes.
"In the face of absolute interests and power, there can be no Gust wave."