"You're going to the Land of Rain?
That's Hanzō's territory. Isn't it too dangerous?"
Granny Chiyo hadn't expected Mukai to make such a request.
Now that he could refine Chakra Metal, Mukai was no longer an insignificant little Genin.
He was Sunagakure's hope for a revival!
If she hadn't been worried about all the eyes and ears in the village,
Chiyo would have wanted nothing more than to protect him in its innermost depths.
Hearing Chiyo's question, Mukai was still trying to think of an answer when Sasori, beside him, held up his pinky and said:
"What else would we be going for? Mukai's got one of these in Amegakure!"
"Ahhh... you little sneak, Sasori! What do you mean, I've got one of those?
I'm going to the Land of Rain on serious business, all right?!"
Sasori's jab got to Mukai, who grabbed him by the neck and spoke in exasperation.
After fooling around with Sasori for a while, he told Chiyo about Konan.
Chiyo had examined the material those paper cranes were made of, and it was indeed no ordinary paper.
Besides, Mukai and the others wouldn't be entering Amegakure, and Pakura would be leading them.
With the two boys' puppet armor providing first-rate defense, there shouldn't be much of a problem with their safety.
With that in mind, Granny Chiyo stopped worrying and took out three antidotes, handing one to each of them:
"This is the antidote to Ibuse's poison.
The poison takes effect when inhaled and is extremely potent.
But it isn't wartime now. After the Second Shinobi World War, Hanzo of the Salamander became much more cautious and hardly ever leaves his village.
As long as you don't risk getting close to Amegakure, you won't run into him.
In the name of Sunagakure's medical team, I'm issuing a mission to Pakura's squad.
The mission is to gather a medicinal herb used in antidotes, found northwest of Amegakure.
There's no time limit.
Make sure you stay safe, understood?"
Pakura pursed her lips, stepped forward, and promised to be careful.
Only after Elder Chiyo left did she grab Mukai, press him against her chest, and rough him up:
"Brat, you made me take the fall for you again!
There isn't some huge trap waiting for me on this mission to the Land of Rain too, is there?"
Mukai, who had the mind of an adult, found his nose itching as Pakura pressed his head into her bosom.
This damned age! But this feels so good!
After they fooling around for a while, he promised her plenty of benefits before Pakura finally let him go.
There was no rush, so they agreed to leave three days later.
During that time, Mukai and Sasori had to modify their puppet armor,
while Pakura also needed to strengthen security around the entire abandoned oasis.
As a Jonin, she actually had to run errands for two brats.
It really annoyed her!
Still, complaints aside,
this would be their secret base from now on.
At least until this pile of Iron Sand ran out, that was how things would be.
Sunagakure, Shisō's home
He pushed open the old door, and a three-year-old child came rushing over:
"Daddy! Welcome home!"
Shisō happily picked up the child, spun him around a few times, and rubbed his stubbly chin against his little cheek:
"Shira, you won't have to wait at home for me by yourself anymore!"
Shira looked a lot like Shisō. Ever since his mother died of illness, he and his father had depended on each other.
During the day, Shisō went out to work and earn money, while Shira exercised at home by himself.
Recently, his father had been earning more, and their meals had improved considerably.
Hearing his father say that, he thought something had happened.
Then he heard that it was because his father had gotten to know a Genin from the village.
His father could help out at the Genin's tavern, and that was how their lives had improved.
Not only that, when the ninja heard that Shira was home alone, he told Shisō to move there with him.
That way, Shisō wouldn't have to go back and forth every day, and he could take better care of Shira.
What tempted Shisō most was that this capable ninja had given him a copy of the Chakra Refinement Technique!
The ninja had also promised that he could take Shira as his disciple when the boy turned six!
This was an enormous opportunity!
Even if Shisō couldn't become a qualified ninja, perhaps his son Shira could!
Seeing his father holding him and laughing happily, Shira grinned too.
Their future was full of hope!
Rasa's home
"Darling, you're home?
How was your day? You must be exhausted, right?"
Rasa's wife, Karura, came out to greet him with Kankuro in her arms.
Behind her, three-year-old Temari ran toward him with her arms open.
Rasa forced a faint smile. Instead of picking Temari up, he simply rubbed her hair buns:
"Daddy's very tired today. Did you manage to refine any Chakra today, Temari?"
Temari took a few steps back and shook her head.
Rasa sighed in disappointment and looked at his wife, Karura:
"You can't spoil Temari so much. As our child,
if she wants to become an outstanding ninja, she has to train hard every day!"
Karura knew Rasa's temper. She bent down to rub her cheek against Temari's, then took Rasa by the hand and led him toward the dining room:
"Don't come home wearing such a stern face. You're scaring Temari.
Did you use up a lot of Chakra?
I made a delicious meal, and I also bought some of that popular liangpi from the village tavern.
Have something tasty, and you'll feel better!"
Rasa sat down and motioned for them to start eating.
He tried the liangpi in front of him. The distinctive texture of the noodles, together with the chewy wheat gluten coated in mildly spicy sesame sauce, gave him an appetite.
Seeing Rasa eating with relish, Karura smiled and served Temari some food as well.
Feeling a little better, Rasa finally spoke:
"The village's finances are in a very bad state.
The daimyō has found another excuse to cut the war budget, forcing the village to reduce its number of ninja.
And the village is getting fewer and fewer commissions, so its income has dropped sharply.
Yet the hidden villages of the great nations are all secretly preparing for war.
Outside the village, the prices of Chakra Metal and ninja tools like Kunai and Shuriken have risen by more than thirty percent.
In such a dangerous situation, there are actually people in the village who question allocating more resources to the Gold Dust Corps!
And that Pakura too. Something went wrong on a mission, and she wouldn't let it go at the Jonin meeting.
She took it upon herself to kill people from Konoha's Root. If I hadn't intervened, wouldn't it have caused a major incident?
Those shortsighted elders are just like the nobles of the Land of Wind. They're infuriating!"
Karura wiped Temari's mouth and tried to comfort him:
"Darling, even if the Gold Dust you extract can ease the financial situation,
it isn't a long-term solution.
The village's Puppet Brigade has also played a huge role on the battlefield.
We can't overlook their contributions!"
Rasa slammed his hand on the table and snapped:
"What do you know?
Sunagakure has the fewest resources of all the hidden villages in the Five Great Nations.
If we don't concentrate our resources on elite ninja, should we set up a large-scale Ninja Academy like Konoha?
Conducting Shukaku's trials requires a great deal of expensive Chakra Metal.
Bunpuku is already very old, and we still haven't found a candidate for the next Jinchūriki.
How can you expect me not to worry?"
Rasa's sudden outburst frightened Kankuro, who was in Karura's arms, and he burst into tears.
Karura soothed Kankuro while trying to reason with Rasa:
"Darling, don't lose your temper in front of the children.
The village has the Third Kazekage, and as his disciple, you've already done very well.
There are many things that can't be solved just by worrying."
Rasa sighed and was about to speak when an Anbu suddenly appeared in a puff of smoke, using the Body Flicker Technique:
"Lord Rasa, the Third Kazekage summons you urgently!"