On the border between the Lands of Wind and Rain.
The Third Kazekage, robed in the attire of a Kage, signed a document to the hopeful gazes of many, then rose to shake hands with Salamander Hanzo, the leader of Rain Village.
"Congratulations, Kazekage-dono. From now on, the Land of Wind's drought will be greatly alleviated, and Sand Village will become even stronger in the future."
Salamander Hanzo said to the Third Kazekage, casually glancing at Qingshui, who stood not far away with the senior officials of both villages.
These young people nowadays are truly remarkable.
Such a young Jonin is surely destined to become a top-tier expert in the Ninja World.
And he's a talented individual, capable and pragmatic.
If this person were to become Kazekage in the future, Sand Village might even prosper more than it does now.
A hint of bitterness tinged Hanzo's thoughts.
He was no longer young himself; he would surely decline from his peak within the next ten years.
Yet, the Land of Rain had not found anyone capable of taking the country off his hands, even with his personal guidance. The best these individuals could become was merely a decent Jonin.
The Third Kazekage was oblivious to Hanzo's thoughts. Sand Village was currently at its historical zenith, with outstanding young people emerging one after another. He had no such worries.
"You flatter me, Hanzo-dono. With the canal open, both the Land of Wind and the Land of Rain will undergo significant changes. With Hanzo-dono in the Land of Rain, why would you worry about not developing?"
The Third Kazekage replied with a smile.
During the discussions before the canal's construction, Hanzo had sent his alliance request through Ebizo.
Currently, Sand Hidden and Konoha were the two strongest ninja villages in the Ninja World, but due to the Land of Fire's geographical conditions, Konoha was always the one besieged in every Ninja World War, meaning it might not have the spare capacity to protect the Land of Rain.
Sand Village, however, was a perfect fit, and its younger generation was also quite powerful, so there was no fear of them suddenly weakening one day.
Naturally, the Third Kazekage agreed to the alliance.
Hanzo was powerful, and a close ally would bring immense advantages to Sand Village in the great powers' struggle, whether by making the Land of Rain a defensive barrier for the Land of Wind or by restraining the forces of the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire.
Having this canal was tantamount to binding their interests together.
The two village leaders conversed for a while longer, then walked together to a lever, placing their hands on it simultaneously.
As the lever was pulled, the mechanism activated, and hundreds of meters away from the alliance signing ceremony, the sluice gates in the river channel opened.
Immediately, the surging river rushed into the downstream channel. The crashing waves slapped against the riverbanks, stirring excitement in the heart of every Sand Village ninja who had come to witness the event.
Everyone was eagerly anticipating what changes the completed canal would bring to the Land of Wind and Sand Village.
"Lord Rasa, we've apprehended a few suspicious individuals. They might be from Konoha."
A masked Sand Hidden Anbu member shunshinned beside Rasa, bringing with them several captives.
The joy on Rasa's face instantly shifted. He walked over to the captives, reached out, and manipulated his Gold Dust into a hand to pry open a captive's mouth.
A Yin-Yang symbol-like Sealing Jutsu was conspicuously present on the tongues of these individuals.
"You determined this by the Tongue Curse Eradication Seal?"
Rasa asked.
"Yes."
"They shouldn't be from Konoha. Having the Tongue Curse Eradication Seal doesn't necessarily mean they're Konoha Root ninja, because if they were, they would have committed suicide before you caught them. It's more likely they're from other ninja villages. This curse mark might not be real; it could just be drawn on."
Rasa said indifferently.
He had just been appointed Anbu squad leader after the war and was promoted to deputy director exactly one year later.
His rapid promotion was due to his responsibility for a portion of the protection work related to this canal.
Anyone with eyes could see the benefits this canal would bring to Sand Village.
The other major powers did not want to see Sand Village continue to strengthen, and during the months of the canal's construction, they caused no small amount of trouble.
For example, disguising themselves as Sand Hidden ninja to assassinate Rain Hidden ninja, or impersonating Rain Hidden ninja to stir up hatred among their comrades.
They even dispatched spies and assassination squads to target Qingshui, an important figure overseeing the canal's construction.
However, thankfully, these attempts were detected and stopped in time, allowing Rasa and his team to uncover many hidden enemy operatives within Sand Village, accumulating merit extremely quickly.
"In that case, they're most likely from Stone Hidden."
The Anbu member speculated.
"Not necessarily. Have the Seal Master Corps check if the curse mark on them is real. It would be best to ask Elder Chiyo to assist; she's the most skilled in Sealing Jutsu in the village. Ask her to use Shallow Brain Manipulation to identify it."
Rasa looked at the Puppet before him, feeling pleased.
Another merit was secured.
"Yes, Lord Rasa, but… the interrogation unit reports that they've obtained intelligence from the spies that Konoha has dispatched new elite intelligence operatives into the country. If these individuals aren't from Konoha, then where exactly are they?"
The two exchanged glances, both thinking of the same possibility.
…
…
Qingshui was currently walking alongside Pakura, trailing at the back of the group.
The Third Kazekage and Hanzo led the group, walking along the riverbank and observing the rushing water, discussing future military arrangements between their two villages, such as jointly holding a Chunin exam at the end of the year.
Qingshui was also chatting with Pakura about how to merge Chakra to create a Kekkei Genkai.
"I can barely manage a partial, short-term fusion of Fire Release and Wind Release Chakra now, but the problem is that Fire Release's explosive nature and Wind Release's continuous nature don't match. If I keep going in this direction, I might develop a Ninjutsu that's quite powerful, but it's not what I want."
Pakura said to Qingshui with a touch of annoyance.
"I've encountered similar issues to what you're describing. When merging Chakra, Wind Release's continuous, high-speed changes cause it to disconnect when fusing with Lightning Release Chakra, which is difficult to control in terms of form. Often, just as a partial fusion is completed, it automatically stops, maintaining a low level."
"But I have some ideas now; I'll tell you more once we get back to the village."
Qingshui noticed a Rain Hidden guard occasionally glancing at him out of the corner of their eye, assuming they were eavesdropping, so he stopped talking.
He hadn't intended to discuss such things here anyway.
Ninjutsu, to a great extent, relates to a ninja's combat ability, and anything involving training methods is usually classified.
Such things certainly couldn't be discussed in this kind of setting; both he and Pakura understood that.
As for the Rain Hidden guard, even though the person concealed themselves very well and their movements were extremely subtle, they still couldn't hide anything from Qingshui, who had mastered the Transparent World.
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