A full month had already flown by since Ryu's last big announcement in the Leaf Village, and the crowd below the Fire Capital's tower was practically vibrating with anticipation.
Ryu, Dan, and the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, Lord Madoka, watched the scene unfold from the side. Ryu, always appreciating a good launch of product, just smiled, taking quiet satisfaction in this solid, visible proof of their progress.
With a grand sweep of his arm, Lord Madoka slammed his hand down on a large, red ceremonial button. Lights immediately sprang to life, signalling the start of a new age. The local communication network in the Fire Capital hummed to life. As a symbolic gesture, the Daimyo called the first number—his home. It was his daughter who picked up.
Hearing his daughter's voice instantly erased Lord Madoka's official demeanour, replacing it with a warm smile. With the successful launch complete, Ryu and the others were invited back to the Daimyo's palace for dinner.
"I'm a little upset, young man," the Daimyo chuckled over dessert. "The Leaf Village got their network first! My Capital should always be number one!" He laughed heartily. "I'm only teasing, of course. Keep it up, and tell me what's next."
Ryu gave a respectful nod. "Next, Lord Madoka, is true global connection. I'll give you the power to talk to your father-in-law live with just a few button presses, connecting all our major cities via the Continental CommLink."
Ikkyu, now completely won over by the plan's potential, stepped forward, buzzing. "When does this happen? When can we stop waiting?"
"After the satellite launch next month," Ryu replied, his smile easy. "Patience is tough, but the result is always worth it."
After dinner, Ryu and Ikkyu had a private meeting in Ikkyu's private residence. Dan also joined them. Ryu said, "I have an idea, but for this one, I really need your help."
"Tell me," Ikkyu said, leaning in. "I will make it happen."
Ryu started, "First, I'm curious. How do you actually get along with the other future daimyos in the various nations?"
Ikkyu looked surprised. "I've met them, but we don't chat regularly. Honestly, most of them are just spoilt rich kids who think the title is a party ticket, not a real job. They have no interest in improving their nations."
Ryu nodded, recognising the trouble with trying to motivate people born into comfort. He wondered what it would take to light a fire under these future leaders.
"If you want to truly reshape the world," Ryu continued, "and if you want strong, lasting international bonds, you have to build them now, before those kids have real power. Right now, they're just spoilt brats. No offence, of course."
Ikkyu replied, "None taken. But what can they possibly offer us? Not every country is wealthy, and not everyone is willing to even listen."
"You're right," Ryu agreed, "but no one wants to be left out either. Business needs a buyer and a seller, and countries are trapped in that cycle. You know it. More importantly, these heirs are still young and impressionable. We can influence their thinking now, shift their perspective, and build strong diplomatic ties that will help the Land of Fire immensely."
"What do you suggest I do?" Ikkyu asked.
"Just invite them to a gathering," Ryu suggested simply. "Make sure the invitation goes out to all the future daimyos. And slowly build a secret club led by you."
Dan, ever the security chief, immediately saw the danger. "That meeting is a nightmare. Putting all the future daimyos in one room? They might not show up, terrified of an assassination attempt. We would be held responsible."
"Grandpa's right." Ryu looked at Ikkyu and continued, "So, we start small, with our closest neighbours, and add a few more annually. We can host it on neutral land not belonging to you to build some confidence. In a few years, this gathering will be the event no one can miss. This year, let's invite the Land of Wind to the east and a few smaller nations. And for security, we can make it like a collaboration, with shared responsibility among all participants."
Ikkyu drummed his fingers on the table. "That is a wonderful idea."
Ryu added, "During the first gathering, you can show off this city's new communication network. We will form trade contracts and start expanding our influence."
Ikkyu's eyes widened. "That's brilliant. We can start with the small nations and the Land of Wind and a few smaller nations. The Land of Wind is struggling and looking for any chance they can get, and the smaller nations won't pass up a business opportunity that gives them a boost."
Ryu continued, "Exactly. Other than the communication network, we can also offer water from the supply line we are building after it reaches the western towns of the Land of River. We can expand the line and provide the Wind Nation with a water supply."
Dan questioned, "A water line in a desert?"
Ryu smiled, calm and absolutely sure of himself. "It's completely possible, Grandpa. I'm not using metal pipes, which would quickly rust in the desert. The system uses special synthetic piping that naturally shrugs off the sand and extreme heat. I also had a special method to lay pipe in sand using a technique."
Ryu then had another idea that made him smile, and he said, "Furthermore, this new laying technique can be tweaked and weaponised against sand-type ninjutsu of the Sand Village, especially the ninjutsu used by their Jinchuriki."
Dan paused, his initial scepticism giving way to amazement. Dan didn't know the full scope of Ryu's plan, but he knew how powerful Jinchuriki are.
"Ryu is already figuring out how to neutralise a Jinchuriki's power," he thought. "I wonder how many steps ahead this boy was thinking."
Dan continued the conversation. "But what does the Land of Wind have to offer? They only export gold, minerals, and other metals. Their poverty is so bad, Ryu, that their shinobi are often paid in essential rations instead of coin. The people are hungry for food and for the basic life support systems needed to survive the desert."
Ryu said, "I plan to change that. When your neighbours are hungry, you cannot achieve peace. They are bound to attack you, compelled by the hunger."
Ryu then looked at Dan and asked, "The current Kazekage can use Gold Dust Jutsu. Doesn't that solve their problems?"
Dan replied, "The current Kazekage can make a little gold dust using his bloodline limit, but the amount he gets versus the needs of his nation's huge, resource-starved population is devastatingly small. Worse, Rasa has to keep a massive reserve of that gold dust locked away for his ninjutsu, secured in his private summoning space. This means a huge chunk of the nation's wealth is useless to the economy, only serving as limited backup. Their daily extraction is also limited."
Ikkyu replied, "What is gold worth when there is nothing to buy in exchange for that gold? Nothing grows in that region."
"Relying solely on one income source poses a significant risk," Ryu emphasised, shaking his head.
"Yes, they need to diversify." Dan shrugged, explaining, "They just don't have much else. He's drowning in debt, and the Sand economy is hanging by a thread. This total reliance on one portable reserve makes the Kazekage and the entire Sand economy uniquely vulnerable to any direct financial or physical threat."
"Their desperation is our leverage." Ryu's eyes sharpened. "We can trade food for whatever they can spare for now."
Ryu waited, then said, "I believe if things remain the same, the Sand will attack the Leaf Village in a few years."
Ikkyu replied, "I doubt that; they don't have the guts to do that."
Ryu replied, "They may not, but if they team up with another nation or someone strong and with a grudge against the Leaf Village, this may happen. Someone like Orochimaru."
Dan and Ikkyu were stunned by this prediction, not knowing how true it was, but they would eventually find out in a few years just how right Ryu had been. Ikkyu, even then, still sounded doubtful and replied, "It still is the most far-fetched idea among all your ideas."
Ryu took a moment, thinking about the attack on the Leaf Village that was looming, and then about the young Jinchuriki, Gaara, whose miserable childhood—his father trying to kill him and his village terrified of him—was a horrific burden for a child.
Ryu saw a profound chance to intervene, hoping to gently change Gaara's dark fate with as little disruption to history as possible. He knew he had to tread carefully. I hope I get to meet him before innocence is taken away from this child, Ryu thought.
The scene shifts abruptly from the bright, modern Fire Capital to the desolate, moon-drenched Sand Village. The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, stood on the roof of the tallest building, the relentless, dry wind tugging his cloak, his two fingers pressed to his one closed eye.
Below, in the open space lit by the full moon, the colossal, grotesque shape of compacted sand, Shukaku, the One-Tail, thrashed in uncontrolled fury.The beast's roar was a raw, grinding sound of abrasive sand and wild, unleashed chakra.
A few minutes earlier
Rasa, using his Third Eye Jutsu, was watching the agonising chaos below. He had been testing the stability of his youngest child through emotional manipulation, sacrificing the only kind person Gaara knew. And the child, upon losing that kindness, had snapped.
Gaara's small body shook with heaving sobs as Yashamaru's voice, laced with final, cold cruelty, echoed: "My sister gave you that name… Gaara… a demon that loves only itself. And fights for its own sake."
Yashamaru's voice softened slightly, a fatal poison disguised as comfort. "The name was given to you in the hope of your eternal existence. But... she didn't give you the name... out of... concern or love for you..."
Gaara continued to sob uncontrollably, his disbelief warring with his pain.
"You were never loved...!" Yashamaru declared. Gaara stared, his eyes wide and unblinking.
"This is it. Please die."
The explosion that followed was loud. The paper bombs shredded Yashamaru, yet Gaara was utterly unharmed; the protective sand had materialised, saving him even against his will. Gaara let out a raw, desperate wail.
Then, the sand rushed inward, carving the character for 'love' (愛) onto Gaara's forehead—a permanent, mocking scar. Maybe it was the kindness of the beast inside him to remind him what to seek, or maybe it was a mark to remind others what Gaara longs for. An inheritance from the previous jinchuriki.
Rasa finally lowered his hand as his [Third Eye Jutsu] faded, whispering to the desert air, his voice nearly drowned by the wind, "It's a failure, after all," conveying deep resignation and regret.
Rasa concluded, his voice dead: "Gaara is a failed experiment."
A/N: Hello everyone!
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