Chapter 190: Deidara
"Not bad."
In the Sand Village’s graveyard, Sasori stood shoulder to shoulder with Yuji. The two looked up at the figures in black robes assembled before them, silently paying their respects to the tombstones.
But in reality, the coffins in the graveyard contained no corpses. The three former Kazekage had long since been converted into puppets by Sasori. Through this operation, Sasori could finally openly display these puppets alongside the Third Raikage puppet to the wider world.
The entire ninja world could now observe his eternal art, marvel at it, and acknowledge it for what it was.
Of course, Yuji’s encouragement of Sasori was not simply about this. It was also about recognizing the immense contributions Sasori had made to the Sand Village through everything that had unfolded. Everything before them was proceeding according to plan.
Looking across the entire Sand Village, only Sasori could speak to him in quite this tone and manner. In Sasori’s eyes, comparison was simply comparison. Whether someone was called Kazekage or not was just a title. This was Sasori’s second return to the village.
The villagers, resting and recuperating after their long deployment, were visiting the memorial shrine of the three former Kazekage for the first time.
"You did well," Yuji replied.
At this time, the Land of Rivers front still had Rasa stationed there, so the other army leaders could temporarily return to rest. The great battle had effectively silenced the Leaf Village’s army for a period and made clear to the entire ninja world that the Sand Village, beyond Blood Doctor Yuji himself, possessed another terrifyingly powerful Kage-level combat force in Akasuna no Sasori.
Formerly one of the Twin Stars of the Sand Village, it was no surprise that he had grown into the village’s foremost fighting force. Similarly, Rasa, who also possessed a bloodline limit, although not yet a true Kage in title, had demonstrated the qualifications to fight alongside Kage-level powerhouses.
These three alone made it impossible for any outside party to underestimate the Sand Village’s current combat depth. Beyond them, Chiyo and Ebizo remained present as well, their prestige and experience still carrying considerable weight.
This meant that even if the outside world had previously held misconceptions about the Sand Village’s weakness and limited numbers, the cost of provoking a genuine fight to the death with the current Sand Village had become unimaginable.
Regarding the ongoing front line situation, although the Sand Village’s forces and Konoha’s main army still clashed regularly in the Land of Rivers, the intensity had diminished noticeably. The ninja world had been at war for two full years. Konoha’s military strength had been severely depleted and the number of Leaf Village ninja still stationed in the Land of Rivers had shrunk considerably, with large portions redirected to other fronts.
It could be said that after the Sand Village took the Uchiha and Hyuga clan members as prisoners, although both clans had subsequently sent additional members and Konoha had launched more intense counterattacks attempting to reclaim its battlefield dignity, it had ultimately ended in defeat each time.
From the current situation, any possibility of recovering the bloodline individuals the Sand Village had taken was essentially nonexistent. Uchiha children had already been born in the Sand Village, as had Hyuga clan descendants.
With the Sand Village’s medical capabilities, accelerating such outcomes had not been particularly difficult. The Kaguya clan children had also appeared in the village.
"It will not be long before the end of this year. About three years from now, the village’s construction and renovation will be completely finished. Then another year for the new policy systems to fully begin operating. After this Great Ninja War ends, everything can get back on track."
He smiled.
"After that, I will not need to concern myself too much. All I need to do is lay the foundation. Then I can step back and quietly watch the village develop from the side."
"The Hidden Stone, the Hidden Mist, Konoha, the Hidden Cloud. The other four villages’ military strength has now been reduced to a certain level. Should we not take this opportunity to deal with Konoha decisively?" Sasori turned his head and looked at him.
It was now the forty-ninth year of the Hokage era. Yuji was seventeen years old. Sasori’s appearance, of course, remained permanently fixed in the form it had been two years ago.
Sasori’s thinking was not surprising. Konoha was in its most difficult position right now. For a full year, Konoha had been burning through its people frantically fighting against the Hidden Mist Village.
Despite how prominently the Sand Village and Konoha’s conflict had featured in the wider war narrative, Konoha’s actual casualties at the Sand Village’s hands were considerably fewer than the losses they had sustained against the Hidden Mist Village. Though of course the Hidden Mist Village was paying its own heavy price as well.
"It is not the right time yet. Konoha only appears weak on the surface. To completely defeat it is still extremely difficult. Most importantly, the foundation I have been building for the village has not yet fully matured."
"At this crucial stage, development remains the priority," Yuji said softly.
"I plan to withdraw a substantial portion of our forces from the Land of Rivers front, leaving only a small number of Sand Village members to monitor unusual activity in the Land of Fire. This is also for the sake of the village’s population.
The goal from the beginning was to use this Great Ninja War to allow the village, despite its smaller population, to close the gap with Konoha and the Hidden Cloud Village. We are not yet at the point where going all-in is appropriate."
"Up to now, the rapid attrition of lower-level ninja on every battlefield means that what follows will be the stage for each village’s high-level and top-tier fighting forces," Yuji continued.
"After the village develops and expands, will your plan finally be complete?" Sasori watched him from the side for a moment, then said with characteristic indifference.
"You still understand me best," Yuji replied, and his grin widened.
"Rest assured. My next magnificent project is just about to begin. Everything you and I have been doing until now is merely the prelude. The game that follows will surely give you plenty of entertainment."
He paused.
"How about we wait for Shimizu to return and then head to the secret headquarters for a proper conversation?"
The secret headquarters, naturally, referred to the small sand dune location outside the village they had used since the early days.
"I have no interest," Sasori said, his expression completely blank. "I did not even want to hear that."
Yuji’s eyelids twitched. He let out a quiet sigh.
Sasori and his group stayed in the village for half a month before returning to the front lines. Yuji also issued orders recalling more than half of the Sand Village’s deployed forces from active fronts.
Not only from the Land of Rivers, but also from the border areas of the Land of Wind, where defensive forces were maintained against possible Hidden Stone and Hidden Mist movements.
Despite the current cooperation arrangements with both the Hidden Stone and Hidden Mist Villages, he fundamentally did not trust either of them. Better to be cautious.
If they completely let down their guard, a betrayal at an unexpected moment would lead to serious consequences. However, judging from the number of forces remaining within their respective villages, the Sand Village undoubtedly had the most.
That figure included ordinary villagers rather than just ninja, but with the same population density as the nation, the Sand Village still maintained a meaningful advantage in this regard.
One day, while repairs and further construction continued on the large building behind the Kazekage’s office, Yuji sat in his spacious workspace and turned a small blue pill over in his fingers.
This was his latest new product.
Although its appearance bore a suspicious resemblance to a certain item from his previous life, its actual medicinal effect was to significantly increase the probability of conception in women. In other words, it was a fertility enhancement medicine.
The Sand Village’s ninja were gradually returning to the village after their deployments. His next plan was to use this medicine to increase the number of newborns in the village. He understood that after the Great Ninja War concluded, the profits generated from the Sand Village’s pharmaceutical business would reach a point approaching saturation in certain markets.
Therefore, he had also begun preparing other new medicines, not as part of the broader pharmaceutical supply strategy aimed at the other villages, but as a separate commercial path targeting specific demographics with absolute appeal.
For example, cosmetic and beauty products. The fertility treatment he had just developed. And naturally, products that could enhance male vitality as well. Even if other villages eventually attempted to produce imitation versions of the Sand Village’s medicines, they would always be behind.
By the time competitors managed to replicate any existing product, the Sand Village would already be expanding into new markets with innovative offerings that others had not yet considered.
"Lord Kazekage."
A knock sounded at the door and Baki, wrapped in his white headscarf, entered and knelt on one knee.
"The Stone Village has sent a letter. They wish to purchase a new batch of medicinal herbs from us, but their intention appears to be requesting deferred payment. They want to sign an agreement for future settlement."
Baki reported.
This was not surprising. The Stone Village’s economic situation had never been particularly strong, and a large portion of whatever financial resources they possessed had been completely depleted by war-related expenditures that went beyond simply purchasing medicines from the Sand Village.
Whatever those other commitments were, they were consuming resources at a rate that exceeded even the pharmaceutical purchases. And the resources that could be exchanged from the Hidden Stone Village had also been increasingly difficult to obtain. Things were simply stretched thin across the board.
"No problem," Yuji nodded.
The village’s factory production had already reached its target output, and the surplus of medicinal products was substantial enough to accommodate this arrangement.
"However, tell them I want a child named Deidara in return."
"A child?"
"That is correct. Simply tell them to look within the Hidden Stone Village. They will know who I am referring to."
Yuji instructed calmly.
After all, Deidara’s physical constitution was quite unique.
"Yes," Baki rose and departed.
Deidara had been born the previous year. He was not yet even a year old.
The reason for wanting to bring Deidara away was not primarily about bolstering the village’s combat strength in the immediate term. Although Deidara would grow into a formidable fighter, his personality presented serious problems.
His obsessive pursuit of art as a life philosophy, his desire to transcend and defy the major villages, his fundamental rebelliousness, all of these traits said everything about the kind of trajectory his life would follow if left on its current path.
The deeper reason for wanting Deidara was simply to ensure that this particular person’s fate would not continue along a path that intersected harmfully with the Sand Village’s plans. Removing him from that trajectory would aid everything else Yuji was building.
The other four great ninja villages had now reached a level of exhaustion and desperation that made unusual requests like this one difficult to refuse outright.
Even if the Third Tsuchikage sensed something was not quite right about the request, he would almost certainly agree under the current circumstances.
And beyond that, Yuji felt even more strongly about a second possibility. If Deidara could be raised from infancy within the Sand Village, with his personality shaped by an entirely different environment and value system, allowing him to take genuine root in the Sand Village rather than developing the trajectory he had followed in the original story, that would be the best possible outcome by far.
