Kiyohara gently moved the arm that had been resting against his chest and got out of bed. He walked over to the window and pushed it open.
The air in the desert that morning was somewhat dry, carrying with it a faint trace of the smoke and gunpowder that had not completely dispersed from the previous night's battle.
After changing his clothes, he walked out of the bedroom.
Someone was already sitting in the living room.
Pakura was seated in front of the low table, having already changed out of her ninja attire and into a clean set of clothes.
There were several fresh wounds on her arms, but they had already scabbed over. Clearly, she had used the high temperature of her Scorch Release to cauterize the wounds and stop the bleeding herself.
"Lord Kiyohara."
"Quite efficient."
Kiyohara sat down opposite her and poured himself a cup of fresh tea.
"It was all thanks to your chakra, Lord Kiyohara."
Pakura straightened herself and looked at Kiyohara with her brown eyes.
"If I had not received that chakra, there is no way my Scorch Release could have maintained such a high level of output for so long. Rasa's Gold Dust is famous for its defensive power. Under normal circumstances, my Scorch Release would only be able to burn through a single layer of it. But last night, I managed to burn straight through his Gold Dust defense in one continuous attack."
Kiyohara nodded as he sensed the chakra remaining within Pakura's body.
The aura of the Nine-Tails' chakra had almost completely dissipated from her body, while the medicinal power remained at only around ten percent.
During the battle the previous night, she had used up nearly half of the chakra Kiyohara had given her.
That was within his expectations. To defeat an opponent like Rasa, it was impossible to accomplish it without paying a sufficient price.
"What about Rasa?"
"He's being held in the dungeon."
Pakura answered,
"Elder Chiyo stepped forward and demanded a public trial. I did not kill him, but there is no suspense regarding the outcome of the trial."
Kiyohara raised his teacup and took a sip.
He was not surprised that Chiyo had stepped forward.
Although the old woman usually behaved as though she had withdrawn from the world and wanted nothing to do with its affairs, whenever the fundamental interests of Suna were involved, she became extremely decisive.
Back when Sasori's parents had been killed by Hatake Sakumo, Chiyo had not taken out her anger on Konoha because of it. Instead, she had chosen to endure the situation and bide her time.
She had never lacked the ability to judge the situation.
Rasa's actions had already crossed Suna's bottom line. Rather than allowing Pakura to kill Rasa on the spot, it was better to use a public trial to completely settle his crimes.
That way, Pakura would receive an explanation for everything that had happened, while Suna could also maintain its dignity during this transfer of power.
Chiyo had certainly calculated everything carefully.
"There is one more thing."
Kiyohara spoke.
"Bring Gaara here."
Following Kiyohara's instruction, Pakura nodded and turned to leave the living room.
It did not take long before the door opened again.
Pakura entered with Gaara.
"Gaara."
Kiyohara beckoned him over.
Gaara hesitated for a second before walking over and sitting down on the cushion in front of Kiyohara.
His posture was extremely proper. His knees were pressed together, and both hands rested neatly on his knees.
"Do you know about what happened to your father?"
Gaara remained silent for a moment before nodding.
To be honest, Gaara felt that Rasa was nothing more than his biological father.
He had no emotional attachment to Rasa whatsoever.
"I know."
"What do you think about it?"
"I don't know."
Gaara raised his head and looked at Kiyohara with his pale green eyes.
"He has always been sending people to kill me. Ever since I was old enough to remember things, he has been trying to kill me. I thought he regarded me as a monster, but last night, Big Sister Pakura said that the reason he did those things was because he was testing me. She said that if he really wanted to kill me, he could have done it himself instead of sending assassins to test me."
Gaara's voice gradually became quieter.
"But what difference is there between testing whether a child can be stabbed with a knife and actually killing him?"
Kiyohara did not answer the question.
Instead, he placed his hand on Gaara's head and gently rubbed his hair.
"You'll slowly find the answers to those questions after you grow up."
Gaara did not ask anything else.
He lowered his head, allowing Kiyohara's hand to remain on top of his head for a little longer.
Pakura stood to the side and watched the scene. Her lips moved slightly as though she wanted to say something, but in the end, she remained silent.
She had never expected that Gaara, the child regarded as a monster by the entire village, would be this quiet and obedient in front of Kiyohara.
"All right."
Kiyohara withdrew his hand and stood up from the cushion.
"It's time to take care of the real matter."
He walked in front of Gaara and crouched down.
"Gaara, I'm going to enter your mental space next. It may feel a little uncomfortable, but I won't hurt you."
Gaara raised his head and met Kiyohara's dark eyes with his pale green ones.
Then he nodded.
"I trust you."
Kiyohara raised his right hand, brought his index and middle fingers together, and gently touched them against Gaara's forehead.
In the next moment, his consciousness was pulled by a powerful force. It passed through the sealing technique covering Gaara's body and entered the mental space within him.
Cold water covered his feet up to the ankles, reflecting the dim light that seemed to seep in from some unknown place above.
In front of him stood a gigantic cage.
Behind the cage, a colossal creature was coiled within the shadows.
Its body resembled a small hill, completely covered in yellowish-brown skin. Dark brown markings covered the surface of its body.
Its four limbs were thick and short, but its claws were sharp as hooks. A massive tail covered in spikes dragged behind it. When the tail lightly swept across the ground, the accumulated water splashed in all directions.
"It's you again."
Shukaku's voice was sharp and grating, filled with obvious irritation.
"I can smell it on you. That stench of that filthy fox, and the scorched smell of Matatabi. Just how much chakra from the tailed beasts have you swallowed?"
"Not that many."
Kiyohara raised an eyebrow.
Shukaku's senses were surprisingly sharp.
"Shukaku, I want you to condense a portion of your chakra into physical flesh."
A harsh, mocking laugh came from Shukaku's throat.
"You think I'm going to be as easy to deal with as that stinking fox? Kid, I'm not the Nine-Tails. What I hate most are people like you who..."
Shukaku's words suddenly stopped.
It had finally noticed the eyes slowly changing within Kiyohara's eye sockets.
The pitch-black pupils faded away, replaced by a pair of eyes radiating a faint blue glow. Around the pupils appeared a ring of even clearer ice-blue light.
Under the gaze of those eyes, Shukaku suddenly realized that its enormous chakra had begun to stir uncontrollably.
The chakra that had previously responded to its every command was now being drawn outward by some unknown force. Strand after strand flowed out from its body.
"What is this?"
For the first time, there was a trace of fear in Shukaku's voice.
It had never seen such a terrifying ocular technique before.
Kiyohara's Tenseigan stared directly at Shukaku.
The Tenseigan naturally possessed the ability to absorb an opponent's chakra. Against a target as enormous as a tailed beast, that ability was even more effective.
Kiyohara then extended his right hand through the bars of the cage and grabbed Shukaku's foreleg before violently pulling outward.
A mass of yellowish-brown chakra was forcibly torn from Shukaku's body.
Shukaku let out an enraged roar. Its enormous body struggled violently inside the cage, while its tail whipped around wildly, sending the accumulated water splashing everywhere.
"Damn you!"
The One-Tail roared.
Kiyohara condensed the extracted chakra into physical flesh and stored it inside a sealing scroll before withdrawing his consciousness.
Back in the real world, he removed his fingers from Gaara's forehead and opened his eyes.
Gaara was looking up at him, confusion visible in his pale green eyes.
"It's fine now."
Kiyohara looked down at him.
"The One-Tail will be somewhat more docile inside you. I have extracted a portion of its power, so it won't place too much of a burden on you in the short term. You will have more time to learn how to control it."
Gaara nodded as though he only partially understood.
Kiyohara stood up and turned toward Pakura.
"I have obtained the One-Tail's chakra. After this, send Gaara to Konoha to study."
Pakura's brows furrowed slightly.
"But the One-Tail is one of Suna's tailed beasts."
"I know."
Kiyohara waved his hand and walked toward the window before pushing it open.
The desert morning wind poured into the room, carrying with it the dry scent of sand and dust.
"Konoha will provide the Land of Wind with sufficient compensation."
Pakura stood behind him, her long green hair gently fluttering in the breeze.
"What kind of compensation? Will the Land of Fire give up territory? The daimyo would never agree to such a condition."
"There is no need to give up any territory."
Kiyohara turned around and leaned against the windowsill. The morning sunlight spread out behind him, casting a faint golden glow across the room.
"I will help the Land of Wind restore life to a portion of its desert. I can turn some of the unusable wasteland into viable oases. Once that is done, the amount of usable land in the Land of Wind will increase. Compared to giving up territory, this solution is much more practical for Suna."
Pakura froze.
She had grown up in the desert and understood the barrenness of the Land of Wind better than almost anyone.
Less than one-fifth of the country's entire territory consisted of oases and mountainous regions suitable for human habitation. Everything else was barren desert where not even a blade of grass could grow.
Restoring life to the desert was something countless people had attempted over the course of thousands of years.
Not a single person had ever succeeded.
The First Kazekage had once attempted to use the power of the One-Tail to change the desert. Instead, Shukaku's sandstorms had caused the area of the oases to shrink by one-third.
After that, no one had dared to entertain such an idea again.
Yet Kiyohara claimed that he could do it.
"Are you wondering what method I intend to use?"
"Yes."
Kiyohara took the completely purple dragon-shaped jade disc from his sleeve.
The dragon-shaped jade disc slowly rotated in his palm. Its dragon's mouth held its own tail, creating a complete circle with its head and tail connected.
"Dragon Vein chakra can alter the direction in which the earth veins flow, while the earth veins determine the vitality of the land. As long as we find the nodes of the Dragon Vein beneath the Land of Wind and inject Dragon Vein chakra into them, the lifeless desert can be made to regain its vitality."
Kiyohara put the dragon-shaped jade disc back into his sleeve.
This was also the reason the kingdom of Roran had been able to stand for so long. In the original story, once Roran was separated from the power of the Dragon Vein, it rapidly turned into ruins.
Now that Kiyohara had absorbed a large amount of Dragon Vein chakra himself, he was extremely sensitive to its presence. Accomplishing something like this was therefore not particularly difficult.
"Then you'll know when the time comes."
"All right. I trust you."
Pakura nodded.
Kiyohara waved his hand, signaling Pakura to leave first.
The One-Tail's chakra was already in his possession.
Among the Nine-Tails Beasts, only the Four-Tails, Six-Tails, and Seven-Tails had yet to be collected.
As long as he obtained the chakra of those three as well, the power of all nine tailed beasts would be gathered within his body.
At that point, the amount of chakra Kiyohara possessed would swell to an astonishing level.
And that would be the true test for the artificial tailed beast vessel.
The distance between Kiyohara and Kaguya would also be reduced to a point where she was within reach.
That night.
Inside the residence provided by Suna, Kiyohara's bedroom door was tightly closed.
On the windowsill nearby, Konan sat alone.
She had originally intended to organize the route map for their return journey the next day before going to bed, but she suddenly heard some noises.
Muffled sounds came from behind the closed door. They were intermittent and suppressed, resembling the low moans that slipped through the clenched teeth of Kurenai despite her best efforts to hold them back.
For some inexplicable reason, Konan's ears began to burn.
She immediately turned around, hurried back to her own room, closed the door, and leaned her back against the cold door panel as she closed her eyes.
Even with an entire wall between them, the sounds had become somewhat muffled, but they were still painfully clear to her ears.
That man really had absolutely no sense of restraint.
Konan bit her lower lip and sat down on the edge of her bed, folding her hands together over her knees.
Kiyohara had brought her to Konoha, where she had been given a position in the Anbu. She had obtained a place of her own to live, a regular salary, and even a workshop specifically for producing paper-based ninja tools.
There was far more sunlight in Konoha than there had ever been in the Land of Rain. The warm sunlight against her skin made her feel comfortable and relaxed, causing her to lower her guard without even realizing it.
At first, she had counted the days carefully every single day, wondering when she should return to Amegakure and whether Nagato still had enough medicine.
But as time passed, the intervals between those thoughts became longer and longer.
What had once been a concern that occupied her mind every day gradually became something she thought about only once a week. Eventually, she would only remember it occasionally, hurriedly write an encrypted letter, and have a summoned creature deliver it back.
She had adapted to life in Konoha.
That was precisely what made her uneasy.
Konan opened her eyes and lowered her head to look at her hands.
These hands had once been stained with blood during the internal conflicts of Amegakure. They had also activated explosive tags on the battlefield during the Third Shinobi War, blasting Iwagakure shinobi into pieces.
But now, more often than not, these same hands were organizing Anbu mission files, carefully folding delicate paper cranes, and carrying tea and water for Kiyohara.
Konan did not know whether this change was a good thing or a bad thing.
She took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the thoughts surging through her mind.
She stood up from the edge of the bed and walked to the window. After pushing it open, she allowed the night breeze to blow across her face and cool the heat that had gathered there.
Tomorrow, Suna would probably look completely different again.
There was something she had been thinking about.
The last time Kiyohara had kissed her had been in Amegakure.
After that, for a long time, Kiyohara had not really touched her.
"Forget it. Why am I even thinking about this?"
Konan found it strange herself.
She could not believe she was actually wondering what Kiyohara was thinking.
The following morning.
The desert sun slowly rose from behind the eastern sand dunes, dyeing the entire sky a pale golden color.
Chiyo gazed at the slender figure standing atop the distant sand dunes, while Ebizo stood behind her.
"Can he really do it?"
Ebizo was curious.
"I don't know."
Chiyo leaned on her cane.
Pakura had suddenly told them that Kiyohara wanted a tailed beast.
At first, Chiyo had felt that Kiyohara was becoming too greedy and taking advantage of the situation.
But then Pakura had told them that Kiyohara had a way to restore the barren desert and turn it back into an oasis.
The weight of that promise made Chiyo wonder whether the two things could truly be considered equal.
"But he said he can do it."
"You believe him?"
Chiyo remained silent for a moment before gently tapping her cane against the ground.
"Who knows? After all, you can also see that Kiyohara possesses a power far beyond that of a kage."
Chiyo shook her head.
She always felt that this junior named Kiyohara had already surpassed even Senju Hashirama.
Moreover, Kiyohara also possessed Wood Release. He could theoretically use Wood Release to plant trees and restore vegetation as well.
Of course, the amount of chakra that would consume would be enormous.
Ebizo then followed his sister's gaze toward the distant sand dunes.
Kiyohara was floating in midair, his emerald-green Tenseigan Chakra Mode already activated.
Beneath his feet stretched an endless desert, continuing all the way to the horizon.
The desert was beautiful, but it also represented death.
This land had remained completely barren for thousands of years, without even a blade of grass growing upon it. The people of the Land of Wind could only struggle to survive around the edges of oases, relying on Gold Dust and commissioned missions to obtain opportunities to import food from the Land of Fire.
"It is time to begin."
Kiyohara closed his eyes and extended his perception deep beneath the earth.
Dragon Vein chakra flowed through his chakra pathways.
His range of perception was now far greater than it had been in the past, enough to cover a radius of several hundred kilometers.
Within his perception, deep beneath the earth, a gigantic branch of the Dragon Vein extended from the direction of Roran. It passed through the heart of the Land of Wind and continued all the way beneath Suna.
However, the end of that Dragon Vein had already withered.
The flow of chakra was extremely weak, resembling the bed of a river that was on the verge of drying up completely.
Kiyohara took the dragon-shaped jade disc from his sleeve and held it in the palm of his hand.
He poured Dragon Vein chakra into the jade disc.
The jade disc immediately lit up.
Purple light spread outward from Kiyohara as its center, while the sand within a radius of several thousand meters began to tremble slightly.
The villagers of Suna rushed out of their homes one after another, looking toward the distant sand dunes in terror at the emerald-green light.
The shinobi tightened their grips around their kunai, but Chiyo raised her hand and signaled everyone not to approach.
Kiyohara formed a hand seal with one hand.
"Ryūmyaku: Earth Vein Awakening!"
He suddenly injected the chakra within the dragon-shaped jade disc into the underground branch of the Dragon Vein.
The moment the dried-up Dragon Vein came into contact with this vast surge of chakra, a deep rumbling sound came from the depths of the earth.
Countless fine cracks began to spread across the surface of the sand dunes.
Faint purple light shone from within those cracks.
Not long afterward, water began to gush out through them.
Once the underground water was activated by the Dragon Vein chakra, it rapidly surged toward the surface at an astonishing speed. Streams began to form between the sand dunes.
The streams quickly merged into rivers.
The flowing water washed across the surface of the desert, carrying away the yellow sand and revealing the dark brown soil beneath.
Kiyohara continued guiding the Dragon Vein chakra along the direction of the earth veins, pushing it farther and farther into the distance.
The sand dunes began to collapse.
Underground water surged outward from all directions, gradually soaking the desert across a radius of dozens of kilometers.
Immediately afterward, Kiyohara used Wood Release ninjutsu, causing the seeds buried deep beneath the layers of sand to begin sprouting.
Tiny green shoots broke through the soil.
"Such jutsu actually exists?"
Chiyo's eyes widened slightly.
She had lived for so many years, yet she had never seen anyone use ninjutsu in such a manner.
The ability to change the environment on this scale could only be described as extraordinary power.
Kiyohara raised his right hand, palm facing upward, and infused Wood Release chakra into the earth as well.
The Dragon Vein chakra and Wood Release chakra converged beneath the ground.
The newly emerged green shoots immediately began growing at an accelerated rate.
Bushes pushed their way out of the sand, their dark green leaves rapidly unfolding before everyone's eyes.
The roots of the trees burrowed deep into the earth, firmly anchoring the soil and locking in the moisture.
The entire process continued for nearly an hour.
When Kiyohara finally withdrew his hand, deactivated his Tenseigan Chakra Mode, and descended back to the ground, the land beneath his feet had already become a lush green grassland.
Green grass covered the sand dunes that had once stretched across the area.
Bushes were scattered throughout the grassland in small clusters, growing here and there.
In the distance, the villagers of Suna stood at the entrance of the village, staring at the oasis that had appeared as if from nowhere.
One by one, they stood there with their mouths hanging open, completely unable to find the words to describe what they were seeing.
An elderly woman with gray hair suddenly fell to her knees.
Her trembling hands scooped up a handful of moist soil.
Tiny fragments of grass seeds and delicate roots were mixed into the earth.
She brought the soil close to her nose and breathed in its scent.
Then tears began streaming down her face.
She had lived in the desert for seventy years.
In all those years, she had never once seen soil with this kind of color.
Chiyo leaned on her cane and slowly walked toward Kiyohara.
The former elder of Suna, a woman who had experienced two Shinobi Wars, could not hide the excitement on her face at this moment.
Why did the Land of Wind covet the resources of other countries?
The answer was simple.
Land.
When the land itself was incapable of supporting life, it meant fewer resources and greater competition. Whether they were ordinary civilians or shinobi, life became difficult for everyone.
"Fourth Hokage."
Chiyo looked at Kiyohara.
"I will remember this favor."
Kiyohara put the dragon-shaped jade disc back into his sleeve and brushed the sand from his sleeve.
"There is no need to remember it as a favor. I am taking Gaara with me, and Konoha will temporarily take responsibility for safeguarding Sunagakure's tailed beast. In exchange, this oasis will continue expanding year after year. Once the Dragon Vein has been awakened, it will not fall dormant again. The underground water will naturally spread along the earth veins."
"In approximately three years, the area covered by this oasis should be several times larger than it is now."
Chiyo tightened her grip around her cane.
She had spent her entire life trying to make Suna a better place.
Now, someone had finally accomplished what she had spent a lifetime trying to achieve.
Even though that person came from Konoha.
But at this moment, whether it was Konoha or Suna did not matter.
What mattered was that the oasis was truly there, spreading out before her eyes.
"Ebizo."
Chiyo turned around.
"I'm here, Sister."
"Go inform the council. From today onward, Suna and Konoha will officially establish a permanent alliance. The specific terms will be drafted by the Hokage."
Ebizo froze for a moment.
Then he bowed deeply and quickly turned around, heading toward the Kazekage Building.
Kiyohara glanced at Chiyo and gave a slight nod before turning around and walking toward the guest residence.
After taking care of Suna's affairs, Kiyohara returned to Konoha.
To Kiyohara, the Land of Wind was merely a brief interlude.
His primary purpose for coming here had always been to obtain a portion of the One-Tail's physical flesh and fill the remaining gap in his collection.
As for the remaining tailed beasts, Kiyohara intended to collect all of them within this month.
He was already impatient to see the so-called "Goddess of the Rabbit".
That day, Kurenai pushed open the door to the Hokage's office with a thick stack of documents that had just been sent over from the Land of Wind in her arms.
She placed the documents on Kiyohara's desk before dropping herself onto Kiyohara's lap and rubbing her shoulders.
"The draft of the permanent alliance agreement from Suna has already been sent over. Nara Shikaku went through it and said the terms are quite reasonable. There are only a few details that still need to be confirmed with the Suna delegation."
"Gaara's enrollment and living arrangements have also been completed."
"Understood."
Kiyohara nodded.
Judging from the timing, Gaara might end up in the same class as Naruto and Sasuke.
Kiyohara was rather curious about how Gaara, who had grown up alongside Naruto from childhood, would get along with him.
"Good work."
Kiyohara reached out and grabbed Kurenai's waist.
The saying went that when there was work, the secretary handled it, and when there was no work, the secretary was handled too.
Kiyohara was certainly putting that saying into practice thoroughly.
"I still have work to do."
Kurenai's eyes glistened with moisture, but she maintained a serious expression.
"What work?"
Kiyohara asked.
"The Jonin selection examination you ordered is also about to produce its results. This is the report."
Kurenai took out another document and placed it on the desk.
"Just leave it there."
Kiyohara looked at Kurenai's face and immediately leaned closer to taste her lipstick.
Kurenai felt both excited and frightened by the stimulation.
Only after some time passed did Kiyohara finally pick up the report and begin reading it.
(End of Chapter)