Rasa stood looking out the window. With his hands behind his back, he kept track of the breeze that wafted through Suna's streets. Although he could not see the winds themselves, he watched as sand particles drifted about, swirling through the many fabrics that the village hung around.
"Kazekage-sama,"
Nao was wondering what the Kazekage was thinking so deeply about. She had just finished reporting on how her interaction with Amai went, plunging Rasa into the abyss of thought.
"Tell me, Nao." Rasa eventually spoke, "Do you think of this young man as a threat? Was there anything in his eyes that spoke of his malice?"
Nao went silent upon hearing these words.
She recalled the nature that Amai had displayed. It did not seem to be one of malice and destruction. Instead, there was a sense of fulfillment in his eyes with each word he spoke.
Although his appearance was contradictory, his words were far from that.
"I don't know..." Nao sighed, "But I feel like he's more of an opportunity for Suna. The way he behaved was quite uncharacteristic of a shinobi."
She gestured to her eyes, "Instead, Amai-san embodies the image of a mischievous merchant. The way he looked at me and Kaori was as if we were precious customers."
"What do you mean?" Rasa raised a brow.
"I think that... Amai-san truly wishes to sell the famed Sharingan — which we can get as long as we supply him with what he wants..."
Nao caught herself, "No, it's more accurate to say that it's what he needs."
Rasa nodded at Nao's words.
"Then let's make use of this opportunity as much as we can. Perhaps a friendship with his organization would prove to be fruitful for us."
***
Kaori was showing Amai around a small building near the center of Suna.
"Hm," Amai was surprised.
He didn't expect their first show of faith to be this: He was being given a space to sell his wares and conduct trade.
'How much did they misunderstand, I wonder?'
Inwardly chuckling, Amai continued to survey his surroundings.
Just outside the building, the foot traffic was high. A lot of people were passing through the street in front of him. Stalls, street vendors, and the like were scattered about. It was a clear indication of the commercialized nature of the area.
When the short tour ended, Amai nodded. "Thank you, Kaori. Give your sister my gratitude, alright?"
Kaori smiled, "No problem, Amai-san. Please find me if you need anything in the future."
"Of course," Amai returned Kaori's smile. "Thanks again~"
He then handed her a small scroll as they parted ways.
"Give this one to Lord Kazekage," Amai whispered in her ear. "Don't let anyone find out that you have it. Not even your sister."
"...Uh— Okay," Kaori barely succeeded with her words when she was thrown out of Amai's shop.
"Why is he always in a hurry to get rid of me?" Pouting, Kaori went to complete the task she had been given.
***
While Nao and Kaori worked on completing Amai's [Friendship Paper], Suguru's clones achieved a small success in their research.
In front of the clones was a messy blob of water hovering over a dense seal formation. The formation itself was about two-hundred and twenty-five square meters in size, which, although large, meant that Suguru had still shrunk the initial formation by an exponential degree.
What once spanned the entire village was now compressed into a fifteen-meter by fifteen-meter square.
Suguru's clones couldn't help but admire their work before jotting down their measurements in a hurried flurry. After all, he had used an empty area in the vast desert to conduct his experiments.
If anyone approached the area he was in, he would have to destroy all of his traces before fleeing.
After making the necessary recordings with their Sharingan, Suguru's clones went on to continue working. Right beside the shrunken formation, they began experimenting with an even smaller version.
It was a slow and tedious process.
'But it will all be worth it,'
***
Amai sat in his new shop, reading through the Wind Daimyo's Trade Compendium. Looking through it, he got confirmation for what he thought was obvious.
'Explosive Tags, Storage Scrolls, and other Fuinjutsu products sell very well.'
Furthermore, Suguru could guarantee a constant supply.
'I can also mix in my ideas to create some specialized products.'
When Amai eventually expanded his business to other villages to sell a few eyes, it would be important for his business to have some form of economic strength.
Sunagakure was probably the safest place to sell Sharingan in the way he currently was — as a resource-deprived nation, the Land of Wind was a lot more lenient. Rasa had many other things to worry about, and there weren't many underlying schemes.
In fact, the Real Mirage Formation was the most recent development that caused internal issues.
If Amai sold Sharingan in the same manner in either Kumogakure or Kirigakure, they would have no qualms about destroying all of his work to get what they wanted. Perhaps only Iwagakure would be slightly less aggressive.
Of course, if Suguru did this in Konohagakure, Danzo would take it all for himself.
Furthermore, Sasuke and Tatsuya were there. Although Amai wouldn't mind selling their clan's own eyes, such an action would cause issues in the future.
'Antagonizing Sasuke will be fun but dangerous...'
Amai shook his head as he began setting up his shop. He filled the shelves with what remained of his stock. Perhaps next week, he could finally start selling products of his own creation.
To that end, Suguru would have to devote a few clones and throw them into the production line.
"..." Amai blinked.
'It's as if I'm not sending myself to do such a task.'
In the end, Suguru had to continue the grind alone. This gave Suguru a few ideas.
'I want to make a printing press for Fuinjutsu...'
Would such a thing even be possible?
Theoretically?
'Perhaps..?'
He was doubtful of his own propositions.
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