The Mechanism Sand Boat had passed every test with flying colors and sold for a killer price.
But this wasn't a one-and-done deal.
After comparing human power, ninja chakra, and energy cores, everyone reached the same conclusion: the energy core was the clear winner. Way more convenient than the other two.
The only downside? It cost money.
Just not enough to make anyone walk away.
Sunagakure had planned it exactly that way.
Buyers would happily keep paying for fresh cores while the village raked in maximum profit.
Energy came from two sources.
One: the Sun Disks.
Two: the Tailed Beasts.
Rasa ran the numbers in his head.
"With the Land of Wind's current setup, a few hundred Mechanism Sand Boats would only scratch the surface of real transport needs. But the value they'd bring Sunagakure would easily cover another full Sun Disk."
"That's just the opening move, though…"
"Once the fleet grows bigger, prices will drop."
"If we could slap some kind of licensing system on top, we could squeeze even more out of it."
"Too bad this world doesn't work that way."
Twenty boats sold out fast. Word spread like wildfire.
First through the Land of Wind, then into neighboring countries like the Land of Rivers.
The Land of Rivers had desert of its own—poor, barren, and crawling with rogue ninja. They were interested.
"Mechanism Sand Boat. Revolutionary desert vessel. Faster than anything before, carries way more cargo."
"No muscle. No chakra. Just slot in an energy core."
"One core gets you from Sunagakure to the Land of Wind capital and back with power to spare."
Merchants practically drooled.
"Transport efficiency goes through the roof. More cargo, more money."
"Hell, buy one and run passenger service—you'll make a fortune."
"Beats walking or riding camels any day of the week."
Your own failures stung. Watching your enemy thrive? That lit a fire under Konoha's ass.
They'd been getting hammered by rumors for weeks. They weren't sure Sunagakure started them all, but they damn well knew the Sand Village was pouring gasoline on every blaze.
The Minato Namikaze rumor had been like this.
The White Fang rumor had been like this.
Kakashi showing up alive had only taken the edge off.
Sunagakure tried pushing the "Rasa murdered the Third Kazekage" story, but it barely made a ripple before dying out.
Now the Mechanism Sand Boat was all anyone in the Land of Wind could talk about.
It became the only topic.
And the best part? It sold for serious cash.
Not just the initial sale—it was supercharging Sunagakure's economy and the entire Land of Wind's.
That meant Sunagakure would only keep getting stronger.
Right now Konoha and Sunagakure were enemies.
So when the news hit, eyes turned blood-red with rage.
"How the hell does Sunagakure keep pulling this shit?"
"Where the fuck did they find the talent to invent these boats?"
Inside the Hokage Tower, Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the intel scroll, brow furrowed tight.
"Is the universe seriously blessing Sunagakure?"
"One Rasa wasn't enough. Now they've got all this other bullshit dropping left and right."
"Flower Moon writing those addictive novels."
"Devil Fruits—why the hell did they show up in Sunagakure? And why only there? No other village has seen a single one."
"They turn average chunin into monsters."
"That Sun Disk? Still can't figure the damn thing out."
"And now this Mechanism Sand Boat."
"Why does every good thing land in their lap?"
"It wasn't always like this."
Back in the day Konoha had talent everywhere. Iwagakure had some but not much. Cloud was strong but still behind. Mist had numbers but limited ceiling.
No matter how many times Konoha fucked up, they always bounced back. It was just a matter of time.
But now Sunagakure had Hiruzen straight-up jealous.
These weren't even ninja talents showing up. These inventions hit just as hard as any genius shinobi—maybe harder—and the effects lasted longer.
"Sunagakure definitely has a secret."
"If we could just get our hands on it…"
When he thought about gathering intel, Hiruzen's mind went straight to Danzo.
"Danzo…"
"No. Danzo's not the same man anymore. He went behind my back, tried to kill Kakashi, then lied about it. Put me in a corner."
"He's not on my side."
"Too many of his own agendas."
"Using him again would be like drinking poison to quench thirst."
Besides Danzo, who else was good at this game?
Hiruzen thought of someone else.
"Yakushi Nono. She did solid work in Root. Wanted to retire, but Danzo wouldn't let her go. Kept forcing her to stay."
"Danzo can use her, so can I."
"After everything he put her through, her loyalty to him can't be that high."
Hiruzen gave the order.
Soon an ANBU stood in front of Yakushi Nono.
"Nono, Lord Hokage wants you in his office."
"Lord Hokage?"
She blinked.
"I'll head over right away."
She arrived at the Hokage Tower.
"Lord Hokage."
Hiruzen looked her over once.
"Nono, I won't waste your time. I need you to put together a plan to infiltrate Sunagakure and pull every scrap of intel you can. Do it right and I'll handle your situation with Danzo personally."
Her eyes lit up.
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Three days later the plan got his approval. Nono led a team out of Konoha, heading straight for the Land of Wind.
Hiruzen stood on a high vantage point, staring toward the desert.
"Hope this pays off."
Right then a figure rushed in, clutching the latest Ninja World Big Events Weekly.
"Lord Hokage! Bad news!"