Naruto Uzumaki and Sasori of the Red Sand trudged through the wind and sand, their cloaks flapping in the desert breeze.
(Author's Note: After careful consideration, the destination of Naruto and Sasori's journey has been changed from the Land of Lightning to the Land of Wind.)
The purpose of their visit to the Land of Wind stemmed from a joint project between Naruto and Sasori: the development of mecha puppets.
The cutting-edge technology of the Asura Path from the Rinnegan had greatly expanded Sasori's horizons. Once he delved into this field, his innate talent for puppet techniques allowed him to surpass his peers, reclaiming his title as the greatest puppet master in the ninja world.
The mecha puppets powered by the Asura Path required black receivers from the Six Paths Technique to channel Naruto's chakra in order to function. While this marked a revolutionary improvement over traditional puppetry, it still greatly limited their practicality.
In high-intensity battles, after all, it was nearly impossible to spare the focus needed to supply chakra and control the puppets simultaneously.
Sasori, with his sharp insight, pinpointed the issue: "Puppets are meant to assist in battle, not to burden the user. The top priority now is to overcome the challenge of manual chakra transmission and control."
Drawing from his past experience in creating human puppets, Sasori endowed the mecha puppets with a semblance of human-like instincts. This allowed them to actively receive chakra and exhibit basic combat abilities, effectively solving the problem of manual transmission and control.
But then, another challenge arose.
While Naruto no longer needed to divide his attention during combat, the mecha puppets' constant absorption of his chakra became a new burden. Over time, this would inevitably drain him.
It was then that Sasori had a bold idea:
Why not change the source of chakra transmission?
Establish an external chakra source as the central command tower!
This external chakra source would need to be vast and stable—something akin to Tailed Beast chakra, inexhaustible yet free from the interference of a Tailed Beast's consciousness. For this reason, the Dragon Vein became the ideal choice.
The Dragon Vein was a chakra reservoir separate from the Tailed Beasts—a lifeline of the Earth itself, containing chakra far surpassing that of any other location. However, mishandling it could lead to the Earth's destruction.
The ninja world had only one Dragon Vein, located in the ruins of the ancient kingdom of Roran in the Land of Wind.
Naruto had encountered the Dragon Vein in his previous life during a top-secret mission (as depicted in the movie "Naruto Shippuden: The Lost Tower"). During that mission, he met his father, Minato Namikaze, before he became the Fourth Hokage.
At the end of the mission, the younger Minato realized Naruto was his son. To ensure Naruto's safe birth, Minato used a sealing technique to erase their memories of the mission and reseal the Dragon Vein, preventing its misuse.
(Author's Note: I originally planned to introduce two Dragon Veins—a Yin Dragon Vein in Roran, Land of Wind, and a Yang Dragon Vein in Qiemu, Land of Lightning—but decided to simplify the story by focusing on just one.)
Naruto: "I've heard of the Dragon Vein, but isn't it sealed?"
Sasori: "Then we'll just unseal it. The chakra of the Dragon Vein rivals that of the Tailed Beasts, and more importantly, it lacks the consciousness of a Tailed Beast. There's nothing more suitable as a command tower."
After careful thought, Naruto made up his mind.
"You're right. Let's head to Roran in the Land of Wind soon. But we should inform Gaara about this first."
Naruto quickly penned a letter to Gaara, the Kazekage, explaining the purpose of their journey and how they planned to use the Dragon Vein.
Through the wind and sand, Naruto and Sasori arrived at the border of the Land of Wind.
Gaara, accompanied by elite jonin Baki and several others, was already waiting for them.
Gaara: "Naruto, it's been a while."
Naruto: "Didn't we just see each other last month?"
The two close friends embraced warmly upon meeting. Reluctantly parting, Gaara glanced at the figure behind Naruto.
"This must be Sasori of the Red Sand."
Removing his straw hat, Sasori, with his short hair lightly swaying, revealed his breathtakingly handsome face. With a faint, enigmatic smile, he said, "Kazekage, I didn't expect we'd meet again."
Kankuro, despite having heard the rumors, felt a chill run down his spine as he instinctively clutched the scar left by Sasori's poison.
"Sasori..."
Sasori's gaze shifted toward him.
"Oh, I remember you. Wasn't your name Kanpachi or something? You're surprisingly resilient to have survived my poison."
Kankuro, indignant: "It's Kankuro! Remember that, Sasori!"
Sasori replied nonchalantly, "I never bother remembering the names of the dead. But since you survived, I'll make an exception... Kanpachi."
Kankuro nearly lost his composure.
"I said it's Kankuro!"
Sasori nodded seriously, "Got it. Kanpachi."
Kankuro was utterly speechless.
Naruto, amused: "Sasori, stop teasing Kanpachi. From now on, we're all on the same side."
Sasori, surprisingly compliant: "Understood. For your sake, Naruto."
Hearing this, the Hidden Sand shinobi exchanged uneasy glances.
Elite jonin Baki thought to himself:
I've heard that Kabuto Yakushi used Edo Tensei to revive numerous powerful shinobi, including Akatsuki members like Sasori and even former Kage. Most of them ended up under the control of the Hidden Rain Village. I was skeptical, but seeing Sasori's attitude toward Naruto, it seems to be true.
"Oh, right." Naruto reached into his pouch and took out a scroll.
"This is the scroll I accidentally took earlier. Thanks to Sakura's reminder, I realized it contains the forbidden technique Reanimation Jutsu used by Lady Chiyo. I'm returning it to the Hidden Sand."
It was my mistake for handing Naruto the wrong scroll while drunk, and Sakura had to cover for me by borrowing it in the name of the Hokage. Lady Tsunade already apologized privately. Naruto is intentionally taking the blame to protect me and Sakura. I must cooperate.
Gaara: "As long as no harm was done."
With unspoken understanding, Gaara accepted the scroll with both hands and tucked it away. He then turned and walked alongside Naruto into the desert of the Land of Wind.
The Hidden Sand shinobi followed at a distance, maintaining a wary eye on Sasori.
Ignoring the thoughts of those around them, Naruto and Gaara immersed themselves in their conversation.
Naruto: "Your father, Rasa, is currently in the Hidden Rain Village. He misses you. I wanted to bring him along, but it didn't seem appropriate in front of your comrades."
Gaara: "Then I'll visit the Hidden Rain Village sometime. I wanted to go during the reconstruction efforts, but I was too tied up with work."
Naruto patted Gaara's shoulder with a smile. "Great! I'll be waiting for you in the village. We can soak in the hot springs together!"
Gaara smiled genuinely. "That sounds wonderful."
The two friends chatted and laughed, treasuring their time together. Neither wanted to reach their destination too soon, so they decided to rest midway.
Inside a tent, Naruto and Gaara sat across from each other, sipping tea. Inevitably, their conversation turned to Sasuke Uchiha.
Gaara, holding his teacup: "By the way, have you heard about Sasuke's recent whereabouts? Someone spotted him at sea."
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