Naruto: Rebuilding the Hidden Sand Village

As the war dragged on, and the pressure at the frontlines intensified, all the major shinobi villages began running into the same problem—shortages in manpower.

So once again, the shinobi world was swept up in a new wave of early graduations. Fresh-faced genin, barely past their academy days, were thrust onto the battlefield.

Casualties mounted across every front. The entire shinobi world seemed cloaked in a thick, oppressive fog of death and despair. And in the Land of Wind—the heart of one of the most brutal battlefields—the atmosphere had grown particularly grim.

Even Sunagakure wasn't spared.

Although the powerful Iwagakure and Kumogakure forces had retreated, Kirigakure showed no signs of backing off. No matter how fierce their conflict with Konoha became, the Mist still kept pressing their offensive against Suna.

To make matters worse, smaller shinobi villages had begun launching constant raids and harassment. While the pressure on most of Suna's borders had lessened—aside from the front where Pakura was stationed—Suna still couldn't afford to pull its forces back.

Autumn in the Land of Wind wasn't as scorching as summer, and by late season, the climate had cooled noticeably.

Aside from the stronger winds and more sand, the Land of Wind was actually quite pleasant at this time, which made the extensive gold refining operations more manageable.

The requirements for refining gold were not very high. After all, a complete refining process wasn't simple, so the simplified steps meant the gold dust wasn't entirely pure. Of course, this also had its advantages: the sheer volume!

If he hadn't embezzled eighty million Ryo, the gold dust he was currently generating with his chakra wouldn't be enough for the entire village to refine together.

As the saying goes—Antiques flourish in times of peace, gold in times of chaos.

With war raging, the price of gold in the Land of Wind had soared to an astronomical high and showed no signs of falling.

No wonder the original Rasa could support the entire village by extracting gold from sand.

This period of war was likely a crucial time for Sunagakure to accumulate wealth.

In fact, Rasa couldn't help wondering… Maybe Sunagakure intentionally stirred up conflict from time to time. Maybe these "wars" weren't just about territory or diplomacy—but about driving up gold prices.

Otherwise… why start fights you always lose? Did they really have nothing better to do in the middle of a desert?

Who would go to war with no gain?

Could it be… that they started wars because the village's population was too large to support, deciding to send excess people to their deaths?!

That seemed utterly impossible.

…Actually, now that he thought about it, he'd better hope that wasn't the reason. Because if it was, then as the current Kazekage, he'd have to cover that up.

After all, he was the Fourth Kazekage now.

As for the money earned from gold extraction, a portion would be used as compensation for the workers. Working for free was ultimately unsustainable, and few would want to waste time refining such meager amounts of gold in a barren desert with no reward!

So, for the healthy development of the gold extraction industry, wages had to be paid.

The rest of the monay was split among vital functions: operating costs for the village, food procurement, support for families of fallen shinobi, and hazard pay for those deployed in active combat zones.

For the sake of peace and stability, Rasa had to rein in his own greed.

He wasn't some mindless public fund embezzler blindly blowing everything on gacha rolls. Sure, he'd dipped in for a few multi-pulls here and there, but that didn't mean he lacked discipline.

His reputation still held weight. Mention his name in the village, and you'd hear nothing but praise:

"The Fourth Kazekage is an honest, dependable, kind-hearted leader!"

Walking through the makeshift outdoor gold-processing facility built in the desert, Rasa saw everyone hard at work.

There was no need for inspections. No need for constant oversight.

"Don't worry, Lord Kazekage," said a bearded man beside him, his tone firm and respectful. "Everyone here knows what's at stake. Your orders are absolute. No one dares slack off."

"I'm just here to check in. Nothing more," Rasa replied with a polite smile as he turned to the man—Sabaku, a newly promoted jōnin.

He was known for his upright character, strict discipline, and unwavering loyalty. Any mission the village gave him, he executed flawlessly.

His reputation among the jōnin was solid. Even Advisor Chiyo had spoken highly of him before she departed for the frontlines, specifically telling Rasa that if there were any confidential or sensitive tasks, Sabaku was trustworthy enough to handle them.

So Rasa had put him in charge of the gold facility.

After all, gold refining was now one of the main economic pillars of the Sunagakure. Currently, nothing else in the village was more important.

And Sabaku had proven more than capable. Since operations began, he had handled everything meticulously—especially when it came to distributing the refined gold dust based on each person's workload, whether shinobi or civilian.

A trustworthy shinobi, through and through.

"Isn't the daily output a little too high now?" Rasa asked, raising a brow.

Things weren't like before. His chakra reserves were far greater now. Add in the occasional chakra potion from the gacha draws, and the sheer amount of gold dust he could produce in a day was enough to build multiple golden pyramids in the desert.

"This amount is just right for now. Everyone is working very hard," Sabaku said, still serious. "After all, this is the work Lord Kazekage arranged for us. Every day, Lord Kazekage works so tirelessly to gather gold dust for everyone, so how could anyone slack off? If anyone dares to, the others certainly won't let them get away with it."

What kind of jobs were even available in Sunagakure?

Outside of occasional housing repairs, sandstorm cleanup, and basic village maintenance… there wasn't much else.

With so much wind and sand, even running a small shop was inconvenient. Plus, the Sunagakure had little to sell. During peacetime, most merchants in the village came from other villages, and while the Sunagakure did have trade caravans, they were mainly used for procuring supplies or gathering intelligence.

It's not like the village had exportable goods.

What were they going to sell? Sand?

And as for Suna's real specialty… poison…

That couldn't exactly be sold openly. It was another of the village's secret industries, handled exclusively through the black market by high-ranking jōnin or private contacts.

"Everyone sees Lord Rasa gathering gold dust in the desert first thing in the morning, working hard for the village's construction and development. How could we disappoint Lord Kazekage's trust?"

"…Well, do the workers have any suggestions or concerns?" Rasa asked, scratching the back of his neck. The praise was starting to get to him—even if it was all true.

After all, he was selfless, diligent, and committed to his village.

But as Kazekage, he had to stay humble.

"Well… not really." Sabaku pondered for a moment, then shook his head, a slight smile on his lips. "After the first group of shinobi returned with the Ryo from selling the gold, even if people had opinions, they wouldn't now. After all… Lord Kazekage pays wages!"

With wages… who would dare complain?