"Lord Madara."
Black Zetsu called out cautiously as he watched Madara, who was once again lost in thought.
Uchiha Madara was Black Zetsu's creator—at least, in Madara's mind he was. In reality, he was the crucial pawn for rescuing Mother Kaguya!
Therefore, he absolutely couldn't be allowed to fail.
It wouldn't be good if the old man experienced too many emotional ups and downs, couldn't catch his breath, and accidentally kicked the bucket before the plan was secure.
"What is it?"
*Phew~, good, he's still alive.*
"Should we retrieve Lord Madara's eyes? If we seize the opportunity now, I believe it would be quite simple."
"No need."
Madara pondered for a moment, then shook his head.
"Now is not the time. It is not the time for us to expose ourselves."
"Let him build bonds in Sunagakure first. The more deep bonds he forms, the more there will be to destroy later, and the greater his hatred will become when he loses them."
*Are you kidding? What's the point of bringing him back now?*
*I haven't prepared anything, and I haven't found a suitable proxy to act on my behalf.*
*So, for the sake of true peace in the ninja world, to prove myself to Hashirama, now... I absolutely cannot be discovered!*
*Be careful! Be careful! Be extra careful!*
*Sunagakure is one of the Five Great Ninja Villages; its strength won't be trivial. I only have enough vitality for one major move, so I can't act lightly.*
"Lord Madara is wise."
Black Zetsu subtly flattered the old Uchiha. After all, Uchihas loved to hear praise about their intellect.
"Go. Continue to execute my plan, keep an eye on my eyes, and continue to search for a suitable proxy."
After speaking, Uchiha Madara fell back into a deep, preservational sleep.
...
"School is about to start."
Shiro, who was currently in the Kazekage's office, was unaware that Sunagakure was about to be infiltrated by a wave of White Zetsu spies.
This was Shiro's first day back to work after two days of rest. He was currently organizing stacks of papers on his desk.
These were the new textbooks he had prepared for the upcoming school year in Sunagakure. All of them were personally compiled by Shiro.
After all, education was of utmost importance. This year, Chiyo's grandson, Sasori, was also starting school, which made Shiro even more focused on the curriculum.
*Absolutely cannot be careless!*
*Otherwise... what if something unexpected happens and Sasori turns into a human-puppet maniac again?*
Shiro muttered to himself as he wrote, "Morning reading is essential. A day's plan is made in the morning! The adults at work will surely be delighted to hear the clear sound of reading coming from the school."
*Moreover, such a good time in the morning, when the brain retains information quickly and firmly—how can it be wasted?*
"Daily Taijutsu cannot be neglected! A strong body is crucial! Calisthenics? No, we can't treat the kids of the ninja world as mere children. First, run a lap around the entire village perimeter, then stretching, yoga, and combat drills. They must become battlefield dance kings!"
"In the future, whether they are ninjutsu specialists, genjutsu users, or puppeteers, as long as they are Sunagakure shinobi, they must have a strong body and flexible limbs!"
*At that time, broadcasts will be installed around the village, and the sound must be loud! It will also remind villagers to get to work and drive away drowsiness. Perfect!*
*And after-school entertainment... ninja battle royale? It's not impossible.*
As he wrote more, Shiro's face couldn't help but reveal a smile, imagining the day the children of Sunagakure would grow up strong.
But then he seemed to think of something and sighed. "Unfortunately, Sunagakure doesn't have a tradition of powerful Taijutsu. Besides Wind Release and Earth Release, we have relatively few other ninjutsu styles, completely incomparable to Konoha's library."
*We still need to continue attracting talent. I wonder when the Second Kazekage will wake up. When he does, I'll have him figure out a way to create some new jutsu.*
*After all, he's the genius who developed Magnet Release. Developing other ninjutsu shouldn't be a big problem for him.*
*And sealing jutsu. It seems I'll have to go find Shukaku for that, but I also need Shukaku's chakra for the road construction project.*
*Alas! Still not enough people, not enough foundation.*
*Knock knock~*
A knock on the door broke his concentration.
Shiro came back to his senses. "Come in."
An Anbu entered and spoke with urgency.
"Lord Kazekage, the Second Kazekage has awakened."
*Whoosh~*
Papers were blown off the desk by a sudden gust of wind.
When the Anbu ninja looked up, the seat was already empty.
***
Inside a special ward at Sunagakure Hospital.
"Cough cough... you did the right thing. If we had continued fighting, we would have definitely lost, and we would have been dragged down by our own internal weakness."
The newly awakened Second Kazekage, Lord Shamon, lay on the bed and spoke calmly to Shiro.
Since Sunagakure had already benefited sufficiently from the Second Great Ninja War, there was no need to step into the vortex of conflict again.
"Heh, I thought you'd blame me when you woke up. Blame me for stopping the war you started."
Shiro said with a relieved smile.
"No, starting the war was my idea, and because of my recklessness, Sunagakure almost fell into an abyss. It was you who pulled the village back."
During his period of unconsciousness, Shamon had completely calmed down.
Before, he had become increasingly arrogant. Developing Magnet Release through research on Shukaku, improving puppet jutsu, and rapidly developing Sunagakure had inflated his ego. He had forcefully raised the strength of the historically weak Sand Village by a large margin. He didn't take anyone in the world seriously, and as a result, he almost died.
Now, he was truly awake. He realized he was just an ordinary Kage-level ninja, not particularly gifted in direct combat compared to monsters like the Raikage or Tsuchikage.
Only his research was truly noteworthy.
"Indeed, if it weren't for me, the grass might be growing on your grave right now, Sensei."
Shiro teased without ceremony, causing Shamon's face to darken with black lines.
*Damn it, why does this kid have such a sharp mouth?* Shamon cursed inwardly.
*Alas~, thinking about the original story, if it weren't for Shiro, Sunagakure at this time would have been in a state beyond description.*
"You should rest well first; we'll still need you later."
Shamon didn't refuse. After all, he had been the Kazekage. No one knew the hardships and shortcomings of Sunagakure better than he did.
Therefore, Shamon knew that Shiro needed him.
After visiting Shamon, a weight was lifted from Shiro's heart. At least there was one more capable person to help him share the burden.
He returned to the office to finish the remaining textbooks.
*Alas~, I wonder how things are going with Sunasuke. He hasn't written to report anything. It's outrageous; he doesn't even take me, the Kazekage, seriously...*
***
Land of Rain.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand!"
A dark-haired ninja was rapidly forming hand seals, his chakra depleting at an alarming rate.
Soon, a large amount of black metallic particles surged from the ground, forming a vast, shifting expanse.
"Lord Sunasuke is truly amazing! In just a few minutes, he can mine so much high-quality iron ore."
"Exactly, exactly. Lord Sunasuke alone is equivalent to a large mining team's output for an entire week!"
"I'd say Lord Kazekage is even more amazing for thinking of this method."
"Yes, yes, who would have thought that a Kage-level ninjutsu could be used for industrial mining?"
Sunasuke listened to the conversations of the other ninjas, his face already darker than the iron ore he was extracting.
*Damn you, Shiro! How did I fall for your big trick? You said it would increase my mastery over the Iron Sand, but I'm just here to be a glorified miner!*
Half an hour later, Sunasuke, whose chakra was almost exhausted, finally stopped releasing his ninjutsu.
"Alright, this iron ore is enough for three days. I'll come back then."
Sunasuke said with a dark expression and turned to leave, not wanting to look at this place for another second.
"Lord Sunasuke, wait!" The mine manager walked tremblingly up to him. "Lord Sunasuke... Mining Area No. 2 also needs you to extract some more. The scale of the war has intensified recently, and orders for weapons have increased, so the iron ore reserves are a bit insufficient."
"I understand."
Sunasuke's face grew even darker.
*Indeed, it would be better if this damned ninja world was destroyed. Damn you, Shiro!*
...
Sunagakure had built a total of three factories here in the Land of Rain.
They were the Iron Ore Smelting Plant, the Ninja Tool Manufacturing Plant, and the Special Steel Cable Manufacturing Plant.
Ninja were stationed in all three factories, but if a sensory ninja were to scan them closely, they would find that most of the high-level combat power was concentrated in the third factory.
That is, the Special Steel Cable Manufacturing Plant.
Because this factory was crucial to the successful implementation of Sunagakure's First Five-Year Plan, and to whether Sunagakure could break free from its geographic isolation and attract more merchants.
Shiro, being a transmigrator, knew the fundamental principle of economic development: **To get rich, one must first build roads.**
Currently, Sunagakure could only rely on meager funding from the Land of Wind's Daimyo and commissions from missions. Of course, this was also the main source of income for most ninja villages, but for a village in the middle of a desert, it wasn't enough.