"Gaara, you can now fully control Shukaku's power."
Kurosa smiled warmly. "Next, you should start learning the Magnet Style and the sealing techniques hidden within Shukaku's chakra. If you want to speed up your learning, I can teach you directly."
Opposite him, Gaara took a moment to examine his inner state.
The Shukaku sealed within him was now silent, no longer able to disturb his thoughts or torment his soul. Thanks to the new seal Kurosa placed on the One-Tailed Beast, Gaara could clearly feel his newfound strength — it was far greater than ever before.
He looked up at Kurosa, whose warm smile stirred a strange feeling in his heart.
Is this person... really my father from another world?
If this man had been his father in this world, what kind of person might he have become? Gaara found himself envying the version of himself who had grown up under the guidance of such a father figure.
Kurosa glanced briefly at Shirosa, whose face had darkened with frustration.
"This is my compensation," Kurosa said, his tone calm but firm, "for the harm that this guy inflicted on you."
He had expected it to be difficult to earn Gaara's trust, especially after everything Gaara had been through. But to his surprise, the boy who had lived in so much darkness seemed easier to reach than anticipated.
Perhaps… all he ever wanted was a real father.
"But there's no helping it," Kurosa added with a touch of sarcasm. "I'm far too human in this world."
He turned to Shirosa again. "Shukaku's power isn't the strongest among the tailed beasts," he admitted. "But its unique chakra is still worth studying. Even among tailed beasts, it ranks near the top."
He raised his voice. "The Third Kazekage developed Magnet Style from Shukaku's power. And you, as the Fourth Kazekage, should've gone further—learning the sealing abilities Shukaku holds! Why didn't you?!"
Shirosa's face twisted in frustration.
Like that's easy! He wanted to shout. Studying Shukaku's power and learning sealing techniques just to suppress Shukaku itself? That's beyond unreasonable!
Still, he couldn't argue with Kurosa. After all, the Third Kazekage had extracted Magnet Style from Shukaku's chakra. The Magnet Release he himself used came from that very foundation.
"And you," Kurosa sneered again, "claimed that being Kazekage meant weighing a thousand considerations? Look at the state of the Land of Wind! What have you really considered?"
Using his Magnet Style, Kurosa scanned the nation. His ability allowed him to sense the electromagnetic fields of electrical devices. What he found left him speechless.
"Almost nowhere in this country has electricity."
The entirety of the Land of Wind, including Sunagakure, had less power infrastructure than a handful of towns in the Empire.
Shirosa tried to defend himself. "The Land of Wind is poor! That's the daimyo's responsibility! I want electricity too—but how can we afford it? Sunagakure barely gets by as it is!"
Kurosa raised an eyebrow.
"You think money falls from the sky?! I had to pan for gold in the desert to fund Sunagakure!"
Even that was becoming unsustainable—one of the reasons he had teamed up with Orochimaru to attack Konoha.
But then—
"Wait, did you say Sunagakure has no money?" Obito interrupted, sounding confused. "Aren't you from the Land of Wind? It's got the largest oil reserves in the ninja world!"
"Exactly," Hyuga Neji added, surprised. "In the Empire, the Wind State isn't as wealthy as the Fire State, but it's still richer than most others."
Neji had activated his Byakugan when they first arrived in this world. All he saw for miles were scattered, impoverished desert villages. The Land of Wind here was a broken shell of its counterpart in the Empire.
Shirosa blinked. "Oil? What's that?"
Even Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara looked puzzled.
"It's a special kind of resource," explained Bai Kakashi. "A black liquid found underground. Highly flammable. In the Empire, we use it to make fuel and drive entire industries."
"Wait..." Shirosa's eyes widened. "You mean that black stuff that catches fire? I've seen it while digging for gold in the desert."
Obito leaned forward, curious. "Really? Where?"
"Deep underground. I just ignored it..." Shirosa trailed off. "...is it valuable?"
Kurosa gave him a look of utter disbelief. "You people really are hopeless. Sitting on a mountain of treasure, and you still live in poverty."
Gaara lowered his eyes. The truth of it stung.
Shirosa muttered bitterly, "Even if we did mine it… it's not on Sunagakure land. It'd be stolen by the daimyo."
Kurosa scoffed. "Daimyo? Just eliminate them."
Everyone stared at him.
"The Empire has been free of daimyo for twenty years," Kurosa explained. "And honestly, I used to think just like you. But why should ordinary people rule over ninjas, the true military power?"
Shirosa and the others looked at him as if he were insane.
"You want to kill the daimyo?!" Temari asked, horrified. "That would destroy Sunagakure! The other nations would band together against us!"
Kurosa nodded thoughtfully. "You're right. So… we'll have someone else take the blame. Then there won't be a problem."
Shirosa's rage boiled over. "You're insane! You want to replace me and kill the daimyo? Someone will realize you're a fake!"
Kurosa laughed. "If they want to stay safe, they better not."
"You think you can rule the whole Land of Wind?!" Shirosa shouted. "Managing one village is hard enough!"
Kurosa smiled coolly. "I was the Governor of the Wind State in the Empire. Managing this place? Child's play."
Just then, Hyuga Neji's eyes narrowed. He activated his Byakugan again.
"Someone's approaching… from three directions. And they're strong."
He focused. "One of them... looks like you, Itachi. Your counterpart in this world. And the one beside him—shark-like—probably Kisame."
Itachi's eyes gleamed. "Then I'll take care of them."
Neji continued scanning. "Another two—masked, and one with a strange scythe. Also… flying figures. One with a topknot—looks like Deidara of the Land State. The other… inside a puppet—wait, that's Scorpion-sama! The chief academician of the Empire's Mechanical Academy!"
All of them were wearing the same black cloak with red clouds.
"A single organization?" Neji guessed.
"Most likely," Itachi replied. "They seem to be converging on our position."
They quickly divided responsibilities. Itachi would confront his counterpart. Neji would intercept Scorpion and Deidara.
Kakuzu and Hidan were the closest and would arrive first.
Kurosa smiled to himself.
Perfect timing.
"Let's use them," he said, "as scapegoats for the daimyo's assassination."
"Time to move." Neji and Itachi nodded in sync.
They activated their watches. At their command, the fluid nano-chakra armor unfolded over their bodies.
Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro were stunned.
"This… is the technology of the Empire?" Gaara whispered.
"See you all later," Neji said calmly.
Flames burst from beneath his boots. He lifted off, and then—boom!—a thunderous sonic boom shook the sky as he broke the sound barrier and shot toward the horizon.
Far away—
"There's a forest ahead," Deidara observed. "Must be the dragon vein. Looks like we're the first to arrive!"
"Don't be so sure," said the Red Sand Scorpion from inside his puppet. "Knowing Kakuzu, he's probably already ahead of us."
"Tch… then we'd better hurry!"
Suddenly—
A sound. Growing louder. A dark dot in the sky approached rapidly.
"What is that?" Deidara squinted.
Then—BOOM!
A sonic wave blasted through the sky as a blur of chakra armor smashed straight into their clay bird,
sending it crashing downward!
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