"Lord Danzo, everything is ready."
The assistant stepped back, leaving Danzo alone in the dimly lit laboratory. In front of him, a cloning pod stood illuminated by the pale glow of monitoring instruments, displaying precise data on the subject inside.
"Good. Leave. Without my command, no one is to enter."
As the door closed behind his subordinate, Danzo turned his attention to the clone floating in the pod—a body worth five hundred million ryo. Among all the Tsunade clones they had created, this one had the strongest Yang chakra affinity.
Yet, these clones lacked intelligence. More accurately, they lacked a soul.
From birth, they had remained submerged in cultivation tanks, mere husks of potential.
Danzo placed both hands on the clone's chest. Faintly glowing runes emerged from his palms, their intricate patterns spreading like ink on parchment. A powerful surge of Yang chakra filled the chamber, radiating from both Danzo and the clone.
In the sterile corners of the laboratory, tiny saplings sprouted from the ground.
Slowly, chakra essence was extracted from the clone, absorbed into Danzo's own body. His already formidable Yang chakra devoured the extracted energy, assimilating it into his being.
The soft beeping of instruments filled the air. Danzo opened his eyes, anticipation gleaming within them.
Yet, within his core, his chakra remained unchanged.
"Was it a failure...?"
No—perhaps not.
"Wood Release."
He swiftly formed a series of hand seals. From the floor, wooden tendrils emerged—lifeless, devoid of vitality.
Danzo narrowed his eyes.
This... was it just Yamato's level of Wood Release?
Far too weak. Nowhere near the First Hokage's legendary power.
Disappointment flickered across his face. Three years of research into Chimera Technique had yielded this? While his method allowed the extraction of Kekkei Genkai without the need for physical grafting, its essence remained similar to the original technique.
And it had its price.
The first two experimental subjects had succumbed to a severe form of Kekkei Genkai Syndrome within mere months. Initially, their bodies thrived on the influx of Yang chakra, but as the energy became overwhelming, their cells failed to adapt. In the end, they were consumed from the inside out.
Danzo had considered replicating the original method—acquiring multiple Kekkei Genkai to balance the strain. But such an approach was incredibly risky. A single miscalculation could lead to complete cellular rejection.
Unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn't attempt it.
Now, however, the system had provided him a lifeline.
Was it useless?
No.
As long as his original bloodline overwhelmed the absorbed ones, there would be no risk of backlash.
...
In the Land of Wind, Sunagakure remained shrouded in endless dunes, yet the village bustled with life. Merchants called out their wares, travelers and shinobi filled the streets, and a semblance of prosperity had returned.
Inside the Kazekage's office—
"Lord Kazekage, the war has ended. We should reopen trade routes and levy taxes on merchants traveling through our lands."
A middle-aged Suna shinobi stood up, his expression dark with frustration.
The room fell silent. Those present remained composed, but their gazes flickered between their leader and the man who had spoken. This was not the first time this debate had surfaced.
"The shinobi world is far from peaceful," Rasa replied calmly. "Sunagakure must recover. We cannot afford instability."
His words carried an undeniable weight. He turned to the angry council member, his voice sharpening slightly.
"Your clan already holds the largest share of resources within the village, does it not?"
Silence fell.
The other council members cast sidelong glances at the man, their expressions betraying discontent.
"Everything I do is for the village..." The man's protest was weak, his confidence wavering. Ultimately, he sat back down, wordless.
He knew the truth. While his clan received the largest official allocations, their private trading ventures—enabled through ties to the Wind Daimyo's court—had reaped profits far beyond those of sanctioned village distributions.
Yet now, Sunagakure's external trade routes were plagued by rogue ninjas and bandits. A month prior, Rasa had issued a decree sealing the borders, forbidding unauthorized merchants from leaving or entering the country.
Four months ago, such an order would have been ignored outright.
But things had changed.
Seventy percent of Sunagakure's resources now flowed directly through Rasa's administration.
For the first time, civilian families of fallen shinobi received proper compensation. War veterans, too, were granted small stipends in recognition of their service.
Public sentiment had shifted. Many smaller shinobi clans and commoners now openly supported the Kazekage.
Even the Wind Daimyo himself had softened his stance. After receiving two highly skilled female bodyguards—handpicked by Rasa—the once-indifferent ruler had suddenly shown great favor toward Sunagakure, granting an additional eight hundred million ryo in financial aid.
The last true opposition, Elder Chiyo, had recently stepped back from politics. Declaring her retirement, she and her brother had taken charge of the village library, removing themselves from active governance.
Now, Rasa stood unchallenged as the undisputed Kazekage.
As the meeting adjourned, he walked to the window, looking down at the village below. The bustling streets, the rising prosperity—this was his Sunagakure.
His eyes burned with ambition.
"Sunagakure... my Sunagakure."
And behind it all, there was another force at work.
The Eastern River Trading Company, operating under an assumed identity, had secured a near-monopoly on twenty percent of the Wind Country's imports and over seventy percent of Sunagakure's internal commerce.
Cheap grain, timber, and textiles from the Land of Fire were sold at staggering markups upon entering the Land of Wind. Likewise, Wind Country's valuable magnetite ore found its way back to the Land of Fire through the same discreet channels, yielding equally immense profits.
With Rasa's full cooperation, the Eastern River Trading Company had taken complete control of the trade network between Fire and Wind.
And at the heart of it all, hidden in the shadows, was Danzo.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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