After brief skirmishes among the nations of Lightning, Fire, Wind, and Water, it seemed that each village had come to the realization that their current strength was insufficient to decisively defeat the other villages.
As a result, the following period saw the villages focusing on developing their economies in peace.
Among them, the Land of Wind's Sunagakure experienced the fastest economic growth.
This was largely due to their nationalization of key domestic industries and the increasingly heavy value-added taxes imposed on wealthy merchants. Some merchants even began considering fleeing to other nations.
However, the Third Kazekage issued a stern decree: Any citizen of the Land of Wind who voluntarily renounced their nationality and fled with their wealth would face lifelong pursuit by Sunagakure, with consequences extending to their entire family!
Under such harsh policies, most wealthy merchants could only grit their teeth and hand over their hard-earned money to the village. As for thoughts of tax evasion...
In the face of ninja genjutsu, such ideas were laughably naive.
Additionally, Sunagakure dispatched Earth Release ninjas to Kawaguchi District and Tori District every spring to assist farmers with plowing and preparing their fields for planting.
Sōmi had always believed that if ninjutsu were applied to daily production and life, it could elevate productivity to an entirely new level.
Machines required fuel, but a ninja's chakra was a renewable, clean energy source.
As a result, the Third Kazekage significantly reduced the amount of labor required from the nation's civilians. Large-scale public infrastructure projects were now almost entirely handled by ninjas.
These changes were naturally documented in detail in the textbooks of ninja academies.
After all, instilling a sense of national pride and civic awareness had to start from a young age.
Time passed slowly in this environment, with each village striving to develop.
During this period, several minor events occurred in Sunagakure.
For instance, Sōmi shared his "archaeological" findings on Lightning Release chakra nature transformation with Pakura, allowing her to study a second Kekkei Genkai to enhance her strength.
Granny Chiyo, after hearing Pakura explain the special effects of the Yin Seal, immediately began training in its techniques.
Following Kimimaro's eye transplant, Sōmi entrusted him and Shira to Pakura for guidance.
Both Shira and Kimimaro's talent in taijutsu frequently amazed Pakura.
Meanwhile, Haku, with his naturally kind and gentle disposition, displayed remarkable chakra control abilities. He too was entrusted to Pakura, progressing toward becoming a medical ninja.
Of course, given Haku and Kimimaro's young age, they still attended the ninja academy for their studies. Pakura mainly served as a tutor for extracurricular guidance.
In the blink of an eye, eight years had passed since the Night of the Nine-Tails.
One summer night.
Crack!
Boom!
A blinding flash of lightning tore through the pitch-black night sky, followed by a torrential downpour over Sunagakure.
This phenomenon indicated that the surrounding area of Sunagakure now had abundant moisture, allowing it to enjoy such storms.
Gone were the days of endless sandstorms.
Compared to several years ago, Sunagakure had undergone a complete transformation.
The village's architecture had abandoned its previous style of hardened earth mounds, as those structures could not withstand such storms. Instead, buildings were now constructed using wood, stone, or cement-based materials.
The streets of Sunagakure featured dedicated greenbelts on both sides, lined with towering greenery, lush grass, and vibrant flowers in full bloom.
Amidst the howling wind and rain, the trees swayed and rustled but remained steadfast, seemingly accustomed to the storm's battering.
Outside Sunagakure, within a barrier.
Inside the barrier, the summer night was tranquil, untouched by the raging storm outside.
However, what was happening within the barrier was enough to leave ordinary ninjas dumbfounded.
A young man with black hair stood facing a massive beetle-like creature with six wings and a tail.
The one showing fear, however, was the giant beetle. It was bound by silver-purple chakra chains, glowing faintly as they coiled around its body.
The beetle screeched and shrieked, its scythe-like legs deeply embedded in the ground, yet it barely managed to move.
As the black-haired youth performed another hand seal, a layer of lightning suddenly surged along the silver-purple chains.
"Zzzt! Zzzt!"
The beetle let out agonized cries before a huge force erupted from the chains, pulling the creature into the air and hurling it straight toward the youth's abdomen.
When the massive beetle collided with Sōmi's stomach, a burst of intense purple light exploded outward. The beetle's body rapidly shrank and was absorbed into him.
As the purple glow receded, a peculiar seal appeared on the young man's abdomen.
At the center of the seal was a black spiral, surrounded by eight densely packed runes.
Anyone proficient in sealing techniques would immediately recognize that these eight runes corresponded to the eight trigrams. However, these runes were far more intricate than ordinary trigram patterns.
Upon closer inspection, each trigram seemed to contain a complete set of eight symbols within itself, and the runes emitted a faint purple glow, exuding an air of mystery and majesty.
Encircling the eight runes was a purple dragon-shaped pattern, wrapping around the entire circular seal.
After the beetle was absorbed into the seal, the sixth rune of the eight trigrams suddenly expanded and protruded with a black liquid bubble, as if something inside was struggling violently to escape.
But in the next instant, the purple dragon pattern on the outermost edge suddenly lit up and came to life!
The dragon swiftly moved its body. When its head approached the sixth rune, it lunged at the black bubble and bit into it.
Something strange happened.
The majestic purple dragon head dove into the black liquid bubble, which quickly quieted down and became still.
Moments later, the dragon's head emerged from the bubble, carrying a dense blue chakra orb in its jaws. The chakra was incredibly concentrated and massive, but the dragon swallowed it whole.
Instantly, the purple dragon grew several times larger and began circling the seal, as if performing a digestion exercise after a hearty meal.
Inside the sealing space.
Sōmi sat cross-legged in front of Shukaku, his eyes closed as he rapidly performed hand seals. His brows furrowed slightly, showing signs of exertion.
Shukaku stood before him, looking puzzled as it scanned the sealing space.
Through Sōmi's vision, Shukaku had clearly seen the Seven-Tails being pulled into the sealing space. Yet now, it couldn't see the beast nor sense its presence—a truly bizarre situation.
Clink, clink...
Suddenly, several chakra chains appeared out of thin air behind Shukaku. Before it could react, the chains pierced into its body.
"Huh?!"
"Sōmi, what are you doing?"
"Weren't you sealing Chōmei? I already said I'd be happy to have it as a neighbor. After all, as the leader of the Tailed Beasts, I'd teach it some manners..."
Shukaku asked in shock and anger, its eyes widening into perfect circles as its body convulsed as though electrocuted.
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