Naruto: Rebuilding the Hidden Sand Village

The outcome of the Battle of Kikyo Pass had long been set—Konoha was destined to win.

Or rather… unless someone was cheating, blatantly cheating, there was simply no way around it. At this point in history, anyone waging war against the Leaf could only end in defeat.

After the strategy meeting ended, Rasa sat in his office chair with a splitting headache, eyes fixed on the large shinobi world map spread across his desk. The Land of Wind was a harsh and unforgiving place; unsurprisingly, oases were incredibly rare.

Because of that, the country was vast but sparsely populated. Deserts stretched endlessly in all directions, and most cities had been built around whatever scarce oases could be found.

In fact, it wasn't unusual to travel through the desert for a full day and night without seeing another soul.

Sunagakure itself had been founded by the First Kazekage, who discovered one such oasis deep in the dunes and established a hidden village to protect and nurture the wandering shinobi of the land.

The Land of Wind simply had too few habitable places.

During the First Five Kage Summit, the First Kazekage had stood before the so-called "God of Shinobi," Hashirama Senju, dragging along Shukaku of the One Tail and demanding land and funds in exchange for peace—essentially begging on behalf of his starving people.

Moved by the suffering of Land of Wind citizens, Hashirama hesitated, despite how unreasonable the request sounded.

But in the end, it was Tobirama Senju who stopped him.

To a nation, every inch of land was soaked in the blood of its people. Not one step could be conceded lightly—especially not to someone as thick-skinned as the First Kazekage, who might take a mile if given an inch.

From the perspective of the most powerful country at the time—Lanb of Fire—Tobirama's stance was justified. And yet, from the perspective of Sunagakure, the First Kazekage hadn't been wrong either. Shameless, maybe, but wrong? No.

After all, was it a crime to seek benefits for your own people?

Every great shinobi village had its own legendary founder. For Konoha, it was the First Hokage; for Iwagakure, the First Tsuchikage. For Sunagakure, it was the First Kazekage—a man who unified the scattered forces of Land of Wind during an era of chaos and civil strife. He built Sunagakure as a safe haven for wandering shinobi, giving them a place to call home.

Such accomplishments…

Who was Rasa to judge him?

With a sigh, Rasa stared at the map, his gaze settling on the location marked Kikyo Pass.

"I need to come up with something…" he muttered.

Summer, Year 45 of the Hidden Leaf Calendar.

The Four-Village Alliance's campaign was proceeding smoothly. Of course, conflict wasn't limited to battles against Konoha—friction between the other shinobi villages was heating up as well.

Iwagakure and Sunagakure had teamed up to launch a surprise assault on the Hidden Leaf. And yet, as expected of the village that had won the first two Great Ninja Wars, Konoha held the line without budging an inch.

Despite the relentless fighting and the growing death toll on all sides, the war showed no signs of ending.

In May of that year, the Third Raikage of Kumogakure personally led an elite force to raid Iwagakure, forcing the Stone to divert forces back to guard their homeland. The Raikage's mastery of Lightning Release and his terrifying speed allowed him to slip through Iwa's patrols with ease. The village was in turmoil—there was nothing they could do but minimize losses as best they could.

As for Konoha…

They were stretched thin. Fighting on multiple fronts had taken its toll. Troops were being shuffled constantly to plug gaps in the lines as the Four Great Villages pressed their attacks.

Kirigakure still hadn't stopped harassing Sunagakure, either. Even though they were repeatedly beaten back, they refused to surrender and continued to resist.

It was a brutal, grinding war.

Still, just as Advisor Chiyo had predicted, once all four Great Villages launched their coordinated assault, the pressure on the Land of Wind noticeably dropped. Everyone's attention had shifted to the Leaf.

Now was the perfect chance to wear down Konoha's strength—and maybe, just maybe, deal them a real defeat.

At the very least, things had quieted down on Sunagakure's side. That much, at least, was worth celebrating.

Autumn, Year 45 of the Hidden Leaf Calendar.

Nights in the Land of Wind weren't much different from usual.

The gold-refining workers and shinobi had just finished their shifts and were heading home. Bathing was still a luxury; there wasn't enough water for daily soaking. A basic wipe-down was the best most could hope for.

But after nearly a full year of gold extraction, Sunagakure's economy had recovered significantly. As a noble, selfless, upright, honorable, and compassionate leader—Fourth Kazekage Rasa would never dream of spending every coin on gacha rolls.

He was a grown man. He had self-control.

To promote research and agricultural development in the village, Rasa had even taken some funds from the treasury to fund new scientific projects. It wasn't a huge amount, but it was a start.

With so much gold being extracted day after day, Sunagakure no longer had to worry about food shortages. The only downside? Grain prices across the Land of Wind had shot up again.

Meat, on the other hand, was still scarce. The desert was hardly ideal for raising livestock or crops.

Rasa had drawn some bizarre "knowledge cards" from the lottery system, but in this terrain, it was like having dragon-slaying skills in a world without dragons—completely useless.

The villagers had adjusted to their new way of life. In the mornings, they would head out to the refinery. At night, they returned. By 8 PM, the village gates were always bustling with workers coming back, which meant security had to be tightened during those hours to prevent infiltration.

Fortunately, that wasn't Rasa's problem to deal with directly.

Autumn, Year 45 — August

The air was crisp, and the weather had cooled.

His wedding to Karura was approaching.

Even though the war was still ongoing, there was a rare atmosphere of festivity in Sunagakure. After all, this was their Kazekage's wedding.

Rasa stood in his office at the Kazekage Building, gazing out at the desert night. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He'd been in this world for nearly two or three years now, and somehow… he was about to get married.

Time really flew.

Taking a sip of hot tea, he glanced at the moon hanging bright in the sky. His new home had been completed, and he'd moved in recently. After all, with a wedding coming up, it was about time.

As for his old place—already repossessed by the village. Someone had even installed a fence around the two trees out front to keep the local kids from messing with them.

So… yeah, that house was out of the question now.

Rasa let out a sigh, shaking his head with a wry smile.

But then, suddenly, he froze. His eyes narrowed as he stared into the distance.

"Was that… a strange light just now?"