BlackStar_BH:
More Power Stones and comments, guys!
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The village of Sunagakure was surrounded by rocky mountains on all sides, designed like an impregnable fortress, which made it difficult to storm directly. A narrow entrance formed a small valley between the peaks.
At the center of the village stood the largest and most striking building, resembling a finely crafted sand capsule. In the middle, the kanji Suna—meaning "sand"—was inscribed, a shorthand for the Hidden Sand Village.
The surrounding houses were similarly designed, most constructed from hardened sand, which gave the village a uniform and cohesive appearance.
Inside the Kazekage's building, a man in his mid-thirties sat at his desk. His black hair fell in sharp spikes, and he wore the red robe of the Kazekage. He sipped hot tea while examining a report on his desk.
"It seems there have been no suspicious movements from Konoha in the past month… what happened?"
Thought the Third Kazekage, Saburo no Shazan—that was his name.
(Author's note: The Third Kazekage's name was never officially mentioned in Naruto sources. For this story, his name is Shazan, literally meaning "Sand Cutter.")
Shazan wondered why Konoha had suddenly become quiet after routinely sending assassins to his doorstep every week.
"The last one was a precise ambush mission, participated in by Konoha's White Fang, Hataki Sakumo… I almost died at that man's hand…"
He still felt the chill of the short sword against his neck. If he had not succeeded in threatening the lives of Sakumo's comrades, he would now have been nothing more than a memory.
The strongest Kazekage in the history of the Hidden Sand Village had nearly been killed by Konoha's White Fang… "What a disgrace."
It would be a lie to say he wasn't afraid of Hatake Sakumo after what had happened.
Who could have known that the incident leading to Sakumo's suicide in the canon was actually his failure to assassinate the Third Kazekage after a perfectly executed ambush, in which Konoha risked everything to eliminate Shazan?
In the end, Sakumo had chosen to save his comrades rather than kill the Kazekage, allowing Shazan to survive and retreat to his village, while Konoha's shinobi returned empty-handed.
If the assassination succeeded, Konoha could have fully subdued Sunagakure, eliminated any signs of a potential Third Great Ninja War, and instilled fear in all other hidden villages.
But now, Konoha's failure sounded an alarm, prompting Sunagakure to prepare a counterattack.
Shazan sipped his now-cold tea and murmured with a calm smile:
"Heh… it seems they are curling up, waiting for my counterstrike… but the dish of revenge is best served cold."
He licked the last drops from his lips and reached for another file to continue his intelligence review when a shinobi entered the office.
"Lord Kazekage, a trade caravan is at the village gate requesting permission to enter," said the shinobi, his voice tinged with excitement.
"A trade caravan? Really? But we weren't expecting any caravans…"
The Third Kazekage stood immediately.
...
A few hours before the caravan arrived at the Hidden Sand Village, Rob was moving from place to place, gathering people.
Indeed, Rob was recruiting citizens to form a trade caravan.
'I can't buy people from the system's shop, after all…'
He thought as he observed the eager villagers. In this desert oasis, Rob's appearance was a godsend for those suffering from poverty and drought, largely ignored by Sunagakure.
After searching specifically for inhabited oases, Rob successfully gathered dozens of people, all agreeing to work with him without hesitation when he presented his resources.
Thus, a small caravan was formed, stretching hundreds of meters. Rob purchased horse-drawn wagons from barbaric worlds, as well as strong desert camels from the same worlds.
Soon, the oasis dwellers merged into the caravan's environment, with their women and children. The caravan eventually grew to a kilometer long along the trade route.
Rob assigned some of the strong, muscular men to guard the caravan and maintain security, while fully integrating into his disguise.
In this way, Rob chose to enter Sunagakure, a village now on high alert due to the events of two months prior.
There was no better method than forming a trade caravan to enter Sunagakure; the lure of commerce was irresistible for a desert-centered village suffering from limited trade channels.
Who would refuse such an opportunity?
Rob's caravan carried everything a person—civilian or shinobi—might need for daily life. Refusal to allow entry would be sheer madness.
'Of course, since I have no official identity, they might attempt to seize my caravan… but no caravan exists without strength to back it, right? If necessary, I'll display my power and earn their respect.'
At the front of the caravan, moving swiftly along the trade route directly to the Hidden Sand Village, Rob sat in a luxurious royal carriage adorned with golden trim, drawn by a massive black stallion.
Inside, four beautiful desert women attended to him. Rob enjoyed fruit handed to him by a dark-skinned beauty, while a fair-skinned girl fanned him with a small handheld fan.
He relished the royal treatment along the way, smiling and laughing with the women, occasionally playfully interacting with them.
After many hours, the caravan finally reached the entrance of the Hidden Sand Village. Rob had to step out of his carriage.
At that moment, Sunagakure shinobi moved between wagons, inspecting for anything suspicious or foreign. Rob found himself surrounded by five shinobi, the most prominent being the Third Kazekage, Shazan.
"Are you the leader of this caravan? What is your name?" Shazan asked coldly.
Rob kept a calm smile and replied honestly:
"Uzumaki Rubiro. That's my name."
'Uzumaki?' Shazan's suspicion was aroused by the red hair, characteristic of the Uzumaki clan, but he focused more on the boy's confident demeanor.
'He's very young… could he be the heir to the wealth of the extinct Whirlpool Village?'
The Kazekage's curiosity deepened as he occasionally glanced at the resource-rich caravan behind the boy.
"Uzumaki? What is your connection to Konohagakure?" Shazan asked, his tone colder, hinting at potential hostility. Any hint of deceit in Rob's tone would mean failure.
"Konohagakure? That was the last village my caravan stopped at, two weeks ago," Rob replied calmly.
'A new caravan traveling between the five villages?' Shazan wondered, but could detect no sign of lies in Rob's expression.
"Lord Kazekage, there's no need for excessive suspicion. I am a descendant of Uzushuogakure, a village lost to history. I am currently a merchant who inherited my late father's business. sigh..."
"My background is clear and requires no effort for your intelligence to verify. I wouldn't come here recklessly if I had other intentions," Rob said, each word deliberate, calm, and expressing ease and cordiality.
Shazan was surprised by Rob's candor and internally sighed with admiration at his praise for their intelligence abilities.
Rob was confident that even if they investigated his past, they would find no evidence that he had been a medical shinobi from Konoha—at least not recently. For that reason, he felt comfortable stretching the truth.
"Very well. Since you are merely a caravan merchant, you are welcome in our village. But you lack official authorization… The document from Konoha isn't sufficient. You must obtain permission from all four villages before receiving authorization from mine," Shazan said quietly.
He temporarily believed Rob's story but would not allow entry without proper clearance—this was the law.
"Denying me entry would mean missing a business opportunity for your village and citizens. I can continue my journey elsewhere if needed. For you, when will the next caravan arrive?"
Rob's caravan carried grains, vegetables, spices, canned foods, desert items, and vital resources such as coal, firewood, wax, resin—anything beneficial to the people.
Household tools and shinobi weapons were also included. Rob had spent 500K art coins to assemble the caravan.
"Very well. That's not an issue, as this caravan will remain here. As for you people, you will bypass my village and leave," the Third Kazekage said coldly.
There were no shinobi guarding the caravan, and no force of equal strength was present to enforce fair trade. Why even need to negotiate?
To Shazan, this was an incredibly appealing opportunity delivered right to his doorstep—why refuse it?
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 48: The Kazekage's Retreat.
Chapter 49: The Puppet Market.
Chapter 50: Art Store – Sunagakure.
Chapter 51: Naruto - Volume 2!
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BlackStar_BH:
The chapters currently available on Patreon are up to Chapter 69.
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