It was the end of winter in Konoha Year 51.
This year, the Land of Wind was noticeably warmer than usual. And ever since the village grew more prosperous—no longer needing to beg the Daimyō's office for every scrap of funding—Sunagakure's standard of living had gone up across the board.
Especially after securing that massive trade deal with Konoha. For the past while, the factories had been buzzing with energy—especially the toy factory. Thanks to the explosion in popularity of mini 4WD cars, its profits had already surpassed both the refinery and the gold panning operation. It had become the economic backbone of Sunagakure. So even in winter, all major production lines were still going full steam.
This winter, Elder Ebizō had also returned from the Land of Rain, where he'd been overseeing the massive South-to-North Water Diversion Project.
Digging water channels during winter was just impractical. Even though the Lands of Rain and Wind didn't get much snow, the water was cold, the soil was cold, the sand was cold—and the wind? Freezing. Pushing forward during this season was pointless. A project of this scale needed careful attention to detail anyway. Even if they tried to rush it, they wouldn't get far.
And this time, Elder Ebizō hadn't come alone—he brought quite a few civilians from the Land of Rain with him.
Ever since Sunagakure had started opening up, allowing children of proper age from foreign families to enroll in their educational system, the number of people wanting to move to the village had surged.
It was said...
The laborers in the Land of Rain were practically working themselves to death just to earn a chance to be sent on assignment to Sunagakure.
Rasa personally poured a cup of hot tea for the travel-worn Elder Ebizō and accepted the mission reports and documentation handed over. He gave them a cursory glance.
Everything looked fine. After all, the work was taking place over in the Land of Rain, and the only area where someone might try to pull tricks was in the accounting. As for the budget? Hmm… yeah, it was a bit much. But for Elder Ebizō? That was par for the course.
Besides, he'd itemized every expense clearly at the end of the report. And Rasa didn't believe that someone of Ebizō's age and status would tarnish his legacy over something like this. If he dared try it—well, as Kazekage, Rasa wouldn't hesitate to pin up a photo of him getting his ass beat by Pakura right at the village gate.
He nodded and handed Ebizō an approved leave of absence. "You must be missing home by now. There's nothing urgent at the moment—go ahead and take some time off."
The man was already getting on in years. Who knew how many more winters he had left? Best to let him enjoy some peace while he still could.
However...
"Sunagakure is my home," Ebizō replied with a straight face. "I'm already home."
"Then... how about we chat a bit longer?"
"Sorry, my sister asked me to be home early today. We're having dinner with Sasori tonight. Ever since he decided he didn't want to be human anymore, his temper's been pretty short. If I show up late, he'll probably throw a fit again."
"Ugh, typical." Rasa rolled his eyes, giving the old man a look of disdain. "You think sucking up and bragging about your love for the village is gonna earn you some kind of reward? If you wanna leave, then get going already."
"Got it, got it. I'll head out to the back mountains first."
"This old fart..." Rasa muttered, chuckling as the office door clicked shut.
He gathered up the remaining documents on the desk. This year's winter might not have been as harsh as previous years, but winter was winter. Best to head home early and enjoy a warm bed, the wife, and the kids.
When he stepped out of the Kazekage Building, it was already late afternoon. The streets were mostly deserted. It wasn't quite quitting time yet, and Sunagakure was deep in the desert—no sane person would be wandering around in this kind of cold.
Thanks to the spread of electricity, things like electric kettles, heated blankets, and space heaters had started showing up.
Sunagakure really did live up to its reputation as a village full of craftspeople. With just a little nudge, they could cobble together pretty much anything on their own.
Still, given the limited power grid in the desert, most people were still relying on stoves, coal, or gasoline for heat.
Inside his home, Karura was already sprawled out on the tatami mat with a blanket over her lap, looking utterly drained. Temari was dozing off nearby.
"You're back?" she murmured.
"I'm back."
As for Gaara and Kankuro, they were still full of energy at that age—one was playing with sand, the other tinkering with puppets.
Gaara had inherited Karura's talent. His Sand Release abilities were coming along nicely.
Kankuro had the makings of a puppeteer, but his talent still didn't match up to Sasori or Kabuto.
Rasa squeezed into an open seat and thought back to what Ebizō had said earlier. Even if the Land of Rain had plenty of laborers, laying pipelines wasn't easy. You could dig a canal across the surface and divert water that way, but deserts were terrible at retaining moisture. In the end, it might all evaporate before it got anywhere. Sure, you could lay down materials to retain water, but deserts got so hot that even with protection, evaporation would be a nightmare. Could Rain Country's rainfall even keep up?
So really, piping the water in was the only viable option. And to avoid sabotage, the pipes had to be buried underground. But doing that required massive manpower, time, and money. If they had more shinobi, it might be manageable. But with mostly civilians? Digging a subterranean water route that long wouldn't be easy.
In the end, it all came down to poor tools, not enough ninja, and too little funding.
Rasa flopped down over the table, eyes closed, lost in thought.
Tech would take time to develop, and who knew what the final results would be anyway, so...
"Looks like I'll need to find time to bond with Shukaku a little."
Just as he said that, he felt a blanket being draped over his shoulders. Opening his eyes, he saw Karura smiling softly down at him.
The kids had already passed out from playing too hard.
"Kana and Kabuto are coming over later. It's the end-of-year celebration," Karura whispered. "Kana said they're waiting for Kaguya, so everyone can celebrate together."
"If you're hungry, I can make you some noodles."
"I'm good, not hungry yet," Rasa replied, nodding. "The little ones already had a bite, huh? All right then."
Well, of course—New Year's was around the corner. Gotta pay respects to the clan ancestors, right?
Meanwhile...
In Konoha, the streets were blanketed in thick snow. A little blond boy, cheeks flushed red from the cold beneath a woolen cap, strolled slowly through the village, his hands stuffed into his pockets.
This year's New Year's Festival… was yet another one he'd spend alone.
Grandpa wouldn't be coming this time. He probably had his own family to be with.
Only Naruto had no one. He'd originally wanted to stay at Ichiraku Ramen for a while longer, but old man Teuchi was planning to close early today too. Not wanting to be a burden, Naruto had politely refused the man's kind invitation and decided to head home.
He kicked at the snow as he walked, then pulled out a blue-and-white mini 4WD car from his coat pocket and stared at it blankly.
"Looks like it's just you and me now, Dash Charger."
Word on the street was that a mini 4WD shop was opening up soon. Maybe then, he could get his Dash Charger a new body.
He'd gotten his clothes as a New Year's gift from Grandpa… along with some spending money.
So of course Dash Charger needed a New Year's gift too.
After all… they'd built it together.
But...
"Will the shop owner even let me in?"
Little Naruto furrowed his brows, troubled.