Chapter 2: Five-Year Plan
"Hey, Sasuke."
Just as he reached the door of his house, Sayan saw a man a few years older than him standing there. The man in front of him had deep blue hair. Sayan didn't even need to guess to know he was the Sandaime Kazekage from the original story, the character who died at the hands of Sasori and was made into a puppet.
"Congratulations, Sayan, on becoming the Kazekage."
Sasuke saw Sayan arrive and stepped forward to speak, though he couldn't hide a trace of disappointment in his eyes. But Sasuke wasn't resentful; after all, his strength was indeed a bit lacking compared to Sayan.
"Sigh~ It's all for the Village. I'll still need your support in the future."
"No. I'm heading to the front lines. Right now only Bunpuku-sama is holding the fort; I need to go and support him."
Sasuke shook his head, turning down Sayan's invitation. "Turns out you were right, our gap with Konoha really is too big, and that's with three sides tangled in this mess."
Sasuke had assumed that dealing with the Amegakure (Rain) battlefield would be child's play. Then Hanzō of the Salamander showed up, coupled with that country's environment, and nearly beat Sasuke into an existential crisis.
Sayan, who knew the original story, felt little at Sasuke's words. Wind, Earth, Fire, and Rain were tearing the country apart. In Sayan's view, this was the worst time to jump in. Konoha was at its peak.
The smart move was to grow while the others fought,copy the Land of Lightning's playbook.
"Once I succeed as the Sandaime Kazekage I'll end this war fast. Go back to the front and hold the line with Bunpuku-sama, then gradually pull our people out. Evacuate the kids first, especially Chiyo's red-haired brat. Dumping your kid at home while you drag your wife to the battlefield, what kind of idiocy is that?"
"Understood."
"And when you act, listen to Bunpuku-sama. His experience gives him long sight."
Before Sasuke left, Sayan reminded him once more. In his dozen years in Sunagakure, Sayan felt his greatest achievement was changing Bunpuku's fate. He freed the monk from the destiny of lifelong imprisonment.
The main reason was that Shukaku had been scared witless by Sayan. [Laktozlu: Using the power of "Tenshi no Ō," the protagonist absorbed Shukaku's chakra and brought him into submission.]
Since Sayan's fusion required huge amounts of energy, and the greatest Chakra reserve in Sunagakure happened to be the One-Tail, Sayan set his sights on Shukaku. In the past, whenever Bunpuku fell asleep Shukaku would slip out, until Sayan arrived. Each time the beast appeared it was drained dry. In the end Shukaku had no choice but to cooperate with Bunpuku, and after a few rounds Bunpuku became a perfect Jinchūriki.
Time flew; today was the day Sayan would succeed as the Sandaime Kazekage. Above the Kazekage building, Sayan began the succession ceremony flanked by Chiyo and the other elders.
"Hello, my name is Sayan, the Sandaime Kazekage of Sunagakure, and I will lead you all to a prosperous life."
Looking at the crowd below, Sayan declared with full confidence. Behind him, Chiyo and company wore faces full of black lines. Which Kage talks like this at his inauguration? Shouldn't it be "march to glory, punch the Iwa, kick Konoha"?
Back in the conference hall, Sayan sat in the main seat. He held an intelligence scroll, and the more he read the darker his expression became. Finally, surging Chakra flared into a pressure wave.
"Calm yourself, Kazekage-sama!"
Chiyo and Ebizo exclaimed. The message was simple: Lord Shamon's defeat had displeased the Daimyō, so he would cut funds and supplies. Meanwhile, the Nobles cursed the Village's incompetence while secretly selling the withheld goods to Konoha and Iwa.
"Lord Third, what do we do?"
"What do we do? We do nothing. The front is starving while the rear is feasting. Inform Bunpuku and Sasuke: halt the war and hold rear positions."
Sayan had already planned to quit the war. The Daimyō's shove gave him the perfect pretext.
"Kazekage-sama, if we do this, the Daimyō will…"
"Hmph. Our Shinobi fight at the front while the Daimyō slashes supplies. How about you go fight at the front, Elder?"
Sayan's retort left the elder speechless. With no further objections, Sayan finalized the decision. Next, he would launch his Sunagakure reform.
He handed out a thick folder emblazoned with "Sunagakure First Five-Year Plan."
"Lord Third, the projects look excellent, but expanding the Ninja Academy, training more Medical Ninja, and building hospitals will cost far more than the Village has."
"I'll handle the funding, don't worry about it. Just execute and build."
Of course Sayan knew the Village's finances. So Sayan would front the money himself: the seven hundred million ryo he'd panned from Gold Dust (Sakin) with his Magnet Release.