A fierce wind whipped up yellow sand, pounding it against the dilapidated earthen walls surrounding Sunagakure.
On the third floor of the Kazekage Building, the wind ripped through the window cracks, creating a piercing whistling sound.
Fine sand seeped into the house through the cracks, settling on the stone floor and forming a thin layer.
The Third Kazekage sat behind a large stone table.
He held the thin financial statement in his hand, his thumb crumpling the edges of the paper.
The large red seal bearing his name stung his eyes. Military spending was cut another 30%.
He ran his left hand into the blue hair and pulled it down forcefully.
My scalp was throbbing painfully. Two broken hairs fell onto the table.
"I can't take it anymore."
Kazekage slammed the report heavily onto the table.
He grabbed the earthenware teacup beside him, wanting to drink some water to calm his temper.
A layer of yellow sand floated on the water. He pushed his teacup away in disgust. Tea splashed out, mixing with the sand on the table to form a puddle of yellow mud.
"Bang."
The thick wooden door to the office was suddenly pushed open, the hinges emitting a dry, screeching sound.
An Anbu wearing a windproof cloth rushed in.
The soles of my shoes were covered with half a pound of yellow sand, which made a rustling sound as I stepped on the stone slabs.
" Lord Kazekage!"
The Anbu knelt on one knee, his knee striking the stone with a dull thud.
He was breathing heavily. The windproof cloth heaved violently with each breath.
"Something's happened at the border."
Kazekage frowned and grabbed a dry cloth to wipe the mud off his hands.
" Konoha has attacked?" His right hand instinctively reached for the ninja tool pouch at his waist.
"Without."
He swallowed hard, his Anbu's apple bobbing violently.
"They... are holding a market."
Kazekage stopped wiping his hands. The rag fell onto the table.
"Market?"
" Konoha has set up over a dozen airships at the border between the two countries. They're the kind of airships that fell from the sky."
The Anbu were so anxious that they resorted to both gestures and words.
"A huge metal hull hung from its belly, loaded with mountains of food and ninja tools. They were openly sold."
The Anbu pulled a Kunai from his pocket and handed it over with both hands.
Kazekage accepted it.
The Kunai felt heavy in my hand. It was bluish-gray in color, and the blade had a cold metallic sheen.
There wasn't a single bubble or impurity. The lines were as smooth as a work of art.
Kazekage drew the standard Kunai of Sunagakure from his waist. With a burst of strength in his right hand, the two Kunai clashed together.
"When."
A crisp sound.
A piece of iron the size of a fingernail was shattered from the Kunai the kunai, which was handcrafted by Sunagakure.
The steel Kunai from Konoha didn't even leave a white mark.
"These high-quality steel Kunai are sold by weight in Konoha."
The Anbu looked at the broken piece of iron on the table, his voice trembling.
"One pound of gold dust can be exchanged for a whole case."
Kazekage's fingers froze.
The blacksmith shop in Sunagakure. It takes two skilled blacksmiths a whole day to produce five of these substandard items. The labor cost alone is more than a pound of gold dust.
There's still food.
Anbu's stomach suddenly gurgled loudly. He awkwardly covered his stomach with his hand, his face turning bright red.
"Snow-white rice, white steamed buns, and pork belly sold by the fan."
Anbu sniffed.
"They're trading everything at rock-bottom prices. All the caravans from our village... have gone there."
Kazekage suddenly stood up, the stone bench beneath him dragging backward with a screeching sound.
"What about the blacksmith shop at the east end of the village?" Kazekage asked.
"We smashed the furnace yesterday." The Anbu lowered his head, not daring to look at the Kazekage's face.
The shopkeeper, along with several apprentices, pushed a handcart towards Konoha, saying they were there to work as unloaders, with three meals of white flour a day provided.
"Where's the grain store?" Kazekage's voice rose eight octaves.
"It's been closed for three days."
The Anbu replied in a low voice.
"The rice in Konoha is too cheap. The grain store owner fed all his moldy stock to the camels and took all his belongings to resell Konoha flour."
These idiots.
Kazekage paced back and forth, his military boots creaking on the sandy floor.
The daimyo cut military spending. The village has no money to pay mission funds. So these merchants are going to give money to Konoha?
This is draining the last drop of blood from Sunagakure.
"It's not just businessmen."
The Anbu lowered their head even further, their voice tinged with barely concealed sorrow.
"Even a few Chunin, low-ranking civilian ninjas, have secretly changed their identities and gone to the border."
Anbu pulled half a crumpled piece of oil paper from his pocket. The paper was covered with a layer of solidified red grease.
"This is the wrapper for Konoha braised pork, sent back from the border."
The Anbu placed the oiled paper on the table. A rich aroma of meat and soy sauce wafted out.
He was particularly domineering in the dusty office.
"The villagers are secretly trading this for placer gold. A piece of meat for the placer gold we've painstakingly panned for for half a month."
Kazekage stopped in his tracks.
He lowered his head and looked at a piece of dry food on the corner of the table.
That was the standard military ration for the elite troops of Sunagakure. It was yellowish, unleavened dough. To increase the weight, dried sand sedge and fine sand were mixed in.
Yesterday, while he was eating, he accidentally chipped a small piece of his back molar.
The workers in Konoha were eating meat heartily in the factory.
He, a dignified elite of the Wind Kazekage, was still gnawing on bricks covered in sand on the front lines.
This enormous disparity is even more despairing than being struck head-on by a Lightning Release.
"Those deserters who took off their vests... went to buy meat?" Kazekage stared intently at the oiled paper.
"Not just buying meat." The Anbu swallowed hard.
" Konoha has put up a job posting over there, recruiting Earth Release Wind Release ninjas to Land of Fire to grind dust."
"Food and lodging provided. After three months of work, you'll receive a brick house and those steel Kunai."
The voice from the Anbu carried a hint of envy that he himself didn't even realize.
"Several hundred people went. We couldn't stop them. The border guards bribed the squad leader with gold dust and ran away with them."
The fire in his chest instantly burned through the top of his head.
Shu Shiraishi didn't send a single soldier.
He used more than a dozen spaceships to transport inexpensive industrial assembly line products directly across the desert barrier.
They completely shattered the economic lifeline of Sunagakure.
The merchant ran away. The blacksmith smashed his furnace. Now even the ninja under his command want to run off to work as bricklayers for Konoha.
What's this called?
To subdue the enemy without fighting.
This is a slap in the face to Sunagakure by using absolute abundance of resources.
This is outrageous!
The veins on Kazekage's forehead bulged out, like writhing little blue snakes.
He raised his right hand and slammed it hard on the solid stone table.
"Boom!"
The stone table splits open directly in the middle.
Pieces of rock flew in all directions, hitting the mud wall.
The reports, Kunai, and the cup of tea with sand on the table all fell to the floor.
The teacup shattered. Muddy water splashed onto Kazekage's black leather boots.
"Is Shu Shiraishi trying to buy us out with money?!"
Kazekage pointed to the door and roared. His voice cracked, and the echo reverberated throughout the office.
"Pass on my order! Seal the border immediately!"
He gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot.
"Send out the Anbu police to supervise! Anyone who dares to go to the Konoha trade market again, anyone who dares to trade gold dust for a meal!"
"Treat them as traitors! Execute them on the spot!"
The Anbu kneeling on the ground trembled in fear.
"Yes!" He quickly got up, ready to run outside.
Suddenly, the sound of canes tapping on the stone slabs came from outside the door.
"Tap. Tap."
The door was pushed open halfway.
Chiyo woman Chiyo walked in.
She was slightly hunched over. Her gray hair was simply coiled at the back of her head.
His face was covered in dry, wrinkled lines, like a crumpled old sheepskin.
At this moment, his face was so gloomy it could drip water.
Chiyo was wearing a long, gray-black robe.
She slowly stepped over the rubble and walked to the broken stone table.
Stop.
" Lord Kazekage."
Chiyo's voice was hoarse, with an unpleasant, crow-like intonation.
"It's useless."
She glanced at the oil paper wrapping the meat on the ground, which smelled delicious. Her eyelids drooped.
"They can't be stopped. If they're hungry, they'll go for a bite to eat even with a knife to their throat."
Kazekage Ying clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
"Are we just going to stand by and watch the village be drained dry by Konoha?"
Chiyo didn't respond.
Her withered right hand slowly reached into the wide left sleeve.
I fiddled with it for a bit.
He took out a small glass bottle.
The bottle is small, only about the thickness of two fingers.
It contained a thick, purplish-black liquid, which gleamed with an eerie light like snake scales in the dim yellow light.
"Compete with money. Compete with industry."
Chiyo's withered fingers gripped the glass bottle, raising it halfway into the air.
"In an economic war, we really can't beat Konoha."
She gently shook the bottle twice.
The purple liquid inside clung to the glass wall, slowly and viscously flowing down.
"But I've been in seclusion for half a month."
Chiyo's withered lips twitched upwards, revealing a sinister smile that was more like a grimace than a cry.
"I've configured some new things."
She gently placed the glass bottle on the remaining half of the stone tabletop. The glass struck the stone with a crisp sound.
"A new type of highly potent poison."
Chiyo looked at Kazekage.
"Colorless and odorless. Soluble in water. Even a tiny amount is enough to save a life, beyond the comprehension of a divine being."