Yubi seemed to be explaining the plan for the Village's pharmaceutical industry chain to the higher-ups.
In reality, he was also secretly observing the Third Kazekage.
Sasori had been poisoning him for some time now, but the Kazekage showed no outward signs of abnormality.
His vital signs were perfectly normal.
Only—Yubi glanced at the veins on the back of his hand, which had a faint dark blue tint that was difficult for an ordinary person to notice.
The group discussed the topic of medicine for a long time.
As everyone took their seats, the meeting officially began.
Everyone offered suggestions regarding the "medicine."
Their Hidden Sand Village's massive future market share was foreseeable—with the current number of people helping Yubi's research for free and that tiny department in the hospital, they definitely wouldn't be able to expand.
Therefore, the higher-ups intended to build a factory within the Village specifically for producing medicine.
Yubi was naturally the primary person in charge.
Someone else suggested using the Hidden Sand Village's political diplomacy to contact some small countries or Villages that had decent relations with the Land of Wind to further expand the market.
In short—everyone discussed it very enthusiastically.
But ultimately, the topic pointed toward one person.
That was the Daimyo of the Land of Wind; whether it was building factories or political diplomacy—the Daimyo had to step forward or provide the funds.
This immediately made the previously lively atmosphere turn somewhat heavy.
The current attitude of the Land of Wind's Daimyo toward the Village—was well known.
Not to mention, the matter of internal conflicts within the Village had also reached the Daimyo's ears—which would undoubtedly further increase his dissatisfaction with the Hidden Sand Village's current leadership.
"This is no small matter—I will personally go see the Daimyo," the Third Kazekage said after thinking for a moment.
As long as the Daimyo provided the money—everything would be easy to handle.
In any case, as the Third Kazekage, he had to try.
Obviously, from now on, all the Village's energy would be focused on the pharmaceutical industry, while other things—would be put aside for now.
Everyone could clearly distinguish which was more important.
"I'll go with you," Chiyo added.
They had to show their stance—to make the Daimyo take this matter seriously; if only the Kazekage went, it might not be enough.
Yubi chimed in appropriately but didn't say much else.
Because he knew very well that before seeing actual profits, even if the Third Kazekage spoke eloquently or even brought the medicine before the Daimyo to witness its effects firsthand, he wouldn't receive a single cent of investment.
After the Third Great Ninja War ended, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind immediately drastically reduced the Hidden Sand Village's budget, including the number of Ninja—it was clear how stingy this Daimyo was, and he was simply not a reasonable person.
Yubi's gaze shifted, looking at the several young faces at the table—these were all newly appointed higher-ups, promoted from various institutions.
According to Sasori's observations, some of them were still adapting to the Third's style of handling affairs.
After all, these few were not considered the "old powerful elite" left over from the Village's past—they were still in the process of integrating with the previous generation of higher-ups.
And now, he was one of them.
The current conflicts in the Village, without him and Sasori stirring the pot in the shadows, had basically subsided after a period of governance—at least they weren't as intense as before, but hidden dangers still existed.
Some hatreds—would not be let go so easily.
However, it was believed that with the improvement of the Village's economic environment, this situation would soon be alleviated.
With money, there are resources—
The dissatisfaction of the civilian factions could be appeased with money and resources.
"Apologies, Lord Kazekage—it's not that I don't trust the Village, but the medicinal material data we've compiled is extremely precious. Once leaked, our pharmaceutical industry will completely lose its advantage. Therefore, I propose that this data be kept only by Grandmother Chiyo. As for the formulas, they can be given to you and must be kept in secret only by the Village's Kage." After some more exchange, as Yubi expected, the Kazekage demanded on the spot that he hand over all research materials to the Village.
It seemed he even distrusted the person who had single-handedly brought a new situation to the Hidden Sand Village.
The Kazekage's personality was like that—conceited and only trusting himself.
No matter how much was done, his concerns could not be dispelled.
And this time, Yubi did not accept it calmly.
He spoke up directly.
Naturally, he didn't refuse either.
Instead, he proposed another solution.
For someone like the Kazekage, as long as he held a portion of the documents and felt a sense of control, it would be enough.
"Hmm—you're right to consider that."
The Kazekage nodded.
He was indeed a bit impatient—but it was also for fear that something might go wrong with the Hidden Sand Village's grand future plan.
With such absolute top-secret data—if the Village didn't store and guard it strictly, he wouldn't feel at ease.
Furthermore, from the Kazekage's perspective, if the Hidden Sand Village could welcome unprecedented glory during his reign, it would allow his historical status in the Village to directly surpass all previous Kazekage—he might even be hailed by future generations as the founder who established the Village's new landscape. The Third Kazekage didn't want any accidents to happen to this "honor."
"I've also read quite a bit of material on economics—just as you predicted, Lord Kazekage, I'm indeed not cut out to be an Economic Advisor. So, after thinking it over back then, I decided to stick to my old profession. I hope I haven't disappointed you."
Yubi smiled.
"..."
Hearing this, the Kazekage pondered for a moment.
At Yubi's mention, the Kazekage remembered Yubi's words about wanting to boost the Village's economic environment.
However, his reaction at the time clearly showed he didn't take it seriously.
He hadn't expected—that Yubi would not only actually do it, but also on such a large scale.
"You little brat."
The Kazekage could tell Yubi was teasing him, but since good things were happening and everyone was in high spirits, and Yubi had made such a great contribution—he had to "admit defeat."
At the table, one person watched everyone talking back and forth, their faces glowing with excitement, while he remained silent throughout.
It was Rasa.
He was equally shocked by Yubi's achievements and felt hopeful about the Village's future.
But—his mood at this moment was more of a complex one.
He had never viewed Yubi as a real "threat"—but looking at the current momentum, once the Hidden Sand Village's industry took shape and harvested the wealth of the Ninja World as Yubi planned.
Then—even if Yubi was eight years younger than him and not of the same generation, he would still go down in the Hidden Sand Village's history books, and his prestige would reach an unprecedented level.
Not to mention, Yubi already had an excellent grassroots foundation—that is, he was very popular.
Now, even the higher-ups looked at him with new eyes and admired him immensely. This kind of value, status—and importance to the Village, even with his own high military achievements, was hard to compare to.
This was no longer a contribution on the same "dimension."
"If Yubi were to compete for the position of Kazekage—" a thought flashed through Rasa's mind.
It was still unknown when the Third Kazekage would step down, but it would be a long time at least. By then, Yubi would be an adult.
As he grew, his resume, contributions, and even the "age" issue he himself considered—would no longer be problems.
The Fourth Kazekage—very likely, would not be him.
At this thought, Rasa felt a pang in his heart.
The one he had always been wary of was Sasori.
After all, whether it was Sasori becoming a Jonin or an Anbu Squad Leader, it was all due to the Village making exceptions—he had used privilege.
There were no age restrictions.
Moreover, for over a year, because of his responsibility in handling Village affairs, the Kazekage had come to trust and rely on Sasori immensely, which Rasa had observed.
Unlike Yubi, Sasori was of Chiyo's clan—he also had the potential to inherit the Kazekage's will and shared the same lineage of a strong-willed personality.
Rasa looked at the smiling Yubi and fell into deep thought.
Even if Yubi had no ambition to become the Kage, his relationship with Sasori was known by everyone in the Village to be excellent.
"If I want to become the Kage—I must win Yubi over—"