Mufasa and Orochimaru stood on the scaffolding of a towering construction site behind the Kazekage's office.
The structure beneath them was still in its early stages—steel frames forming the skeleton of what would one day be the tallest building in the Hidden Sand Village. This would be the new Kazekage's Tower, a command center for the entire village.
Though incomplete, the height was already enough to provide a sweeping view of the village below.
From their vantage point, they could see Jiraiya and Naruto entering a hotel nearby.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "So, it's them."
His voice carried a note of resentment.
Mufasa cast him a sidelong glance. "There's no need to hold a grudge against them. Your arms can be healed—Tsunade might be able to fix your body, but she can't restore what was taken from your soul."
Orochimaru's expression darkened. The constant, searing pain in his arms was a cruel reminder of what he had lost.
"Rather than seeking treatment, shouldn't you be thinking about how to reclaim your soul from the Shinigami?" Mufasa continued.
Orochimaru's gaze sharpened. "You have a method?"
Mufasa nodded slightly. "Reversing the Reaper Death Seal could force the Shinigami to release the souls trapped within it. That would be the most effective solution."
Orochimaru hesitated. "That's impossible. Even summoning the Shinigami requires sacrificing the caster."
Mufasa smirked. "For those willing to truly master forbidden jutsu, nothing is impossible."
Orochimaru absorbed the idea, then shifted the conversation. "You don't seem very interested in the Nine-Tails."
Mufasa chuckled. "You mean that loudmouthed blond kid, Uzumaki Naruto?"
Orochimaru nodded.
Mufasa shrugged. "Why should I be?"
Orochimaru frowned. "You don't think the Tailed Beasts are important?"
"Do you?" Mufasa countered.
Orochimaru didn't answer right away.
Mufasa continued, "If Tailed Beasts were truly indispensable, why hasn't anyone simply captured one or two to study?"
Orochimaru smirked. "They're heavily guarded."
"And yet, Naruto still roams freely. If Tailed Beasts were the key to power, wouldn't the greatest shinobi in history have relied on them? Hashirama Senju? No. Madara Uchiha? Also no. The truly powerful shinobi don't depend on them."
Orochimaru licked his lips, intrigued. "You have a point."
Mufasa continued, "Konoha has the Nine-Tails. The Hidden Cloud has the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails. The Mist Village holds the Three-Tails and Six-Tails. The Stone Village controls the Four-Tails and Five-Tails. Even Takigakure possesses the Seven-Tails. Yet, why is Sand a Great Village while Takigakure remains insignificant? Because raw power alone doesn't determine strength—true power lies in the shinobi themselves."
Orochimaru nodded in agreement. "A Tailed Beast is nothing more than a massive, destructive weapon. If both sides are at war, one side releases a Tailed Beast, and the other side has the means to seal it again, then what's the point?"
Mufasa smirked. "Exactly. Instead of wasting time on Tailed Beasts, why not focus on creating stronger shinobi?"
Orochimaru's grin widened. "You're not wrong. Relying on unstable power is dangerous."
In Mufasa's mind, the greatest potential of the Tailed Beasts wasn't their raw power—it was their role in forming the Ten-Tails, a being far beyond their individual might. To him, the true weapon of the Otsutsuki clan wasn't a mere Tailed Beast, but the sacred tree itself, capable of drawing energy from an entire planet.
That was real power.
And he was already laying the groundwork to claim it.
Orochimaru, however, was more focused on the immediate. "A village is just a place to live. Why go through the trouble of rebuilding the entire Hidden Sand Village? Wouldn't those resources be better spent on research and production?"
Mufasa's gaze swept over the landscape before them. "Because I don't want Sand Village to be just a village. I want it to be a fortress."
Instead of merely defending against threats, he envisioned a village that could strike back—an impenetrable war machine, designed not just for survival, but for dominance.
Looking down from the tower, he could already see the transformation taking shape. The roads, neatly arranged in a grid, crisscrossed like circuitry on a massive board. The underground pipelines stretched like veins beneath the surface. And at the heart of it all, the structure beneath his feet—the brain of the entire operation.
Mufasa exhaled, a rare smile touching his lips.
"It's beautiful."
Not just a village. Not just a stronghold.
This was the future.
Naruto and Jiraiya arrived at a hotel in the Hidden Sand Village, where they ran into Akimichi Choza, Nara Shikaku, and Yamanaka Inoichi.
The three veteran Konoha shinobi were delighted to see them and wasted no time inviting them to the izakaya next door for dinner.
The place was dimly lit, the scent of grilled meat and warm sake filling the air. Cool air from the ceiling fan fought against the desert heat, offering a brief reprieve. Naruto dug in without hesitation, stuffing his mouth with skewers of seasoned lamb.
"This food isn't bad at all!" he said, his voice muffled.
Choza, however, groaned. "Try eating it every day." He patted his stomach, sighing dramatically. "I swear, I've lost weight since we got here."
Shikaku leaned back, resting his elbow on the table. "At least we're being treated well. Kazekage Mufasa isn't restricting us at all."
"Yeah," Inoichi agreed. "He's surprisingly generous. We can move around freely, no restrictions—nothing like being prisoners."
"But what's the point of freedom if there's nothing good to eat?" Choza lamented, eyeing the meager selection on the table.
Shikaku turned to Jiraiya. "What about Tsunade-sama? What's her plan to end this conflict?"
At that, the table fell into silence. Even Naruto paused in his eating, glancing at Jiraiya.
Konoha had suffered devastating losses in the Sand and Sound attack, the worst of which was the death of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. The village had lost a pillar of strength, leaving many uncertain about the future. What would happen between Konoha and the Sand now? Would they be forced to war?
Jiraiya set his cup down, his expression serious. "The truth is, the Sand had no part in the Third's death. Their Fourth Kazekage was also killed by Orochimaru before the invasion even began. In the end, both of our villages were victims."
At the mention of Orochimaru, Jiraiya's face darkened with barely contained anger. A former comrade, a teammate—reduced to someone who had betrayed his own master.
"So… Hokage-sama wants to establish peace?" Shikaku asked.
"That's the goal," Jiraiya confirmed. "But do you think Mufasa will agree?"
Choza and Inoichi turned to Shikaku, waiting for his take. He was their strategist, after all. His opinion carried weight.
Shikaku didn't hesitate. "I think there's a strong chance."
He glanced at Jiraiya and Naruto. "You've seen it too, haven't you? The entire village is under construction."
Jiraiya nodded. Sand was bustling with development—far more than just repairs from the invasion.
"If Mufasa wanted war, he'd be preparing his forces," Shikaku continued. "But our intel shows something different. Instead of military expansion, the village is focused on production—manufacturing goods and selling them to neighboring cities."
"They even reassigned half their shinobi to work in industry full-time," Inoichi added. "If they were planning to fight, that wouldn't make sense."
Jiraiya, Choza, and Inoichi exchanged glances, acknowledging the logic.
Naruto grinned. "So that means no war, right? That's great!"
Shikaku, however, wasn't so quick to celebrate. "Maybe," he said, his tone cautious. "But this is just my observation. The final decision is up to Mufasa himself." He exhaled, folding his arms. "I've spoken with him a few times, and to be honest… I still can't get a read on him. He's just too enigmatic."
Jiraiya sighed, rubbing his temple. "So he might be using all this construction as a smokescreen."
"It's possible," Shikaku admitted. "I mean, the entire village is mobilized. More than seventy thousand people involved in rebuilding Sand from the ground up—it's too massive to ignore."
Jiraiya took a long sip from his cup before setting it down with a chuckle. "Well, I'm just the messenger. I'll let Tsunade handle Mufasa."
Naruto frowned. "You're just passing the problem to Granny Tsunade?"
Jiraiya smirked and ruffled his hair. "That's what envoys do, kid. Know your job and do it right."
He raised his glass again. "For now, let's just wait for Mufasa to call us in. We'll discuss things properly then."
The others nodded in agreement, and the conversation shifted to home and village affairs, passing the time as they waited.
Two days later, their summons finally arrived.
Baki knocked on their door. "Kazekage-sama has requested your presence."
Surprisingly, a sleek, unfamiliar vehicle was parked outside the hotel. It looked nothing like the wagons used in the Land of Fire. This was something different—something advanced.
As they climbed in, Jiraiya noticed the car wasn't heading toward the Kazekage's office. Instead, they were leaving the village.
"Wait," he said, frowning. "Is Mufasa outside the village?"
Baki nodded. "Kazekage-sama's schedule is packed. This was the only time he could spare for a meeting."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "Huh. Busy guy."
"I'd advise you not to waste his time," Baki added. "Kazekage-sama values efficiency."
Jiraiya chuckled. "Relax, we came here in good faith."
Baki nodded and fell silent. In the back seat, Jiraiya and Naruto gazed out at the endless desert dunes rolling past them. The drive stretched on for nearly two hours.
"Man," Naruto groaned, "where the heck are we going?"
Jiraiya shared the sentiment. He had a sharp sense for danger, and something about this situation felt… off.
Just then, Naruto's eyes widened. "Whoa! Look at that pipe! It's huge!"
Jiraiya turned to see what Naruto was pointing at.
Four massive pipelines extended across the desert, stretching into the horizon like the spines of a great beast. Each was unbelievably thick, vanishing into the distance.
They seemed to be leading toward something.
As they drove further, the vague outline of towering steel structures began to appear on the horizon. They stood in neat rows, rising and falling in synchronized motion, like the beating heart of a colossal machine.
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes.
"What… is that?"
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Word count: 1678
BTW, I posted a new translation. "With a System in the Wizarding World". It's an HP fanfic. Read it for if you're interested. It's quite good! Has the same potential as this one, if I'd say.
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Thanks for reading guys.