Among the Five Great Ninja Villages, Sunagakure was currently the worst off. They never expected to become an easy target that others were now eyeing.
Due to their defeat in foreign wars, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind handed all previously delegated tasks over to Konoha.
It may sound unbelievable, but it was exactly what was happening!
Leaving aside the Daimyo's bizarre logic for a moment, we must understand that since their defeat, life for Sunagakure had become really tough—the title of being one of the "Five Great" villages was barely maintained.
Faced with this situation, The Fourth Kazekage—Rasa—took various measures to compensate for the resource shortages caused by losing the Daimyo's patronage.
Fortunately, Rasa's [Magnet Release] technique was practically a gold-making miracle.
By manipulating magnetism, he could draw out metals hidden or deeply buried underground.
Thanks to his personal abilities, after the defeat, Sunagakure slowly began recovering from its hardship.
But no matter how hard he worked, one man couldn't turn the entire situation around.
The rare metals extracted from the ground through chakra control weren't very pure.
During battle, it wasn't a big deal—ninja fights weren't won by who spent more money on attacks.
But if one wanted to convert these magnetically drawn metals into usable funds circulating within the shinobi world, many tedious steps were required.
Purification and minting alone were already quite challenging, and the costs involved were far from cheap.
Therefore, even if Rasa worked nonstop—neither eating nor sleeping—it would still be extremely difficult to fully cover the financial gap caused simply because the Daimyo had become "unhappy."
Under such severe circumstances, after consulting with two village elders, Chiyo and Ebizō, Rasa implemented a new system throughout the village.
The "Elite Ninja System!"
What defines an elite? Someone who can do things ordinary people cannot, someone who can think thoughts beyond regular comprehension.
Exactly like that, Elite Ninjas were just the same!
Rasa issued a decree: only those among their peers who proved themselves exceptional would continue receiving benefits allocated by the village for ninjas.
These benefits included things like ninja stipends, housing discounts, and shopping perks.
This was essentially like the public welfare and expense reimbursement systems Saitama remembered from his past life as a civil servant—a decent benefit, no doubt.
As for the ninja deemed "untalented" by the village, of course, they still had the option to continue working as ninjas!
After all, no ninja village could realistically rely solely on elite ninja—for military reserves, at least, that much manpower was still necessary.
However, the village would offer no benefits whatsoever. In other words, these ninjas who chose to continue serving would function merely as mercenaries contracted by the village, not official members on the payroll.
Naturally, these so-called "mercenaries" were still a bit better than the ones Saitama remembered from his past.
As expected, this system had both pros and cons.
The good side was obvious—it temporarily eased the village's financial deficit, allowing resources to be concentrated efficiently onto promising talents with bright futures.
But then again, what about the negative consequences?
Of course, it was obvious how those ninjas "abandoned" by the village might feel. Would their sense of reliance on the village decrease, eventually leading to defection? Under such a system, would the village's cohesiveness gradually disappear?
These weren't profound concepts; they were actually quite easy to foresee.
Rasa, Lady Chiyo, and other Suna elites discussed these issues at length before finally implementing this policy.
The main reason was: currently, at least for the next ten years, the village couldn't afford to provide benefits for all its ninjas. This was akin to cutting off a hand to save the body.
At least from the perspective of many upper echelons of the village, issuing such an order required tremendous determination and courage.
This was exactly how Rasa proved he could carry the entire village on his shoulders after the Third Kazekage disappeared!
Dare to think, dare to act, dare to fight for it!
Sunagakure had been established in the desert. The harsh geographical conditions instilled a kind of positive, optimistic mindset into the people living here. Likewise, their hearts were extremely strong.
After Rasa formally issued this seemingly incredible decree, surprisingly, opposition within the village wasn't that loud.
Of course, there were definitely dissenters! Many ninjas from less privileged backgrounds believed Rasa was attempting to cut off promotion paths for commoner ninjas, increasing his control over the village!
Such voices persisted for a long time, never truly subsiding!
However, the concept of "elite" continuously spread throughout the village, motivating countless individuals to strive harder in pursuit of excellence!
For that tiny, practically unattainable hope of advancement, numerous people threw everything into improving themselves — all for the slimmest, most unreachable chance of advancement!
This was a scenario Rasa and others couldn't possibly have foreseen when issuing their policies!
Nonetheless, Saitama deeply understood this situation.
After all, in the world he came from, academic competition based upon survival of the fittest was already considered the gentlest way of handling things.
At least in Saitama's eyes, competition in his previous life hadn't been any less fierce than that in an entire village!
Today was Wednesday. In the afternoon, Rasa would visit the Ninja Academy located in the village to provide some guidance!
Since becoming Kazekage, this had become a regular activity, practically a routine!
Those children still studying at the academy were Sunagakure's living embodiment of hope!
Speaking of hope, Rasa thought of his youngest child.
A child marked from birth as a Tailed Beast vessel?
For just a moment, tenderness surfaced deep within him, but Rasa immediately suppressed it, showing no hesitation or sadness whatsoever.
Only by firmly controlling the Tailed Beasts could the village carve out a future for itself!
This was a genuine realization Rasa attained after experiencing war.
In the Kazekage's office,
Its setup seemed even more austere compared to Iwagakure's.
All four walls appeared constructed from sand, without superfluous decorations. A large, empty wall bore nothing but a single calligraphy scroll bearing the character 'Nin' (representing the core concept of Nin-do—the ninja way), surrounded by distinctive indigo-purple patterns unique to Sunagakure.
Seated properly at his desk, Rasa faced an enormous worktable—sufficiently spacious to pile countless documents without feeling cramped.
But at this moment, instead of going through the documents, he was mentally preparing his upcoming speech at the Ninja Academy.
He had no assistant and preferred handling everything himself instead of asking for help. From this alone, one could already tell that Rasa was a man of extreme arrogance and meticulousness.
Knock knock! Lost in thought, Rasa was interrupted by a knock at the door, followed by a voice from outside.
"Kazekage-sama, it's time!"
It was his personal guard—though the Kage was the strongest in the village. However, no one could stay alert twenty-four hours a day; people sometimes needed to rest.
In ordinary times, Rasa used them as personal reminders for his schedule—like living alarms.
"I understand! I'll be right out!" Rasa responded toward the door, pushing himself up from the table.
Behind him stood a large window fitted with transparent material similar to glass, allowing light from outside to stream in.
He didn't hurry away immediately. Instead, Rasa gazed in a certain direction where a Sunagakure-style domed building stood.
Though it appeared quite worn-out, that was still Rasa's home.
Yet Rasa wasn't looking at his house—he was scanning, searching for something.
Soon, his gaze landed on a child within the courtyard.
The kid had short red hair, deep black eye circles, and above his right eye was clearly marked a red character "Love," quite noticeable.
He was none other than Rasa's young son—Gaara, the current Jinchuriki of the One-Tail!
At this moment, Gaara sat alone atop a sand mound in the courtyard, eyes concentrated as streams of sand flowed continuously between his fingers.
His expression was intensely focused, yet still carried the pure, innocent look of a child.
This was Gaara at his most adorable age—any stranger seeing him would silently exclaim, "How adorable!"
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>