Hey guys, here is the new chapter hope you will liked and read thru everything.
If we hit 200PW I post a extra chapter.
Don't forget to leave your power stones along with your comment if you have any ideas or opinions that could help me, as well as a review to continue showing your support.
Enjoy the chapter!
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The silence of the Kazekage's office was interrupted only by the faint scratch of the ink pen against official documents and the distant hum of the desert wind caressing Sunagakure's stone structures. Shadows stretched across the room as the sun dipped toward the horizon, painting the walls in a warm orange hue.
In front of the main desk, a village advisor stood at attention, holding a stack of folders under his arm while watching Daigo sign the final document of the day.
"With this, the entire budget for the final phase is fully covered, Lord Kazekage," the advisor declared, adjusting his collar with a formal tone. "Accommodations for the Feudal Lords of the Wind, Fire, Earth, and Lightning territories have been assigned in the upper district. Furthermore, the diplomatic delegations from Konoha, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure will have personal escorts from the moment they reach the village gates."
Daigo stamped the official wax seal onto the corner of the document and set the pen aside. His single, glowing pink eye reviewed the report one last time before closing it.
"Ensure the guard posts along the perimeter do not reduce their shifts," Daigo ordered in a calm yet authoritative voice. "We will have hundreds of foreign visitors and the most influential political figures on the continent within our walls for an entire week. Our security cannot have a single crack."
"Understood, Lord Kazekage. Everything will be executed to the letter," the advisor replied, bowing deeply before gathering the signed papers and leaving the office in orderly silence.
When the wooden door closed, the tension in the room seemed to ease slightly. Daigo let out a long sigh, leaning back into his leather chair. He rested his elbows on the armrests and massaged the bridge of his nose with two fingers, feeling the accumulated weight of the past few weeks of preliminary rounds.
Leading a Great Shinobi Nation meant managing everything.
Daigo opened the bottom drawer of his desk. From within, he retrieved a leather pouch containing a series of scroll cylinders. With a deliberate movement, he aligned them on the wooden table. In total, there were exactly 11 special scrolls, sealed with his personal mark and bound with red silk cords.
"11 scrolls that will change these genin..." Daigo murmured to himself, contemplating the manuscripts in silence.
Without wasting another moment, Daigo stood up, adjusting his Kazekage robes over his shoulders. Interlocking the fingers of both hands into a basic seal, his figure vanished in a flash of air and mineralized light particles.
SHIN!
The sharp scent of antiseptic, medicinal herbs, and clean bandages greeted Daigo as his Shunshin materialized in the main hallway of Sunagakure's central hospital. Doctors and nurses rushing past with folders in hand froze upon noticing the village leader's presence.
Daigo raised a hand gently, gesturing for them not to interrupt their duties. "Continue your work. I am only here for a private visit," he said with a warm, reserved smile as he walked toward the intensive care wing.
He stopped in front of a light wooden door on the third floor. Opening it quietly, he noted the room's curtains were partially drawn, allowing only a thin thread of golden sunlight to filter inside.
On the main bed lay Kankurō. The young puppeteer was awake, staring blankly at the white ceiling. Following his crushing defeat in the preliminaries, his body bore the bitter cost of battle: both arms had been amputated at the shoulders due to the irreversible destruction of his muscle and bone tissue.
The faint creak of the closing door caused Kankurō to turn his head awkwardly. Upon recognizing the white robes and the figure of his uncle, his eyes widened in genuine surprise.
"Uncle... Daigo?" Kankurō rasped out, instinctively trying to sit up, only to remember with bitterness that he no longer had limbs to support himself.
"Easy, don't try to get up," Daigo intervened immediately, stepping to the side of the bed and sitting down on the wooden chair reserved for visitors. "I'm sorry if I woke you while you were resting."
"No... I wasn't sleeping," Kankurō answered, averting his gaze back to the ceiling, unable to hold eye contact. An uncomfortable silence filled the room before the young man spoke again. "What... what is the Kazekage doing here? You must have mountains of work with the exam finals."
Daigo shook his head in a slow gesture. "The work will always be there, Kankurō. But before I am Kazekage, I am your uncle. I wanted to see how you were doing and speak with you frankly."
Kankurō let out a dry, bitter laugh that echoed sadly in the empty room. "How am I doing? Well... look at me. I'm a puppeteer who no longer has hands to hold a single chakra thread. A useless ninja."
"That is precisely why I came," Daigo replied, his tone serious yet devoid of judgment. "I want to know what is going through your head. Now that you've lost both arms... what do you plan to do with your life? Will you continue on the path of a shinobi, or step aside?"
Kankurō remained completely silent, his lips trembling slightly as he processed the question. "I... I don't know," he admitted in a quiet voice, clenching his jaw in frustration. "I haven't even been able to think about that. Ever since I woke up, all I've felt is pain... and an overwhelming rage at myself for being so weak. A puppeteer without arms is just a burden to the village."
Daigo listened without interrupting. He knew all too well the well of despair that threatened to swallow young shinobi after a debilitating injury or a devastating defeat.
Reaching into his Kage robes, he pulled out one of the 11 scrolls. Carefully, he placed it on the nightstand beside the bed, right next to a small vase of flowers.
Kankurō looked at the scroll in confusion. "What is that?"
"It's an opportunity," Daigo replied, looking at his nephew with a serene smile. "Something that can help you, though that depends on your decision. If you decide you don't want to give up on being a shinobi, read it. Since you can't read it right now, ask Karura to read it to you when she comes to visit. Puppetry doesn't originate from the fingers, Kankurō... it stems from the mind and how you apply it."
Beside the scroll, Daigo set down a small basket of fresh fruit he had brought with him. Standing up, he patted Kankurō gently on the head before turning toward the exit.
"Think about what I said. You don't have to make a decision today, but don't let the pain of the present blind you to what you can build tomorrow," Daigo concluded before crossing the threshold and closing the door.
Daigo walked down the second-floor hallway, stopping before Room 204. Unlike Kankurō, who suffered the physical consequences of severe mutilation, the occupant of this room had no life-threatening injuries. However, Daigo knew full well that mental wounds took much longer to heal.
He knocked on the door twice. "Come in..." a muted voice called from within.
Daigo turned the knob and entered. Temari was sitting by the room's large window, wearing a white hospital gown. Her legs were crossed and her arms hugged her knees as she stared fixedly at the desert horizon outside the village. Her eyes, usually full of pride and fire, appeared dull and devoid of vitality following her crushing defeat.
At the sound of footsteps, Temari turned slowly. Surprise crossed her face when she saw her uncle.
"Uncle Daigo...?" Temari murmured, lowering her legs and attempting to straighten her posture. "What are you doing here?"
Daigo walked toward her, pulled up a small chair from the corner, and sat directly across from his niece.
"I just stopped by to see Kankurō," Daigo explained calmly. "I'm glad to see he is stable, all things considered. And now I came to check on you, Temari."
Temari nodded slightly, lowering her gaze to her hands resting in her lap. "I'm fine... the doctors say I don't have any damage to my chakra pathway system. I'll be discharged tomorrow."
"Physically, yes," Daigo said quietly. "But I know that look, Temari. It's the look of someone who feels like everything they built crumbled in a single second."
Temari's hands tightened into fists over her gown, her teeth gritted as she fought back the frustration threatening to spill over as tears. "I was pathetic..." she whispered bitterly. "I trained for years to master the giant fan and wind release... only to be swept aside without even putting up a fight. How am I supposed to call myself a kunoichi of Suna if I shatter like this?"
Daigo watched her in silence for a few seconds. Leaning forward, he gently rested his palm on Temari's head, ruffling her blonde hair much like he did when she was small. The warm gesture caused Temari to look up, meeting her uncle's single pink eye, filled with profound understanding.
"Let me tell you something few people remember these days," Daigo began, his tone turning reflective. "When I was younger and believed no one could touch me, I suffered my first real defeat. It was at the hands of Mangetsu Hōzuki, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."
Temari blinked, surprised by the revelation. Her uncle rarely spoke of his past failures.
"In that battle, I was outmatched. Even though I claimed victory in the end, Mangetsu nearly killed me," Daigo continued, staring into the distance of his memories. "I even lost two valuable teammates... One was your uncle Yashamaru, and the other was my closest friend. Baki, who fought by my side that day, fell into a coma that took him months to wake from. For weeks afterward, I couldn't close my eyes without seeing that defeat. I felt exactly the way you feel right now."
"And how... how did you get past it?" Temari asked in a whisper, drawn into the story.
"I realized that defeat doesn't define the end of a ninja; what makes a true shinobi is what they choose to do the morning after," Daigo stated firmly. "The life of a shinobi is hard, cruel, and unforgiving. But the bitterness you feel right now is proof that you care—proof that you desire to become stronger."
Daigo reached into his robes and brought out the second scroll, offering it gently into her trembling hands.
"Inside this scroll is guidance that will help you become far stronger and regain your confidence," Daigo explained with a grounded tone. "But I only want you to open it if you decide in your heart that you truly wish to continue down the path of a shinobi. If you decide it's too much, no one will judge you."
Temari pressed the scroll against her chest, feeling the texture of the red silk beneath her fingers. Her uncle's story and the weight of the scroll reignited a small spark in the dimness of her mind.
"Thank you... Uncle Daigo," Temari murmured, bowing her head in renewed respect.
"Rest well," Daigo bade farewell, standing up and offering her a final smile before heading for the door. "Remember, Temari... a shinobi's end is death; defeat is merely the lesson you have yet to learn."
Daigo proceeded down the east wing corridor, where ninjas requiring neurological observation or treatment for extreme chakra exhaustion were kept. He paused at Room 112 and knocked softly before entering.
Inside, Kanra Chinoike sat on the medical cot. A thin bandage was wrapped around her forehead, and she wore a loose hospital robe. She was so deeply immersed in her thoughts, staring intently at the palm of her hand, that she didn't notice the Kazekage until he cleared his throat gently.
"Good afternoon, Kanra."
The young Chinoike startled, her eyes widening as she recognized the village's highest authority. Panic and confusion washed over her instantly.
"L-Lord Kazekage!" Kanra gasped, scrambling to stand up and deliver a formal bow. "I... I didn't hear you enter! Forgive my lack of respect..."
"Relax, don't get up," Daigo stopped her with a welcoming hand gesture, walking closer. "Please, stay seated. There's no need for formal protocol in a hospital room."
Kanra obeyed slowly, sitting back on the edge of the cot, though her back remained rigid and her hands clutched her thighs.
Daigo evaluated her carefully: unlike Kankurō or Temari, Kanra didn't display severe mental despair. However, her crimson eyes carried the weight of shock and guilt over losing a teammate during the second phase of the exams.
"I've been reviewing the medical reports and your team's log from the desert," Daigo said, standing beside the bed. "Your performance demonstrated remarkable control over your bloodline limit, but I know the final outcome left a bitter taste in your mouth."
Kanra lowered her head, setting her jaw. "I wasn't strong enough or smart enough, Lord Kazekage... If only I had reacted faster, if my Ketsuryūgan were more developed... my teammate wouldn't have fallen, and we would have passed the test. It's my responsibility."
Daigo let out a quiet breath. Reaching into his vest, he retrieved a third scroll from his collection, leaving 8 remaining. He extended it toward the young kunoichi.
"Every shinobi who has walked a long path in this world carries the weight of a fallen comrade, Kanra," Daigo told her, his voice grave yet reassuring.
"I, too, have lost valuable people under my command. In the face of a fallen ally, there are only two paths: allow guilt to consume and destroy you, or stand up and ensure you become strong enough to never let it happen again."
Kanra looked up, staring at the bamboo cylinder offered by the Kazekage. She reached out hesitantly and took it with delicate care.
"That scroll contains key principles to help you grow stronger," Daigo explained.
"While I don't know every secret regarding your eyes, I've included notes on chakra control that once helped Malenia. I'm confident they will serve you well too. Pushing past your limits to become a formidable Chinoike rests within those writings."
Kanra clutched the scroll tightly, sensing the trust the village leader was placing in her. For the first time since her fight, her red eyes burned with a flicker of fierce determination.
"Read it once you are discharged and feel ready to resume your training," Daigo concluded, turning toward the exit. "I expect great things from you in Sunagakure's future, Kanra. Don't let today's shadow dim tomorrow's strength."
"Yes, Lord Kazekage! I swear I won't disappoint you!" Kanra declared firmly, bowing deeply from her cot.
Daigo offered a final nod before stepping into the hallway and closing the door behind him.
Walking slowly through the illuminated corridors of the hospital, the Kazekage looked at the leather pouch containing the 8 remaining scrolls. The month of preparation before the finals was just beginning, and his duty as a mentor, leader, and protector of the village was far from over.
With a steady stride and his gaze fixed on the horizon of the village, Daigo moved forward, ready to guide the new generation through the trials ahead.