At the Sunagakure high-level meeting, Ebizō's proposal surprised many—but not the Arakawa and Yamaji clans. Yamaji Ryōko even showed rare attentiveness, listening with unusual seriousness.
Since the Elder Council was determined to protect Shiraishi, they would have to offer sufficient benefits in exchange.
And now—the real bargaining began.
So Yamaji Ryōko could be rational after all.
The Oasis Ring District lay on the northern outskirts of Sunagakure. According to the Elder Council's plan, the village would continue expanding northward, investing heavily in vegetation and ecological reconstruction to improve living conditions for the district's residents.
From the design blueprints alone, the newly planned estates were enormous—far more grand than the old residential areas of the Oasis Ring—and their pricing was surprisingly reasonable.
This was also extremely advantageous for schooling.
The new elite ninja academy had originally been built at the northernmost edge of the district. With the expansion, the academy suddenly became the central zone of the Oasis Ring, instantly stirring the ambitions of every ninja clan.
Clearly, after the Sand Festival incident, the Elder Council had chosen urban expansion and residential upgrades as a means of placating the noble clans.
The only drawback was distance—the new district lay far from the Kazekage's office and the village's administrative core.
But that hardly mattered.
After all, these great clans had no desire to live too close to common folk anyway.
Yamaji Ryōko made her move decisively, demanding the most valuable parcel of land in the new district. Though it lay farther from the village center, it had long been coveted by the Yamaji clan.
The maneuver strongly resembled how Konoha once handled the Uchiha clan.
Taking advantage of the Kazekage's absence—still tied down by the Tsuchikage at the Enlightenment Mountain Range—Ebizō and Chiyo intended to finalize everything swiftly.
Once construction began, it would benefit every major Sunagakure clan. Even if Rasa returned and tried to intervene, it would already be too late.
After all, this was framed as a legitimate improvement of living conditions.
The required funds and resources would come from a loan agreement between Sunagakure and the Kitajima family, with an annual interest rate of seven percent. Given Sunagakure's strained finances, repayments could be made in installments, supplemented with land and material compensation clauses.
The agreement was massive.
Though the proposal officially came from the Kitajima family, both Ebizō and Chiyo strongly suspected Shiraishi's involvement. The structure was practically designed to trap the Kazekage.
On the surface, Rasa would gain enormous funding without impacting immediate military expenditures—and even gain flexibility.
But over a repayment period spanning more than a decade, the burden would be crushing.
Worse still, the Daimyō's treasury was involved as a co-investor.
The Daimyō was deeply interested in a system that allowed lending to the Kazekage while earning interest. The Kitajima family had never operated this way before.
This sudden comprehensive financial scheme made it obvious—Shiraishi was behind it.
The borrowed sum was enormous, intended to revive Sunagakure's nearly depleted internal finances.
Every major clan saw the trap clearly.
Yet none could resist the bait.
After the meetings concluded, Ebizō finally exhaled in relief. Though the expansion plan still required the Kazekage's approval, Rasa's position made refusal impossible.
Rejecting it would offend every powerful interest group.
He would have no choice but to swallow the poison while continuing to sell his gold dust to service the debt.
"Even Yamaji Ryōko shifted her focus to benefits," Ebizō muttered. "I thought she'd keep pushing."
"With that old fox around," Chiyo replied calmly, "how could she afford to act recklessly?"
Ebizō remained uneasy—not about politics, but about Shiraishi.
His handling of the Sand Festival incident was flawless.
Yet the terrifying energy hidden in Shiraishi's residence deeply unsettled him. The boy's calm detachment frightened him.
At heart, Ebizō truly cared about his disciple.
"He's more mature than we give him credit for," Chiyo laughed, noticing her brother's concern.
Unlike Ebizō, she was naturally optimistic—and had always been indulgent toward children.
"As long as we're alive, no one dares touch him. And at his growth rate… ten years from now, who in Sunagakure could stop him?"
"If the Yamaji clan keeps clinging to the glory of the Third Kazekage, that pride may become their downfall."
What of noble bloodlines?
Where is the Senju clan now?
Decades ago, countless bloodline clans dominated the ninja world—how many remain?
Does Sunagakure truly depend on Sand Release Three Lineages?
Don't be ridiculous.
The Sand Festival incident was merely the ignition point for long-simmering conflicts. Since it had already erupted, the only choice was containment.
Otherwise, internal war would hand victory to external enemies.
The Oasis Ring expansion was the Elder Council's chosen pressure valve.
For now, the Yamaji clan had quieted.
But once Rasa returned, his confrontation with the Elder Council would only intensify.
That night, as Shiraishi returned home and prepared to sleep, the discomfort returned.
The strange nightmares persisted.
After several nights, he finally realized the truth.
Something was parasitizing him.
Shiraishi released his psychic power, probing his chakra pathways—and quickly detected a foreign chakra reaction within his brain.
The world abruptly shifted.
Blood-red bubbles rained from the sky, dyeing everything crimson. An eerie melody echoed, carrying a chilling resonance.
Dream-eating creatures.
In this world, certain beings survived by devouring human精神力. They lacked physical bodies, existing purely as chakra entities, manifesting only within dreams to induce nightmares.
They favored strong-minded ninja, attaching themselves during sleep to siphon mental energy.
Some mutated variants could even absorb the souls of the dead.
The recent slaughter within Sunagakure—and Shiraishi's powerful Strength—had drawn them like fire in the dark.
Fortunately, his will was strong enough to wake him from the nightmare.
But now, exposed, the creature reacted.
Blood-red filaments erupted from Shiraishi's body, surging outward before converging again—forming a pair of crimson wings.
The pressure skyrocketed.
After a night of dormancy, the dream-eater had already evolved.
Recognizing the threat, Shiraishi activated his glasses and opened the Summoned Beasts interface, scanning the entity.
Dream-Eating Bat
Rarity: Purple
Form: Non-corporeal
Effect: Grants Illusion amplification to its contractor
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